Originally Posted by
danmc
If a tube is properly patched, should it be ok to keep riding on it until it finally gets a flat again? I've only used the patch when I got two flats and used my spare tube up. I was under the impression that a patch was only an emergency fix to get you home, but with the numbers of flats I've been getting I'd rather patch and keep using the tube.
A proper vulcanizing patch (the kits with glue sold by Park or Rema, for instance) will last forever. You can patch a tube as many times as you care to. I generally patch until the valve fails, the tube splits at the seam, or I'm patching a patch. I had a tube with over 20 patches on it. It died when the tire it was in shed its tread, not because it was over patched.
You might consider more puncture resistant tires, though....