Markedoc

What do most of you guys do with tubes after you bring a flat one back from a ride - patch them and re-use them or throw them away?

I've spoked to a couple of guys recently who throw them out - I guess they don't want to take a risk that the patch doesn't hold. Seems like a waste, although I don't want to be stupid and increase my chances of another flat in order to save a couple of bucks.

What do you guys do?

Midget

Yeh i agree with the other guys you talked too patches just dont work for me. plus i use big freeride tyres that the tubes hardly fill without a patch let alone with one. Patches just blow off for me and yeh i recon it is easier to just grabb a new tube.

You'll never have it digging in the back of your mind will it hold or not if you get a new tube.

Have fun

Trek Rider

I save up the tubes and when I get a bunch of them, I patch them and put them back into the rotation.

supcom

Definitely patch. But patch with real patches, not those self adhesive ones. I rarely have a problem with a patch. Why pay $3 to $4 per flat?

Grampy™

I patch them unless the hole is to close to a another patch or if it is by the stem. After about 6 patches I throw them out.

froze

I always patch AND I USE GLUELESS PATCHES!!! And you know what? I've been using these patches now for about 5 years (Park brand) and have NEVER had a problem. I have 1 glueless patch on a tube now that is 3 years old and I still ride on it; and all my tubes are 65gram ultralight tubes. I will never go back to glue patches again, no more dried glue tube, and no more gluing step.

Like I said I aways patch a tube untill either tube requires a patch near another or I get about 6 patches on a tube, or the tube just gets too old...just like Grampy mentioned. I also try to patch a tube on the road BEFORE replacing it, instead of just replacing the tube and patch at home. This patching process takes almost the same amount of time as replacing the tube when you do it right. Folding tires are easier to do then wire beaded tires. With kevlar beaded tires you can remove just half of one side with the hole being in the center, then pull about 6 inches of the tube with the hole being in the center area of course, pull out what ever caused the leak and run my hand in the area of the leak inside the tire, scuff, patch and reinstall-about 5 minutes (notice the gluing part is missing). With a wire beaded tire I have to remove the one side entirely then pull about 1/4 of the tube out.

jeff williams

I put new on the ' only bike I like' and the one I use for serious and long rides.
Patched tubes go on the grocery getter\ spare bikes, that I don't ride more than a few miles from home. I usually don't pack a spare- just load new and a repair kit.

Michel Gagnon

If you like to throw away your tubes, send them to me! Especially if you live in Canada, so they don't go through Customs.

I replace the tubes when the valve breaks apart of when the cut is too large for a patch. My record so far? Around 10 patches on a 15 year old tube.

Regards,

DMulyava

Hey guys. Question:

What kind of "patch kits" do you reccomend? Will just cutting an old tube and gluing it on work?

Heartattaq

I worked in a tire shop for over 6 years, I have worked on everything from tires 15 feet high to wheels 6 inches high.

If a patch is done right it is just as strong, and in some cases stronger than the area of the tube it is covering. so I would patch before buying a new tube.

ewitz

Leave the old tube on the side of the road. Don't want to carry it out and I definitely do not want to be bothered patching it. Just the cost of riding I guess.

Heartattaq

Bad deal for the environment, considering they don't biodegrade. At least acrry the old one out with ya. Or heave it in the nearest trash can

rmwun54

I would patch them up to three patches per tube depending on severity of course. The main thing is to patch the tube with the utmost care for reliable usage. Which means doing a good sanding job, apply a good amount of cement, let cement dry thoroughly before applying the patch, and do not use tube until the next day. Just a precaution.

Gurgus

I hate patching tubes, but I also hate buying new ones. So I mainly patch. Sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn't. I am cursed and I get more than my share of flats. I guess I should run higher pressure and not be such a hack at drops. Oh well, just bitter from the amount of patching I've done in the last two or three days. Bah.....what are you gonna do?

goatmeal

I patch, and buy new... I always like to carry a new tube with me, just in case I get a flat while it is raining or something. I have a hard enough time finding the hole in the tube in good weather, sh***y weather just makes the problem expodentially more difficult.

I have about 7 tubes waiting for me in the basement... Seems like I will have to buy more patches...

531Aussie

My record is 9 patches on a tube.

What are these glueless patches?

sakarias

Tossing a tube with a repairable hole is wasteful, it seems to me. But, this is a throwaway society. Leaving it by the side of the road is littering.

I use RemaTipTop patch kits, and carry a spare tube with the aim of patching a road side puncture if I can. If not (like the rainy day I last had a flat), then I swap the tubes.

I agree, a well patched tube is as good as new. I doubt I have given up on (tossed out) even a dozen tubes on all of our road bikes (my wife's and mine) over the past 30 years (probably 100,000 miles total ridden). I just patch them.

roadbuzz

I don't like riding patched tubes because I can feel the patches thump thump thump. I don't get flats very often, so I usually patch them when I get home and and use them as back-up tubes for when I get a flat.

I like Rema.

Retro Grouch 

Back in the day, I used to save them up until I collected a bunch of punctured tubes and I'd patch them all at once on a rainy Saturday afternoon. I've never had a tube that I patched leak at the patch. I remember trying to limp back to the car with a slow leaker once and, when I went to patch that tube, I found eight separate pinch flat places to patch. The tube held air fine afterward.

Today I use Armadillo tires most of the time and save the Axial Pros for smooth rural roads that are nearly glass free so I only get a couple of flats per year. At that rate it'd take me two or three years to save up enough tubes to fill a decent tube patching session and I probably have enough spares in my shop to last me the rest of my life anyway. So today I just dump 'em.

Much

I patch 'em when possible, but get new ones when I replace the tyre(s), keeping the least damaged two as spares.

I've used sticky-backed foam patches on occasion, and they work fine for me; in fact I keep a couple in my wallet for on-the-road punctures (slap 'em on, reinflate, carry on), but I have to admit to having less confidence in them than a 'permanent' repair. I do ride at a fairly high pressure tho, which probably helps.

uciflylow

Am I the only one here that just pulls them out, puts on a patch, sticks them back in the tire and rides on? I use both kinds of patches and have had very good luck with both. I also usually keep the tube untill the valve body pulls loose or the seal fails.
I will admit that I had a few glass flats that gave me greaf before I wised up to how to find the glass inbedded in the tire.

Markedoc

I would patch it and ride on - my only flats so far - knocking on wood as I type - were caused by using rim tape that was too narrow. I asked my LBS for rim tape for my new rims and they gave me the narrow stuff (12mm) without asking me what size rims I had. They should have known better, and now I do know better - the hard way!

Da Tinker

I carry a spare tube, since the guys I ride with have a 5 minute rule on flats. If you're not putting air in the tire after 5, you're dropped! As back-up, I carry Park glueless patches.

I patch flats with a Rema kit at home, then carry the patched tube as a spare. I hate to toss a patched tube, but don't like to run patched tubes. On big rides, I often carry two spare tubes, and will freely give one away to someone with a flat.

When I ran 23 mm tires at 125 PSI, the Park patches would hold forever. But now that I run 25 mm tires at 95 PSI, the Parks will only hold for a few days. Strange.

RacerX

carry a new tube with glueless patches while out on a ride, that way you have options.

Save your flat tubes and repair them if you have the time and motivation to do so. The glue patches are stronger than the tube when properly done. I don't know why people think it is messy to use glue patches, even a novice like me can easily do a good glue patch. The motivation to do it? That's another story!

caloso

Hmm, this is where my laziness and cheapness clash! In theory, I patch them and reuse them. In practice, I buy a bunch of tubes at my LBS' semi-annual sale.

[edited for sense]