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21 comments
Puncture - what's a puncture. Stan's no tubes, it the thinking mans choice.![3](https://cdn.road.cc/sites/all/modules/contrib/smiley/packs/smilies/3.gif)
I recently purchased some new tubes but still repaired the few punctured ones I had. Like a few here, I bulk repair tubes, 6 or so at a time and dunk them in the bath, to make sure they're airtight.
As a kid I always liked the feeling of independence that repairing a puncture brings. Never grew out of it. Old enough now to reach for a new tube when riding in the murk though...
A tube weighs as much as a puncture outfit, so I take 2 tubes along, and repair 3 or 4 at once on a quiet windy/wet evening at home. When repaired, I take the new tube out and replace it with a repaired one so I know if it goes down over night.
Proper repairs involve a good sanding down of the inner tube around the puncture, then glue allowed to dry, then patch...
I'd recommend the Park Tool Super Patches maybe as a useful extra or even potentially as a replacement for one of the tubes - they're cheap, the packet is tiny and as close to weighing nothing as makes no difference. The adhesion is superb and consistent, even with a less than perfect surface to stick to. There's not the same stretch as a rubber repair but in reality it's not noticeable - you could even stretch the puncture area a tad with your fingers if you wanted to get it bang on, but i've never had one let go or cause the tube around it to degrade/tear.
I tend to carry a single tube and the patches - first puncture gets new tube, patches cater for anything else (or when I forgot to replace the spare tube - d'oh).
If it's wet - replace tube, repair tube later (in the warm & dry) and refit.
If it's dry - repair using Park Tool Pre-Glued Super Patch.[Other brands are available]
Repairing by the roadside using a pre-glued patch is often just as quick as changing the tube and as good as the old-fashioned glue on patches.
Is tube is ripped rather than punctured then cast immediately. There is no upper limit to the number of patches a tube can have but I tend to cast them after I get to five repairs.
Park Tool do decent self sticking patches.
I use Rema Tip Top patches at home. They've repaired many a tube. You can buy them in little kits, like you'd take out on the bike with you, or you can buy huge sheets of the patches and lots of tubes of glue, depending on how unlucky you're feeling!
i used to always throw and replace at the first punchure.. not so expensive but seems not helping the world much.. so thinking of changing strategy!
can you recommend the repair kits you use please..
ps - sorry to resurrect an old thread.
Definitely repair it, but with sticky patches as they're so much easier. I usually do it there and then since I'm out on my own and in London the cause tends to be easy to find - the large spikey object currently sticking out of your tyre.
I'm getting creative with my old tubes: cable tidy and tiny jersey wallet so far, sweat-proof phone case coming up...
New tube, then a few repairs at once.
I keep taking the punctured ones home, but I haven't been running through them so quick, so I keep buying new ones to replace them.
Agree with the snake bite and one shot situation too.
If you know kstarr, and sanfranciscocrossfit on youtube, you could always turn the old inner tubes into voodoo floss......
....or a belt.
Repair and reuse, think of the $avings...mebee I'm just tight!
It's quicker to repair than order a new one online / from local LBS. That said it's dull. I have a pile that need repairing and will one day get to them, honest guv'nor! Save the planet (every little helps) and save yourself a few quid unless as others have noted it's irreparable.
Used to repair when I got home but now largely replace and bin punctured tyre, especially after bulk purchase of replacements. Having run gatorskins mostly this year I have only had 2 punctures in 6000 miles (cue the gods levelling that one out....)
One shot: repair, Snake bite: bin. I always find with two holes the patch becomes too big and difficult to cover both sides of a flat tyre.
Replace tube while out, fix punctured tube when you get back home, to be used as spare tube next time.
I used to like sitting down and repairing a few punctured tubes all in one go very a very satisfying feeling… mind you, that could've been the glue
repair, i had a tube with 8 patches, only replaced after the valve went
little nick about 8mm from the seam , ive repaired and left in the garage to dry before i give it air and put a new one on the bike
Depends, if the puncture is on the seam, bin it, its much more likely to rupture dramatically (read 'explode') and temporarily deafen you in at least one ear. If its not on the seam fix it, its cheaper in the long term
Always new tube