Patching Tires ??
 

How many of you ride on patched tubes and have you ever felt a difference in the way the tire rolls??

Are glueless patches as good as the glued on patches ??

Nope and nope.

I ride on patched tubes. I can't tell the difference. I cannot get the glued on patches to stick.

1. No.
2. Depends on what you mean by "as good". I only use glueless patches, because once you open the glue tube it has a tendency to dry out and glue itself shut. If I'm on a ride fixing a flat this makes them useless. If I'm at home, I usually just replace the whole tube rather than patching it - for all the effort it takes to patch it, an $8 tube is not a big deal.

So basically I don't use glue patch kits. Also since flat resistant tires I so rarely need to patch a flat to begin with.

I will patch the 700 X 28/32 on my errand bike and notice no difference in rolling.

The skinnier tubes on my road bike I'm less inclined to patch, but I have patched them with very small home-made patches and do not notice any effect. It's best not done in the field as one is tempted to allow insufficient time for the cement to flash off..

My experience with glueless patches was with the Parks when they came out. They seemed to work just fine as long as the tube was cleaned well. I thought they were a bit spendy for what they were.

Tom

I've tried scabs... and had bad luck with them. They don't work well at all. My nephew was given a bunch of them and can't get them to work either :P I've heard that other brands may be somewhat better, but glue patches work. Or, for the 2 or 3 tubes a year I go through, just replace ($3 each).

I can't feel a "patch".

I did try a Park Boot in one of my tires as a long-term tire repair.
The full sized boot thumped.
I cut it in half and put it back in, and no thumping. However, after about 1000 miles, the boot wore through the tube and caused a flat.
I put electrical tape around the edges of the boot, and it shredded the boot, and somehow I had an unexplained hole that worked through the middle of the boot and halfway through the tube. It is a good winter tire, so I'm still considering repair alternatives and would like to reinstall.

Anyone who thinks they can feel if a tube was patched, has a hell of an imagination.

I use self-adhesive patches on the road just to get home.
Locate the leak, pop the bead, apply the patch; No wheel removal needed.

Then when I get home, I swap the tube with a previously patched tube.
Then replace the self-adhesive patch with a real patch, and put the tube into standby stock.
In my experience, self-adhesive patches don't last; In freezing conditions, they don't work at all.

Does this mean use my pump to inflate the punctured and flat tube while still in the tire, bead not popped yet?
Then, what is the trick to "locate the leak", by sound of air escaping?

I use Park self-adhesive patches to get home and I would love to learn your no wheel removal technique.

Yes, I ride patched tubes. No, I can't tell the difference. No, I don't patch tires. I've found that self-adhesive patches fail over time. My glued patches never leak, but OTOH I know how to prepare the tube. If your glued patches don't work, get someone to show you how it's done.

Very odd. It would take even more time trying to find the pinhole leak like that. Wheel removal takes like 10 seconds max.

1. Patch tubes, not tires
2. General wisdom says glueless patches are fine as a short term fix to get you home but not permanent. That said, many BFers are getting good long term results.
3. A properly patched tube is as good as a new one. Possibly BETTER than a new one since new tubes sometimes have QC problems at/near valve stem.
4. I advise you save discarded tubes and "batch patch" several at home when you are bored. It's one of my favorite things to do when the bad winter weather prevents a ride.

Visual inspection and if not obvious, then pump up the tire and slowly rotate while listening.

Yes I ride on patched tubes, never been able to tell a difference.

I also ride on patched tubulars. Never had a problem with those either. Would even race on them, A lot of riders rode on repaired tubies, but no one would admit to it. There was some unwritten rule from the Gods that riding on a repaired sewup was unforgivable.

When I was young and in college, I patched tubulars at night in my dorm room for $5.00 a tire. Of course, no one ever admitted to using my services. But I patched a lot of Clement Seta Criterium tires. Paid tuition for two years that way. Tuition was actually affordable in those days.

Unless the debris which caused the leak is still in the tire in which case you have a tube with another hole needing a second patch. It might not be visible from the outside but might be protruding on the inside.Yup.

It is easy to reach inside the popped bead to check for that with the fingertips.

I will try your method, perhaps ... but if it fails I will call down all the BikeForum deities to cuirse your tires. :)