Jet Travis

I hate flats. I try to deal with them avoiding them altogether--by buying good tires and replacing them on the early side. If I do get a flat--dare I say it--I usually just replace the tube (I usually carry two as well as a patch kit).

I_Bike

At one time I patched - always worked fine - tube was as good as new. Now, though, if I get a flat I just throw in a new tube. I guess I've just gotten lazier with more disposable income.

big john

My Cousin Vinny : "What exactly is a grit?" and later "Were these magic grits?"

Brian_1

I'm surprised that some here have trouble with patched tubes. May I suggest a long time favorite 'Rema Tip Top' patch kits. Follow the instructions to the letter in the Rema kit. Verify there are no foreign objects still embedded in your tire (inside & out) before installing your patched tube. BTW, IMO Schwalbe tubes are the best I've ever used - they hold air pressure longer than other brands.

CrossChain

Anybody using "ultralight" tubes? My experience is that they seemed to flat more often, lost air sooner sitting in the garage, and I couldn't much tell the "rotating weight" difference. An ultralight touch removing a bit more money from my wallet.

NotAsFat

I can usually find the leak by touch. I pump up the tube, run my hands around the tube, and can usually feel the stream of air from the leak. Once I know where to look, I can usually see the hole. If I still can't see the hole, a little saliva of water from my bottle on the area usually gives me enough bubbles to see the hole. Also, if there's air in the tube, the glue will bubble at the hole, so it's easy to see exactly where the hole is, and spread a little extra glue, if necessary.

Also, some bike shops sell patch kits with small patches that work well on narrow tubes.

I will junk a pinch flatted tube, as I've never managed to get one to hold air, but most ordinary punctures patch fine for me using Tip Top patch kits with the correct size patch.

Digital Gee

I have only had two flats (he said, knocking wood and looking around for the shoe to drop) in the last year and a half. Both happened overnight so I could fix 'em in the comfort of my living room.

But both times, I just put a new tube in. The fine folks at Adams Avenue Cycles, my LBS, sell tubes at 3 for $10. That seems pretty cheap to me. I had (have?) some patches somewhere, but I doubt I'll ever use 'em.

Jet Travis

Only when I race. And I never race.

BluesDawg

I liked that movie. I ride past the real "Sack-o-Suds" on the way to one of my favorite MTB trails near Jackson, GA.
Funny thing about that movie is that the whole thing hinged on grits taking 20 minutes to cook. If the world was still on its proper axis that would be true. However, even here in small town Georgia where we were all raised on grits, even on the shelves of the Piggly Wiggly, you have to struggle to find any real grits - the kind that take 20 minutes to cook. Mostly you find "Quick Grits", which take 5 minutes to cook. They are OK, but have a grainier consistency than real grits. As for instant grits, don't get me started. It should be illegal to call that plastic crap "grits". I do hear that they are good for killing fire ants, though.
People being in such a hurry is ruining our culture!

BluesDawg

I rarely have flats since I started riding on wider, 28c tires. When I do flat on the road, I'll use a new tube if I'm not in a good spot to do a repair. Then I'll patch the tube when I get a chance at home and carry the patched tube as a spare. I use a good old fashioned frame pump that I carry under the top tube on one bike and on the seat tube of another.

BK 1066

I don’t like the self adhesive patches. I find that they leak after a year or so as the glue gets gooey. When I get some usually as a freebee I save them for John (who gets mire flats than anyone).

bkaapcke

If you want your patches to really stick, wipe the area on the tube down with brak kleen or carb cleaner before applying the glue. This takes the 'sheen' off the tube really well, and patches stick great. Also, let the glue dry before putting the patch on. I also use a wallpaper seam roller to really put some pressure on the patch. Of course, I do my patching in the garage, having ridden home on the slime and a few pump ups. bk

Dchiefransom

Try the Novarra patch kit from REI. I've used the Performance ones, but the small round patches are still wider than the tube I'm patching. The REI kit has smaller patches. The glue in both has also always worked for me.

trackhub

I have had very good results with the Park self-adhesive patches. Last fall, I had a flat caused by a small nail. The nail actually got embedded into the tire. The hole was rather nasty, so I also applied a patch over the hole, inside the tire itself. It worked. It's been holding air since, although I expect to start with two new tires this spring.

