well I was really proud of myself for patching my tube the other day after I got a flat. after talking to a couple of people and watching a repair video to confirm I did it correctly, I realized I glued the wrong side of the patch to the tube. seems to be holding fine, I smeared a lot of glue on there. I also did not wait for the glue to dry much at all. should I re-do it correctly or what? it held for my whole 5.5 mile commute home...

My WAG would be that it is fine. But I HATE roadside flats so much, if it were me, I'd either re-do the patch or buy a new tube (they're cheap, cheaper than the hassle of a roadside flat!)

no

Depends how much it would annoy you to re-do the patch while riding vs doing at your leisure. Ultimately, what's the worst-case scenario? You have to redo the patch, which is the same thing you're thinking about doing anyway?

If the patch easily pulls off, it should be redone.
If it doesn't, I wouldn't.

I just got done patching. Made the mistake of using the wrong side of the patch as well (clear side, not the blue side). It didn't hold at all. Maybe you have a different type patch but if it has a blue side then that is the only side that will hold.

Is this really that easy to do? In all my years of patching car, truck and bike tubes, I don't ever recall this being an issue.

Usually patches are housed between a sheet of foil and a very thin sheet of plastic. Did you make sure to remove the plastic (what i consider the "top" of the patch) if you accidentally put the patch upside down? If so, you'll probably have to redo it. If you removed the plastic, you should be fine really unless it's leaking (the entire thickness of the patch is rubber, right? right?!?)

yes, I removed the plastic! the patch is orange with a black circle in the middle. I put the black circle over the leak. so that I could see the all-orange side on the outside of the tube. I think that's the wrong side?? guess it doesn't matter that much. still holding.

^ If that's upside down, I have been installing my patches the wrong way for the last 13 years!!! Haven't had a problem yet. I figured they made the orange circle so you can quickly see how many patches you have on a tube to decide when to toss it. I use the glueless patches now, so I KNOW I'm putting those on right side up, but wow!!!

I saw on an instructional video on how to patch your tube where the guy put the orange side down! the controversy continues!!

Amazing, but the main point is if that's upside down, you'll be fine. I have tubes still holding air from years ago to show for it. I'm in shock, though. I think my whole family did it this way!

Well, some people use old cut up innertubes as patches.

I usually leave the plastic on the "top" of the patch when i reinstall the tubes, my reasoning is to reduce the friction between the tire and patch when you're reinstalling and pumping up the the tube.

I leave the orange side up and my tubes hold. Just ride with a spare tube just in case.

You guys take off the plastic? I just put it on non-plastic side.

Lol

^ Apparently, that's the CORRECT way, but you should peel the plastic off afterwards. Amazing how I didn't think of that until now.

How many cyclists does it take to....

When I patch tubes with store-bought patches, I read the tiny print that tells you how that particular kit is supposed to be applied. Patches from K-mart are elcheapo (made by Bell, I think), come in sort of flimsy sheets, are applied with the (hmmm, can't remember which) side down (I'd have to read the directions). They curl like crazy when the glue hits 'em, so I generally weight the whole mess down with a telephone book until it has a chance to dry. Those cheap patches work fine and go farther (cause you can cut 'em to a size that suits you).

The brand I buy at the bike shop has an orange side that is supposed to go down (against the tube). They have a nice taper and make a smooth patch (as if that's necessary - you'd have to patch with a brick or be a princess (and the pea) to actually feel the a road difference between these two types of patches). But, they do make a nice patch.

My guess is that if you put either type on backwards (or upside down), you are still using cement designed to make rubber "melt" into rubber, and once that happens, the patch will be strong - just as strong as if you had put the patch on "correctly." I would not worry about it. Chances are, whatever caused your flat will cause another one somewhere else on the tube long before a patch job will fail.

Caruso

If you really smeared on the glue without letting it dry you might find that the patched area sticks to the inside of your tire next time you need to remove the tube, so be careful. BTW, the orange side down is correct with that kind of patch.

Now, if that patch is anything like the many, many patches I've done, it is upside down. Whether it will hold or not, only you can guess. Like someone else said, if you can't tug it off, it's stuck! If it can be tugged off at all, re-do it.

Do this test (if you have an unused patch handy): Is the patch perfectly flat on BOTH sides? The patches i'm familiar with are flat on one side and slightly domed on the other. The domed side is (in my experience) the side with the black material. The black portion domes up from the orange portion. It's kind of like two layers, a flat orange portion and the black portion fused to one side.

You would apply the perfectly flat side down so that it fits flat against the surface to be patched.

How does this compare to your patches?

Another bit of wisdom written above by someone else - when all else fails, read the instructions.