Patch recommendation...

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
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[XAP]Bob
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Patch recommendation...

Post by [XAP]Bob »

As the title. Am now out of patches...
I have some preference towards having some of the 'sticker' type for roadside use, but am happy to have a more involved patch method at home.

What brands do people recommend?
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
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Brucey
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by Brucey »

tip top; work well but pricey
cure-C-cure; pretty good but the outer layer of rubber often cracks in time
weldtite patch strip; effective but inelegant because the edges are not tapered

right now I'm using some Chinese patches branded as 'thumbs up'. They work as well as anything else I have tried.

IME 'poundland' repair kits contain workable patches but in 'poundworld' kits, the patches don't stick very well. Not sure if it is the rubber solution or the patches, but I suspect the former.

cheers
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Samuel D
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by Samuel D »

As with tubes, I don’t see the point in trying to save money here, there being hardly any scope for saving and great potential for hassle. I use Rema Tip Top F0 (circular, 16 mm diameter) patches. They’re available in packs of 10. I buy the Rema Tip Top rubber solution in separate tubes and pack two for the road, one new and sealed to be sure it works if the open tube has failed. I also carry a spare tube to ensure that patching on the roadside is a rare activity.
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mjr
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by mjr »

Currently Weldtite c-cure when gluing (some merchants will sell strips of these) and Slime Skabs when on group rides. I'd happily use Rema Tip Top, Park Tool or fwe again. I carry a spare tube, but prefer to patch without removing the wheel if possible.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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NUKe
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by NUKe »

Brucey wrote:tip top; work well but pricey

Tip Top are pricey but the patches can be bought in bulk. from EBay. you will then need a tube or two of glue.
NUKe
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ANTONISH
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by ANTONISH »

I learned to mend punctures when I was at primary school - that's over sixty years ago.
When cure-c- cure patches became available they were a remarkable improvement on previous types (were they marketed as "Tip Top" at some stage?)
In the past the backing celophane material which readily split and peeled off seemed to have been replaced with something harder to remove -or maybe it's just an impression.
In recent years I've tried various self adhesive patches with varying success (O.K as get you home) but still found the traditional patch better.

In the last couple of years I've been using Lezyne self adhesive patches which I find very good - in fact I don't bother with the traditional type now.
If you want the traditional feather edge patches I've found Decathlon patches work well.
drossall
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by drossall »

I may be the only one, but I swear by the Weldtite strip that you cut into your own pieces. Sticks better than anything I know.
Brucey
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by Brucey »

Samuel D wrote:... I don’t see the point in trying to save money here, there being hardly any scope for saving and great potential for hassle. ...


NUKe wrote:
Brucey wrote:tip top; work well but pricey
Tip Top are pricey but the patches can be bought in bulk. from EBay. you will then need a tube or two of glue.


I end up fixing lots of punctures (hardly any my own BTW) and if I used Tip Top patches it would cost me about £50 a year. The 'thumbs up' ones I mentioned earlier work just as well and cost less than 1/10th the price. The packs I buy also each contain a tube of effective rubber solution, as well as the patches.

cheers
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foxyrider
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by foxyrider »

I've eschewed traditional patches for some years now - evaporating glue being just one issue, unremovable backing another.

Instead I carry a self contained Park tools self adhesive patch kit - tiny and effective for most needs. As I usually replace the tube it's a back up for multi puncture days.

Last time I used tradional patches was to repair someone else's Ortlieb panniers for which Weldtite feather edge patches worked very well.
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pjclinch
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by pjclinch »

drossall wrote:I may be the only one, but I swear by the Weldtite strip that you cut into your own pieces. Sticks better than anything I know.


I've been going through one of those for... quite some time now (Marathons don't puncture that much). I'd agree it seems to do the business. Every now and then I have to buy a new tube of goop to go with it.

I have a pack of the instant patches for on the move, but IME most punctures are relatively slow and announce themselves as flats when you get the bike out.

Pete.
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gloomyandy
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by gloomyandy »

Since we are talking patches... What are you supposed to do with the clear backing/topping that is on many of them? It can be very hard to remove it without ruining the feathered edge, are you supposed to? Is there some trick to it?
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meic
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by meic »

The posh ones have a split in the plastic, you fold the patch (after the repair) to open up the split and peel the plastic off from the centre outwards.
Half the time I just leave them in place.
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gxaustin
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by gxaustin »

I end up fixing lots of punctures (hardly any my own BTW) and if I used Tip Top patches it would cost me about £50 a year. The 'thumbs up' ones I mentioned earlier work just as well and cost less than 1/10th the price. The packs I buy also each contain a tube of effective rubber solution, as well as the patches.

Amazing Brucey - you fix over 300 punctures per year, based on what I pay for Tip Top. No wonder you want a cheaper alternative. That's almost one per day. I average one puncture per 1,500/2,000 miles.
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by [XAP]Bob »

gxaustin wrote:
I end up fixing lots of punctures (hardly any my own BTW) and if I used Tip Top patches it would cost me about £50 a year. The 'thumbs up' ones I mentioned earlier work just as well and cost less than 1/10th the price. The packs I buy also each contain a tube of effective rubber solution, as well as the patches.

Amazing Brucey - you fix over 300 punctures per year, based on what I pay for Tip Top. No wonder you want a cheaper alternative. That's almost one per day. I average one puncture per 1,500/2,000 miles.

He did say that hardly any were his own...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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Sweep
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Re: Patch recommendation...

Post by Sweep »

Brucey wrote:
Samuel D wrote:... I don’t see the point in trying to save money here, there being hardly any scope for saving and great potential for hassle. ...


NUKe wrote:
Brucey wrote:tip top; work well but pricey
Tip Top are pricey but the patches can be bought in bulk. from EBay. you will then need a tube or two of glue.


I end up fixing lots of punctures (hardly any my own BTW) and if I used Tip Top patches it would cost me about £50 a year. The 'thumbs up' ones I mentioned earlier work just as well and cost less than 1/10th the price. The packs I buy also each contain a tube of effective rubber solution, as well as the patches.

cheers

Please tell us where you get them brucey?

I did find the brand online but not really in convenient packs. Save me digging.
Sweep
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