I was a long-time sceptic, now I'm just cautious.


I grabbed a pack to try out on my "fun" bike. A couple of rides later, a Michelin wire struck. I "scuffed" (actually sanded the release compound off) the tube around the puncture, pumped it back up to 85 psi as fast as I could, and rode off. That patch is still holding, as are the five that followed it over the next year or two. Now I need to get another box.


Getting the mold release off the tube is critical to any patch holding, and it's what most people who report patch failures don't do right. Second on the glueless patch list is you need to press it on hard and pump the tire up pretty fast -- 80-100 psi is more than most people can hold. Note my experience is with road tires; low pressure MTB tires might be different.


On my other bikes, I continue to replace tubes at the scene and patch them at home. I've got almost 20 years' experience with conventional patches, so why risk anything with the stolid commuter/tourers?