I find i'm rather incompetent at patching tires, but I can't figure out what to do with used tubes so they're piling up in my room.

let's see.. your riding produced four flats that became four patches in seven years...
so if your repairs were altered you would have four tubes in seven years.. how does this equal the disposal of a car tire?

i rarely get flats when using quality kevlar tires, maybe every couple months... when i use cheap tires i get them weekly, so if we are to compare the environmental impacts of one that patches with cheap tires then i would speculate the impact could be much more compared to one that replaces a tube with each puncture given the rubber cement manufaturing and foil tube waste etc. that is entailed in the patching.

but really isn't this a hypercritical point?
i certainly don't think anyone is "crazy" for patching or replacing.. but then i replace so maybe i am indeed "crazy" ;)

They'll last forever if done right. Get the kind with glue, not the glueless kind, and follow the instructions. If you're getting that many flats, you probably need to get kevlar belt tires or tire liners.

When you live in the land of poky things like I do, replacement can become expensive indeed. Four flats is common for a per week average especially when the goatheads cure out in the fall. To each his own.

From an environmental stand point however, the amount of volatile organic compounds released by patching a tube rather than replacing it and the waste involved is far outweighed by volative organic compounds and waste involved in producing the tube even with multiple patches. A new tube requires lots more chemicals and energy to produce also as well as the solid waste from the packaging and the old tube. From that standpoint, it "better" to patch than replace...even with good tires.

Down south, in the desert, where the plants are pointy and evil, rode a lone biker in the second half of a double century, doom smote upon his tire repeatedly....... Well to make a long story short (too late), I had 14 flats one day. I can't carry 14 tubes with me but 14 patches is much more manageable. I had a kevlar tire bite it due to a road hazard and the spare tire was not kevlar. The rain had caused the road to become a bed of thorns. Anyway, I carry 2 tubes and a bunch of patches. I have never had a tightly lidded tube of glue dry up and that is after being stored in 110+ degree heat on a regular basis over 3 years now. I always close the tube as soon as I have applied the contents to the tube.

incidentally it irks me to no end having to pick up faster peoples tubes on the side of the road at organized rides. If you started with the weight you are certainly strong enought carry it back to the start.

it irks me a little...until i realize....

a) if it's the right size, i just got a free tube (that i'll patch)
b) if it's not the right size, someone else will get a free tube (that i'll patch first).
c) if it's thrashed it's still usable for something.

I do not trust them because every last patched tire I've had has not lasted as long as a new tire. As for the argument against me for not caring for the environment, I am already doing my part by not driving my car 5 days a week :D I also use slime to prevent flats. I guess one could look at it like "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Either that or the cost of patching a tire is about the same as sliming a tire. :shrug:

Let me understand, you have patch kits that the glue goes bad in??? I've been using the same tube of glue for 2 years....? It hasn't dried out and the tubes I've patched are holding just fine. Or at least the one I rode yesterday was. Patching is easy and works just fine.

Ditto. I'ts the same stuff.

I'd say how I patch tires but I've forgotten, it's been so long since I had a flat. If I got one I would patch it, though.


And back when I did get them, I patched them.

A glue tube that has had the seal punctured will eventually dry out here in Colorado. Our lower air pressure makes the solvent evaporate faster then lower altitudes so I try to get new glue tubes at the start of every season. I have had to walk to the nearest bus stop several times until I learned that lesson.

I was just curious. Didn't mean to imply that you don't care for the environment. Making new tubes is less environmentally friendly than repairing them but all that pales in comparison to the wheeled toxic waste dumps we (collectively "we", as in "society") drive around all day. We could have oil dripping from the chains of our bikes and replace tires and tubes everyday and still come out ahead in that department.

HAHAHA! If only you couild patch underwear as easily as a bike tire tube! I once put a Rema Tip Top patch over a hole in the toe of my Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars. It held up well and got some chuckles/thumbs ups from my messenger brethren.

I won't put more than 7 patches on a tube. That's just where I draw the line. Patches are great but they add weight (each one insignificant amount but it adds up).

Pardon my newbie ignorance but how can you tell where the leak is?

P.S. I'm taking a bicyle course in two weeks and one of the things I'll learn is maintenance but I'm commuting 14 miles per day so in the mean time . . . Thanks!

There are a number of ways. The easiest if you have access to water is to inflate the tube and put in a tub of water and look for the leaks. There will usually be some small bubbles trapped on the tube, make sure you wipe them off under water to insure that they aren't small leaks. If they reform without being taken out of the water, they are leaks.

