Originally Posted by
WhyFi
Just to continue the sharing of experiences -
I took a pretty good cut to the front tire today and it just wouldn't seal. Much like my only other Goldilocks puncture, it was about 1/4". I tried out a bacon strip and that got me a couple miles, but again, the cut was just a little too big and it wanted to push out, much like the last time. Rather than resort to a tube, I gave it one more try - this time I threaded the bacon strip on the insertion tool and then I tied it in a knot before jamming it in the cut, getting the knot inside of the carcass. That did the trick and it held pressure the rest of the way home, about 10 miles or so. I'm undecided as to whether I'll keep it in there and see how it fares or if I'll pull the tire and internally patch. I don't have the time to ride for a couple days, anyway, so I have time to ponder and feel it out.
But yeah - if you take a good cut and your bacon strip isn't holding, try tying it in a knot before inserting it. Frankly, I was pretty set on trying out the plugs with the metal barbs, but I'm not sure that one would have fared any better with this size of cut and there's certainly no option to tie it in a knot.