Poll

After a puncture do you repair the inner tube?

No I replace it immediately
11 (11.6%)
Yes I repair it on the road but replace when I get home
1 (1.1%)
Yes I repair it and continue to ride on it indefintely
22 (23.2%)
No I replace it immediately but repair it later for future use
61 (64.2%)

Total Members Voted: 86

Author Topic: Punctures  (Read 9377 times)

Biggsy

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Re: Punctures
« Reply #25 on: 14 September, 2011, 01:55:45 pm »
I've discovered tiny holes in ultra-light (very thin walled) tubes that I think may have been caused by abrasion.  Apart from that, I don't believe they wear out.
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Re: Punctures
« Reply #26 on: 14 September, 2011, 04:57:05 pm »
Apart from that, I don't believe they wear out.
They are doing better than me then  :)

Re: Punctures
« Reply #27 on: 14 September, 2011, 08:34:42 pm »
You can try rounding off the ends by cutting a small circle away from the slit ends, so it's less likely to split. It's like drilling a hole on the end of a crack to stop a stress riser.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Punctures
« Reply #28 on: 15 September, 2011, 03:25:54 pm »
I patched this 6mm defect...

Re: Punctures
« Reply #29 on: 18 September, 2011, 11:01:06 pm »
Since starting to use pre-glued patches, I will repair rather than replace for preference.  With old-fashioned repair kits I was never confident that my repair would hold, so would replace it and mend the old tube later at my leisure. 

I'll still replace the tube if I can't immediately find the source of the flat or I don't want to go looking for it. 

Re: Punctures
« Reply #30 on: 23 September, 2011, 12:28:11 pm »
If I don't mind taking a break anyway, I repair it on the road if I can find it easily.  This can save taking the wheel off.

Otherwise I do a hatler.

Unless it's a really bad one, or the tube is generally in poor condition anyway, there's no need to throw a tube away just because it's punctured.  A properly-done repair will be 100% reliable and saves some money and a little bit of the environment.
+1
"A woman on a bicycle has all the world before her where to choose; she can go where she will, no man hindering." The Type-Writer Girl, 1897

Biggsy

  • A bodge too far
  • Twit @iceblinker
    • My stuff on eBay
Re: Punctures
« Reply #31 on: 23 September, 2011, 01:01:43 pm »
...And you can eat your lunch while doing the repair - except the smell of rubber can be offputting when chomping on a sausage.
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fuzzy

Re: Punctures
« Reply #32 on: 26 October, 2011, 03:30:37 pm »
replace and repair later is my vote.

I used to carry Park patches on the patrol bike at work and found them to be very effective. I did however suffer the odd failure in hot weather where the bike was out in the sun. i think the adhesive softened in the heat.

I carry a repair kit with adhesive and patches in case a second vitation occurs but the last repair was with a Park patch I found in the shed so I carry them as well these days along with the spare tube.

Mr Arch

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Re: Punctures
« Reply #33 on: 26 October, 2011, 08:09:25 pm »
I have never carried a spare tube (tight git) and have always repaired at the road side.
Having said that I've never had a tube I couldn't repair while on a run, only while at home so I have been fortunate.

I will be carrying a spare with the Brompton though but only because the new one I bought and fitted today is really too big so I will get a correctly sized one soon to carry as a spare.  Though sods law will say that having Schwalbe Marathons will mean I will never need to use it (I hope).