lesson learned the hard way!

[Beebo]

Can anyone beat this for a morning disaster?

Woke up, it was raining so I put on my new Night Vision Evo jacket for the first time, all seemed good.

Got a pucture after 25 mins. No problem I thought,

Plan A - I am fully prepared for these type of things I carry a spare tube. So I replaced the tube, put the wheel back on, went to pump the tyre up and found the valve was faulty.

Plan B - I will have to repair the tube in the rain, not ideal but I can do it. So being a fully prepared commuter I opened my trusty puncture repair kit, to find I had everything except a spare patch!! So now I have no spare tube, no repair patch, its raining and I'm still 6 miles from work.

Plan C - I will put the punctured tube back in and do the "pump and dash" technique to try and get me to work. but the tube deflated within 250m everytime I pumped it back up.

Plan D - I pushed my bike to work, I was cold, wet and over an hour late.

Lesson learned the hard way. I will never make that mistake again!!

 

[akb]

Sounds like an awful morning! Whats the plan for the return journey...?

 

[gaz]

Carry two spare tubes

 

[Beebo]

Sounds like an awful morning! Whats the plan for the return journey...?

I'm going to Evans at lunch to buy a new tube and more patches. Then I will have to change the wheel before leaving work tonight.

 

[BentMikey]

Carry two spare tubes

...and a fully equipped repair kit.

 

[I like Skol]

Carry two spare tubes

FTW! 2 tubes is the way to go although I had to use both in one go a few weeks ago as I had a front and rear deflation at the same time, both due to tiny slivers of glass.

 

[gambatte]

Leave a couple of tubes at work too. I leave a cheapo repair kit there too. Lidl/Aldi tools.

 

[ohnovino]

You could have tried cutting a square of rubber from the tube with the bust valve, and using that as a patch. Probably wouldn't make for a long term solution, but might have held long enough to get you to work.

 

[mr_cellophane]

I had a slow puncture Friday morning, forgot the spare tube and last patch. Can't find the reason for the hole and second one in the same tyre in a week.

 

[twozeronine]

I once cycled 10 miles on a flat, because I was too much of a noob back then, and used up all my patches trying to fix it (I kept applying them badly so that air was still leaking out). I also once cycled a few miles with BOTH tyres flat. A kind cyclist asked if I needed help, but I was near my destination by then. Incredibly stupid of me, and amazingly my rims survived.

I'm much more prepared & capable now though.

 

[Beebo]

You could have tried cutting a square of rubber from the tube with the bust valve, and using that as a patch. Probably wouldn't make for a long term solution, but might have held long enough to get you to work.

If I had had a knife I would have done just that.

In my desperation I tried to glue half a business card on top the hole to try and stem the flow just a little but it clearly didnt work.

 

[Twanger]

If I had had a knife I would have done just that.

In my desperation I tried to glue half a business card on top the hole to try and stem the flow just a little but it clearly didnt work.

It's rubber solution, not glue. Maybe that's why!

But what a good idea. I would never have thought of that. I have a swiss army knife in my repair kit...

 

[Alien8]

Put the good tube on the back and learn to pull a wheelie.

Or carry two tubes and a repair kit - I thought everybody did that!

 

[cyberknight]

I learnt the hard way to carry 2 tubes when it was so cold the rubber solution would not set in the middle of last winter when i have a double flat ...

 

[fossyant]

2 tubes and a 'repair kit' can cover most disasters. The only one you can't is.... exploding rims