Puncture Repair Kit

[Richard]

I had to fix a puncture today and the poor quality of the repair kit I had got me wondering what other people used.
How do you mark the puncture spot? Do you use the crayon, which appeared useless? What about roughing up the tube as there was no glasspaper in it? Do you use feathered edge patches or not? Are "ready to stick" patches any good or do you use the cement?
Views and opinions welcome!

[willem jongman]

I mostly just put in a new tube. That really is much easier on the road than trying to patch a tyre. I may do that once I am home/in the tent. I don't really like patching tubes, since patches can and will come off when the tube gets hot from braking on long descents. You forget you have patched the tube, and a blowout on a fast descent is not something I treasure. If you use decent tyres punctures should be rare enough.
Willem

[vernon]

I had to fix a puncture today and the poor quality of the repair kit I had got me wondering what other people used.
How do you mark the puncture spot? Do you use the crayon, which appeared useless? What about roughing up the tube as there was no glasspaper in it? Do you use feathered edge patches or not? Are "ready to stick" patches any good or do you use the cement?
Views and opinions welcome!

I always carry a spare tube with me and swap tubes should I get a puncture. The punctured tube can then be repaired at leisure. I mark the hole with a ball point pen. I always make sure that I have some emery paper in my puncture repair outfits.

Ready to stick patches are only good for a temporary repair and are best replaced with a vulcanised patch and rubber cement.

All of my patches are feather edged and I have some neat 1.5cm diameter patches from Mike Dyason that are perfect for pin prick punctures.

I am happy to use repaired inner tubes and in the past four years I have only had one repair fail. It developed an airway between the hole and the edge of the patch and caused the tyre to deflate overnight.

[meic]

I bought 100 of those patches from Dyason, they were very cheap and absolutely excellent. I also got his Velox rubber solution but was surprised by the large size of the tube. Good for keeping at home but will not fit in the repair kit box.

I too carry a tube and a repair kit. in this weather it is hard enough to swap an innertube out in the cold. The tube can hopefully be fixed in shelter before another puncture.

Unlike Willem I have repaired inner tubes all my life on cars, superbikes and cycles and never had a catastrophic failure. For superstitious reasons I do not stick more than 13 patches on a tube.

Some of the patches you can buy are best thrown in the bin before you put them on a tube.

[LowPlainsDrifter]

Last kit I bought not too long ago was a cheapo one from Wilkos I think. It has feathered patches in it. Good quality. cost about a quid.
I have absolutely no worries about putting patches on a pedal cycle as like meic I have repaired tubes on motorcycles since the early 70's and I have NEVER had one fail and I would be traveling a damn sight faster on motorcycle than on my pushbike!
I've always used cement patches and use a biro if I have one to mark the hole and rough the area up with whatever is in the kit or carry a bit of sandpaper.

[zenzinnia]

I have a mish mash of stuff from different kits. One of the best things is a little metal piece that has a bit almost like a lemon zester on it to rough up the tube ad powder the chalk. I replace the tube on the road but always carry the Park instant patches just in case and I find they work great - I'm still using tubes with them on after ages.

[thirdcrank]

After piling patch on patch for years, I've been a 'replace with new' merchant for the last twenty years or so (probably a combination of buying a decent track pump which caused some repairs to fail, and the gratefully remembered generosity of Lord Justice Edmond Davies -RIP.)

Even so, this can still mean having to repair punctures at the roadside if you are unlucky.

I always use a ball-point pen to indicate the position of the puncture, by drwaying a line around the tube's thickness and another 2 - 3" long at right angles. Then it still indicated, even when the cross at the site of the puncture has been removed by abrading the tube. (On another thread about this, I was surprised by the number of people who used a pin to mark the spot - a method I had never previously heard of.)

I have found the throwaway sandpaper nailfile boards (don't know the proper name) ideal for abarding the tube. I bough a pack of half-a-dozen years ago from a supermarket and they last for ages. They can be trimmed to fit in a puncture outfit.

