How many, is too many?
10-22-15 | 08:57 AM
#2
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From: northern Deep South
Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee
I've hit 10 or 12 patches before either a blowout (tear too big to patch), a valve stem leak (impossible to patch), or some other unpatchable situation caused me to toss the tube.
Really, if you patch it correctly, you're no more (or less) likely to have another flat than you are with a new tube.
Really, if you patch it correctly, you're no more (or less) likely to have another flat than you are with a new tube.
10-22-15 | 09:23 AM
#3
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From: Kips Bay, NY
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^ 10-12 is about as much Ive done before breaking down and buying a new tube.
Thats about the visual limit for me. By then, some patches are too close to others
Thats about the visual limit for me. By then, some patches are too close to others
10-22-15 | 10:16 AM
#6
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Well, there does come a time when the cost of the patches outweighs the cost of the tube but that's still a bunch of patches. My personal "best" is 25. I once had a tube that had 65 punctures...a particularly "goatheady" ride...when I stopped counting. It had many more and I wasn't about to fix them all.
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Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
10-22-15 | 10:28 AM
#7
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Well, there does come a time when the cost of the patches outweighs the cost of the tube but that's still a bunch of patches. My personal "best" is 25. I once had a tube that had 65 punctures...a particularly "goatheady" ride...when I stopped counting. It had many more and I wasn't about to fix them all.
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10-22-15 | 11:49 AM
#9
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Ha! I'm actually surprised. 12? damn. I thought I was gonna get yelled at to go buy a new tube, which I already did and have in my saddle bag. Now that I've read your replies, I'm gonna put this one back and keep the new one at home for later. 
One question though, what about tire pressure? can I have it around 110/120 even with the patches? cheers!
Loving the forum by the way, learning so much. Thanks.
One question though, what about tire pressure? can I have it around 110/120 even with the patches? cheers!
Loving the forum by the way, learning so much. Thanks.
10-22-15 | 12:56 PM
#11
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Recently noticed that the thread title and the question in the body of the original post (What's your max number of patches before trashing a tube?) don't jibe.
For the thread title, the correct answer is 1.
For the question asked in the body of the OP, the answer is 0.
For the thread title, the correct answer is 1.
For the question asked in the body of the OP, the answer is 0.
10-22-15 | 01:11 PM
#12
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From: Gaseous Cloud around Uranus
Seems sort of silly to put more patches on than a new tube cost.....I'll put on a couple,unless I HAVE to put more....If I'm in the middle of nowhere and have no choice,on go the patches.
10-22-15 | 02:32 PM
#13
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From: northern Deep South
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If a patch costs $1, you get 10 holes on a ride, and a tube costs $5, toss it immediately.
If you're riding a tube with N patches, and you have another leak, it only costs $1 to keep that tube running. Why would you toss it? Save $4 and patch it again!
10-22-15 | 02:43 PM
#14
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From: Sin City, Nevada
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Here's enough patches to keep you going for quite a while. Bet you can't get all of them on one tube. $1.89 postpaid. 48pcs x 25mm Round Rubber Patch For Bike Bicycle Tire Tyre Repair - US$1.89 This happens to be my favorite place for inexpensive bike tools. Takes about 14-17 days for things to arrive but the prices are right! The patches are first rate too.
I'm cheap but I usually give up after a few flats and install a new tube. Mail order tubes are only about $3.50.
I'm cheap but I usually give up after a few flats and install a new tube. Mail order tubes are only about $3.50.
10-22-15 | 02:53 PM
#16
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From: Above ground, Walnut Creek, Ca
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i usually patch a tube when i get a flat. there is usually one hole. i don't think this is unusual. although i've had the opportunity to patch multiple holes on occasion. so i'm not sure how it would be cost effective be to throw away a patch-able tube and buy a new tube at 500 times the price of a my patches and a little glue.
patches don't cost much, IME. this is what i buy at about $.02 a-piece... glue is extra.
and, it's been my experience that a patch that is put on correctly is stronger than the tube without the patch. i've proved this, much to my dismay, a time or two.
patches don't cost much, IME. this is what i buy at about $.02 a-piece... glue is extra.
and, it's been my experience that a patch that is put on correctly is stronger than the tube without the patch. i've proved this, much to my dismay, a time or two.
Last edited by hueyhoolihan; 10-22-15 at 03:05 PM.
10-22-15 | 03:03 PM
#18
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From: Denver, CO
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Ha! I'm actually surprised. 12? damn. I thought I was gonna get yelled at to go buy a new tube, which I already did and have in my saddle bag. Now that I've read your replies, I'm gonna put this one back and keep the new one at home for later.
One question though, what about tire pressure? can I have it around 110/120 even with the patches? cheers!
Loving the forum by the way, learning so much. Thanks.
One question though, what about tire pressure? can I have it around 110/120 even with the patches? cheers!
Loving the forum by the way, learning so much. Thanks.
If you didn't get the object that was poking holes in the tube out, that's a different story.
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Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
10-22-15 | 03:29 PM
#19
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From: Ffld Cnty Connecticut
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The more patches a tube has, the less likely you are to get flats because the tube is double thickness in the patched area..
So each patch adds value to the tube and makes it superior to a new tube.
So each patch adds value to the tube and makes it superior to a new tube.
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10-22-15 | 05:13 PM
#20
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Zero. If I feel energetic I might patch a tube one time.
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The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. - Psalm 103:8
I am a cyclist. I am not the fastest or the fittest. But I will get to where I'm going with a smile on my face.
10-23-15 | 08:34 AM
#25
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From: Above ground, Walnut Creek, Ca
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"The journey to fix a tube with a thousand holes begins with but a single patch." -- Lao "Call me Patches" Tzu (604 BC - 531 BC)
Last edited by hueyhoolihan; 10-23-15 at 08:37 AM.