Originally Posted by timmhaan
tubes are cheap. so, i can definitely see why someone with disposable income would just replace them.
not me though, it's wasteful to toss a tube with a pin sized hole in it. i usually replace a tube on the road and patch the old one when i get home.
Seems to me if you are going to carry a tube and have to remove the tire from the wheel, well, why not patch? If you patch you have to remove the tire from the wheel, but you have room for other things if you carry a patch kit. But really, both ways are valid; it is just what do you want to do? All cyclists should know how to patch
and to just replace.
Oh, I forgot, you may have to take just a little more time to patch than if you replace a tube. Also, replacement could be a big plus for all us aging, formerly-listening-to-lotsa-loud-rock-music cyclists, as one may not be able to hear the "hiss" of escaping pressure from a tire on the side of the road. . .
I patch. Husband patches, repeatedly; he;s cheap-wait, he's
frugal. Gawd forbid we should waste a couple of bucks more on a new tube. I think the only way he would replace a tube is if the valve blew or he could no longer fit patches on the tube, or as you mentioned, he got a large unpatchable gash in the tube. As far as I know his none of his patches have ever failed.