cnnx

I'm starting to bike a lot more and am always scared to get a flat tire when doing my 19km route to my parents.. can someone recommend a flat tire repair kit that will work for sure 100%, thats very easy to use and that I can put in the panier bag of my hybird bike? i've not ever repaired a flat on the road so it has to be easy.. thanks for your suggestions from amazon or other retailers online

Phil_gretz

Rema TT02 Patch Kit
Pedro's levers
Topeak Pocket Rocket Master Blaster frame pump
Spare tube of choice

Practice at home before departing: Deflate, release brake cable, remove wheel, remove tire bead on one side, pull tube, replace tube, re-seat tire bead, inflate slightly, check bead alignment, re-install wheel, inflate tire to correct pressure. Check wheel alignment and re-capture brake cable.

Watch video on use of Rema patch kit. Make sure that you know the steps at least visually.

cnnx

this kit seems to have everything, is it ok?

https://www.amazon.ca/DAWAY-A35-Bike...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

also why do I need a full tube on the road? isnt that just for when I get home to removed the patched tube and replace it with a new tube?

JohnDThompson 

It's quicker and easier to replace the tube and patch the old one at your leisure at home.

cnnx

but dont i need to take apart the entire tube of the existing punctured tube on the road anyways?

freeranger

You do need to remove the tube, but if you happen to miss something in the tire which caused the flat, or if you're really unlucky and run over something that causes a second one, you'll be glad you had the patch kit.

FlMTNdude

I am sure this is implied with the video reference, but make sure to check inside the tire for anything protruding, sometimes they are difficult to find. Radial tire wire is the worst, but I even got a flat off a small shark's tooth (don't ask, it is a Floriduh thang). I do travel with a patch kit due to Murphy's Law, but it is so much easier to just carry the spare tube and then patch at home. Since you have a pannier you probably are not running out of room. My saddle bag, which is not very big, contains: 2 tubes, tire levers, a multi-tool, a patch kit, 2 boots (emergency tire liner for the real blowout) and the mandatory Clif bar, white macadamian chocolate of course. For less than 10 minutes to change a tire, vs. the added time of attempting to patch a tube on the side of the road, sometimes in the rain, I will go for the spare tube every time. As a possibly unrelated note, I commute 60 miles per week and ride an additional 90-150 miles, so they definitely come in handy.

VegasTriker

When it is hotter than hell (summer where I live) or raining (where you live) you will be much happier switching out the new tube after finding the source of the puncture than struggling to find where the leak is in the old tube and trying to patch it. I carry two tubes of each size for my trike in a small pocket under the seat. Cheap insurance in case I don't find the source of the puncture the first time.

The kit show at Amazon is rather expensive. I own the pump shown in the picture and can remember paying about $8 for it at the time shipped from China. It will pump up a 700C tire to over 100 psi. I'd rather buy a better quality multipurpose tool like a Topeak brand tool. It will last you a lifetime. Unless you have a bike with axle nuts (not quick release) the bone wrench is a waste. They also tend to break if you try to remove a nut that has been tightened a lot. I can buy a patch kit at my local dollar store than has a couple of patches, two tire irons, glue, and the rasp for a buck. Together that is about what is in your kit.

I found the same pump from a China vendor on eBay for $5.75 but with a long shipping time listed. Most of what I bought in the last two months from China took 31 days to get here about twice what it used to take. 'Mini High Pressure Hand Bicycle Cycling Bike Air Pump Inflator Tyre Tire $5.48 postpaid https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-High-P...bhGINZOcG546sw

If you want to buy an inexpensive kit with the same items shown on the Amazon listing but from a US seller on eBay you can find this one with a pump, patches, tire irons, bone wrench and cheap multitool for $8.17 postpaid. Looks about the same as the Amazon seller. 'Mini Bike Pump with Glueless Puncture Repair Kit Portable Cycle Frame Pump https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-Bike-P...UAAOSwIedbpG1K

Phil_gretz

Is it okay? Who knows? I've told you what you need. Exactly what you need. You did not mention mechanical repairs. I'm assuming that you have a good multi-tool already. No?

No. Two reasons. The first was already given. Usually you don't patch on the road unless you must. So you swap tubes for the first repair. Second reason: What happens on the second flat, or if there is a trapped piece of debris that caused the first flat and the ensuing flat? You'll need to patch then.

Or if the 2nd flat doesn't occur, leave the new tube installed and patch your spare on arrival.

Maelochs

@FlMTNdude nails it Nothing is more deflating than throwing a new tube into your tire, only to have it go flat as you pedal away because you didn't find the cause of the initial puncture.

