On road inner tube repair

[I like Skol]

Some of us actually enjoy the ritual of repairing tubes properly. We use the problem of landfill to give a noble sheen to something we do anyway.

Others see it as a tiresome chore and buy replacements. They may use the economics of replacement or make up a spurious safety argument for something they were going to do anyway.

The decisions aren't made rationally. We just tack arguments on afterwards to try to rationalise our behaviour.

Absolutely. I repair tubes because there is nothing wrong with them, for a few pence worth of rubber and a spot of glue I save myself the hassle of travelling to a shop or trying to bulk up a internet order for free delivery to obtain replacement tubes. The end result is a known good/tested innertube while a brand new tube is of unknown integrity and may fail prematurely due to poor manufacture.
The landfill/environmental argument is just a satisfying bonus.

 

[PaulSB]

What utter tosh! A punctured tube has not 'failed'. There is nothing defective with the materials or manufacture of a tube that has been punctured by a foreign body. The materials that constitute a tube have not aged, fatigued, perished or worn simply due to the fact that a puncture occurred and a cheap, easy repair, if done correctly (it really isn't rocket science) returns the tube to the same condition it was in before the puncture happened. There is nothing unsafe or irresponsible about using repaired inner tubes, that is just an awful excuse to try and justify the obscene wastefulness of throwing away something useful so needlessly!

I'm not happy with relying on a previously punctured and repaired tube. This could sit in my bag for a significant period during which deterioration could take place to the repair.

I have a responsibility to myself to stay safe. This is why I feel carrying repaired tubes is not responsible. What others chose to do is for them to decide. I've made no judgement as to whether or not that behaviour is responsible.

Speaking for myself I prefer to use more measured language when responding to posts.

 

[raleighnut]

By the way, does anybody have any tips for repairing across these sipes i.e above, below and to the right of the white cross in this picture.

Yep sand em down a bit more, that's the bit of repairing a tube that people skimp on but then some people don't allow the 'glue' enough time to dry before just whacking the patch on and wondering why they don't stick.

 

[Sharky]

I'm not happy with relying on a previously punctured and repaired tube. This could sit in my bag for a significant period during which deterioration could take place to the repair.

This is one of the reasons why I repair and refit when I can at the road side. It immediately proves the repair has been done correctly and my brand new spare is still in my bag as contingency.
When I repair at home, they are left inflated for days to make sure they are not losing air.

 

[Blue Hills]

I don't know anyone who patches tubes. Change one and bin it.

I used to know someone who said that. He said it as a matter of pride. Struck me as bizarre. Fair to assume your sample is from the smart racing fraternity? You should tell them that the germans mastered the tube patch decades ago. Or give in and tell them to bin them after every ride - it's been proven that old air in tubes degrades them and performance, leading to podium shame. Old air smells.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I'm not happy with relying on a previously punctured and repaired tube. This could sit in my bag for a significant period during which deterioration could take place to the repair.

An unrepaired tube is likely to deteriorate too. In fact your whole bike is deteriorating before your eyes.

Unless you have actual knowledge that tube repairs deteriorate rapidly relative to other parts of the bike then this is, as Skolly put it, "tosh".

You don't have to fix your tubes. No one's forcing you to. You're free to choose. Just don't try to dress your decision up in safety terms.

 

[Blue Hills]

I certainly take your point and it's not one I have considered before. How do I feel about it in regard to myself? It's obviously a big question and one we were discussing in the cafe just yesterday. At what point are individuals prepared to make lifestyle changes in response to global warming issues?

Personally I've used one tube in the last three years but of course that fails to account for every cyclist. My household does all it can to reduce waste, we take it as far as we possibly can. For example every bit of waste which was once organic is composted for garden use - even individual tissues get composted. Our general waste bin is rarely more than a quarter full over a fortnightly collection. The culprits for this are supermarkets.

