Repairing inner tube punctures

[Len Shepherd]

Hardly technical - but most inner tubes now come with the joint seal around the outside of the tube - which is close to where most punctures occur.
Some seals now protrude as much as an eighth of an inch
This can make applying a patch during a ride challenging as the joint seal (some inner tubes even have three) has to be smoothly removed with sandpaper or similar to successfully apply a puncture repair patch.
Does anybody know of a brand of inner tube where the seam is on the inside (in line with the spoke nipples) - and where can I buy them?
None of the cycle shops within a 20 mile radius stock easily repairable inner tubes.
Having been able to easily repair inner tubes for 72 years of cycling now, an old old-age pensioner, I cannot afford to throw a £4 inner tube away each time I have a puncture.

Len Shepherd

[mattsccm]

a) Why patch a tube on a ride? Carry a spare.
b) When you get home, sand the ridge down or even take a razor to the ridge.

[DNC123]

a) Why patch a tube on a ride? Carry a spare.
b) When you get home, sand the ridge down or even take a razor to the ridge.

Carry a couple of spares. Who wants to be trying to patch tyres on a cold, wet, dirty winter ride?
Or go tubeless.

[dim]

Kudos for cycling so many years!!

how many punctures do you get in a year?

[Brucey]

back when inner tubes were often red-coloured, patches stuck to them very easily; now however, butyl tubes may hold the air better but are less easy to patch. The ridge is just one extra annoyance.

I will repair a tube (if I can do it, and do it well) by the roadside but otherwise I will whack a spare tube in and fix the other one at home.

In recent years I have taken to abrading tubes using a dremel tool; if the tube is lightly inflated (or held against a sponge or something if it won't hold air for long enough) then a ~6mm dia stone can be used to (gently, with care) clean the surface. It also makes short work of any seams or ridges. IME this prep gives the best possible surface for a patch to stick to.

cheers

[NUKe]

Carry a spare tube then repair at home. The seam can easily be removed with a piece of emery cloth, but this best done in the comfort of your home.

[robgul]

. . . . and when repairing a tube at home - if you have a bench vice - clamp the patch between two pieces of wood (MDF is excellent, although perhaps not really wood!) in the vice to really press the patch to the tube. Leave for about 30 minutes.

Rob

[fausto99]

I always carry more than one spare tube and rarely do more than 50 miles, but, if by chance it's been a long bad day and you've had more p*******s than you have spare tubes, then, if you had a single sided razor blade, you could scrape the seam flash off.

P.s. sorry about the long sentence. It must be my Italian background

[mattheus]

Good question! If there ARE still tubes available that don't have this irritation, then they seem a much better solution than carrying razor blades or just buying more hard-to-repair tubes.

It's funny what people will say rather than admit that they can't answer the question

I'll probably forget, but I'll try to look at some of mine when I'm at home with a spare 10mins (typically, this won't occur until around Sunday evening, sorry ... )

p.s. if better tubes CANT be sourced, I'd say the most cost-effective solution is a razor-blade* and a few £1-each tubes off t'internet as extra spares.

*cheaper than a dremel

[PH]

Confession time - I repaired tubes for years without realising you were supposed to remove any bits sticking up
Maybe I just got lucky, but I never had a failure and some of those tubes are still in use. I do sand it down a bit now, but I'm still probably not as fussed about it as some on here. I think the type of patch helps, I like the Tip Top ones which seem more flexible than most. I also like to repair at the roadside, unless there's a reason not to (Rain, train to catch...) it's not a big task and that's it, job done, rather than doing half a job and leaving something else to do later.
I had some Michelin tubes with just a single protrusion, which wasn't that pronounced, though that was some years ago and when I went looking for replacements ended up with something else (Vittoria, though they didn't match the image on the sellers website)

[Cyril Haearn]

I use marathon plus tyres, not had a p****e for years, glad to pay more for robust sluggish tyres
They last well too

[robc02]

........ I also like to repair at the roadside, unless there's a reason not to (Rain, train to catch...) it's not a big task and that's it, job done, rather than doing half a job and leaving something else to do later.

+1. I take the view that I have to find the location of the puncture in order to remove the object from the tyre, and while I am doing that it is not much more trouble to patch the tube. I sand down the ridge as best I can, but it often doesn't end up perfectly flat.

[Darkman]

I wonder if my cynical side is correct in thinking they deliberately make tubes like that now because the manufacturer would rather you bought a new one than repair it?

[reohn2]

Ok,to remove the ridge using a sharp knife(I always carry a very small swiss army penknife),with the tube held tight over the Puncture Outfit box,use the knife as a scraper at right angles to and along the ridge,a few scapes will remove if not all but the vast majority of the ridge.Then follow up with 120 or 180 grit abrasive.
Apply glue with tip of finger wait a minute or two,then apply a second coat of glue again spread with the finger tip,remove foil from the patch (TipTop are without doubt best)applymthe patch to tube and press lightly,no need to wait it's stuck firm.Fold patch and tube in the middle of the patch which will reveal a perforated portion in the middle of the clear backing,peel backing off from the middle outward to avoid lifting the edges of the patch.
The whole process takes less than 5 minutes

[horizon]

. . . . and when repairing a tube at home - if you have a bench vice - clamp the patch between two pieces of wood (MDF is excellent, although perhaps not really wood!) in the vice to really press the patch to the tube. Leave for about 30 minutes.

Rob

I leave the patch to cure (I put glue on both patch and tyre) for about 10 mins (more might be better) then clamp it with a couple of plastic clothes pegs. One or two of these sit in my puncture repair kit which I carry if overnighting. Usually I leave the whole thing overnight, pegs and all. This seems to work well and the pegs weigh next to nothing. I also use them as clothes pegs when camping, travelling.