Originally Posted by
Johnny Mullet
New tube = $5.00 Labor already done when installed and you are back on the road. Running 700c or 27" tires and getting a puncture almost requires superhuman precision to patch one of these skinny tubes even if it's nowhere near a seam or the valve. I tried patching tubes 3 different times and failed everytime. I spent more on patch kits and time trying to fix a split (90% of flats are from a spit tube) than just replacing it. I feel that my 1600 miles last year and 1100 miles the year before of bike riding can justify the waste of a few tubes. Just saying.
"New tube =$5" (really closer to $7 but I won't quibble). Four tubes =$20. Ten tubes =$50. 20 tubes = $100 and a huge pile of tubes. I live were goatheads are ubiquitous. It's not uncommon for me to have 20 flats in a year. It's not impossible...but somewhat uncommon...to have 20 flats (or even far more
) on a ride. That's a lot of money down the drain. I'm not about to carry around 20 tubes with me on a ride...I already carry 2 and have been know to carry as many as 6. If I get two flats on a ride, which can be a common occurance, I'd be sunk if I didn't carry a patch kit.
Patching a tube is a simple task that can be taught so that a 10 year old to do it reliably and easily in about 10 minutes. And the only reason it take 10 minutes is because that's how long the glue takes to dry. And that's even on seams. No "superhuman precision" is required.
I don't know where you ride nor how you do it but I find a split in the tube to be a very, very rare event. Almost all the flats I've had and the flats I've taught people to fix have be small point type punctures. The sharp object goes in and comes out and leaves a hole.
Finally, how much you ride per year doesn't make any difference. The 5000 miles I rode last year or the 4500 miles the year before that or the 80,000 miles I've ridden sincee 1988 (I only have records back to then but I've ridden a lot longer) don't justify throwing a tube away when it can be repaired reliably. If nothing else, knowing how to patch a tube and having a patch kit has saved me from some very long walks.