How did I get to my mid 30s and never???

[Easytigers]

Just fixed a puncture for the first time... It's not that I've never had a puncture before, it's just that I have always kept a couple of tubes in my pack so have always replaced rather than repaired. Used my cycling backpack for swimming with my son yesterday so took everything out...big mistake. Sod's law...I got a puncture about 3 miles from home and had the long walk home. Thought i'd have a go at fixing this time (as I'm off work at the moment).
Only problem was that I've never done one before...took me the good 3/4 of an hour (after I realised that I stuck the patch on upside down...I know...I know).
Is it worth the hassle???

 

[PK99]

Is it worth the hassle???

i use the Park tool patches: find, sand, peel backing, press on, pump up. = what hassle?

 

[martint235]

I've reached my 40s without ever fixing one. I would never, ever be able to trust a tube that I'd had a hand in repairing!!

 

[Miquel In De Rain]

Same here for me,it's sods law,they always seem to go down again.

 

[defy-one]

You havn't lived until you have fixed an inner tube

Sent from my GT-I9100

 

[I like Skol]

I've got tubes with multiple repairs on them and not one of the patches causes any trouble. At £1.99 for a KIT to fix upto 6 punctures it makes much better sense to repair than throw away. I simply swap in a good tube at the roadside then repair later at a better time.

 

[baldycyclist]

Just had to fix one on my wife's bike - first time out for three years with the wife in tow! and it is hers that does it. (took me a good hour this morning to bring her iron horse and my old hack up to a ridable condition -i.e. the chain could now bend!)
We were on part of the C2C route near Sunderland and about thirty people in various cycling groups passed us - not one asked if we needed help......pretend cyclists!!!!!
It was lucky really that I remembered to take my saddle bag off the roadie to slot into the rear pannier of my old hack (my wife likes to take lots of extras just in case!!!!) or we would have been high and dry 10 miles from home! Could not find the thorn though - argh!!!! Probably time to buy a new set of tyres and tubes for her as the ones on it are over 12 years old!

 

[potsy]

I have had mixed success with repairs, always prefer a new tube to a repaired one for peace of mind.

Currently have about 6 that need repairing, I'll get around to it one day

 

[MontyVeda]

I only throw a tube out if it tears where the valve meets the tube... I'm far too tight to buy a new tube when these newfangled 'elastoplast' patches make the task as quick as changing a tube.

I get the feeling people see fixing a puncture as a task and a half. I blame Blue Peter for this, as it was they who said "This is how to fix a puncture... first of all you need a bowl full of clean water in which you immerse the semi inflated tube in order to locate the puncture... this is signified by bubbles... and so on."

what they should have said was... "try to find the cause of the puncture on the outside of the tyre... this is often a thorn or bit of glass or metal. Make a note of where it is in relation to the valve BEFORE you take the tube out as this will make locating said puncture a lot easier. Failing that, remove the tube and pump it up lots. Try to locate the puncture using your ears, it is signified by a hissing sound. Home in on the puncture using your tongue as the cold air rushing out of the hole is easy to detect once you're in the right area.. use tongue to mark the location of the puncture with a little damp patch. This will not kill you as inner tubes aren't poisonous... put patch over hole." ...not all of us carry a bowl of clean water around just in case.

 

[cyberknight]

Just fixed a puncture for the first time... It's not that I've never had a puncture before, it's just that I have always kept a couple of tubes in my pack so have always replaced rather than repaired. Used my cycling backpack for swimming with my son yesterday so took everything out...big mistake. Sod's law...I got a puncture about 3 miles from home and had the long walk home. Thought i'd have a go at fixing this time (as I'm off work at the moment).
Only problem was that I've never done one before...took me the good 3/4 of an hour (after I realised that I stuck the patch on upside down...I know...I know).
Is it worth the hassle???

You mean your dad never showed you how to get the tyre off with kitchen spoons ?

 

[Browser]

You mean your dad never showed you how to get the tyre off with kitchen spoons ?

My (late) dad used to work in a bike shop and would have shot me for trying this, closely followed by my mum for using her spoons for working on a bicycle Tyre levers from the off for me, never looked back.

 

[MontyVeda]

... Tyre levers from the off for me, never looked back.

pussy... i rip mine off with my teeth!

 

[baldycyclist]

You mean your dad never showed you how to get the tyre off with kitchen spoons ?

how many times was I told off by mum for bent spoons?
BTW - thank god for the invention of plastic levers - worked well today for me

 

[lejogger]

Due to lack of success with my repairs and buying tubes in bulk when the good offers are on, it's generally a lot more time effective and virtually as cost effective just to throw shove a new tube in. I've got a pile of used ones in the garage that I might get round to attempting at some point

 

[Peteaud]

As a kid, bent spoons.

Also use the ready glued patches, cant beat them.