Is Patching Tubes Now Obsolete?
08-02-06 | 04:15 AM
#77
Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
From: Balitmore, MD
Bikes: Giant Sedona LX + Xtracycle and modifications.
I carry a spare tube and a patch kit, and patch on the road while I'm putting in the spare tube - that way I've got another spare tube for the next flat.
I go through a fair amount of tubes, since about half the time I can't patch the tire and half of my patch jobs leak.
A sharp enough piece of glass will puncture armadillos - It's just a matter of time until you find one!
I go through a fair amount of tubes, since about half the time I can't patch the tire and half of my patch jobs leak.
A sharp enough piece of glass will puncture armadillos - It's just a matter of time until you find one!
08-02-06 | 05:30 PM
#78
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
From: Cherry Hill, NJ
I'm a patch guy. Don't carry a spare tube. Once got a flat front tire going down a steep hill at speed. Threw my weight back as far as possible and used my back brake only so I wouldn't put any more weight than absolutely necessary on the flat front tire. When I finally got it stopped I had so many pinch flats from riding the rim that I wound up cutting my patches in half so I'd have enough for all the holes. Worked fine all the way home.
Being a minimalist, I can't bring myself to carry the extra tube.
Being a minimalist, I can't bring myself to carry the extra tube.
08-02-06 | 10:00 PM
#79
Me.
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 264
Likes: 0
I usually cram the old punctured tube into my seatbag and replace it. Then I ride home and patch the tube and use it later. At $5-6 bucks a pop, tubes can get expensive. Keep your tires properly inflated (my road tires usually stay well over 100psi) and you won't get pinch (snakebite) flats, I guess. Cali has a lot of thorns and dry brush though. Never use Co2 though. Seems like a royal waste to toss a crummy metal container just to hold some air, but in the scheme of things it probably doesn't matter.
Last edited by mrchristian; 08-02-06 at 10:06 PM.
08-03-06 | 02:29 PM
#80
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 478
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by Merriwether
A six-minute patch job that will never fail? That certainly wasn't my experience, back when I would patch a tube.
Nowadays, at $5 a tube I don't bother. Life is too short.
Nowadays, at $5 a tube I don't bother. Life is too short.
08-04-06 | 08:55 AM
#81
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 5,603
Likes: 0
From: northern California
Bikes: Bruce Gordon BLT, Cannondale parts bike, Ecodyne recumbent trike, Counterpoint Opus 2, miyata 1000
Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
You never know where patching some distressed damsel's tire might lead.
08-04-06 | 11:04 AM
#82
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,601
Likes: 0
From: Arizona, USA
Bikes: Mercier Corvus (commuter), Fila Taos (MTB), Trek 660(Got frame for free and put my LeMans Centurian components on it)
I got 14 flats on a rainy double century once. Ever since then I have carried a well supplied patch kit an extra tube, and carry a pump religiously now.
__________________
Sunrise saturday,
I was biking the backroads,
lost in the moment.
Sunrise saturday,
I was biking the backroads,
lost in the moment.
08-04-06 | 12:12 PM
#83
David H.
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 127
Likes: 0
From: Angelino now in Oak Park, Michigan
Bikes: 92 Koga-Myata road bike, 07' Gunnar Rockhound 29'er mtb, 06' Kona Cinder Cone 69'er Gravel Bike, Windsor 8 spd IGH steel commuter, 99' Trek 520 tourer, Minnesota 1.0 Fatbike
Originally Posted by DMF
I've always patched, but with these 700x21C tires there's not a lot of area to hold a patch so I bought some cheapo tubes. Haven't had to use them, fortunately. A couple questions:
1) These tubes claim to fit widths from 19 to 27. Isn't that a pretty big range?
2) I've always put newly-patched tubes in the tire and reinflated, reasoning that the air pressure would compress the patch and mould it to the proper shape as it cured. Those of you that patch a tube without putting it back in a tire - do you find that your patches last as long?
3) What's a good (and light) on-road patch kit? I have a heavy one for my off-road bike but I'm trying to keep the road bike light as possible.
1) These tubes claim to fit widths from 19 to 27. Isn't that a pretty big range?
2) I've always put newly-patched tubes in the tire and reinflated, reasoning that the air pressure would compress the patch and mould it to the proper shape as it cured. Those of you that patch a tube without putting it back in a tire - do you find that your patches last as long?
3) What's a good (and light) on-road patch kit? I have a heavy one for my off-road bike but I'm trying to keep the road bike light as possible.
2) We patch tons of tubes, all sizes at Back Alley Bikes in Detroit. Patched tires hang on the rack until needed as they teach us to use the patched tubes first and save on giving out new tubes. I don't know of any problems with them patched and hung up for future use.
3) Any brand seems good (grin). Send some to the afore mentioned establishment! We always run out!