I'm not prepared to find myself stuck in the middle of nowhere with a tube which has failed because it's been repaired. Some like to replace and then repair at home using the repaired tube as a spare. It only takes two punctures to mean one is riding round with spares which have already failed at least once. From an overall safety view I don't think this is responsible.

Hi paul - convinced you are a nice chap - salvation awaits.
I must say this approach is not only environmentally bad (which you aren't) but illogical. A repaired tube is no more likely to fail than a new one - you could even say less likely as repairs will have been tested by you, new ones not. Save pricked tubes, fix several at a time. Test by pumping up and leaving a day or so. I have tubes with many patches. With your pals, you need never buy a new tube again - be shameless and claim their discarded tubes on rides.
Ah, just thinking aloud, are they worried about the weight penalty of a patch?

 

[snorri]

When touring I have used my ground sheet and bits of light line to rig a tent of sorts in order to provide a shelter from the rain. Then brew a cup of tea and when suitably relaxed get out the little box with tyre levers, glue, and patches.

 

[Dogtrousers]

When touring I have used my ground sheet and bits of light line to rig a tent of sorts in order to provide a shelter from the rain. Then brew a cup of tea and when suitably relaxed get out the little box with tyre levers glue and patches.

Now that I like. Sounds so calm and relaxed.

It was so frustrating on Sunday because it wasn't actually raining very hard - just steadily - and nothing would stay dry. My environmentally hostile synthetic jersey wouldn't dry anything. The packet of tissues I had in my rack bag had gone soggy. Also I cut my hand on the sprockets while taking the pump head off the valve and started bleeding everywhere.

And to make things worse, people kept riding past and offering to help, in a nice friendly manner. I don't know why that made things worse, but it did.

 

[footloose crow]

I had a back tyre burst on me once going over the bridge to Barmouth on the Mawddach Trail in west Wales. Inner tube shredded. Tyre split. Decided I could limp back with split tyre but broke the valve in my spare inner tube when I tried to pump it up. Now covered in oil, bike upside down and wheel off, people passing with a grin and nod. No bike shops in Barmouth it appears. No choice but to jump on my wife's bike - far too small - and pedal precariously for 11 miles back to the motorhome. (Wife can't put bikes on the motorhome as she can't lift them high enough, so she can't do the trip.)

The nearest bike shop was in Aberystwyth, the following day.

Lesson learnt. Replace old tyres as well as carrying more than one inner tube.

 

[BalkanExpress]

Okay I, quickly, checked that no one had already posted this.

makeshift repair

Obviously not much use in the Gobi desert or Antartica.

Has anone ever managed to get those aerosols with the sealant in to do anything other than spray foam all over the road? I have a couple at home and I think they will be used at Christmas to put some snow around the snowman

 

[BalkanExpress]

2 tubes and a tip top puncture kit.
I used ready glued patches once in the 90's but they leaked. Never again.
Can't see the appeal of puncture resistant tyres as from experience, they're a bit/very dead feeling.
Can't see myself doing something stupid enough to warrant a tyre boot and if the tyre does get that wrecked I sure as hell don't wanna use it. So ETA is for that.
The wonder of my Pendle is that if it is chucking down, the tube can be repaired under its lid
One thing I learnt a few years ago was to keep the spare tubes in individual plastic bags. I heard this trick from a CTC forum member but thought he was talking balony. Over time, the tubes move around in your saddle bag and surprisingly, can wear holes in the tube.

+1 for the plastic bags, As I am running at least three different tyre widths on different bikes, I also pop a bit of paper in the bag with the tyre size on it to try and avoid having to squeeze a 35-45 into a 23mm tyre

 

[BalkanExpress]

and a TMN to @Blue Hills

 

[Blue Hills]

and a TMN to @Blue Hills

Tmn?

 

[Gravity Aided]

Tiny My Newt, who spoke of others having voiced the same content as Tiny My Newt had previously, since then an oft mentioned acronym for just such a situation.