Fifty Plus (50+) - Empty hot sauce packet?!

Out for my morning 20 miler on single bike.
Fast flat on rear of Serfas Seca 700x23 tire.
Heard rear wheel go 'plop/plop'; stopped quickly. Shard of hard black plastic penetrated the FPS (Flat Protection Systrem)
easily and left big gash in center of tire. Only 816 miles on that Serfas.
Found small empty plastic/foil packet for hot sauce (like available in fast food places) on roadside and stuck it between tire and
spare inner tube. Pumped it up got got home just fine.
Replaced that tire with a Maxxis Re-Fuse.
Someone's trash is someone's saviour!
Pedal on!
Rudy/zonatandem

So your saying you go on 20-milers with-out Goo packs? And a morning 20 miler, you will never hear me say.

Good tip!

Necessity is the mother...

MacGyver would be proud

Works for me

Finally a use for hot sauce!

It's an omen. You need a new bike from Salsa.

Nice fix.

I had a similar situation but the only trash I could find to make a boot was an aluminum soda can. It worked fine for a while, but one of the edges of the metal punctured the tube a few miles later. If I had folded the edges it may have worked.

Now I carry some boot material on all rides- pre-cut strips of medium weight plastic with sharp edges removed.

I keep a folded piece of aluminum foil in my saddle bag for just this reason. Knock on wood, but I have never had to use it or the spare tube that I carry. Did I just give myself a bad omen? :eek:

Dollar bill works pretty good.

Hmmm, maybe I should stick a piece of folded Aluminum foil in my kit now.

Dollar bill works pretty good.

A hundred works better.;)

A hundred works better.;)

Dunno, that would double the value of my bike!

Out for my morning 20 miler on single bike.

zonatandem out on a single bike? :eek:

Nice repair.

I sort of like those Secas because they stick well to the pavement but they do get cut up easily. A year ago Jenson had them on sale for $9 each. Should have stocked up then. I carry the Seca RS folder as a spare. It weighs 215 gms.

Yup, was out riding my single bike . . . tandem was getting a rest!
Thought about the folded $-bill but that hot sauce packet was within a foot from where I stopped.
While on Bike Patrol for the Tour of the Tucson Mountains last week, had a guy flag me down for help.
He lost an allen bolt holding his bottle cage on his seattube and flopping cage was interferring with pedaling.
Asked him if he had a rag or handkerchief with him. He gave me a puzzled looked but handed me a handkerchief.
Coiled/rolled it up a bit and tied his bottle cage to his seattube. His comment: 'Wow! Thanks!'
Yup,necessity is the mother of . . .
Pedal on!
Rudy/zonatandem

The mylar in crisp packets and such is mighty tough stuff.

However, there is a limit to what the thin material will serve as a boot material in a damaged tyre. The problem is that if the material is able to slip at all between the tube and casing, the tube will force it out the hole or slit and you end up with it being worn through as easily as the tube would have been.

A stiffer material is wisest. The plastic in ordinary drink bottles and milk jugs is similar to that found on commercially available tyre boots. But you would need a knife or pair of scissors in your on-bike tool kit if you didn't have one already prepared prior to starting the ride.

Dollar bill works pretty good.

That works fine in the US, where they still have $1 bills, but most places don't have $1 bills anymore, and there is no way I is going to wreck a fiver. If you know anyone in construction, get a couple of pieces of Tyvek House wrap about 6 or 8" square, it's nice and light, tough, has no sharp edges and you could probably do a century on it before it would quit.

Wogster, good point on the Tyvek. If you go to a Home supply store or building supply ask for a sample size square, they will give you one:thumb:, but may well try and sell you a few dozen rolls too:notamused:. You can just carry the square in you bag or pocket folded up.

Bill