Inner tubes, fix or ditch?

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cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Wish I was compulsed to fix puntures , had a bag of tubes sitting which had 9 tubes in it in need of fixing , fixed 5 so far but ran out of patches (Thank God).

Anyone who bins tubes /tyres can always send them to me , i would be grateful as i had a session of glueing up nicks in my tyres today and repairing a couple of tubes i had left hanging on the repair hook.
 

Matthew_T

"Young and Ex-whippet"
LOL , just you wait till you have kids , i have even used old tubes to make patches for useable tubes.
Current one has 5 patches on it and i will not replace it till it either blows , the valve packs up or i get a hole on a existing patch.
That is just mental! Dont you have a slow puncture? You are magician if you can manage to use a tube with 5 patches and not have a slow puncture.
 

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
That is just mental! Dont you have a slow puncture? You are magician if you can manage to use a tube with 5 patches and not have a slow puncture.

Unless the puncture is a really large tear in the tube, or in an awkward position like on a seam or at the valve, it really isn't too hard to patch them properly.

Sand down puncture area a bit (just to rough it up), clean the area and ensure it is dry, apply the glue/rubber cement and wait for it to go tacky. Then apply the patch making sure you don't touch the underside of the patch and that it is clean. Apply pressure to the patch until dry.
 
U

User6179

Guest
Anyone who bins tubes /tyres can always send them to me , i would be grateful as i had a session of glueing up nicks in my tyres today and repairing a couple of tubes i had left hanging on the repair hook.

Will get around to the tubes one day ,definately maybe:unsure:
 

zizou

Veteran
I replace with a new tube, put the old one in my pocket to take back and patch at a later date.

I've never got round to this later date yet...i have at least 30 tubes hanging up in the garage waiting to be done :blush:
 

Jdratcliffe

Well-Known Member
Location
Redhill, Surrey
Repair, then replace after 3 repairs.
+1
 

Davidc

Guru
Location
Somerset UK
That is just mental! Dont you have a slow puncture? You are magician if you can manage to use a tube with 5 patches and not have a slow puncture.
The repairs are usually more airtight than the original tube.

A tube can go on being patched until either it would mean 2 patches on top of each other, a puncturing object going through so that there's a hole on a seam or very near the valve, or a large hole or tear.

I'm not sure how many patches I've had on a tube in the past, but it's well over 10 and I'm certainly not a magician!

I've also thrown out tubes on a replace don't repair basis when touring, so I'm not squeaky clean on the waste side either!
 

youngoldbloke

The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
I use the rubbery plastic things that you get standard. Is it worth cutting up an old tube and using patches instead?
No, IMO. I prefer Park Tool dry for emergency 'get you home' patches* (although I have never had one fail, anyway), and Rema TipTop, for a permanent repair. I wouldn't normally put more than 3 patches on a tube, but there is no reason not to.
*It is possible to run out of spare tubes on the road, so always carry patches.
 
Location
London
*It is possible to run out of spare tubes on the road, so always carry patches.

Very wise - listen to him folks. Can happen if your tyre is particularly worn or you don't manage to actually find what pierced the tyre. Also advisable of course to take TWO tubes. If one of your tube fails is a valve fail things are starting to get dicey.
 
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