Well, I don't mind women who suck...

I dont' know... this was the same kind of dribble I heard back in the '70s about Japanese cars and electronics. The American solution was to slap a big tariff on them to allow the American "brands" to survive. So what did the US companies do? Just kept on cranking out the same stuff but with a higher sticker-price. No innovation, no R&D to continually improve their products vs. the Japanese... thinking tariffs will protect them forever... HAH! Look at where American cars and electronics are now compared to Japanese... Lexus & Infiniti are considered alternatives to BMW and Mercedes... while GM posting -25% lower sales last quarter... Sony, Toshiba owning most of home-entertainment market... not a single US manufacturer of LED screens, etc. The Chinese has nothing to do with holes and patching your tubes...

1. My Schwalbe tubes fit a range of 28/47 - 622/635. I've used 'em on 32 x 662, 37 x 622, 47 x 622 and 28 x 630 tires with no problems at all.

2. I have used the same method as you for patching tubes for the last 50 years and have NEVER had a patch fail. Although I have had temperatures too cold to patch - the glue was frozen. I learned from that and always carry a spare tube too.

3. Tip Top Brand patches; any brand patch glue.

traditional glue-on patches are extraordinarily effective, they actually bond with the rubber of the tube. I have never seen one fail when properly installed.

and it's easy to do.

I patch. Patching is fun. Am I weird?

And if you patch you have to use the good German patch kits. Those things are all we ever use.

And it is rather wasteful to throw out a tube with just a leeetly pinhole in it. I am sure we aren't going to have cheap rubber forever. And why not save the couple of bucks? It all adds up in the long run. There aint no such thing as a free (or really cheap) lunch.

Glueless patches here. And replace the tube at home. It's easier to patch on the road. You can do it most times without removing the wheel or tire completely. I don't have a great deal of faith in the quality of tubes these days, so; a new one goes on at home.

Motto.

It will never fail you...

The problem with patch kits is that they can only fix pin holes, not tubes torn at the seams. So, that means you not only have to carry the patch kit, but extra tubes as well. Pretty soon the bag is pretty chock full of stuff. Also, in my experience with other inflatables such as pool toys and matresses, patch kits just don't work very well and they are messy.

the only time I'e EVER had a problem with a patch was when the hole was right at the seam. I didn't rough it enough and it leaked. Other than that never had an issue with a glue patch.

vinyl and rubber are two different things. have you ever patched a tube before? it sounds like you haven't. how often do your tubes get "torn at the seams"?

Ya beat me to it! I agree. . .

And if you have only used glueless patches, try real patches with glue. . . they take a licking and keep on sticking.

If I've ripped a tube, I'm happy to have ridden it out without crashing. You lick your patches? Sicko

I rarely patch on the road. But it can happen. over 10 years ago I gave away one of my 2 spares only 20 miles into the Grand Tour (the short option only 200 miles) to a rider who had also started with 2 spares and was already on his 3rd flat. So I am ready to patch on the road. But in general I save up the bad tubes and patch 4 or more at once.

I think the conclusion that she never had a tube was in large part based on the fact she did not have a pump or co2 and also no tire levers.

In a post here someone pointed out that at 6 minutes per tube and $5 per tube you are in effect being paid $50 per hour to patch. I want to point out these numbers are low if you save and patch. More like 6 minutes for the first tube and 1 minute for each additional tube. Oh and even if we go with $50 per hour those are after tax dollars. (e.g. you get to keep all of them). And of course if you ever do end up in flat H3ll being able to patch may save you hours sitting at the side of the road or walking your bike.

- timely topic here... just had a flat this morning after a quick 25-miler w/my riding buddy... it's a good thing i carry a spare tube, as the leak was at the base of the valve stem!

- of the four times i've flatted in the last six months i found it impossible to locate the source of the leak in two instances; for the other two cases, one was a faulty valve, and today's was the rip at the base of the valve stem...

- ergo, i carry a spare tube and patch at home...