I have used ready-glued patches but not enough to form a judgment.

[fenderbender]

Using a disposable nailfile was a new to me and something I'll try.
Don't know why one need to mark the hole with a pen och crayon though. I just rough up the tube right away. Have had no trouble finding my way back to the spot after checking the rest of the tube.

The pre-glued patches are convenient for low pressure mtb tubes. But the glue doesn't set so at higher pressure I've found it's a 50/50 chance they start leaking again after a while. Then it's a real hassle to clear the tube of old patch and glue to re glue it! Had to do this to a ParkTool patch just the other day.

I would however like to ask if anyone know of a brand with more flexible patches? The ones I've bought lately are all very stiff and don't expand with the tube. This sometimes cause noticeable vibrations when fully inflated so I consider cutting out patches from old tubes.

[DavidT]

I always carry a spare tube.

For repair, I use Tip Top Touring kit. Have never had any problems with that.

Marking the hole? Best advice I ever got was to draw a big cross with the hole at centre. I just use a biro for that. Then, with solution all over the hole, you can still see where the hole is (The estimated centre of the cross from the still visible ends of the lines).

All the best

[rogerzilla]

I use the Wilko kit. About 75p and feather-edge patches. It's all good.

A patch can't come off on long descents, at leats on a road bike - it has about 100lb of force holding it in place.

[willem jongman]

It happened to me, though on a tandem, but even when I thought my rims were not getting too hot. On long descents your rims can get really awfully hot, and thus also your tubes. The patches are the weak spots. Let me put it this way: I will not let my wife or children descend in the Alps with tubes with patches. From what I know, this is indeed best practice for those cycling in the Alps.
Willem

[fenderbender]

A patch can't come off on long descents, at leats on a road bike - it has about 100lb of force holding it in place.

I beg to differ as it's a well known fact that some of the friction of a rolling tire is caused between the tire and tube as they move independently. Like I said, its not enough to hold the preglued ParkTool patches in place. A badly glued and/or inflexible conventional patch could just as well start to leak. But I agree that a sudden loss of all air pressure due to a loose patch is unlikely.

[squeaker]

I always carry a spare tube.

For repair, I use Tip Top Touring kit. Have never had any problems with that.

+1 Does what is says on the tin

[stewartpratt]

How do you mark the puncture spot? Do you use the crayon, which appeared useless? What about roughing up the tube as there was no glasspaper in it? Do you use feathered edge patches or not? Are "ready to stick" patches any good or do you use the cement?

In order:

- I don't, never seen the need, just find it and then pop the cement on
- no
- I quite often don't bother
- yes, always
- the ones I've used have been no good, cement all the way

Find the puncture, spread some cement evenly around it (making sure there's at least enough for the full area of the patch), wait a minute or two for it to partially vulcanise, pop the patch on, press hard and if possible keep it pressed (standing on it works on smooth ground) for a minute or so, then peel off the paper and rub the repair in some dirt before putting the tube back in the tyre to prevent the two sticking.

Tip-Top and Cure-C-Cure patches have always worked best for me.

[CJ]

Find the puncture, spread some cement evenly around it (making sure there's at least enough for the full area of the patch), wait a minute or two for it to partially vulcanise, pop the patch on, press hard and if possible keep it pressed (standing on it works on smooth ground) for a minute or so, then peel off the paper and rub the repair in some dirt before putting the tube back in the tyre to prevent the two sticking.

Tip-Top and Cure-C-Cure patches have always worked best for me.

Agree with all that. Except that whereas Stewart misses out on abrading the tube surface, I omit the standing on it bit!

I find that if I've got the surface properly clean, removing any traces of mould release compounds, and waited long enough for the solution to dry, I can simply press the patch into place and it'll instantly be stuck so well that it stretches with the tube when I pull it this way and that.