Patch recommendation...

[Sweep]

It is an excellent idea to carry a few glueless patches with you, even if you intend to use a conventional patch; that way you won't be stranded in the event of dried rubber solution.

Interesting. Will consider. But since I would only use them in the most extreme emargencies (I always carry two new tubes and have only once had to resort to patching on the road) do "glueless" patches deteriorate/go off with age? For I am assuming that they actually have glue within them.

[PJ520]

knots, insulation tape, all kinds of things can be done in a pinch to slow the air enough to be able to ride home. It is an excellent idea to carry a few glueless patches with you, even if you intend to use a conventional patch; that way you won't be stranded in the event of dried rubber solution.

cheers

Good point Brucey. It's on the list. (probably will still be on the list when I need 'em. )

[mjr]

Interesting. Will consider. But since I would only use them in the most extreme emargencies (I always carry two new tubes and have only once had to resort to patching on the road) do "glueless" patches deteriorate/go off with age? For I am assuming that they actually have glue within them.

Probably, but most of the glue's sealed against the backing paper and I'm sure I've had some last more than a year. I prefer to patch without removing the tube entirely when possible, with C-Cure ideally, but on a group ride or in bad weather, I tend to use instant patches rather than wait for the rubber solution to cure. I then replace them with C-Cure patches at my leisure at home when I get around to it.

[Sweep]

Mm
A year's not much mjr.
As i said i get very few plunctures.
Why don't you carry spare tubes rather than the awful faff of putting on and then taking off patches?

[Brucey]

most glueless patches seem to last several years, unused, if they are stored sensibly (e.g. in a small ziplock bag).

If you are using a bike with an IGH and a chaincase, it is often quickest to patch a rear tube in situ rather than replace it.

cheers

[mjr]

Mm
A year's not much mjr.
As i said i get very few plunctures.

I wrote "more than a year". I'm sure I've had some that long. I can't say for sure that I've had them that much longer. I'm riding every day over some of the harshest surfaces - a mix of bits worn off the road and car crash debris in town, combined with arrowhead flints out in the countryside, with occasional scatterings of broken tiles when someone's used that to surface a bridleway (most recently seen on Branch Bank near Littleport). I only buy six-packs from local bike shops and I give them to other riders if they need them.

Why don't you carry spare tubes rather than the awful faff of putting on and then taking off patches?

I do usually carry spare tubes but replacing a tube at the roadside is much more faff than removing only part of a tyre and applying a patch. Also, I'd rather repair what can be repaired and keep the spare tube for a serious problem.

[gloomyandy]

I do usually carry spare tubes but replacing a tube at the roadside is much more faff than removing only part of a tyre and applying a patch. Also, I'd rather repair what can be repaired and keep the spare tube for a serious problem.

How do you know which part of the tyre to remove to gain access to the puncture? I can only assume you must have different types of punctures then we do. Usually the location of a puncture in my part of the world is only found by removing the tube and pumping it up to find the spot that air is (often slowly) escaping. It is very rare for there to be any obvious sign of the puncture location in the outside of the tyre. Typically this is caused by a tiny splinter of glass that you are very lucky to see once the correct part of the tyre has been identified!

[mjr]

How do you know which part of the tyre to remove to gain access to the puncture?

It's the bit with the air whistling out. Sometimes it helps to wet the tyre so it bubbles instead of whistles because Norfolk is the driest part of the country, but even here it often gets wet on its own this time of year.

Typically this is caused by a tiny splinter of glass that you are very lucky to see once the correct part of the tyre has been identified!

Yeah, the lumps of glass left in crash debris and flints are both fairly obvious. Maybe you're like the trains and have got the wrong kind of glass!

[Brucey]

IME a puddle is a useful thing for determining whereabouts a puncture is; the air escapes from the cover not far from where it escapes from the tube, often through the hole that made the puncture in the first place.

cheers

[[XAP]Bob]

Well...
Another visitation (most annoying, but I had only just left home, so limped back).

