Puncture repair — learn how to fix a tube

I find the glue eventually goes off in the tube once you've used it and broken the seal, so I just carry spare tubes and wait until I've got 2 or 3 tubes with punctures and then fix them all at once.

Sparkimp, glueless patches are marvelous, quick and lack faff, but they are a little more temperamental, when on seams, near the bead or with dust and they don't last as long.  A well done "proper" fix will last as long as the rest of the tube will.

Glueless patches work brilliantly!

I have found them far faster, more reliable and less faff than using vulcanising solution.

You can rapidly dry the vulcanising solution with the flame from a cigarette lighter. Saves waiting for 5 minutes at the side of the road.

Also, if you can see what caused the puncture, just pull out the inner tube at that location and patch it, no need to remove the wheel from the bike and remove all of the inner tube.

Perhaps, instead of tax, insurance, helmets and reg plates all cyclists should pass a state exam in patching tubes.

I use TipTop patches and glue (okay, vulcanising fluid). Fixing a tube is a doddle. Throwing away a tube instead of repairing a small hole is a ridiculous waste.

I very rarely patch out on a ride. Normally take 2 tubes with me. Very very rarely puncture more than twice on a ride.

Some of you do seem to make a fuss of it. Good on you BTBS for re-cycling tubes.

I simply find the hole, put a thin smear of vulcanising solution that is a bit bigger than the patch, wait for it to dry (2-3 mins in warm air) and then place the patch on the spot and squeeze well, giving it a little stretch to make sure there's no air bubbles. It can then be used straight away (I like to think the force of the air pushing the tube against the tyre helps the bond).

However, I don't take the plastic cover off the patch. I leave it on because it helps stop the fresh glue sticking to the inside of the tyre. I've never talc'd the tube or glue, and never had a problem removing the tube from the tyre later

And why patch tubes? Because it's a useful skill, and really there is no need to throw a tube because of a hole. The biggest environmental problem this world faces is overconsumption. Whatever you can do to reduce consumption is a bonus for the planet.

And people complain the tubeless is too complicated.

Who the hell patches tubes? Put a fresh one in and throw the old one away.

This one could get as contentious as the helmet/disc debates.  Don't know about anyone else, but I learned through some very hard trial and errors into developing my own rituals for this one.

Nice recycled patches there, BTBS.

When I'm out, if I've already used the spare then it's a "fast"patch, but my tyres are wide and lower pressure than most of you.  Which I will then properly fix it using slow solution repair, when I get home or to work, where I keep my big kits, with extra tubes of solution, it dries out at the most inconvenient times.  I want to be comfortable, warm and dry when I properly fix my tubes.

Clean things, not mentioned above, mostly after the roughening.  Filth is the enemy of good adhesion.  And I like to talc my tubes and tyres.

I love my latex tubes, so I mark out stuff with a sharpie, for butyl I have used a tipex pen (never seemed to be bad for it).  I like to lay on the gunk thick, then let it do it's thing for a few hours, stick the feather edge patch on.  Hard edge ones tended to fail for me.  Then press and leave for a while, preferably overnight, often hanging on a handlebar.

I scrape the french chalk with a knife, less mess.

Very interested to hear others secret tips, always happy to enhance my methods.

Going tubeless on 3 inch tyres in a hopefully short bit.  Lots of new things to learn.

Double post!

Use a pair of mole grips and a couple of 2p pieces to clamp the patch. If you're having a repairing 'sesh' you can clamp 2 or 3 tubes simultaneously, if you separate with additional 2p's.

It's sometimes quicker to whip the tube out, find the hole in that and then you'll know where in the tyre to look for the cause by measuring round from the valve stem/hole*. If something went in and came out again/snakebite, you'd be looking all day otherwise.

* - assumes the tyre hasn't moved on the rim, but if you have the label lined up over the valve hole, you've got your reference point if it has.

I agree that you need to rough up and cover both patch and tube with "glue" if you make your own patches*.  However I have never failed to get good adhesion with a Tip-Top or Cure-C-Cure feather edged patch straight after ripping off the foil, as long as the "glue" has dried .  Of course, it's not a glue in the normal sense, it's a vulcanising solution that creates chemical bonding between the two rubber surfaces.

Top Tip: patches adhere tenaciously if you leave the "glue" to dry overnight, then apply the patch in the morning.  Patches applied in a hurry, at the roadside often develop a leak later in the ride.

* Nice style, sir

double post

don't agree with the being generous with the glue, it's wasteful and you have to use the powder because of it.

rough up both the area to patch AND the patch itself, this gives a better surface for adhesion. Glue the patch with just enough, that way you only glue what is necessary and too much simply will mean longer to set anyways. If you cant apply glue properly to the edge of a patch ... LEARN, it's not rocket science!

Apply the patch, hold in place by thumb/finger for a while then place on flat surface with a weight that also has a flat surface, I use my thick chopping block but a couple of hardbacks will suffice or even a saucepan with some water in it. 5 minutes isn't enough in my opinion, leave it for 20 mins at the least, I usually do them and leave for an hour or more, I mean, you aren't needing to use it straight away are you at home and you'd have at least one spare for out and about. No point patching on a ride and because you were too impatient to wait you had to go through the whole process again as soon as you whacked in the pressure up to 80 and the glue hasn't gone off! air temperature also effects bonding times.

Best patches IMHO are old narrow inner tubes, why, because of the curvature that's already there, so it will follow the curve of the inflated tube better AND because it's exactly the same material as the tube (well near as damnit), it's also a good way to recycle. I always pull the old valve and put it in the scrap metal bin ready to go down to the dump.

You can buy 50g tubes of glue for about £3 or a large tin for £9 on the bay of e.

 I try and help out the kids down the street or friends with repairs and any bikes that get donated/found and I can rescue the tubes I simply pass on, give them a repair lesson and some patches plus get them to invest in some decent tyre levers (I usually buy a job lot if I find them cheap and ask them to make a donation to my charity in exchange), this is one of the major problems of non serious cyclists and for their kids as well. A puncture often ends in bike left out the bike/in the shed/garage and never the twin shall meet.

I've just had a patching session on Monday as it happens.