Is it worth patching tubes?
 

I've never bothered to patch tubes before but I have two with pinholes in them. I would like to start patching instead of always buying new tubes if it's worth it. Will a tube with very small puncture be patchable to the point where it's as reliable as a new tube?

If so, I could use recommendations on good patch kit

Patch kit? Rema. Any bike shop has them and, yes, patching tubes is certainly worth while. Done properly the repaired tube is as good as new.

If you use decent vulcanizing patch kits and the tube's in decent shape other than a small hole, patching it will give you a tube just as reliable as a new one.

Rema Tip Top patch kits have been the de facto standard for decades because they're inexpensive and work well. The Park Tool VP-1 patch kit is another good option. On the other hand, I think the consensus is that peel-n-stick "glueless" patches aren't as reliable or long-lasting. Personally, I'd suggest avoiding them.

Year ago, I might have said no, but having to shell out for 2 PV tubes at $8 each recently has me pulling out the patch kit again. Most punctures are easily patched as good as new, so while I don't patch on the road, I'll patch and use that as a spare.

Unfortunately, most of my flats are cased by poor bonding or corrosion where the valve is joined to the tube, and so both unnecessary and unrepairable.

Thanks. One of the tubes I have laying around I think is leaking around the valve but the other should be good. I would also patch at home and leave plenty of time to cure and use as a spare for my next on road flat

New tube is $5, and patching only takes a few minutes, so worth doing. I change the tube on the road then patch at home, but I also carry a patch kit just in case.

Just watch some youtube vids on how to patch a tube so you are doing it right and it will be good as new. You can buy years worth of patches on ebay for $2 and a tube of vulcanizing glue at any autoparts store or walmart for $2 or less.

Same with me in the past year, with what I thought where heretofore quality tubes. Maybe I should re-start using those silly nuts that come with the tube.

Those nuts contribute nothing to durability and are a nuisance when you actually have a road flat.

I disagree- the nut holds the valve stem tight to the rim while you pump it up with your frame or mini pump. Keeping the valve stem from working back and forth makes the stem less likely to tear free from the rest of the inner tube.

I use the nuts and have *never* had a leak or break at the valve stem, and have used dozens of different brands of tubes.

In the shop, no, tubes are not worth patching as we would need to charge customers more to patch than to sell them a new tube. Do a patch wrong and the shop would be out even more money.

Currently, I have a folder running presta valve 18" tires -- general unavailability of tubes for this system means I patch tubes.

And generally speaking, I will carry a spare tube, swap it out in the event of a flat, and then patch/repair at home. Sometimes this happens; sometimes a heap of repairable tubes eventually just gets thrown out. How valuable is your spare time...?

Whether it's worth it or not depends entirely on how you assign value. I rather enjoy the little chore of patching a few tubes at home having accumulated them after swapping out flatted tubes on the road. I also enjoy doing all the work on my bikes rather than having someone else do it, independent of the costs involved.

i do the same
but my tubes work their way through a life cycle

starting with new tube installed in tire
then tube gets a hole in it
then gets patched and goes into the rotation as a spare
and additional holes receive additional patches
until the tube is not repairable
then it is cut up into tie downs or elastic bands

Was about to start a thread - but I'm hijacking this one instead! Can you patch a tube where the valve seems to have broken away from the tube a bit? My valve (a presta) looks like it had about a quarter sized chunk of rubber on it. That was then attached somehow to the rest of my tube. That attachment failed overnight, leaving me with one completely flat tube. What do you all think? Patchable?

On a side note - it's an XLC tube and has maybe 100 miles on it. I think I may be avoiding that brand in the future.

from above
i have been lucky in this respect
but have also heard many people report this same failure

sadly most of the brand names printed on the tube boxes
are al printed at the same giant factories that make identical tubes for multiple companies

so while you might find another brand of tube that is less prone to this sort of breakage
it might only be a matter of time before they change suppliers and use the same tubes as your xlcs

the other failure than can occur at the valve
is when the stem is worked back and forth by rough handling
during pumping
and the edge of the valve tears out of the rubber
but this can mostly be avoided by careful pumping
and avoiding using mini pumps except in emergencies
and using the little nut on presta valve stems

These tubes have never been pumped up with anything but a floor pump. They were installed by a LBS.

I just noticed that they're 700x23/25C, whereas I think all my other tubes are 700x28/32C. My tires are marked as 700x28C. Did the LBS give me the wrong size tube? Would that cause this sort of failure? The LBS was replacing my wheel, and apparently they accidentally killed my old tube while doing so, so they installed this XLC tube in its place. It did not have a nut on it which disturbed me, but whatever.

