Years ago, I was riding on a stretch of bike path outside of Hellyer Velodrome. I was returning to my car and was about two miles out when I got a flat. I kind of just stared at the flat in disbelief because I hadn't brought along a tube, pump, etc. My friend stuck his finger on it to stop the leak, but this didn't do me any good. Or so I thought.
This old man appeared out of nowhere with his wife, complimented us on our fixies, and offered to have a look at my flat (while doing so, his wife told us of how he was a bike mechanic in his younger days and how he once rode X number of double centuries in one year). He then spit what I can only imagine to be a sticky loogi into his finger tips and proceeded to rub it into my flat until miraculously it stopped leaking air. He said that I might be able to make it back, but that I better ride fast. I jumped on the bike and sure enough, made it back to my car just as the tire began to feel squishy.
I've had many flats since then and just about every time I've tried spitting a loogi into my fingertips, but have yet to even stop the leak for a second. I can only imagine this old man laughing at the thought of me trying to replicate what he did.
Has anyone else had success with the loogi flat repair technique?
did he look like this?
Crazy story but I have some questions.
Where did he rub it? on the tire? cause it seems like to take the tube out it would have to be pretty low, unridable I would imagine.
and you say your tires were just getting squishy when you got back, were they not squishy when you got the flat?
@JanMM I wish. Sometimes I wonder if I imagined this whole thing, but I was riding with two other friends who witnessed it too. Of course that doesn't give the story any more credibility being the internet.
@cnnrmccloskey This man, had I asked his name, may be at the level of the late and great Sheldon Brown in some circles. When I was riding, I could hear the air as my wheel spun, so I stopped pretty soon after it happened. I usually run 700x23 tires and I run them around 120psi, so there was still quite a bit of air in them when the old man magically appeared.
I'm wondering if he used the spit to somehow lubricate the tube and tire to move the alignment of the holes because he did a fair amount of rubbing. Every time I've tried, I just try to stuff my loogi in the hole and the air pressure just blows it right back out. Disgusting, I know.
I've also thought that this guy might just have really, really viscous spit and maybe that's one of the things to look forward to as I grow older.
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Originally Posted by seanchon
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