Do puncture repair kits actually work?

[EllysH]

I mean, really?

I might not be some fandagled-mechanic but I know my way around my bike and yet I have never successfully actually used a puncture repair kit.

Sorted my rear tube out earlier this evening, moved my bike out of my way and there goes the air.

[Ben T]

No.
Useful to carry but for emergency use only. A patch might work for a bit, but there will inevitably be another puncture in the same place eventually due to a failure of the patch.

[hatler]

No.
Useful to carry but for emergency use only. A patch might work for a bit, but there will inevitably be another puncture in the same place eventually due to a failure of the patch.

What ?

If by 'puncture repair kit' we mean glue, patches and a bit of sandpaper, then of course they work.

If you can't get a result then try reading the instructions.

I have never, ever had a patch fail. About three times I haven't carried out the glueing properly (but that's not a patch failure per se), but that is outweighed by a factor of hundreds to one of successful patched repairs.

At a fiver a tube I must have saved hundreds and hundreds of pounds over the years.

[Kim]

They certainly work a lot better than those self-adhesive patches do.   

Obviously there's a fair amount of technique involved, vis avoiding the various factors that will cause it not to stick properly.  Much of this means not having to do it in the dark with cold wet fingers, but the classic rookie mistakes (because it's completely unintuitive) is not allowing the solvent to evaporate completely before applying the patch, or trying to peel the plastic sheet from the top of the patch and mucking up the edge (just leave it in place, it won't hurt anything and it'll fall off naturally).

I consider it prudent to put the repaired tube in the wheel, so it can be proven to hold air, rather than packing it away as an untrustworthy spare.  Yes, this adds an extra layer of faff, but see above re cold wet fingers.  Normally you'd just swap tubes at the roadside anyway; the repair kit is for the n+1th puncture or valve emergencies.

If I'm patching tubes at home, I like to apply pressure to the freshly applied patch by clamping the repair site flat in a suitably sized bar clamp for a couple of hours before doing anything with the tube.  Seems to make it stick better.

The golden rule of puncture repair kits is checking that the tube of cement hasn't dried out *before* you need it.  Once you open them, they're on borrowed time.  Keep that one for use at home and replace it with an unopened one.  On this basis, smaller tubes of cement are more useful than bigger ones.

[hatler]

Having said that I don't patch by the road side. I deploy spare tube and fix the hole when I'm back at home. And I carry two tubes. And I've never needed three. And if I do, I carry a pack of pre-glued patches.

In the past I have used pre-glued patches on occasion and they last far longer than everyone seems to think they will. In fact, I have never binned a tube because a pre-glued patch failed.

[Tim Hall]

What that nice halter said, with the modification that if I've punctured before a cafe /pub/other break, I'll patch the punctured tube there, so I'll be carrying two spares again sooner.

[Kim]

What that nice halter said, with the modification that if I've punctured before a cafe /pub/other break, I'll patch the punctured tube there, so I'll be carrying two spares again sooner.

This.  Particularly when your wheels are different sizes and you don't want to carry loads of spare tubes (I normally only carry one of each).

[fuaran]

Most cheap puncture repair kits are a bit rubbish.
Rema Tip Top patches work better than most.

[Tim Hall]

Most cheap puncture repair kits are a bit rubbish.
Rema Tip Top patches work better than most.

I got s Big Bag of Tip Top patches from an EBay seller a few years ago. I get small tubes of glue every now and then.

[grams]

The Decathlon puncture repair kits are good.

I’ve noticed significant quality variations in rubber cement. If you use a very cheap kit with bad cement it just won’t work. A good kit will work exactly as advertised and is a revelation

One thing to remember is that the job of the solvent is to soak in and soften the rubber in the tube. It is not glue in the traditional sense.

(I’ve also had reasonable luck with self-adhesive patches as a short term fix. Occasionally they seal well enough to work as a long term fix too)

[hellymedic]

Most of my puncture patching has been successful. I've been patching tubes for over 40 years and had less than half a dozen failures.

Roadside patching in the rain is a challenge but possible.

I prefer to swap tubes on the road and fix holey ones at home in the kitchen, where it's warm and dry and there's a potentially endless supply of hot drinks and biscuits.

TipTop seem good.

I'm sure I've posted about fixing tubes before.

[EllysH]

Well, this settles it.

I'm doing something wrong. Will reattempt in the morning.

