milkbaby

I ripped a nice hole at the valve stem when pumping up a tire last night to prep for today's bike ride to work, but luckily I had a spare tube that I had patched the last time I ran over something sharp. My first patched tube ever, I was a proud papa! Anyhow, I pumped it up to 90 psi and everything was cool. But after a good night's sleep, when was just about to roll out today, I realized the tire was totally flat!

Googled up some info and realized I never sanded the tube where I applied the patches. It holds air at first but went flat overnight. I could still pump it up to 90 psi, but I'm sure when I get home to check it will be flat again. I'm guessing the patches are leaky because I didn't sand out the non-sticky stuff on the tube exterior (I just wiped it with a wet towel and dried it), right ? Wondering how much of a pain it would be to fix the leaky patches.

On a related note, what do you use old tubes for? I have the one with a hole at the valve stem, and one where the presta pin broke and the valve dropped into the tube. And maybe now this badly patched tube too...

sooprvylyn

You should buy a new tube and next time you get a flat you will know how to repair it.

As for things to do with bad tubes:

use it as a cover for a chain-lock so your frame doesn't get scratched
use it as a tourniquet
use it as a chain guard-cut up and secured with zip ties
use it as a top tube protector for leaning your bike against things
use it to make a giant sling shot
use it as a shoulder strap for a custom messenger bag(Ive seen this done)
use it to make a belt(though an old tire is cooler)
etc etc.

CACycling

Pull off the old patches and give it another shot. I've done it before. I always inflate a newly-patched tube and let it sit over night. If it hasn't leaked over night, it is good to go. If not, it doesn't go back in service.

davidad

If the bad patch is sticking you can heat it with a hot metal poece and then remove it. The tube has mold release on it from the factory. It needs to be lightly sanded off.