His kit is very similar to mine--Two tubes and a patch kit or glueless patches. And when you get a flat it is often during the rain, in low light, with no safe place off the roadside, so you are standing in foot-tall grass and when you drop a tire lever it takes ten minutes to find it. Try finding a hole and applying a patch in the dark, in the rain, in the weeds, with cars passing too infrequently to provide light and too quickly to make standing on the pavement safe.

Worst part is, you might have a snakebite and after you patch one hole, need to patch the other---worse still (been there) is when you get a flat, and then got a snake-bite (pinch-flat) on another part of the tire because you couldn't stop in time and rode a little on the rim. After applying the third patch, you will be heartily wishing you had brought a spare tube,

If it is a radial wire hole, not only can the wire stay hidden in the tire, the hole can be really hard to find.

But .... if you are persistent, you can fix whatever you need to , to be able to ride home. it is easy.

As @Phil_gretz suggests, practice at home so you can make the small fumbles and miscues in a safe environment. You might do the same things roadside anyway, but at least you will be comfortable with them.

My favorite is when the tire doesn't want to come off, and the tire lever catapults ten feet into the darkness ......

Phil_gretz

Also important to mention, practice with your portable frame pump, not your floor pump. Why? Because you need to be familiar with how your frame pump pushes the volume of air that you'll need to the pressure that's required. From the saddle photo in your other thread (Brooks B-17 is your answer, by the way), it looks like some sort of comfort hybrid type of bike, so you'll have a greater volume of air in those tires, but at a lower pressure than a narrow road tire. So, select a frame pump that can push the air volume that you need efficiently, and that supports your valve type.

Retro Grouch 

^^^^^. This: The devil is in the details and there are a lot of little details involved ted in repairing a flat bicycle tire.
Here's just one example: If your inner tube is punctured by a thorn or tiny bit of wire, it's obviously important to make sure the offending item is out of the tire. A high percentage of the punctures I've gotten in the past few years have been caused by tiny redial belt wires. They are hard to find and, once found, they are hard to root out. I've taken to carrying a small needle nose pliers just for that purpose.

I strongly advise you to practice repairing at least one rear tire puncture at home before attempting to fix one on the roadside.

79pmooney

There's Murphy's Law. If you ride this route long enough, there will come a day when you have more flats than you have tubes. And, now we have road hazards that weren't there 40 years ago that can cause multiple flats in multiple tubes. The tiny steel wire of radial and truck tires. (I don't know where they actually come from, but I've seen enough for a lifetime, all since the mid '80s. Never happened in the '70s when I was riding very high mileage years.) Those wire pieces can be shorter than the thickness of your tread and tire casing, making them and the hole in the tire near invisible. But if you don't remove it, it WILL cause anther flat. Maybe that ride. If not, on another ride later.

That's also a good reason to patch tires on the road, not swap tubes. That patch tells you exactly where the issue is on your tire. (Well, there or the same number of spokes from the valve in the opposite direction.) And when two patches appear in the same place you KNOW there's a tire issue that has to be found. (Or again, opposite the valve - trick - grab the valve and pull the tube away, If two patches align, they are probably the same issue. You just turned the tube around when you put it back in after patching the first).

Oh, and a neat tool for removing those wire hairs. Leatherman multi-tools. Their excellent pliers have a very squared almost needlenose tip. Find the wire, open the pliers a touch around it and push to indent the tire. Close the pliers, They grab nearly every time. You want "for sure". Get the Leatherman. And be blessed with a really good tool that will serve you well off the bike too. (Mine is like new. My sis gave it to me in the '80s.)

Edit: Finding those tire wires is like finding a pot of gold in a huge field of very high grass. But if the soothsayer tells you that the gold will be right under a hovering crow .. well that makes it far easier to find! That patch is your crow.

Ben

jgwilliams

Yes, very similar to mine. My saddle bag must be a bit smaller, though, as I don't have space for the Cliff bar and I don't have boots.

As for carrying a tube or two, even in bright sunlight it can be hard to find a puncture without access to a bucket of water. I frequently commute in the dark when it can be well nigh impossible.

One final comment - personally I've not had much luck with the instant patches. They probably do ok to get you home but for long-lasting repairs I prefer to use old fashioned patches with vulcanising glue. If you get yourself a little kit which has the tyre levers, sandpaper, etc, you can bulk buy the patches and glue on eBay. Also, since it's easy to lose a puncture once you've located it I find a silver Sharpie is great for marking the spot. Like buses, I find punctures hunt in packs - had a whole bunch of them during the foul weather in February and nothing since.

Phil_gretz

...is something that I forgot to mention. I don't normally carry one, because they can be improvised. I have used: Lara Bar wrapper, stripped off scrap of Tyvek house wrap from a construction site, dollar bill.

