I rarely repair flatted tubes on the road, but pile them up in the garage to fix later. Today was the day. I had a huge pile of flatted tubes and only about two good ones left for riding with, plus I gave one away Saturday to a cyclist with a blown tube on the local greenways.

Here's the tally:
- 12 tubes repaired
- 5 tubes that apparently were OK, as I couldn't find any leaks even after submerging them in water.
- 3 tubes that had to be scrapped due to leaky valves

That should hold me a while.

I tried to fix them last weekend but the glue was all dried up in 3 tube repair kits that I had on hand. I finally got smart and bought a large tube of rubber cement from an auto parts store, and I was able to fix a dozen tubes with lots of glue left over. Now I need to buy some more patches, the small ones. Tube repair kits always include several large patches that are useless on road tubes, as least for the sizes that I use, and I've got a bunch of them left over.

Sounds like you've been busy! I rarely put that much effort into repairing tubes. I might patch one up during a ride if I feel like it, however I normally just throw in a new tube and scrap the other one since I rarely get flats anyway and I generally don't have enough time nor the ambition to repair old ones. I think the last time I replaced a tube was close to 3000 miles ago! Still, all the power to ya!

I'm a tightwad, and I figured that I saved about $100 in new tubes. Plus, I just don't like waste.

Squeeze the air out of the tube of glue before replacing the cap.

Cut the rectangular patches in half. They don't need no stinkin feathered edges! The orange base layer runs all the way under the black so it'll vulcanize just fine.

For some reason the folks I ride with rarely repair tubes or use patched ones. They've started giving them to me to patch but they never want them back. I just had to buy a second box of 100 small Rema patches. I now have a lifetime supply of tubes but don't feel right throwing out a patchable one.

Jobst Brandt used to host tube-patching parties with his buddies on a regular basis. They'd drink beer and eat peanuts while they worked, and that strikes me as a fun and sociable way to handle one of the most common and vexing bike problems.

Great idea! Any opportunity to drink beer is a good thing.

I think I'm the only one among from cycling friends who patches tubes. There seems to be a misconception among some cyclists that patched tubes aren't safe or won't hold, but I have rarely had patches fail while riding. If they don't hold, I can tell right away after patching. I've got some patched tubes that I've used and reused for years. Usually when I throw away tubes it's the valves that have failed or they develop leaks at the base of the valves where they can't be repaired.