You really have to be careful with the self-adhesive patches though. Get the patch positioned exactly where you want it to be. Once it's been applied, it is impossible to move it without losing the adhesive qualities.

I-Like-To-Bike

Yep, I never have to add any "top off" air at all for at least a month at a time on my commuting bike. I think the airtightness is a result of the combination of Schwalbe tubes and German/Dutch Market valves (AKA Dunlop or Woods valve); the absence of flats is due to the quality of the Schwalbe Marathon tires I use.

sour01

There are those who have had a flat and those who will. I have about a 85% success rate with patching tubes and so now I just carry a new tube with me along with a patch kit should the new tube also go flat. Have had that happen at least once. I used to carry a pump on my bike but have switched to CO2 and much prefer it. When all else fails---I pull out my trusty cell phone and call home for help.

CrossChain

Who else has reached into their patch kit in the middle of nowhere and discovered their glue tube had somehow, like maybe the cap came off cuz it wasn't put on properly or something, their glue tube had dried up?

I-Like-To-Bike

Found out the hard way that glue freezes at cold enough temperatures back in the late 70's in rural Illinois. Always carried an extra inner tube after that experience.

JeffRoss

I've patched for years with good success, but when I started commuting for serious last year the thought of patching alongside the road in the dark and cold and wind didn't appeal to me at all.

My LBS suggested Slime. I bought the "install it yourself" squeeze bottle but couldn't get the slime to go into the tube at all. I ended up using that bottle of Slime for the wheelbarrow and had the LBS order some of the Slime 700x28c tubes.

No flats all winter long. Before Slime I'd get at least a flat a month. Yes, they add a little rotating weight and they can be a pain to pump up, even with a floor pump.

But I love not having flats!

Jeff

cccorlew

Yep, Ultra lights. Flat about as often as anything else, but they feel faster. Really.
They don't hold air as ling though. I pump up every other day or so.

Jerry B

I use patches regularly. They work best on fat tire tubes and during thorn season I would go broke replacing all the tubes that pick up a thorn. I generally prefer the goop and seal type to the bandaid type of patch. Rode tubes are a little trickier due to the small diameter, but I patch them too and it usually works OK. If I cannot easily locate a sloww leak I sometimes toss the tube and when I have four or five patches which keep adding weight to the wheel I toss the tube. Also I try to carry a new tube rather than a patched one that could prove unusable on the trail or road when needed. I never use goop or slim as I would prefer to fix a flat than bother and add the extra weight to the wheel. Finally I weight for the local bike shop to have a sale and then stock up with ultra light tubes for both bikes. Flats a part of riding!!!

Jerry B

howsteepisit

Seems to me that not patching a tube is wasteful. They are made of petroleum after all. That said, if you follow the instructions on the patch kit, especially cleaning the tube well and letting the glue dry before applying the patch, then patching works well. If you get in a hurry and are sloppy, then you end up installing a new tube anyway.

lighthorse

I had to double check which forum I was in when I saw this post. Certainly not in the touring forum. If you tour long distances you will likely learn to patch your tubes or you would have to carry a pannier full of spares.
I have had a problem locating good patch kits. Most kits you buy have only 4 usable patches and then 2 or 3 that are really tire repair patches/boots. After I use the four good tube patches I just throw the others away since they are too large for tube repair. I have found that AEBike sells rolls of 100 patches if you are interested.

rule

In two words...very good.

foehn

Same here, especially for my husband. He has never had a patch fail and as others have mentioned, the newer patch glue seems to be worse for holding patches than the old stuff. If we can get them, we try to get the patch kits from Germany, but we have not seen any for a while. We currently are using patch kits from the far east and they seem to be working well.