The tube will work, since it stretches to fill whatever space required.
Personally, I don't like to be that much undersize since the air seeps out faster and requires more frequent topping off.
IF I were using a 28mm tire, I'd prefer a tube that was marked 25-28. To me, that gives the best balance between not over stretching, but easy to install without the risk of creases etc.

One thought though- it seems to me that the more you stretch the tube, the more likely you are to have failure with the valve attachment tearing out??

Our LBS had a whole pile of punctured inner-tubes .. they were picked up and are on their way to Africa

.. there they definitely find patching the same tube, as needed, worthwhile ..

I usually will patch my tubes once, maybe twice if the second puncture isn't near the first one. I use both the "glue" type repair kit for at home repairs and the "self stick" type patches I carry in my bike repair kit for on the road repairs ( if necessary ). I always carry an extra tube if I flat along the road, and wait to get home to repair the leaking tube. But you never know when you could have the second flat on the road before you get home, so that's the reason for the "self stick" patch kit. Nothing worse than needing to repair a tube anywhere, and the tube of glue is dried up or useless. You can't store a tube of glue in your bike repair kit for the road, like you can at home in the refrigerator. I've only used the "self stick" patch type on one occasion to repair a tube in a bike I was selling, just to see if these were reliable. I prepared the repair according to the instructions, and the tube didn't lose any air pressure in the three weeks before the bike was sold. I have confidence that in an emergency along the road, one of these self stick patches would get me home. I wish what the "glue" type kits had was a small one time use tube of glue for each rubber patch in the kit. Something like the small single use tubes of "super glue" you see in the stores, then you could carry the glue type kits on the road.

I use the patch kits from the hardware aisle of the grocery store unless it's for a bike with narrow tubes. They work great.

The most important things are to scrape all the mold release off the tube using the supplied scraper or some concrete, and to wait long enough for the glue to dry. I don't think it's possible to wait too long. Clean the tube, put the glue on the tube and patch, and leave it overnight just to see.

For me, when i mess up is always due to impatience and not waiting long enough for the glue to dry. A buddy once told me he actually would use a cigarette lighter to flash the glue before installing the patch. Dunno if that works or not, never tried it.

Well, for $5 you can patch 6 tubes opposed to paying $6-$10 a piece for them so I think it's a good value.

Also, it's a lot more convienent to patch a tube than have to run to the store and get one. Plus, if you are on the road, the kit is smaller.

My mini pump has a flex hose, so this movement isn't a problem. One of the main reasons I chose that pump, actually.

OP, I carry a spare tube and use that first. Should I flat again, I patch. Provided the hole is repairable with a patch, I will patch it at home and that then becomes my spare. I actually prefer to use a patched tube as a spare as opposed to a new tube. With a patched tube I know that the valve is good because I've used it before. I've had a new tube with a defective valve. Makes for a nasty surprise on the side of the road in the dark, when its raining. Don't ask how I know that... I usually limit my patches to no more than 3 or 4 per tube, depending on size and location. Totally abitrary number, but seems to work.

the other thing that can limit the usefulness of a patch
is
if you are trying to patch road or trailside
in the rain
you will have a very hard time
so i carry one intact spare
either new or patched
and a patch kit
and if i have two flats
then i have to patch the second one

i suppose on a longer ride
in wet weather
after the first flat
it would be smart to patch the punctured tube
as soon as there is a few dry moments
or when shelter is available

I bought a big can of patches, and glue form my local auto parts store. Some of the patches are pretty big, but it's easy to cut them down to bike tube size. Unless it dries out, I'll never have to by glue again for the home shop. And I can save the little tubes for use on the road.
Like the other guys, I get a flat on the road, I swap tubes, and patch it later. If it's a really bad day and I get multiple flats on the road, I carry a patch kit and fix it on the spot.
When the pile of holed tubes get to be about 6 or so, I'll spend some time to patch them all(in comfort, with a beer close at hand).

BTW, I've had a 700x32 tube in service in one of my 29x2 tire for at least two years, maybe three, with no real issues.

I have serviced bicycles that were 60 plus years old with tyres that still held air and with tubes that had seen numerous patches... without exposure to UV or ozone quality tubes are going to outlast us.

I patch tubes in my shop... it only adds a few minutes (if that) to set things up and I do other things while the cement cures.

Done right, they don't fail.

For pinholes, latex sealant seems to work really well for me. I've pumped a couple of dozen mL of Stan's into my son's tubes and that seemed to have addressed his propensity to run over goat heads.

For patch kits, I like the ones Rivendell sell better than even the Rema ones, because the Rivendell patches are extra thin. However, if you're not ordering other stuff from them, the Rema kits makes the most sense as you can pick those up at any bicycle shop. And yes, it's worth it since it's <$1 per patch and you can do it in a batch for efficiency.