Snakebite puncture

[Blue Hills]

Much to my surprise got one the other day.

Am a meanie but wondering - do you folks patch such punctures?

A bit mystified as to what caused it as am normally careful about fittings tubes and checking that nothing is trapped (it was a newly fitted wheel and tube/tyre) and it didn't happen until the very end of a long ride - in fact I only noticed it getting off the train at my home station so walked it home.

Must admit I didn't check the tube for any small slower puncture holes (hard to do since all the air just whooshed out of the snake bites) but couldn't see anything obvious that had gone through the tyre.

Just feeling lucky it didn't happen in the damp dark wilds of essex before I hit the train at Shenfield.

Punctures very rare for me.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Snakebite punctures mean binning the tube. I had one a few years ago that popped in the garage some four months after fitting the tyre. I must have slightly pinched the tube when fitting it and over time the wall weakened till it eventually failed.

 

[screenman]

Snake bites are more often caused by hitting something sharp ( kerb pot hole) with a tyre not inflated enough for the job.

 

[Blue Hills]

Snake bites are more often caused by hitting something sharp ( kerb pot hole) with a tyre not inflated enough for the job.

Ta for the reply screenman.
Am aware of this scenario.
But my tubes are never underinflated.
Possible that it had somehow deflated before the snakebite hit I suppose.
As I said hard to look for small punctures when the snakebite just makes all the air whoosh out.
Will take your advice to bin the tube @Smokin Joe , but keen to avoid a repeat.

 

[Ajax Bay]

But my tubes are never underinflated.
Possible that it had somehow deflated before the snakebite hit I suppose.
As I said hard to look for small punctures when the snakebite just makes all the air whoosh out.
Will take your advice to bin the tube @Smokin Joe , but keen to avoid a repeat.

'Snakebite' punctures have little to do with tube/tyre fitting. They are all caused by the mechanism described by @screenman .
Most sensible riders check the pressure in their tyres frequently, and it is good practice to do so before every ride - at least a thumb test but quantatively (ie gauge) regularly. But even if a rider does this pre-ride check, there's a chance that they get/develop a slow puncture. And then, later in the ride, an unavoided sharp edge (eg debris or pothole or kerb) may (and sooner or later 'will') cause a snakebite.
One way to mitigate this risk is, on a long ride, to get in the habit of a quick thumb test before resuming riding after every stop (eg hourly-ish, say). If this is 'too much effort' at least check the front one - see below.
I had a 'big off' two years ago, as I described (with some analysis) in this post. This was caused by a snakebite going downhill fast at the 199km point of a 300km audax. Quite keen to avoid this happening again. Remember, a lesson identified is not a 'lesson learned' unless a change has occurred (eg (more) regularly/frequently checking pressures before and during a ride).
Difficult to achieve an assured repair of a tube which has suffered a snakebite - so I'd bin the tube too.

 

[Vantage]

You don't need to bin it. Depending oh how far apart the holes are and how big they are, one of those rectangular patches can be used. Or two smaller patches.
I've done it a few times and the tyre didn't explode to smitherines as a result.

 

[Blue Hills]

You don't need to bin it. Depending oh how far apart the holes are and how big they are, one of those rectangular patches can be used. Or two smaller patches.
I've done it a few times and the tyre didn't explode to smitherines as a result.

Thanks vantage. I may try.

 

[Ajax Bay]

You don't need to bin it. Depending oh how far apart the holes are and how big they are, one of those rectangular patches can be used. Or two smaller patches.

My opinion (bin it) is based on this being a road tyre/tube (28mm say) so on the deflated tube the two holes will/may be only about 12mm apart (wider tyres/tubes are patchable - 2 patches). It is often difficult to achieve a secure repair if the patches are overlapping and if one tries to use one patch to cover both holes/slits, that, on inflation, will significantly constrain the tube to the extent that the patch is more likely to fail.
There might be one benefit of patching, and a durable patch is not necessary. If the tube is patched, any subsidiary, slow puncture might be revealed (test in sink) and one can look for the cause (tyre penetration or rim tape failure / spoke hole edge).

 

[Vantage]

With narrow tubes I'd agree with you. From what I've seen though, @Blue Hills runs 35+ tyres.
I've been wrong before though...

 

[Blue Hills]

With narrow tubes I'd agree with you. From what I've seen though, @Blue Hills runs 35+ tyres.
I've been wrong before though...

Intrigued/possibly disturbed by your apparent knowledge Vantage

Tyres on this bike actually 28 - so I think I'll give it a miss - always a use for old tubes.

 

[Vantage]

Intrigued/possibly disturbed by your apparent knowledge Vantage

Tyres on this bike actually 28

No need to be disturbed Blue Hills. I got you tyre size wrong so clearly not stalking you enough.
I must try harder.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Tubeless solves this, if you can I'd thoroughly recommend it

 

[Blue Hills]

No need to be disturbed Blue Hills. I got you tyre size wrong so clearly not stalking you enough.
I must try harder.

You were probably looking at my bike in front of pics. I have several bikes, in fact a shameful number, though less shameful as most were cheap.

 

[ColinJ]

I tend to repair a punctured tube until there are 4 or 5 patches on it. That includes snakebite punctures. My tyres are 25Cs and I don't have any problems covering 2 holes. (The patches that I use are pretty big, covering about half the width of the tube.)

I have a repair technique which seems to work well:

• I locate the punctured part of the tube and use a biro to mark a patch-sized circle round the hole(s) so I can make sure that the patch goes exactly where I want it to.
• I use sandpaper to abrade the area surrounding the hole(s) to give the adhesive something to grip.
• I apply plenty of adhesive and allow it to go tacky.
• I apply the patch, aligning it with my ink circle.
• I place a 2p piece on top of the patch and a second coin on the opposite side of the tube, making sure that the patch has not moved.
• I clamp the 2 coins between the jaws of my Mole Grips.
• Put the whole lot to one side and leave for 30+ minutes for the adhesive to dry. (If I am not in a hurry, I would probably just leave it overnight.)

If I have done this carefully then I end up with a perfect repair. Very few of the repairs fail during my 5-repair/tube limit. In theory, I could go on repairing a tube until there is a catastrophic failure such as a broken valve or one which has ripped out of the tube, but I figure that if my repairs have (say) a 5% risk of failure then having more than 4 or 5 of them per tube is pushing my luck!

 

[fossyant]

4 or 5 Colin, you scallywag ! 2-3 patches is my max then bin (TBH the tubes are usually getting rather old by then). Snake bites = bin.