Another way is to "kiss the tube". Inflate the tube so that it is much larger then it would be in the tire. It should be half again as big. Then slowly run the tube across your lips like you are gently kissing it. It looks silly but we humans have lots of nerves in our lips which is why kissing is so pleasurable :D If there is a flow of air you will feel it on your lips. Mark the place and patch it.

Another easy way to find a leak is to find the object that caused it. If you have a big old goathead sticking into the tire. That's your leak! Don't pull it out! Take the tire apart find the object and fix the flat. This is the best way since you don't have to take anymore of the tire off the bead then needed to get that section of tube out.

He's talking about locating the leak without taking the tube out of the tire, as was mentioned in the post he replied to. Only the last method you mentioned has a chance of working in that scenario.

No problemo - I've just had bad experiences with patching. Perhaps I should ask my LBS about it, as you do have a valid point. Remedial Patching School :D

You've doomed yourself to a flat tomorrow.

Count me in the patch crowd :)

Anyone who does not patch is welcome to send me their punctured tubes. I'll make sure they are carefully disposed of so they can pose no further danger to the original user ;)

Cheers,

Ed

I'm one of those replace-and-patch-at-home types. I carry one spare and if I get another flat then I will do a roadside patch. However, I rarely get flats. OTOH, I am picky about my tubes and I'm a bit picky about paying too much for them too. I like a specific tube brand with a specific valvestem style and they're not always on sale. I pick up a couple when they are but as a result I'm encouraged to patch my old tubes and not just throw them away. I also give them away to friends. The only tubes I don't reuse are the ones which have had the valve pull out. I find other uses for that such as turning pieces of them into a plug for my seatpost in order to hold spare spokes...

http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/albums/c...0002.thumb.jpghttp://www.neebu.net/~khuon/albums/c...0003.thumb.jpghttp://www.neebu.net/~khuon/albums/c...0005.thumb.jpg

... or using them to line the jaws of my homemade repair stand...

http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/albums/b...0009.thumb.jpghttp://www.neebu.net/~khuon/albums/b...0010.thumb.jpghttp://www.neebu.net/~khuon/albums/b..._001.thumb.jpg

patching tires is hardly a "skill"

i mean honestly it's pretty easy right? is there something i'm missing? FYI I replace but I could not imaging losing the "skills" to patch!

It is interesting however to notice that this question was aksed a few weeks ago on the road bike forum. The vast majority favored replacing vs. patching. Guess it goes to show that commuters are doing it for more monetary and environmental vs. physical and fun reasons. Not sure if my hypothesis works out but still it's interesting becuase there is a vast difference in the majority opinion between the two boards.

Dude, sweet wheels.

I imagine a lot of people always replace their tubes if they're out for a ride, cause it's just easier.

But many of them may haul the old tubes home and put 'em in a pile. Then they'll go back and patch them all on a rainy day...

it is pretty easy, but it's also a skill.

i have a 16.5 mile (one way) commute that takes me an hour. i don't particularly want to spend 15-20 minutes replacing/patching a tube, especially on the way to work (the later i get there, the later i end up having to work).

it's a skill to be able to change a tube or patch one quickly -- in say under 5 minutes. when you're hands are sweaty. when it's cold. when it's raining.

just like anything else. easy to do. doing it well makes it a skill.

......on a rainy day, over a glass of some cheap wine.... :).........that's my style...

what's with the homemade repair stand**********?.... :D :D

I actually want the construction details on that stand!:p

<<Sorry for reviving a dead post--- searched for glue drying up and found it>>

Nashbar resealeables

patch

I carry a spare tube, a couple square inches of an old tire in case of a slash, and a self-sticking patch kit. I find it's fastest to slap a patch on, since I can just lever the tire out still on the bike, swipe out the sharp stuff, stick on a patch, and reinflate. But the spare tube is nice to have around; if it's raining or something I may not be able to get a patch to stick.

When I get home, I put a REAL patch on (rubber, applied with rubber cement, clamped until set). I have tubes with 5 patches on them. The patch is stronger than the rest of the tube if done right.

If I ever get a tube that's got 10 patches on it, I might give it the honor of meeting a pair of scissors and becoming my next few dozen patches.

Glue does not "wear out" because when properly applied with rubber cement, the rubber is welded together. You can't even tear them apart regardless of the age of the patch; you'll rip the whole tube apart first (I've tried).

I think rubber cement is all the same and hasn't changed for 100+ years. I use the stuff from the office supply store, $1.50 for a can of Elmer's. I use it even to plug holes in my car tire, and have run tires plugged using that stuff for 10's of thousands of miles on my car.

I ride largely due to environmentalism, so I'm sure not going to throw out a tube because it's got a tiny hole in it.