2mtr

I noticed a bulge in my tire after changing the tube after a nice sharp sliver of glass punctured it. The tube was poking out like a hernia, so I took it to the LBS and the guy suggested a tire boot. It says "emergency only," meaning I have to buy a new tire, right? I don't have 20, 30 dollars for that right now. Can't I just ride on it. I mean, the boot was something like $1.50 and it's this really nice, sturdy looking plastic.
Any dangers there? Like catastrophic blowout or something?

max-a-mill

just keep looking at the spot where the tear is... if you notice it getting bigger i'd definitely get a new tire.

if it stays the same size and the "boot" seems to be holding strong i'd get my moneys worth outta the rubber and keep right on riding. definitely something your gonna have to keep an eye on though!

powers2b

I rode a century (on many semi-improved roads) with a guy that had a mylar granola bar wrapper booting his tire.
Last time I rode with him he had the same tire/boot setup and it seemed fine.
You can ride it until you can get a new tire...but I suggest the booted tire stay on the rear wheel.
enjoy

moxfyre

A large, thick tube patch applied to the inside of the tire around the tear can work pretty well. At least it did for me!

eubi

The classic boot is to use a dollar bill. Never tried this 'cause I'm too cheap.

I've used Duct Tape to boot a tire that was practically cut in half to the bead. Finished my week-long fully-loaded tour with no problems. Always carry duct tape! I wrap a foot of it around my zip-stick tire tool. Using a foot of duct tape will make a better boot. ;-)

Good idea to put the booted tire on the back, powers2be.

cyccommute 

Nature Valley Granola bar wrappers are by far the best boot material made (outside of a piece of tire). They have a paper layer, a tough plastic lay and an inner foil layer. If I could figure out how to vulcanize tread to them, I use them for tire casings ! And the granola bars aren't too bad either. Better than power bars, especially at 12,000 feet.

Stuart Black

bostontrevor

Tyvek (like those rugged USPS/UPS/FedEx/etc envelopes) has been suggested in another forum.

Just watch for tire separation.

dobber

Buy a cheap tire for the time being.

MichaelW

If you are on a student style budget, you can often scavenge usable tyres from discarded bikes. Keep a lookout for skip/dumpster finds.

iowarose

I've used the dollar-bill boot and it works. I'm cheap too, but you gotta use what you have on the road. A five dollar bill, on the other hand...

BostonFixed

Here is my tire boot!






Its lasted a week now,commuting on it. I haven't died yet!

cyccommute 

Bet the brakes are good and sticky

moxfyre

Haha nice, I hope you have disc brakes

bhchdh 

Bet its on a fixed, no brake.

Dchiefransom

I use the Park self stick tire boots. I haven't had any problems. If you want to peel them off and actually glue a tube patch in there, that will really hold it. I've actually only used one boot, but I've run through quite a few on club rides, and the people still have them inside until they buy new tires, sometimes for over a thousand miles.

jimhens714

Park boots work great. What works even better if you have it with you is to Superglue the tire casing cut closed again then use a boot. This is assuming it is a nice clean straight glass cut and not too big. Obviously doesn't work with tears in rotten tires or huge cuts.

Raiyn

A foot is all you have?
I carry an old plastic gift card (think credit card) wound around the middle until it's over a half inch thick with duct tape.

jharte

Done it many times on tours. Duct tape, plastic, or an old chunk of rubber. I'm the same way. Cheap. And as long as it holds, keep riding. It makes for a great short story!

Rogerinchrist

Does having more duct tape allow you to travel farther from home?

I've used duct tape to boot the inside with success also, actually had the bulge before leaving on a tour, then "repaired it" after it blew out. Haven't seen it used on the outside of the tire until this thread. Whatever works is a good motto.

I agree with the others......... ride it on the rear (with some sort of boot) until you can afford a new skin.

eubi

...foot....boot...

Maybe this belongs in the humor column...or not!

Anything cylindrical is a good spool for some duct tape. I mentioned my zip stick tire tool. All my backpacking bottles have some duct tape around them.

If you can't fix it, duck it!

khuon

A fellow rider on one of our rides managed to get a puncture through his Gatorskins that also went through his Mr. Tuffy liner. Unfortunately, there were no bike shops that were open that Sunday on Whidby Island. We ended up overlapping sections of the liner on top of the puncture to create a makeshift boot. It worked well enough for the 20-mile return trip. However, there was still a noticable bulge.

2mtr

so just for the sake of history, the boot lasted for about two months, then cracked to death.

Guest

Why bother? Just go to Nashbar and get the cheapest tires they offer until you can afford to get some good tires. I've gotten the tire boot, but after a while, it wears down. I was riding a lot, so it wore down pretty quickly and interfered with my rides. I was so damn glad to get a new tire by then. I have a spare tire just in case. I will never do the spare tire boot again.

Koffee

Camel

The top part of some of these envelopes are self adhesive. You can cut these off & keep a couple with your patch kit. When you need it, cut it to fit, and remove the adhesive. Helps the boot stay in place when re-mounting your tire and pumping the tube.

I've also used a little bit of super glue gel along tire cuts (and squeez them closed), with a boot inside(I now keep a tube in my tool kit).

I'd also change out the tire as soon as I could.