rsilvergun

Hi all, I just hit a piece of glass on my $35 bucks a piece Kevlar road tires. The cut's about a half inch, at maybe a 45 degree angle along the tire. It didn't take a chunk out, just cut into the tire really bad, bad enough that if I put another tube in it, it'll bulge out. Anyone know if I can fix it, or do I just have to suck it down and buy another one. The tires have been worth their weight in gold for saving me from thorns (I'm stuck in Az, thorn city).

TrekDen

Got this off of Sheldon Brown's site

Tire Repair
If you're on the road and have a tire with a bad cut that could allow the tube to bulge through, you can make a temporary repair by installing a "boot" on the inside of the tire. This can be made of any flexible but non-stretchy material. The ideal thing is a piece cut from an old tire, because this will have the correct curved shape to begin with. I usually like to carry a strip 2-3 inches (50-75 mm) long, cut from an old tubular tire or a high-pressure road clincher. Mountain bikers sometimes use dollar bills folded over, or Mylar food wrappers.
One thing that is often tried, but doesn't work too well, is the rubber patches made for inner tubes...they are too stretchy.

A boot doesn't need to be glued in place, it will stay put just from the pressure of the inner tube against the tire.

Even the best of boots should only be considered a temporary repair. The tire will be less reliable, and you will feel a bump every time the tire goes around.

Good luck, and welcome to the forums,
Denny

TrekDen

Oh, and you might want to post your question in the Mechanics forum. There may be other suggestions over there that may help.

jjvw

I got a crescent shaped 1/2" cut on a newish Michelin Carbon last year. I glued a tube patch on the inside and rode it on my rear wheel until the tire wore out from use.

Put it on the back wheel because if it does fail you are less likely to loose control than if it were on the front. Also, a rear tire wears faster than the front, which means it gets replaced sooner and the original problem goes away.

East Hill

Hello rsilvergun, looks as if you've gotten your question answered, so

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

Gee3

For tire cuts I use Shoe Goo (got it at a sporting goods shop in the shoe section). You may want to to patch the inside and then use the shoe goo on the outside to seal the cut and to keep it from tearing more.

So far for me it's worked great. It's wearing like the regular tire. although when I first had the bike on my trainer I'd hear a thump every revolution. But after riding on the road a few times it's fine and no problems so far. Then again, my cut wasn't as bad as yours. BUt it's worth a try and you could always use the Shoe Goo for future cut needs if you decide on a new tire.

Good luck!

well biked 

+1 on the shoe goo.......I once tore a gash in a mountain bike tire, I was running Stan's tubeless system at the time (this was a standard tire without an inner tube, using the Stan's system), and since it was a nearly new tire I used the Shoe Goo to repair the gash. The Stan's sealant I'm sure took care of any air leak, but I was amazed that I was able to ride the damaged tire for about a year (until the tread was worn out) with the Shoe Goo repair on the outside of the tire-

spinnaker

You can pick up a really decent tire for $25. And you can find tires for much less. Why risk a blowout on a high speed descent just to save a few bucks?

If you are just messing around on your local MUP then repair the tire. Otherwise replace it.