Can A Tyre Be Repaired?

I patched a barely used GP 4000 last summer, i used duct tape. It was a nasty puncture, a sharp metal piece that got stuck like a fish hook in the tread.

I must've used 3 or 4 pieces of tape, changing the direction with each ply (not sure that made a difference) but it worked pretty well. I kept on riding it til it was retired. I never tried to fix a sidewall tho.

I was also tempted to use mono sealant but my leftovers were all dried out.

I'd do a repair, depending on intended use. Commuting, shorter rides etc. I wouldn't hesitate to do a repair (and relegate the tyre to the rear wheel as others have suggested).

If I were using the bike to ride dozens of miles out into the countryside where failure might leave me stranded I'd probably take the hit and buy a new tyre.

I've fixed enough tyres over the years to feel confident enough to recommend giving fixing a go.

My preferred route is to stitch the hole, then soak superglue into the stitiching to harden. Then thoroughly roughen the inner surface of the tyre and fit a decent sized puncture repair patch. The patch is simply to stop the threads puncturing the inner tube.

Have fixed repairs up to 12mm in length.

I'd be quite happy riding with a tyre boot or something to get me home but then it would be changed. £30-odd quid is an annoying amount of money for sure, but personally it's not enough for me to ride around on a damaged bit of kit indefinitely, especially for something that usually lasts a reasonable amount of time (for me anyway).

I think new tyre is probably the better option.

I have had quite a lot of "bad luck" with my GP4000s this winter and have finally decided to switch to Vittoria Rubino.

Two layers of gaffa tape at right angles will do the trick. I've done hundreds of miles on a Vittoria Diamante Pro that hit a rock on the sidewall on a corner. It's so strong. Probably too strong, might make a flat spot, ish.

But as others said, do put it on the back!

Personally I would just get a new tyre, but if it happened on the fly I tend to use a cut up toothpaste tube to boot patch any smallish cuts. I have got some tyre boots as well (little plastic strips for patching slices).

I buy the Lezyne sticky patch kits (http://amzn.to/1HrStRH) because I like the patches but it also comes complete with a tyre boot (designed for this purpose). They are supposed to be 'get me home' only solutions but I am riding with one stuck on the inside of my rear tyre at the moment and it's doing fine.

My hole is on the tread and also around 1 cm. On a Michelin Pro4 Endurance 25c. I had a gash on a really cheap tyre a while back and it just deformed so badly it was beyond repair.

A mate stitched up a tear on an mtb tyre some years ago with dental floss, lasted until he eventually replaced it - was lower pressure tho', and the cut was hidden belw the knobbles.

On a charity ride some years ago, a long-standing cut was open enogh for the tyre to start squeezing through and rubbed a puncture...was looking for something to line the tyre and the sticky charity number badge (falling off my jersey) was v fibrous and tough, ideal for the job. Lasted the remaining 30+ miles and until I replaced it, tyre had almost had it anyway - 1.5" at 80 psi normally, dropped the pressure a tad.

If you do repair it, stick it on the back.

Section of sidewall from an old tyre, stuck in place with "Shoo-goo" (look it up) - works for me, although mostly MTB tyres, so lower pressures.

Super glue can do wonders on tyres. Give it a try.

I once patched one with a caramel wafer wrapper and 3 rubber patches.

Lasted 15 miles on horrendous roads and 25 retweets ......

I cycled for about 6months with a fiver stashed behind a small tear once.

Hold on, you might be being a bit over cautious. A small cut can be repaired with a piece of old sidewall cut from an old tyre from the inside. There are any number of youtube videos showing how to. I recently got a sidewall gash with 1-2mm of innertube bulging out just waiting to pop, the tyre was only about 6 weeks old so I tried a repair it and it worked perfectly, give it a go. I suggest you clean and inspect you tyres with a flashlight (headtorch ideally) for cuts and embedded shards of glass every couple of weeks anyway, I've saved many punctures that way in the comfort of my living room.
A least keep this tyre if you can retrieve it so it can serve for repairs if you don't want to risk it.

Do you really want to risk it....tyres are the only thing attaching you to the road and a failure at 40mph on a descent could end with serious injury or worse, I would just chuck it or use it as a turbo tyre.

You could try cutting an inch piece of old tyre and putting that in there to block the hole. Ride it about for a bit but keep getting off to check if there's and increase in the size of the rip. If there is then chuck it.
Personally I'd probably chuck it anyway..

You can try patching it on the inside with a patch and rubber solution, but it will fail quite quickly due ton flexing.

Unless you want to keep repeating this, throw it out.

You can try patching it on the inside with a patch and rubber solution, but it will fail quite quickly due ton flexing.

Unless you want to keep repeating this, throw it out.