For the OP, there may be a situation where the casing of your tire is cut by something you didn't see or couldn't avoid. This is bad, because the inflated tube will try to push itself outward through the opening, causing a subsequent blowout. You can temporarily patch the inside of the tire with something that doesn't stretch under pressure and that is somewhat durable. A dollar bill, a Mylar candy wrapper, anything both tough and light will at least get you home. This is called a "tire boot". If you carry a wallet with money in it, then you're good to go.

2_i 

Adding to other advice, get tires with a kevlar belt or similar puncture protection, to reduce incidents to next to none. Get a mini floor pump, with a flexible hose and a foot peg, such as Topeak Morph or Lezyne Micro Floor.

Maelochs

Mylar wrappers, Tyvek envelopes (I always carry one as they fold up flat and take no space are really useful with either a cut or a worn-through flat spot, or any big hole in a tire.

Yes patching on the roadside has Some advantages ... in some situations. I have had numerous punctures which i couldn't find even at home without a bucket of water, though ....

As @jgwilliams notes, glueless patches are not reliable .... but also, you won't pull out your patch kit for the first time all season and find the tube of glue is a solid cylinder. But .... whatever gets me home is as good as anything else..

@79pmooney says "If you ride this route long enough, there will come a day when you have more flats than you have tubes." and I can attest to this. it has only happened once in 50 years, but i can still remember where quite clearly .... long, long walks home in bare feet (because cycling cleats hurt even worse) tend to stick in the mind.

MAK

I am not overly concerned with weight so in addition to tubes, Pedro's tire levers, Park tire boots and a Topeak Road or Mountain Morph (you never run out of air), I carry CO2 cartridges and inflator. When it's 90°, a three second fill is so much better than pumping a tire for five minutes (I never flat near shade). I also keep a 1"x1" piece of cloth or a cotton ball stuffed in my bag to rub on the inside of the tire to find what ever might have caused the flat. I started the cloth or ball after I discovered an industrial staple by bloody hand. I also bring a patch kit to lend to other unprepared riders. A presta/schrader adapter ($1.00) is handy if you flat near a gas station.

rumrunn6

fwiw - For some punctures not only don’t you need to remove the entire tube, or tire, you don’t even need to take the wheel off! For example, a thumb tack sticking to your tire tells you exactly where the hole is. Deflate, lift off only about 12-24” of tire bead, Ease the tube out just enough to work on the puncture, patch, ease the tube back in & the tire bead back on. Pump & ride

greatscott

I'm sorry I don't have time to read all this but I scanned a few and I think some things need to be cleared up.

First off don't buy that cheap kit someone showed on Amazon, that's stuff is cheaply made and will let you down, it's what cheap stuff does best. You also need a very well made pump because you don't want some cheap pump failing while touring, you won't like that, I guarantee it.

Most mini pumps will not reach 65 to 70 psi, if you need to go past that you need a better pump, also the few that can go past that limit and into the 90 to 100 range almost all of them require a lot of effort and a lot of strokes. The best mini pump hands down for road bikes that need higher pressure is the Lezyne Road Drive in the large size which isn't that large but makes the job of pumping easier than the next two smaller ones. If you have lower pressure tires the Lezyne Alloy Drive is the best one. Either of those will fit into a pannier with ease. If you go to the Lezyne website they have other pumps with built in psi gauges if you need that.

I also tour and carry the Lezyne Alloy Drive in my pannier, but because I'm touring I don't want to put my faith in one pump, so my main pumps is a Zefal HPX frame pump, this pump makes fast work of pumping tires up, in a lot less than half the strokes, plus it makes it easier to pump. You do have to measure the distance from your head tube to the seat tube to get the right size pump. The Alloy Drive is a back up pump.

Next thing are your tire levers, cheap ones can break in two when using, another thing you don't want happening while touring. The ones that I use are the Soma Steel Core Tire Levers, however Pedros Tire Levers are very good as well. If you have very tough to install tires a VAR tire is the one that I've used for a very long time and it's tough and works very well, but Crank Brothers Speedier tire lever is another worthy option, both of these are compact and can fit in a saddle bag or a pannier. Again due to not wanting to be stranded, I take the VAR and Soma Steel Core Levers.

As far as replacing the tube or patch it on the road, I always try to fix the tube first because usually there is some sort of object sticking in the tire and I can then find the hole quickly since the tire is the reference point, if you change the tube and look for it later it could take longer.

Multi tools; another one of those don't buy a cheap one, they can either break or not fit your spoke nipples, nuts and bolts correctly and round off stuff then you're stuck somewhere you didn't want to be stuck in. The best ones is either the

I use only Park brand Glueless patches, they hold for me for the life of the tube regardless what anyone says, all the other brands of glueless patches fail within 48 hours of applying the patch, and the box is extremely small taking up no space in your seat bag. Topeak Rescue Box appears to be the same glueless patches as the Park brand but with the Topeak mark on it, but I haven't used it so I can say for sure if they are. However Rema Tip Top glue on patches are more mistake proof then the glueless patches but you should carry two tubes of glue just in the unlikely event one glue tube dries up. I've been using the Park Glueless patches for over 25 years and only my first patch I tried failed due to incorrect tube preparation, after that I haven't had one failure. If glueless patches interest anyone here and want to know how to apply them and make them work just let me know.