I've tried em, just didn't seem as dependable or terribly time saving to me, my patch jobs almost always hold, and though I didn't try for long enough to know for sure it did seem I had a higher failure rate with glueless. I only ever bought one package of glueless patches.

Besides, peices of patch kit often outlast other peices of patch kit. At home when patching punctured tubes from the road I often use old unfinished tubes of vulcanizing fluid & cut up tubes for patching. Takes a lil more care but they'll hold rock solid if done well.

Maybe I've just never had an American made cycling tube, but I've found that the only real factor in how well a patchjob holds up is dependent entirely on the person doing the patching. There are different grades & qualities of tubes & patches & fluid I'd guess, but application is the real tell, a half ass job and you'll be flat again shortly.

On topic, I know folks that won't patch, I see it as a waste of resources regardless of whether or not they can afford it, it's a waste of landfill.

I carry both as a second flat can leave you out and the kit ain't large.

Lick the over-inflated tube in suspect areas to find the leak if you can't find it holding each section next to your ear. Traffic noise can often make it hard to find a leak, a bit of sensitive skin can find a small leak too.

Yes, plenty, a long time ago. Maybe my kit just sucked, but I wasn't impressed. I don't get flats very often(knock on kevlar!) But last week one tube exploded at the seam shortly after being inflated. I thought it was seated well, but who knows.

The bottom line is, on a ride, I am just not in the mood for arts and crafts and I don't feel like carrying both a set of tubes and a patch kit, and three water bottles, and food, and a CO2 inflator, and an allen set, and a phone, and mace, and tire levers.... It gets out of hand pretty quickly. Since I live in a rural area there are no stores to get water(I am not filling my water bottle at the sheep trough) or food so I have to carry everything I may need on a ride.

Like slowandsteady, I'm not into arts and crafts, either, but if I've room for a tube and tire levers, I've room for a patch kit. Still, I hope to do the patching at home. I wouldn't think much of a repair that had dust blowing on the glue while I'm waiting for it to dry. I'll get as many as two patches on a tube, then toss it, on general principles.

I have two patches in my kit that are about 3 inches long and 1 1/2 inch wide... those can cover a pretty damn big hole.

At that point, I'm more concerned with the whether the tire will hold the tube than if the tube will hold air!

And yes, tube patches and vinyl patches are different.

Heck no!

I have a long held method for patching that works very well. Can't find the old TipTop patch kits any more (cool little boxes) but there are still patch kits available. Heck, used to be that bike shops threw in the patch kit and pump as part of your first ride with a new bike.

I don't get the whole CO2 thing... frame pumps work pretty well and never seem to run out of air.

And BTW my old VW still has a mechanical ignition... points can be set with a matchbook in an emergency.

You aren't that old... just the kids that seem to have an attention span of microseconds. BTW, I gave a tube patching "seminar" at the office the week before bike to work day. Figured someone ought to teach 'em.

The trade agreements that permit Stalino-capitalist China to take advantage of the US market are inked by US politicians, who represent big business. In a time of economic plundering in which only the upper 5% in the US are benefitting from the status quo, we can hardly blame uninformed working class Americans for buying Chinese.

The US economy will never be able to compete with slave & semi-slave Chinese labor, or super-cheap labor elsewhere in the world. US business gets rich while we US workers are kept in submission, not even recognising the source of our impoverishment & unfreedom.

I used to just pitch tubes when the guys got flats (I maintain our police "fleet" of about 16 bikes), but the bike shop where we buy 'em charges 4.00 apiece now, and that adds up in a year. I usually slap a new tube in, then repair the holed one to use the next time.

Forget about who patches what.

1. Was she cute?
2. Did you get a date?

I only patch if its my second flat of a ride, since i only carry one spare tube.

I don't carry a spare tube... just patches and a pump. and $1.50 for the bus, if it comes down to that.

I've never had a flat on the road that couldn't be repaired. *crosses his fingers*