Puncture repair glue

[Apollonius]

Whether using glue or self-adhesive, the vital part of the process is to give the tube a really good scraping. It is absolutely necessary to get rid of the moulding release agent that is, obviously, designed to be as sticky-proof as possible.

 

[Sunny Portrush]

No worries. I was too...sometimes using two or three patches per puncture - right old nightmare. Give it a go his way...should work a treat

I always thought you needed way more glue that the size of the patch but i`ll be giving this new method a whirl!

 

[Drago]

You still use a separate glue? Do you still use leeches?

 

[Debade]

I use rubber cement http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elmers-231-Wrinkle-Rubber-Transparent/dp/B000EFQ2I0 which I think is the same product in the small tubes that come with flat kits. But, I will often carry a new or previously repaired tube and fix my flat when returning home.

 

[Learnincurve]

Which patches are the best and do they work on high pressure (100psi) road tyres?

Scabs. Made by the slime people, they often only last a couple of months but they will see you till you can get a new inner tube.

 

[totallyfixed]

I NEVER repair , always have / buy new tubes .The cost of a tube far outweighs repair for me

This is all that is wrong with the western culture, use it once and chuck it.

 

[robjh]

I NEVER repair , always have / buy new tubes .The cost of a tube far outweighs repair for me

Either new tubes are remarkably cheap or puncture repairs are extraordinarily difficult round your way. Still something strikes me as wrong there.

 

[ColinJ]

This is all that is wrong with the western culture, use it once and chuck it.

I agree!

I have a thread running where I am discussing if it is possible to eke out more life from chainrings by rotating or flipping them to spread wear more evenly round them and several people suggested just binning them and buying new ones.

I have just been catching up with today's pro cycling and listening to Eurosport Player on my old Sennheiser headphones. The lefthand cable broke a few weeks ago so I could only hear out of one ear. Many people would have slung them and bought new ones but I like the 'phones so I decided to fix them. It only took me about 30 minutes to open them up, cut out the dodgy length of cable and resolder them. They work perfectly again - a very satisfying repair!

 

[ColinJ]

The hard drive packed up in my Freeview PVR last year. I went down to the local IT recycling charity and bought a used replacement drive for £10. I replaced the duff drive with that, reformatted it and it has worked perfectly ever since.

I don't like the throwaway society. I do my best to make stuff last, and then recycle what I can when it is beyond repair.

 

[Globalti]

Colin you're a natural candidate for owning a square Land Rover; they are a huge Meccano kit and spares are readily available new and second-hand so you can go on repairing them and rebuilding them ad infinitum. We used to own a 1986 ex-MOD 90 and we got a friend in the RAF to pull the service record, which revealed an astonishing number of rebuilds and refurbs over ten years; so much so that I think only the chassis, bulkhead and engine were the originals. I upgraded it to Defender spec by adding all kinds of bits off scrap Defenders; power steering, assisted clutch, wash/wipe and intermittent wipers, "quiet" spec transfer box, plus a whole lot of other smaller bits and pieces.

On punctures, I have no faith in the sticky neoprene patches except as a get-you-home fix for when you've used your spare tube and punctured again. I buy Tip Top glue and patches in bulk and will repair a tube three or four times before throwing it away; the brown layer on a Tip Top patch actually melts and vulcanises itself to the tube so, done correctly, they are permanent.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

A tip to help ensure that the glue doesn't dry up in the tube, before screwing the cap back on, gently squeeze out a small bubble of glue and screw the cap down onto it. This should mean that there's no air in the tube.
I've been using Tip Top for 30 years, the original and the best as far as I'm concerned.
Tried self adhesive patches a few years ago, might work on low pressure mtb tyres but they were useless on road tyres.

 

[clid61]

I chuck nowt ,Im as tight fisted as the rest of you, spend my money on what I need not what I want, but inner tubes , not worth the hassle !

 

[Learnincurve]

Either new tubes are remarkably cheap or puncture repairs are extraordinarily difficult round your way. Still something strikes me as wrong there.

I rarely fix a puncture, my inner tubes were bought in bulk from china, we spit them between a few of us and it came to something like 70p a tube. Downside to this that they tend to split when they get a puncture so can't get fixed, but then I use tyres with maximum puncture protection so it has to be something really awful for them to go bang.

 

[Pale Rider]

How many times can a tube be repaired?

Assuming the puncture is in a different place each time, the answer should be many.

But, like I suspect most cyclists, I won't patch a tube more than two or three times.

 

[totallyfixed]

Repairing a tube once back home is no hassle at all, in fact I find it quite therapeutic, the satisfaction of fixing something, a bit like building your own bike or a wheel. I have been known to patch patches . Anyone who has been back to ours after a ride will understand.
On a related note, does anyone have a source for really small patches for skinny innertubes, we used to buy them in bulk years ago but can't find them anymore.