Sent from my PLK-L01 using Tapatalk

[hellymedic]

DO NOT RUSH!

1) Identify hole.
2) Roughen LARGE area round it.
3) Apply thin layer of fresh, runny rubber solution over rough area.
4) Allow to dry. Do not touch. Wait till solution is only slightly tacky.
5) Remove film from patch and apply to prepared area. Do not touch patch.
6) Scratch patch onto tube with a thumbnail over patch covering till this starts breaking up. Then start peeling this away from the centre outwards.


Check tube is airtight by inflating it and passing under water, There may be a second puncture or a faulty valve.
Dry tube and fold to use as spare.

Consider using talc when you refit tube.

GOOD LUCK!

[Gattopardo]

Yes, even the ones from the poundshop.

I don't patch at the side of the road, and I have used bits of old tube not the usual patches.

[tatanab]

DO NOT RUSH!

1) Identify hole.
2) Roughen LARGE area round it.
3) Apply thin layer of fresh, runny rubber solution over rough area.
4) Allow to dry. Do not touch. Wait till solution is only slightly tacky.
5) Remove film from patch and apply to prepared area. Do not touch patch.
6) Scratch patch onto tube with a thumbnail over patch covering till this starts breaking up. Then start peeling this away from the centre outwards.


Check tube is airtight by inflating it and passing under water, There may be a second puncture or a faulty valve.
Dry tube and fold to use as spare.

Consider using talc when you refit tube.

GOOD LUCK!

Largely agree., but ---

2) Roughen well, this is the most important stage.
3) Blow on the solution to help solvent evaporate, just a couple of seconds will do.

Don't bother with passing the tube under water. Seldom any available at the roadside or in the pub anyway.

At the roadside I would always put the spare tube in and repair the holed one at leisure, but then fit mended tube straight back into the known clear tyre.  This means that the pressure will bed down the patch and it also means that you can put the known good spare tube back in your bag. 


No magical incantations required, nor is it necessary to clamp the repaired tube under a million tons of pressure in a vice.  Roughen, blow on solution, slap on patch, place in tyre and inflate.

[Ham]

Do they work? hell, yeah, I've had tubes that end up looking like they have a bad case of measles.

The only time I don't repair by the roadside is when it is that filthy weather you can't or it just isn't worth it. By the time you have the tube off and the puncture identified - which you have to anyhow to make certain the object isn't still in the tyre* - you might just as well repair it.

My top tip for addition to the roadside repair kit, apart from Tip Top patches (Rema) is a few latex gloves.

*of course you do have the tyre name over the valve so you can align the puncture with the tyre? Good.

[Pickled Onion]

I nearly always repair at the roadside, unless the weather is spectacularly bad and there's no shelter at all. If the cause is obvious I don't even take the wheel off the bike, just pull out a short section of tube. It's incredibly rare for a repair to fail, some of my tubes are years old with a dozen or more patches.

The top rookie error is Helly's point 2: If you don't sand the tube, it will not work. At all. The point is not actually roughening, it's to remove the stuff that's put in the mould at manufacture to allow the tube to release from the mould.

The other rookie error is not waiting for the rubber solution to dry. It's not glue, it needs to be fully dry, not even tacky, and it can't dry with a patch on top of it. If you put it on thinly it only takes a minute or two.

[Ben T]

No.
Useful to carry but for emergency use only. A patch might work for a bit, but there will inevitably be another puncture in the same place eventually due to a failure of the patch.

What ?

If by 'puncture repair kit' we mean glue, patches and a bit of sandpaper, then of course they work.

If you can't get a result then try reading the instructions.

I have never, ever had a patch fail. About three times I haven't carried out the glueing properly (but that's not a patch failure per se), but that is outweighed by a factor of hundreds to one of successful patched repairs.

At a fiver a tube I must have saved hundreds and hundreds of pounds over the years.

I mean if you've had plenty of practice you're probably ok at it.
But to be honest I'm probably not the best person to ask, cos I don't even use tubes at all, let alone repaired ones.

[Ben T]

Well, this settles it.

I'm doing something wrong. Will reattempt in the morning.

Sent from my PLK-L01 using Tapatalk

The point is that yes you are doing something wrong, but, it's very easy to get it wrong.
These people proudly riding around on tubes that are more patch than tube are practised masters who have probably spent entire Sundays perfecting the technique.
And that's what you need to do as well if you want to be as good as them.
OR:
Just go tubeless, is my recommendation.

