RPK79

Finally I won't have to go back to the bike shop every time I get a flat! My wife will be so happy that she won't get called to come pick me up all the time!

Phil_gretz

I'd like to see this device used as a weapon.

Maybe 007 thrusting it into the eye of a "bad guy" and injecting ... Stan's into his head.

RubeRad

I'm glad somebody picked up on my reference...

evazan

I don't want to derail the thread but do you have any tips for changing a flat in 4 minutes? I've probably changed dozens of flats and it still takes me at least 20 minutes and I typically end up with black hands especially when it is the rear tire (which it usually is). The most time consuming part for me is getting the tire off. I have 700x25 gatorskins and it's damn near impossible to get the things off. I have crappy plastic tire levers, could that be my problem?

CommuteCommando

Kidding, right?

RPK79

The ease of the process can vary wildly depending on the tires and wheels being used. My current 23mm Continental Ultra Race tires come off and go on my Vuelta Corsa Pro rims really easy.

RPK79

Of course.

dynaryder

Carry some disposable gloves. Or some hand cleaner. I picked up a 1oz squeeze bottle and filled it with GoJo,wrapped it in paper towels and put it in a baggie. Makes for easy cleanup and you can put the used towels in the baggie if there's no trashcan nearby.

Which ones? I use Pedro's and rarely have issues. I've had probs in the past with skinny ones.

KenshiBiker

+1

I do both. Better than getting grease on my gloves and/or bar tape. Started doing this when I had white (well, grey - I'm not fastidious enough to keep using white tape, it's just what came with the bike) tape, but I've continued the habit for other bikes with black tape.

Also, I've been using a quick stick to remove tires. Works well, very well.

wolfchild

I use Park Tool tire levers, they are stronger then other cheapo plastic levers...I also have some metal ones as a back up just in case my other ones break.

prathmann

In principle yes, but the air may end up escaping from a part of the tire that's not right at the same place as the hole in the tube. Those of us who have repaired sew-up (tubular) tires sometimes ran into this problem. Those tires require that one locate the leak and then undo the stitching of the tire to remove the portion of the tube with the hole so it can be patched. Unfortunately the air escaping from the tube sometimes finds a path inside the tire before emerging at a different location and you end up unstitching a large segment of the tire and then have to sew it all up again.

OTOH, if this device can inject a reasonably large amount of sealant then getting the location right may not be critical - the sealant can run around the inside of the tube until it coats the spot with the hole and seals it.

fuzz2050

Pedro's are the best I've used. They still break occasionally, but my LBS treats them as cash, and will give you either a refund for a broken lever, or just let you cash in your stash of broken tire levers for another purchase,

As far as the 4 minute change, it helps a lot to have a loose fitting tire, and a hole that's easily identifiable. I was lucky, but even mysterious flats rarely take more than 10 minutes, even by the side of the road.

phughes

Sure, try this: PATCHNRIDE

ItsJustMe

Changing a tube certainly only takes about 4 minutes, but patching PROPERLY takes 15 to 20 minutes, because the cement needs to dry at least 10 minutes. Also I seem to always get punctures very close to a molding seam so I have to trim the seam down to get a proper patch.

If you're talking about self-stick patches, then I guess, but those, in my experience, are garbage. They always fail eventually.

ItsJustMe

For those having trouble getting tires off the rims, be sure that you are pushing the bead to the center of the rim all along the other side. if I do that, in most cases I can just roll the tire off without a tool at all. Depends on the tire though of course; Nokians on my winter bike always need a tool. The 23s I have on my road bike just roll right off if I push the bead to the center though.

evazan

I'll have to try that along with the Pedros. Hopefully it will be a while before I need to.

prathmann

Yes, and to aid in getting the bead down as far as possible into the center channel of the rim it helps to minimize the thickness of rim tape.

CommuteCommando

Of course it is very important to stay fresh and presentable on fifty mile bike rides. I am of the Tony Curtis school on this.

Double0757

I agree the video was done by a promotion agency with no real clue to bike riding!

However, I won't be so quick to discard this new way all together, until properly tested by an independent source, like one of us!

I say this because even if you need to remove the tube to find the leak, if it works, it's just like patching. With the added advantage that in the rare occasions you get a flat with a screw, you could fix it from the outside saving time from taking the tube out. Also avoiding having to carry second patch kit.

So, until tested, I would not discard as gimmick!

Double O

rhm

I worked in a bike shop in 1980-1. We sold a lot of Rema patch kits. Next to the Rema patch kits on the shelf there was another kind of patch kit that worked by the same principle as this PtchNride gadget. There was a needle that attached to the tube of sealant; the needle had a sharp point with a hole on the side, not on the end. The instructions were, you stuck it through the hole in the tube, moved the hole in the side lined up with the tube, so as you squeezed the sealant some went inside the tube and some went outside. You'd squeeze out a drop of sealant, while rotating the needle to get the glue all the way around. Then you'd pull the needle back out, wait a while, and you're good to go.

But as I said, we didn't sell any. As it was explained to me, it didn't work.

There are a few problems. First, when you patch a tube, you have to rough up the surface to get the glue to stick; you can't do that to the inside of a tube. Second, the inside of the tube probably has something like talcum powder in it, making it harder to get anything to stick. Third, in order to dry inside the tube, they had to make the solvent in the sealant so it would evaporate quickly even through the butyl tube. This resulted in a sealant that dried inside the injection needle.

So... is this PatchNride gizmo an improvement? I don't know, I haven't tried it. I'm not planning to buy one, though.