Wogster

So, I got a puncture today, and I swapped tubes added some air with the on-board pump and finished my ride, in order to save some money and the environment, I kept the old tube with the idea of patching it. I had a glue less patch kit in the bike bag, and went to use one, at home, all the patches had stuck to the paper backing. They were fine last year.....

If you have a glue less patch kit, and it's more then a year old, either check it or replace it.....

JeeperTim

What brand were they? I just got some slime brand and they seem pretty.... er, slimey.

Terrierman

I like the clear Park glueless patches. The secret to successful patching with or without glue is getting the tube very very clean. Brake cleaner solvent or carb cleaner works very well. Never had one fail that I cleaned up with solvent and patched at home.

Wogster

These are the same as the ones I had, they were from last year, so maybe they don't winter well

wlewis

I don't trust the glueless patches. Heat seems to kill them rather easily. Both times I used a Park Tools glueless patch, they failed when I had my bike propped up in the sun. I've probably used 50 of the traditional patches in my lifetime and they have never failed.

Terrierman

Well, I've yet to have one fail and it got plenty hot here this summer.

Terrierman

Dude, you need to have more flats and rotate your stock!

Wogster

Naw, I just need to remember to get new ones every year, and keep them indoors for the winter. As for flats, over 900 miles on these tires, and not one flat, then I get two in two days, using both my spare tubes, now I really need some patches.

Mr. Beanz

That'st he reason I use vulcanizing rubber glue patches. Ever read the directions on the glueless, says temporary fix.

I use the patches at home then replace the new spare to it's rightful place.

Velo Dog

FWIW, I have at least a dozen flats a year (not that many miles, but a LOT of thorns around here), and my failure rate for glueless patches on road tubes is over 50 percent, vs. ONE patch failure in 30+ years with glue-ons. They work a little better on mountain bike tires with their lower pressure, but not well enough for me to mess with them anymore. I've never understood why people use them anyway--all they save is the 30 seconds or so it takes for the cement to dry.

markjenn

I'm probably dating myself here, but when I was a kid, I used to use a patch that had a tin backing. You'd clamp it to the tube with a fixture and then light the thing on fire and it would melt the patch onto the tube. It did an incredible job. Are these still around?

- Mark

Wogster

I think people get more frustrated by dried out glue tubes more then anything else, when I was a kid you could buy a tin can of glue with a brush attached to the lid on the inside, for a couple of dollars. When you fix a flat, at least at home, you open your can of glue, brush some on the tube and back of the patch then screw the lid back on. You wait for it to dry, then stick the patch on, once it was stuck the only way to move it would be to cut it out of the tube. Heck I think we even kept an old tube around as patching material, just cut a piece out with scissors, and glue it on with the tin can glue.

Wogster

I wonder if the best solution is to keep 4-5 spare tubes, just swap the tube on each flat, and then when you have 3-4 to fix get a glue patch kit, and do all of them, once they are all repaired, they go back on the spares shelf. This is something that could be done on a cold winters day, when the radio is stating that the police are requesting emergency travel only, due to the currently raging storm, your going through severe biking withdrawl, and can remember the warm summer ride, when you got that particular puncture. Yeah I know most flats occur when it's raining, cold, dark and your trying to stay relatively clean..... Speaking of clean, a good thing to keep in your saddle bag are a pair of plastic gloves, when you need to do a tube swap or fix a wonky chain, pop on the gloves and they get dirty but your hands stay clean, a plastic grocery bag can be stuffed in there too, for disposal purposes.

Mr. Beanz

Raging storm? This is Cali BABY! I have one day a year to fix my tubes?

Wogster

Drop by here in the middle of February when the temp hasn't seen the positive side of freezing in a week and a half, it's been snowing hard since 3am the day before, and the wind is blowing at 40MPH and gusting to 55, which means the snow is falling up, down and sideways. You get up in the morning look outside, flip on the radio and find that there are so many things closed and cancelled that they are announcing the ones the places still open and still operating, it's a very short list. You leave a message for your boss that your not going in to work, and crawl back under the covers.

fas2c

That is how I was taught to patch a tire. Clean and abrade the punture area, set glue, apply patch, apply glue around patch and light on fire for a second or two. Always worked quickly. As a kid I might have several patches on a tube before having to replace the tube. Money was tight then...funny it is now too

fc_

one trick to ensure that you always have a patch or two with you even when you discover your tube of glue has dried out, or you just plain forgot to take any patches with you.

Take an unused glueless patch, and put it between the tire and the tube (with the backing still on). That way, when you need to patch your tube, your spare patch is already waiting in the event that you don't have any others with you.

I've saved myself with this technique once or twice.