I also carry Park tire boot, in case of a large hole or cut that could make the tube bulge through, patch the tire and go, but this is more for the front tire, see below about liners.

As you should know, since you are touring, your first line of defense against flats is the tire, so get a very good tire like the Schwalbe Marathon Greenguard or the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme, either of those tires have the best puncture resistance of any tire on the market, and they last a very long time with the Greenguard lasting an average of 7,000 miles and the Supreme 6,000 miles (that's because it's a lighter tire than the Greenguard it has a bit less tread), the Supreme has the lowest rolling resistance of any touring type of tire, but that's not too important unless you ride at 20 plus mph all the time while touring...I kinda doubt that.

Due to not wanting to repair flats on the rear tire (I don't use front panniers) because of the fenders and panniers I use a bit of extra insurance, I do use a Panaracer FlatAway tire liner just to make certain I don't get a flat, these liners are expensive and a one time one tire only liner, but they are the toughest yet lightest liner on the market. I can take a tack and drive it through a Mr Tuffy, I couldn't do that with the Panaracer FlatAway, also I can cut the Mr Tuffy like butter with a pair of scissors, but I was hurting my hand trying to cut the Panaracer FlatAway. Some touring people that I know use sealants, and that's fine, but I prefer to avoid puncturing the tube. This liner will contain the tube if you get a larger size hole or cut then a simple small one.

Depending on how far out your going when you tour, I carry two spare tubes, and one spare lighter weight touring tire just in case something destroys a tire, usually it's the rear tire that gets the most amount of flats and is subject to the greatest damage. So I carry a lightweight touring tire called the Panaracer Pasela Tour Guard (TG). What happens if the rear tire gets destroyed is that I would move the front tire to the rear and put the lighter weight tire on the front.

It may seem like an overkill to put a liner inside a Schwalbe Marathon tire, and it probably is, but when I'm out in the sticks far from a bike shop I really don't want the unexpected to happen and I don't want to hassle with the pannier racks, panniers and the fender on the side of the road.

Multi tools, again cheap is not the way to go, cheap ones break and rust, plus the tools are not made read exact and can round of spoke nipples, bolts, nuts and screw heads, and you don't want that out in the middle of nowhere. The best one is probably the Topeak Alien III if you have disk brakes or the Alien II if you do not; while a multi tool can't fix everything on you bike it can do a lot of the more common issue that happen while out on the road. I have the old Park MTB3 but they no longer make that one and they don't make anything comparable to it, but that thing would even remove pedals, the Topeak cannot, so you will need a pedal wrench. The one tool which isn't included but you should get one is a pair of pliers with wire cutter, something that folds and is small, maybe comes with some other tools like the Leatherman range of tools, and find something that maybe has some useful tools you might need that aren't included in the multi tools for bicycles.

Obviously all of what I said is just my opinion based on years of using this stuff and I find they work for me, so you need to find stuff that will work for you, but be careful of not going to too cheap or you will be kicking yourself for having to walk someplace for help.

cyccommute 

Good advice with the exception of the pump. A Topeak Morph is a better pump. It’s much easier to use than something like the Pocket Rocket.

Get a US Postal Service Express mail envelop. Free if you don’t use it for mailing something and made of the same Tyvek without having to sneak onto a construction site.

No. There’s a lot of extra stuff you don’t need and the stuff you do need is of dubious quality. Stick with Phil_gretz’s list (with the exception of the pump). It will work better in the long run without the extraneous stuff you don’t need.

Phil_gretz

I had to chortle on this. Yet USPS envelopes are tough and perfect for a boot. The construction site was a single home build along the road where I flatted, out in the country. All of the discarded materials were piled loosely near the roadway. The point is a good one, though. No need to trespass when your Uncle Sam will give you the boot for free. #freestuff

bwilli88 

You missed a few steps.

Phil_gretz

Are you suggesting that he mysteriously puncture his own tire at home to mimic all of the real life steps? I guess that he can also practice patching the hole he made in the tire.

Alternatively, he could take a hatchet to the sidewall to give an opportunity to practice the tire boot as well.

EDIT: Sidewall, not sidewalk. Thanks, spellchecker. A hatched to the sidewalk does nothing to the sidewalk, and dulls the hatchet.

cyccommute 

Well, I do that for my Beyond Basics Mechanics class at my co-op but life throws us enough flats that we usually get enough practice on our own

That’s given me a new idea for class