Yet Another Cycling Forum
Random Musings => DIY => Skip Bike and Bodge It => Topic started by: ceejay on 12 September, 2011, 04:51:41 pm
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Just wondering what other people do :)
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I carry a spare tube. This means I can replace tube immediately, and then fix the punctured one when I get home/to the office.
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This means I can replace tube immediately, and then fix the punctured one when I get home/to the office.
This should be an option in the poll, ceejay.
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No sooner said than done.
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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.
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This means I can replace tube immediately, and then fix the punctured one when I get home/to the office.
This should be an option in the poll, ceejay.
Indeed. Tube repairs are best done in warm dry kitchen, with good supply of TEA & CAEK.
Roadside tube repairs are for desperate situations only. (Inner tube won't come out or #visits>#spare tubes)
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No sooner said than done.
I want to change my vote...
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No sooner said than done.
I want to change my vote...
Sorry, you can't :P
When you set up a poll you get the option to allow changes of heart. This option is not displayed in the edit poll function.
I'll remember though...
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I'll repair on the road if conditions are favourable and I've got a lot of miles ahead, ensuring that there's a spare tube for the next one. Otherwise, replace.
Will continue using patched tubes indefinitely, but I suppose there's a point where they have to be retired. I've yet to actually reach it, though, as failures at (or of) the valve will condemn an otherwise good tube.
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I haven't had a puncture since I took up cycling regularly again more than two years ago, so when I do eventually get one I'll replace the tube on the principle that it's had a good innings anyway. ;D
Although of course my spare inner tubes are also a couple of years old now. ::-) What's the shelf life of an inner tube?
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Inner tubes last a very long time, certainly no need to replace at two years just because of age... Tyres on the other hand do deteriorate over time.
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A further question then , if you will allow me. For long life of the repair does it matter what brand/style of puncture repair kit you use?
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A further question then , if you will allow me. For long life of the repair does it matter what brand/style of puncture repair kit you use?
Any conventional type patches and rubber solution you get are likely to work fine if your technique is ok. Patches with thinner or feathered edges are preferable. It works out cheaper in the long run to buy patches and solution separately.
See the product labels/leaflets for full instructions, but my two top tips are:
1. Do not apply the patch immediately after applying the rubber solution. Let the solution at least get very tacky. The patch will stick even if it's dry.
2. Do not test the repair by inflating before the tube is fitted in the tyre. Inflate just enough to round the tube out. (The tyre effectively presses on the patch when the tube is inflated inside it).
These are the two things I got wrong in my early days when I had failed repairs.
In theory, it's best to let the patch cure for several hours before use, but in practice, it'll be fine five minutes after if you've done a good job, as long as you don't test it outside of the tyre. It is safe to inflate outside of the tyre to test after a few hours. (You might want to check under water for further small punctures, for instance).
I don't thow a tube away when it has many patches. I just sling it in the back of the drawer. :) The patches add (a ridiculously small amount of) weight and rolling resistance.
"Glueless" (self-adhesive) patches are available that don't require rubber solution and can be stuck down immediately. These range from a rubbish waste of time to surprisingly good. The Park ones I tried actually worked. It's important to sand the tube first, whether using glueless or conventional patches, to remove the shiny mold-release, to which things don't stick well.
It can be even faster to use a glueless patch than change a tube when the location of the puncture is obvious. I still favour conventional patches when there's time though - because I know they last for ever.
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What's the shelf life of an inner tube?
If it looks ok, it will be ok. Even if it looks bad, it still may be ok.
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I repair pin-holes (including relatively large ones), but I find that slit punctures tear under the patch, and the tyre goes down later, sometimes quite spectacularly, so I throw those tubes away.
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I haven't had slits of 2 or 3mm tearing. Bigger than that I count as "really bad" and don't bother repairing unless desperate.
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When I fix on the road (only carry a spare tube on longish journeys) I don't use the chalk to dust the tire, and recently I haven't even bothered to remove the cellophane/paper from the top of the patch (obviously I remove the foil from the bottom), I just shove the whole thing back in, and hope it holds.
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I've had tears from very small slits - any hole that is not round, it seems.
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See the product labels/leaflets for full instructions, but my two top tips are:
1. Do not apply the patch immediately after applying the rubber solution. Let the solution at least get very tacky. The patch will stick even if it's dry.
2. Do not test the repair by inflating before the tube is fitted in the tyre. Inflate just enough to round the tube out. (The tyre effectively presses on the patch when the tube is inflated inside it).
There must be an existing thread on this, but your no. 1 needs to go all the way: don't put the patch on until it's totally dry. Not even tacky, 100% completely dry. Modern "vulcanising solution" as it's called dries really really quickly so there's no reason not to wait.
My no. 1 tip would be "Don't forget to sand the tube first". Without sanding they are guaranteed to fail in short order, but not short enough that you haven't put the wheel back on, pumped it up and put all your tools away ::-)
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The solution can take quite a while to dry outdoors when the air is cold and moist.
I've read scientific-ish debate on the question of leaving it to dry completely. Some quite-convicingly claim it works better when it's not completely dry. Personally I've never had a failure when I've left it ages, whereas I have had failures when rushing the job.
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If I've gone to the trouble of checking the tyre to find the cause of the puncture then patching the tube only takes a few more minutes.
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I agree with Helly. Repairing tubes requires at least a cup of tea stood by, and is a lot easier with access to a washing up bowl.
I carry a spare tube at all times. So I just swap it when needed. Tbh, I've given it to other people more often than I've needed it myself. And it is a long time (and a different brand of tyre) ago that I got two punctures in one ride. These days, I'm prepared to take the chance, and I'll sit & repair either the first or second bost tube roadside (depending which is easier to find/mend) if necessary (it isn't ;D ).
I use Tiptop solution and patches. I don't think the others match up to it, particularly the Cure-C-Cure, which I find don't stick very well.
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And it is a long time ... ago that I got two punctures in one ride.
I got six punctures in one 100k Audax a couple of years ago. To be fair, some were related to a rim tape problem, but others were "real".
I don't carry that many spare tubes, but a number of other riders donated theirs, and I bought more at a shop that I passed...
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I don't often repair tubes these days, mainly on the "good innings" basis. I must be pretty lucky with punctures, I'd guess my tubes are 3-4 years old on average when they fail - the shelf life of a tube may be long, but that's different to being in a tyre.
If I had a good repair kit I'd do more because I inherently like fixing things - more often than not the tube of rubber solution has hardened by the time I come to use it, the patches are substandard...
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My Schwalbes (various flavours) have caused me to add another consideration. Previously, I ditched tubes when they got a few patches on them.
But I've just swapped my Durano Pluses after x000km. And I kept the same tubes (one original; one changed after a couple of hundred km when I had the only puncture of the tyres' vastly overextended hard life). Then I got to wondering: Do tubes just wear out after a while, even if they are still intact?
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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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Apart from that, I don't believe they wear out.
They are doing better than me then :)
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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.
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I patched this 6mm defect...
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1334/623174710_2fc38b3c80_o.jpg)
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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.
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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
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...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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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.
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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).