Do you put patched tubes back in your saddlebag?
 

Replaced a flat during a ride with a new tube from my saddlebag. Brought the flat home and found the hole. Patched it. Is it safe to put it back in the saddlebag for next time or does folding it ruin the patch or cause it to tear or or anything?
I would obviously roll up the tube so the patch wasn’t on a bend but...

Thoughts?

and to be clear sure I could take out the tube I replaced with yesterday and the put the patched tube back in the tire and roll up the spare tube again and put it back in my bag but man I just don’t feel like it!

Unless it is a particularly problematic wound, I would keep the patched tube as the spare and keep the new tube in your tire, and save your time and energy for arguing with people on the internet.

A patched tube is a perfectly acceptable spare for the saddlebag. As others have said, put the good tube on the bike and keep the patched tube to get you home if necessary. Folding a patched tube is only an issue because creasing on the added thickness of the patch can be problematic - otherwise, fold away

A patch which is correctly applied will fuse to the rubber of the tube and become as one piece. You could hedge your bet by not folding the tube right where there is a patch.

That's my SOP, replace tube in road, patch tube at home, put it in bag. Usually the one I put in on the road is a previously patched one.

I always test the patched tube in a spare wheel before putting it in as a spare. With the newer tubes that have a lot of mold lines and the newer type of patch kits, seems like patches are not as reliable as year past.

I see no issues with that. Just don't fold the tube where the patch is.

Same here.

>> patched tube back in your saddlebag

Can't think of a better place for it.
Either it's OK to use, or it isn't.

I rarely give up on a tube before the valve fails so most of my spares probably have patches. That said, I usually re-install the recently patched tube. Just to be sure. Also, if you ride with others and your patched spare fails, you'll never hear the end of it.:rolleyes:

Thanks all. Tube is patched and currently waiting overnight inflated to see if it holds. But it'll go back in the saddlebag after. thumbs up emoji.

Well just to be the different one, I keep a new tube in my saddle bag. The tube with the hole gets patched at home and stays at home as a spare unless for some reason I had to remove the tire at home. Then I might replace an unpatched tube in the tire with the patched tube on the shelf. In practice, that doesn't happen very much.

In my thinking I want the tube I'm replacing when on the road to be in the best possible shape so I don't have the potential to flat from a bad patch job later on down the road.

Possibly you mean the patched tube is inflated ~inside a wheel and tire~ as the overnite test. That's the true test. I think KCT1986 was alluding to this above.
Just airing up a tube outside a tire puts very few pounds of pressure in, despite how bulge-y it looks, which can lead to an unpleasant realization when the patched tube is installed roadside and aired up to riding pressure.

Yes. Rema kit. Good as new.

Funny, as another person mentioned I also run the patched tube and only carry new tubes in my bags. A patch can fail if it's not done well, something I don't want to find out after the tube in my tire also has a hole in it.

Something I see very rarely so I always mention it: the spare tubes I carry are wrapped in duct tape or masking tape. This prevents them from wearing holes in the corners as they vibrate around in your bag. I get so few flats that a spare tube might be carried around for a year or two and many thousands of miles. The last thing I want is for it to be full of holes and completely useless!

If I didn't trust my patches then I wouldn't keep the tube. Usually won't keep anything with a slit. I've offered to patch tubes for some friends that don't do their mechanics but they just give me the tubes. You'd think I was packing their parachute.

Be surre to replace the cap or the tip of the valve may fret a new hole into the tube. Don't ask me how I know that.

A patch using the proper patch kit will fuse to the rubber. In my experience there is only one patch kit that works that way...Rema TipTop. Anything else is just rubber cement and a bit of rubber which isn’t as good. When people say that patches don’t work or they don’t trust them, they are probably using the wrong patch kit.

I patch all tubes at home.
Then test for 24 hours.
Roll them up when they pass the Test

Rather than folding the patched tube, I roll it up and then back into the bag. no creases. I find the roll helps the patch bond better

Sure. Why bother patching it if you're not going to re-use it?

+1 on the suggestions above to use good quality (e.g. Rema) patches and cement.

I put patched tubes in my wheels, in my bag and in my pockets :-)

A patched tube is just as good as a new one.

Really?

In my experience every set out there, Rema or not, work just fine. I tried many over they years (decades). But sure, Rema is a safe bet.

I test as well by inflating and letting it sit for a day or two. I use Rema TipTop patches/glue and have found them to be totally reliable.

It puzzles me how many folks will not use a patched tube. Most people in my cycling group throw the punctures away. I began collecting and patching them. I couldn't give them away. Nobody wanted a patched tube. I finally had to give a box full to the cycling charity even though I've kept a lifetime supply. Very little group riding this year for me so I guess they are all going to the landfill. Seems wasteful....