I must be weird, but i've had great success with the old Park glueless patches (GP-1). Granted, they were on MTB tubes run at pretty moderate pressure, but they held up fine (i'm talking years for one tube). You have to clean the tube surface well though. I carry around a few individually wrapped alcohol wipes to clean the tube first.

I just bought a GP-2 kit (the new and improved kind, i guess), but haven't had a flat yet.

I've been riding bikes since I was a kid in the early 60's and learned to vulcanize the patch by FIRE to the tube! I also remember when glue-on patches first appeared and for many years everyone said they didn't work either at all or not as well as the fire method...well we all learned eventually that the glue on patches worked just a as well a lighting the patch on fire not to mention the higher degree of safety. The same is true with glueless patches! There are people out there who have that same mindset they had in the 60's and think these glueless patches don't work as well as the glue-on type and thats BS!! I stopped using glue on patches about 7 years ago and will never look back. I have a road bike tube with 2 glueless patches that are over 3 years old still holding air, threw away a tube that had 7 on it and the patches never failed, I have a MTB tube with 5 and their still holding. Sure if you get the glueless patch wet or dirty it's not going to work, but guess what? neither due the glue-on type under those same conditions.

The glueless patches are faster to apply because you don't have to wait for the glue to dry before applying the patch. Also there are no surprise dried glue tubes awaiting your next flat repair far from home. You still have to rough the tube up with fine sand paper or emery paper, and I roughen an area larger then the patch just like I use to do with the glue-on type. Then just press the patch on real firm and it's good to go. I also always try to patch the tube first on the side of the road before using my replacement tube (whereas most people put a new tube in and patch at home), so I know the patch has to work good if I'm using it that kind of environment.

I'm glad to hear that the pre-glued patches do work well. Any particular brand that's better than another?

I have had great success with the Rema Tip Top patches so far. Got two more sticker/thorns in my rear tire today. It's only going to get worse as the summer gets nearer. I'll have to take a photo of the thorns so everyone can see what they look like, if you don't already know. I live in central California and they get bad. I think they come off of the dry weeds that grow in the remaining fields around here. It's crazy. I'm gonna get some GatorSkins, but I don't know if even those will hold up against these things, which are just like sticking a needle through your tire. Dangerous.

I just use Park; but once I bought a LBS brand of patches and they worked just as good as the Park...maybe they were Park but just labled with the LBS name? I don't know.

By the way, I just noticed you live in Bakersfield CA. I also lived there for 8 years and just moved from there year ago last January. There's some great riding areas in that area; if your new to the area I can provide you with any info you might need such as where to ride or how to prepare for the heat or how to do deal with the thorns etc. The best bike shop mechanics I found were at Action Sports; it's a busy shop especially during the biking season.

What a small world. :) No. I've lived here for quite a while. I've just begun biking, though. I would like any help/suggestions you can provide for the thorn problems, though. It's just now starting to heat up here, so the thorns are out full bloom. Every time I ride out to Walmart in Rosedale and them come back towards the Southwest on Calloway/Old River, I've been picking up thorns. I'm in the bike lane too. Last week (which is why I started looking into the Rema patches) I got thorns on that route for the first time. Three in the front and one in the back! :eek: And then on my ride back from there last night, I got two more in my back tire. Completely insane.

I use 700x23c tires, so I can't find any tire liners to fit that. The orange Mr. Tuffys only fit 25c and higher. My friend said that I should just buy them and cut them down. Think that would work? I already hear that you need to duct tape the edges of the liners anyway because they're known for pinching tubes.

Oh. And about Action Sports. Yeah, I had my bike repaired there just a month ago. Yeah, I know they know there stuff, but I don't get good vibes when I go in there. I don't know much about bikes and they seem to enjoy making me feel like an idiot. It's like going in to a surf shop when you're not some seasoned surfer, or a sufer at all.

You might also want to try a pair of Specialized All condition Armadillo tires. They will be heavier then what you are running now but offer good flat protection.

What do you guys think of the Specialized All Condition Sport tires? They don't have the sidewall protection of the Armadillos, but they have the Flak Jacket protection along the tread. Is this the same protection that Armadillos use along the tread?

So I'm not the only one! When I was shopping for a bike a couple years ago they put me on a 63cm Cannondale and I was stretched to the hilt. I'm 6'2" with a 34" cycling inseam. They put like a 60cm stem on it too. Then the guy has the nerve to say "cash, check or charge". I still shop in there, but I get what I want and leave. I don't think I would buy a bike there. They also mark up bikes from MSRP and say it's for lifetime tuneups.

I use the ones they sell at Performance. They held up at 120psi...