AlphaDogg

The local Performance bike shop charges $1.99 for a glue patch kit, while most bike shops around here charge $2.99 or higher.

Looigi

I patch with glue-on patches and reuse the tubes. Never any issues with properly applied glue-on patches.

I carry so called "glueless" or self-adhesive patches in case I get multiple flats on a ride. These work fine as a temporary fix but will eventually start to leak, so at the next convenient opportunity, I replace them with glue on patches.

gyozadude

I've used Rema patches and carry a bulk batch of small kits. Niagara Cycle also carries the Sunlite brand. 100 patches 25mm diameter for $6 plus S/H. So a lot cheaper than the $15 for the Rema patches. Never used sunlite brand myself. Seems that Amazon gives these patches good reviews. My only issue with both which require rubber cement is the residual oxidation of the tire casing that sometimes occurs. It changes the casing to make the rubber more "crispy" and therefore makes that area age more quickly by embrittling the rubber casing. I've been looking for various ways to prevent it, either by leaving the thin plastic film on the patch (which then affects the stretch-expansion of the patch. Or to layer something inside the tire. I guess an option would be to allow tubes with patches to fully cure for a couple of days outside before insertion. Only most of the time, when I'm patching a tube, it's while I'm on the road, and you know how we get lazy when we get back and don't bother to take a tube out if it's holding air fine after an impromptu repair job.

Mind you, it's not a big deal since the residual vulcanization that's happening is very slow. The casings don't get crispy to the point of failure for upwards of a year. If you swap tires every 1000 - 2000 miles, and that's your only bike, then anyone who commutes a lot will toss bike tires and switch new ones before it becomes an issue. But if you have skin walls or light coloured sidewalls, there can be a stain within a week, and if you have multiple bikes and don't ride a bike for a year, the tread might see no increased wear, but the casing might be considerably weakened.

Maybe I'm nitpicking and it's much to do about nothing.

mawtangent

Always like the flat-repair threads, lot of different viewpoints.

Tried some cheap (like a dozen for $2) glueless patches from a department store when I got back into biking a few years ago, they only held two or three days. Maybe more expensive ones would work better but I gave up on glueless after that.

The $2 patch-kits w/glue (also from the department store) have worked fine (once I got the technique down). When I first faced repairing a skinny tube that came out of a 700 x 25 tire I couldn't see using the traditional inch-square patch that I had used as a kid on a tube that came from 2 inch-plus wide tires. (It just seemed like overkill and I wondered how such a large patch, in relation to the tube at least, might effect the function of the tube). I started cutting my patches down to roughly centimeter circles (more like hexagons) and that size has worked on the vast majority of the punctures I've fixed in the last 5 years (I estimate I've made around 50 tube repairs during that time). I have used a slightly larger, elongated patch to cover a snake-bite puncture at least once. As far as glue (I seem to need glue before needing more patches) I just started using some I found in the auto department (for under $2).

dscheidt

e.

A fair number of bike shops don't sell decent patch kits because they'd rather sell you a tube at a larger profit. One of the shops where I used to live would tell people that glue type patch kits were banned because they weren't safe. They'd happily sell you a worthless stick on patch, and tell you "replace the tube as soon as you get home".

I'd suggest finding a better shop.

shawmutt

Just an FYI, I saw some patch kits (the ones with the glue) in the local AutoZone today.

Laserman

The Slime brand rubber patches with cement are available at Walmart. I've been using these for over a year with no problems.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Slime-Rubb...h-Kit/16879926

gyozadude

Thanks for this tip. I went out and have done just that! $1.57 for a small jar with brush for Elmer's Rubber Cement at my local Target Store. And cut up 50 patches from an old inner tube - free, each a 1 x 1 inch square, and then I had to rinse them with soap and water to wash the inner powder release coating used in manufacturing. That was about $0.05 in paper towels and Dawn dish detergent. Oh, and I have a generic brand snack sized zip-loc baggie I put the patches in so they are airtight sealed from ozone in the garage and don't go crispy waiting to patch a hole. $0.03 each baggie.

Your post brought to mind how my old shop used to patch tires exactly this way when we had our "patch a flat for $2" sales way back in the day. The campaigns worked, because we'd get a bunch of bikes in for flats and the next thing, our racks would fill up with a bunch of bikes that needed tuneups too. The trick to doing the patch fast with these home-made patches was to clean the surfaces first. We'd use a very quick rub with a few drops of acetone on a rag over the hole. Then we'd use a clean finger and dab a little rubber cement and quickly smear a thin amount on the tube, and a thin amount on the smooth side of the patch. We'd let it dry for just a minute, meanwhile, rubbing our finger tips to remove and ball up the excess cement into a fake small booger-looking thing. And then we'd apply the patch, use a smooth teflon wand with a ball end to rub the patch into the tube thoroughly, and then a little baby powder on the outside of the tube, and back into the tire. Glad to know it's still the cheapest and one of the most reliable ways to patch a tube.

TonyA

I found that Slime kit at Autozone for $3, but it's only got 2 bicycle-sized patches in it. I could trim the bigger ones and use them, but then I won't get the taper that makes them ride smoothly.

Somebody mentioned Rema patch kits. I remember those from when I was in Greece, years ago. They worked great. Nobody around here carries them, but I see I can buy them online.

The only problem with the glue, now that I recall, is that it dries up quickly once you pierce the tube and use it the first time. The screw-on cap doesn't seal well enough to keep it from drying out. Unless you have a lot of flats, you can end up getting just one repair out of each tube. It would be nice if the glue came in tiny tubes just big enough for one patch each. With no screw-on cap -- you'd just pierce it and squeeze the glue out onto the patch site, and then throw it away.

TonyA

What about the Park VP-1C patch kit? Is that as good as the Rema? Or Rav-X, only $1.25. I was about to order a tool from Jenson, and they don't carry Rema.

dscheidt

The park kit is just fine. Used lots of them. The other one probably is too, but I've never seen one.

trek330

Well I wish I saw this thread months ago!I've up to this point thrown tubes away after punctures not wishing to compromise the tube with a patch.Then I tried the glueless patches and found them undependable.Since I read this thread I've purchased 3 of those Rema kits on line for about $9 shipped.

dabac

...which doesn't explain why some patches work just fine and others don't - out of the same package, sometimes on the same tube...