A fragment of glass was removed from the tyre and the (relatively significant) hole in the tube was covered with one of my new self adhesive patches:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DM5FCYY

They are an 'add-on' from Amazon (i.e. they'll chuck them in another order so that postage isn't affected) but work pretty well I have to say.
The original tyre had one placed on and is still fine, this one held after a quick squeeze with my fingers.

The edges aren't feathered, but that does make them much easier to get off the backing paper.

I also can't say what they'll be like after 12 months of temperature/humidity changes in their box whilst commuting...

[Grarea]

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?

Do nothing with it, leave it in place.

It is there to stop any residual glue sticking the tube to the inside of the tyre and is far better than messing about with french chalk as we did in days of old.

Ah, I never thought to leave it in situ.

That makes sense.
I did see a video where, before using the patch, they bent it in half, this split the plastic layer and so when finished you can peel it from the middle out.
Thus not upsetting the feathered edge.


Just adding my bit to the self adhesive patches.
I used one last year and it has been completely fine.
I was pleased and impressed by this new fandangled technology.

However, I got a slowy and discovered that the patch had degraded.
It was a small chunk out of the tube. Where the air was in contact with the tube, it had made it a yellowy colour.
This was more brittle and had split slightly allowing air through.

So, back to keeping them as very useful emergency patches and must remember to repair them properly when I get home.

[Brucey]

It is there to stop any residual glue sticking the tube to the inside of the tyre.

Ah, I never thought to leave it in situ.

That makes sense.
I did see a video where, before using the patch, they bent it in half, this split the plastic layer and so when finished you can peel it from the middle out.
Thus not upsetting the feathered edge.

The backing is to allow the patch to be made and handled; without it being there, it would be very difficult to remove the foil from the other side, and the foil is vital because it protects the part of the patch that is glued. The whole point of feather-edged patches is that they can stretch with the tube better than normal. If you don't remove the backing then this advantage is completely lost (*). Most patches with a plastic backing have perforations in the plastic so that it can be removed. If the backing is paper it cracks up in time anyway, but removing either sort isn't always easy.

(*) However there is something to be said for a stiff backing that also sticks to the tube; this forces the tube to stretch well away from the patch itself, which might reduce the strain on the patch when it is freshly applied. I don't know that any plastic backings stick well enough for this to happen, but some paper ones do. Given that they disintegrate over time anyway, it might be OK to leave these on.

...Just adding my bit to the self adhesive patches.
I used one last year and it has been completely fine.
I was pleased and impressed by this new fandangled technology.

However, I got a slowy and discovered that the patch had degraded.
It was a small chunk out of the tube. Where the air was in contact with the tube, it had made it a yellowy colour.
This was more brittle and had split slightly allowing air through.

So, back to keeping them as very useful emergency patches and must remember to repair them properly when I get home.

yep, glueless patches are mostly OK for a get you home, not so good for a permanent repair. Glueless patches seem to fail most quickly when they are beneath the part of the tread that flexes most, but this may vary with the exact type of patch.

cheers

[Grarea]

Nice.
Thanks Brucey.

[pwa]

Had a puncture yesterday, roadside I just put a new tube in. I had patches too, but didn't use them. This morning I took the punctured tube out of the bag and put a standard patch on with glue, sat in an armchair watching Homes Under The Hammer, gave it 20 minutes to set properly, then rolled it, put a band around it, and popped it back into the bag for next time. Done that way there is no faffing with patches at the roadside, and my patches never fail.

[PH]

yep, glueless patches are mostly OK for a get you home, not so good for a permanent repair.
cheers

Is there a technique for removing them to replace with a traditional patch once home?
I used one instant (Park) patch, lasted a couple of thousand miles then peeled enough to leak, took ages to remove then couldn't clean the tube up enough to stick a proper patch on. It's put me off using them, though I still carry a couple in case of need.