Dynaplug Racer tubeless repair kit

The Dynaplug Racer gets your tubeless tyre repaired in a shot so you can keep on riding, but it's not cheap and there are more affordable alternatives on the market.

• Pros: Fixes tubeless punctures, easy to use
• Cons: Expensive

Dynaplug is a US company that focuses on tubeless repair kits with several options to choose from. The Racer here is aimed at racing cyclists, or in reality cyclists who want to keep the weight for their spares kit as low as possible. It's very small and slips easily into a pocket or saddle pack, ensuring it's always there should you need it.

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Tubeless is fantastic, but it's not bulletproof. Punctures can happen, and it's usually from holes that are too big for the sealant to seal. In these cases, whacking a tubeless plug in the tyre is the answer.

The gunny looking worm plugs are made from proprietary rubber-impregnated cord but Dynaplug adds a pointy brass tip that makes installation a breeze – simply push the plug into the hole and, hopefully, it'll seal the hole and let you get back on your way.

Other tubeless repair kits on the market use the same plug design, but instead of the pointy brass tip require a two-pronged tool and much faffing and cursing to get the plug into the tyre. Dynaplug's solution is quite neat and, I'd say, worth paying extra for.

The case is beautifully made from a solid billet of 6061 aluminium which contributes to the low weight. The caps screw securely into place, keeping the elements outside. It's 3.75in long and weighs 25g. The tool houses two different sized plugs, a regular one and the bigger Megaplug for larger holes.

As I've already said, using the Racer kit is pretty simple. Simply line the pointy bit up with the hole in your tyre, and push it through until the plug plugs the hole. Voila!

If you're quick, you can catch the puncture before too much air and sealant has escaped.

Here's a video of the Racer in use.

I've mostly been testing it with gravel tyres since I do a lot of gravel riding these days. Tubeless is essential for letting you run lower tyre pressures, for more grip and comfort, with a lower risk of pinching the inner tube. But punctures can still occur with a tubeless system – sometimes a rock or sharp object smashes a hole into the tyre that the sealant is simply unable to seal.

> Buyer's Guide: 18 of the best gravel and adventure tyres

When this happens, and it's happened a couple of tyres this year and while testing the Racer, the repair kit came into its own. Unscrew the cap, shove the pointy tool into the hole, extract and inflate tyre back to the desired pressure. I was lucky in that every time I used it the plug was sufficient to seal the hole.

The kit works with tubeless road tyres too. I was unlucky on a chain gang earlier this year, hitting an unseen pothole and slicing the rear tyre to the point that it instantly deflated. In this scenario, I was able to plug the tyre and inflate it back to a pressure adequate to get me home, whereupon I was able to snip the protruding plug and keep riding for a while. With a slick tyre, you do need to pay a bit more attention to cleaning up the plug to prevent a bumpy ride (you can be a bit more liberal with a gravel tyre) and I'm not sure if a badly damaged tubeless tyre would continue to be useable. In this case, I fitted a new tubeless tyre.

Dynaplug claims its system will seal 97 per cent of punctures. There will surely be circumstances when the plug isn't big enough (I've known people to use several plugs on one hole but that is getting desperate!).

What happens after a tubeless repair? The company claims 'long-lasting puncture repair' and this has been my experience. I've snipped the end of a plug when I've got home, but I've not extracted it and booted the tyre, instead I've kept riding and over time the plug appears to fuse with the tyre. In some repairs, it's tricky to find on the tyre several weeks and months later.

In most cases, the brass tip should stay attached to the plug on the inside of the tyre, but in one case the tip became detached and rattled around inside. That is annoying, and would then necessitate the removal of the tyre at home to remove the offending brass tip.

On this occurrence, Dynaplug says: 'DON'T twist or turn tool when inserting plug; that can cause the tip to separate from the cord.' So make sure you don't do that to avoid the mistake I made.

The Racer tool is quick to use as well, with two plugs preloaded ready to be whipped into action. There's no space for spares, though, as it's all about producing a race day light and small package. You can buy spare packs of plugs if you run out. Dynaplug produces bigger repair kits if you want to carry more spares conveniently, such would be needed for a bikepacking adventure. For hacking around the local gravel tracks, though, the Racer is ideal, if a bit pricey.

It's not cheap, but it's not the most expensive either. The company's own Megapill is £59.99. A cheaper option is the Lezyne Tubeless Kit costing £20, and you can get a basic Innovations Tubeless Repair Kit for just £5.99. The ease of use of the Dynaplug system gives it the edge for me, though, and I'd be willing to pay the extra just for the simplicity and neat packaging.

Verdict

Easy-to-use tubeless repair kit for emergencies