Patching tubes
 

Does anyone patch tubes?
Back when I was a kid we would do it all the time, but these were low pressure BMX tires.

It seems unamerican to not just go out and get a brand new tube, but I am looking at the tiny little hole and thinking how wasteful and helpless this seems.
Whaddya think?

I've ridden tubes with around 6 patches in them at a time. It's way more economical and environmentally friendly to patch tubes. At the shop I work at, we sell individual patches for $0.25. Presta valve tubes start at $4.95.

ALSO: I've never had a patch fail on me. The pressure exerted from within the tube will seal the patch on nice and good.

Yes. I do carry a spare tube as well just in case.

Patch it! Its free and you can save $5 for good stuff, I've patched plenty of tubes back in my childhood days, I know what you mean.

Wait patch .25c? use a piece of rubber or another ripped turbe and glue that sucker on:)

Thanks.... Im into being a bit more... whats the word?
...'the kind of guy who doesnt throw something away because it has a pinprick in it'
And you are of course correct... Presta tubes are more than $2!!! Im a little optimistic.
Gonna patch next time...

Do you really need to use "real patches" or can you use a bit of another tube?

How about the glue? Is it just rubber cement?
I swear that is what we used when I was a kid...


Best, Jake

Some of my tubes are polka dotted!

It is just rubber cement.

http://www.thethirdhand.com/index.cg...id=35998656175


http://www.ride-this.com/index.php/r...es-box100.html

A patch kit around here is maybe 2.50 and it comes with a tube of glue, a bunch of patches, and some sand paper to prep the tube before you glue a patch on. Everything you need and it's dirt cheap, makes no sense not to do it

Hey I'm glad you brought this up, Jakerock. I am interested in this also and asked a guy at my LBS this weekend about whether or not you could patch tubes that were to be inflated to ~100PSI. He said that the patches wouldn't hold air in at that PSI. That they would work for a short while, but that air would leak out so you would have to pump them back up constantly. Anyone else experience this? It sounds like it works for all of you, but this guy works at one of the most reputable bike shops in Austin, so it seems like he would know what he's talking about...

happened to me on my bmx (i ride my tires around 100 psi) just the other day. then i got pissed off at pumping the tire up again and again so i just bought a new tube. problem solved

I've had a few glueless patches fail under high pressure. Never been a problem with the old school glue patches.

That guy couldn't be more wrong, sounds like a good salesman though!

I just bought the Park Tool patch set at my local overpriced bike shop for $2. Works Great!

Be sure to use fixed gear specific patches and glue. Regular patches can't withstand the tremendous forces produced with a fixed gear drivetrain.

yeah, i mean I have like 20 tubes lying around that all just have one tiny hole in them. I am gonna give it a try and if it works I could just save myself an anticipated 10 bucks this month

I use glueless park tool patches. no problems whatsoever. I keep my tires at 110psi and I pump up every other day. The tube in my rear has 3 patches for over a year -- no trouble. Spending 2 bucks on a patch kit is better than spending 5 bucks per tube.

I carry the glueless kit, levers, stubby 15, and a mini morph on me. In the event of a blow out, I'm back on the road in 5-10 mins.

If you're blowing out $10 worth of tubes a month, then you're either not maintaining proper psi, checking for glass in your tires regularly, or you are just riding on crap tires.

Yeah, I would say I blow out 2 tubes a month. Between my road bike and now my fixed gear, I would say that's about right. On my road bike, I am often riding out in suburbs of Austin where there is a lot of construction and glass/nails on the ground. The fixed gear I ride in the city where it's not as bad, but still get some flats. I do make sure to keep my tires above 100. And yes, I am riding on cheap tires on both my bikes. Cont. Ultra sports on the road bike and Michelin Speediums on the fixed.

If you're riding on glass and nails, you should probably invest in some tires that are puncture-resistant...or use tire liners or something.

Buying 2 tubes per month is ridiculous. I ride on some rough city streets and blow out maybe 3-4 times a year riding about 20 miles per day 5x a week.

Umm not arguing really, but recently I have had two flats in a 20 day period using my (inflated to 100 psi) armadillos...
Definitely have had better luck than this, but life in the big city will actually puncture just about anything.
Before the armadillos, on many different bikes, I would have at least one flat a month here in NYC.

Im just sick of throwing away lots of rubber for no reason!

Last week was the first time i've had to patch anything in well over 6 months, and it was because the sidewall on my soma everware wore out.

PedallingATX, what suburbs do you ride?

Patches are life savers. I've got tubes with multiple patches and not once has a patch failed (i run on 120 psi)

I've just got a bunch of spare tubes sitting at home since I keep reusing the same tubes that I carry with me. Just get a saddle bag, put your patch kit in there so you'll always have it with you when you ride no matter what.

the only flats i get are pinch flats (snakebites) from not properly inflating. i've heard before that snakebites can't be patched, is that true?

some patch kits give you extra long patches, which I assume are for pinch flats and any other large hole. I've never tried to patch a pinch flat though.

Pinch flats can be patched almost as easily as thorn punctures usually.