Question for the experts:
How do you deal with the seam of the tube being near the hole and thus presenting a ridge causing the patch not to lie flush?

[ian]

I'm useless at most things but boy can I fix a puncture. Never had a problem, I've always done them by the roadside (thank Schwalbe, not so much these days). Takes a few minutes and I can't say I pay that much attention to the process. Find the hole by pumping it up and using a sensitive body part. Remember you are by the roadside. Give the area a rub down with the sandpaper, which will have gone missing of course, so use the pavement or a nearby wall (for the inner tube, not the sensitive part). Then squeeze out a good dab of rubber cement. You'll glue your fingers together. Try to wipe them on something unimportant like your underpants. The patch goes on. You're suppose to wait five minutes, but who has that long. It's an advisory. Just squish the patch around. If there's any bits not stuck down remember there's no such thing as too much glue. Swish it around, sit back and admire your work. Looks goods. Chalk it. Or use dirt, soil, grit, because the chalk like likely be AWOL too. In it goes. Wheel on and off you go. Into a wall, because you've not put brake cable back. One of those childhood skills, everyone knew how to fix a puncture.

[Tim Hall]

I'm useless at most things but boy can I fix a puncture. Never had a problem, I've always done them by the roadside (thank Schwalbe, not so much these days). Takes a few minutes and I can't say I pay that much attention to the process. Find the hole by pumping it up and using a sensitive body part. Remember you are by the roadside. Give the area a rub down with the sandpaper, which will have gone missing of course, so use the pavement or a nearby wall (for the inner tube, not the sensitive part). Then squeeze out a good dab of rubber cement. You'll glue your fingers together. Try to wipe them on something unimportant like your underpants. The patch goes on. You're suppose to wait five minutes, but who has that long. It's an advisory. Just squish the patch around. If there's any bits not stuck down remember there's no such thing as too much glue. Swish it around, sit back and admire your work. Looks goods. Chalk it. Or use dirt, soil, grit, because the chalk like likely be AWOL too. In it goes. Wheel on and off you go. Into a wall, because you've not put brake cable back. One of those childhood skills, everyone knew how to fix a puncture.

That bit about rubbing the tube down on the pavement or nearby wall is genius.

[citoyen]

it's very easy to get it wrong.

It's also easy to get it right, as long as you follow the steps outlined by helly.

Tbh, getting the tyre on and off is usually the most arduous part of the process.

How do you deal with the seam of the tube being near the hole and thus presenting a ridge causing the patch not to lie flush?

Shouldn't be a problem - the patch will mould itself around the seam. But if you like, you can try to sand it down a bit, since you're sanding the general area of the puncture anyway.

[LEE]

I mean, really?
I might not be some fandagled-mechanic but I know my way around my bike and yet I have never successfully actually used a puncture repair kit.

Yes of course they work and they work perfectly. You're doing something wrong.

Buy "REMA TIP TOP" 15mm patches* and glue from Ebay.  Every other puncture repair kit is worse, even the good ones.

Almost every one of my tubes is repaired at least once.  I have several repaired tubes older than the bikes they are used on.

*15mm patches are the small ones.  The large ones are overkill, tend to deform the (narrower) inflated tubes, need more messy glue...etc.  I never ride without a spare tube or two.  Puncture repair is for home or a Cafe.

[tom_e]

I patch on the roadside by first choice.  Success 90% of the time?

I never used to bother waiting for the glue to dry out.  Just pressed it on firmly, got it in the tyre and pumped up again.  Assuming that the pressure would then hold it well in place while the glue dried.  Since I've now read the instructions I tend to wait, but I can't say I ever had problems with the former method.  If patching a pile of tubes at home then definitely wait, because it isn't going to get the tyre pressure on it straight away.

One thing it took me a while to figure out with some of these newer patches:  there is no need to peel off the thin patch cover afterwards.  You can manage it with care, or repeated movements like helly said until it breaks up.  But you just don't need to - leave it there.  It will probably disintegrate sooner or later.  If it doesn't, so what?  It also acts to shield a little bit of spilled out glue from the edge of the patch from the tyre (because your chalk has gone missing).

[Ham]

I, too always leave mine on, on the basis it may stop the patch vulcanising itself to the tyre casing.