New Patch
 

Last night I needed to fix a flat on my Tarmac. Although I had a bunch of new tubes on the shelf I decided to try a patch from the new glueless patch kit I bought last summer, I never used them before. At first I was skeptical - the patch looked like it was made out of extra thick packing tape cut into a circle. I roughed up the tube, stuck it on (like tape) held pressure on it for 30 seconds, stuck it back in the tire and reassembled everything - pumped it up and it held fine for the morning ride. Man that is so much easier than messing with the glue and hopeing it has not dried out from the last use.

Any other experience with these?

What brand are you using?

My supply of glueless patches went into the garbage, but they were something different, not as thin as what you have.

They work great in the cooler weather...but the glue gets soft when the temps get above 95° and then you lose air at the patch...at least that's been my experience. I've tried several brands and Slime makes a very good one, but in the summer I just go for a new tube.

Patchs were the inthing when i was mountain biking- You get so many punctures that the 6 that you get never had time to deteriorate. On the road though- I found I was using two and the rest did not work. Seems that the glue does have a lifespan that meant that a fresh tube of glue was cheaper and more benificial than a few lumps of plastic that no longer work.

And a packet of patches cost £2 over here- A conventional patch kit is only £1.25.

I use glue-less patches, watch out for their shelf life - if they stay in your pack for a long time they lose effectiveness. Which reminds me to get new ones.

My experience has been that the glueless patches work fine - for a while. Then they fail. My LBS stopped carrying them because they got so many complaints.

IMHO, once you have gone to the trouble of removing the wheel, tire and tube, finding the leak and preparing the tube for the patch, the little extra effort to apply glue is pretty insignificant.

+1 IME, the glueless patches just delay tossing the tube. They're a temporary fix at best. REMA makes the best patches ATMO.

SP
Bend, OR

I always keep a pack of them on my seat pack. Right under my spare tubes. When I run out of tbes I will use them. I get new pack in the spring as my LBS told me that after a summer of bing in the heat they are not reliable.

The conventional wisdom I've always heard has been that glueless patches will get you home and that's about it. Used properly, a glued patch will last a long time.

+1
I'm a belt and braces kind of guy about flats. My flat kit includes a spare tube, a standard patch kit in case the spare gets a puncture, and a glueless patch set in case the glue tube in the standard kit dries out.

I've tried 2 different brands and I've had them come off when they get hot, as in a long descent with lots of braking. Also had one blow off while the bike was in the hot car.

That was my experience too. I used to carry a few with me in my saddle pack but, since I don't get very many punctures, they got old and dirty before I had an opportunity to use them. Eventually I threw them away without ever using one.

My experience with them is, they are only good for about 15 miles at 80 psi. The more pressure, the sooner they'll fail.