cyccommute 

Yes. I have patched as many as 30 on a single tube. I use Rema TipTop exclusively. It’s the only patch kit that is more than just rubber cement. It has a two part chemistry that forms bonds rather than just a contact adhesive. Tubes usually die because the valve stem rips.

50PlusCycling

I usually just put in a new tube. However, we have a Japanese Panasonic, electric assist bike, which is a family workhorse used for shopping and short commutes, it has 20" wheels with big tires, and a complicated rear rack, child carrier, and stand with a cable that locks the fork when the stand is used. Taking all this apart to change a tube is a royal pain, so whenever this bike gets a flat, I patch the tube without removing the wheel, tire, or tube.

GhostRider62

I use latex tubes and do patch them to save the environment. I really don't like tossing good stuff that can be fixed with a touch of elbow grease. If I get a flat, in goes a butyl tube until I get home. If the butyl tube flats, it would be patched on the side of the road but I flat maybe once in 3,000 miles, so, the chances of two flats on one ride is remote but it does happen. Only one of my bikes is tubeless, the others run tubes.

spelger

second this advice.

spelger

Once all my patched tubes run out i have a patch party.

DidntHearU

dd

rumrunn6

For the past 3? Years my mtb has had 1 patch on each the front & rear tubes. At seasonal tire changeover I check them but they’ve been holding very well. Wish I can say I’ve had more flats & patches but that’s all I got

Random11

I don't patch them. I replace them with new tubes. But I also don't toss out the old ones. As a a result, I have a pile of I don't know how many old punctured tubes sitting in my garage. I wonder if the local bike coop would like them as a donation. Maybe I should patch and reinstall, but it's easier to just get out a new tube.

rm -rf

Yeah, I have a box for tubes to be patched. I wait for 4 or 5 tubes, a couple of years. (Even longer now, I'm riding way out of town on smooth roads with little traffic, so I'm riding in the right tire track on the lane. Debris is quickly kicked out by car tires. Flats are very rare. It's mostly pinch flats now, hitting large sharp gravel chunks that were kicked out onto the road that I didn't see.)

I use up a tube of glue, since opened tubes dry out quite soon.
It's faster / more efficient to patch more than one tube at a time.

I use a silver sharpie to draw a big target crosshair to the hole so I can center the patch easily.
I use real sandpaper, usually 120 or 100 grit. That cheap bit that comes in the patch kit isn't very effective.
The plastic box makes a good base for sanding the tube easily.
I do clamp the patch for an hour or so, "it might help".

I don't hesitate to run these patched tubes. I have an occasional slow leak failure, but that's maybe 5% of the tubes, and it shows up right away.

VegasJen

We have goatheads out here too, and they've gotten me a couple times. But blown radial tires are what seem to get me most, by a large margin.
Smart.
I'm just the opposite. I'd rather start on a new tube and keep a patched tube as my back-up. I do it just in case I pick up a piece of wire but don't find it. If I have a second flat, I'd rather it be in a tube I've already patched. For whatever sense that makes.

Trakhak

You might consider installing wider, lower-pressure, puncture-resistant tires on a set of wheels and using those wheels for most of your training, if you can stand seeing a lower average speed. If you're mostly training by power, speed is irrelevant other than in races, anyway.

VegasJen

I prefer something similar - a controlled environment. I do need to carry the emergency patches, but as of right now I just swap out the tubes, bring home the punctured tube and patch it in my garage. Same experience too. Well patched seem to hold long enough to get a puncture somewhere else.
Jeez! 30 patches??? Personally, I don't like to do more than two, but three is my limit. But good for you.
So how do you patch a latex tube? Does it require it's own patch kit? I've heard latex tubes last longer and are nominally faster. To your experience, is this true?
Sounds very similar to my process. I have a can of that Slime brand rubber cement, but I prefer to use a Dremel with a sanding wheel to scuff my tube and the patch (which is just rubber from a previously failed tube). But I do mine a bit differently. Once I identify where my puncture is, I use chalk to draw a box centered around the puncture just a little bit bigger than my patch. Then I scuff inside the box with my sanding wheel and scuff my patch. Once I put the cement on and center my patch I put a weight on it (I have an old moped battery that works perfectly for this) and leave it like that overnight. I've had very few failures patching this way.

VegasJen

Ya, I actually would really like to go up to a 28c tire for routine rides. Right now I have a couple sets of 23c tires so I can't justify buying 28s just because, but once I wear out a set or two, I'll be going up to 28s and see how those feel for me.

njkayaker

The bill isn’t for fixing tube punctures. (It’s to use for covering holes in the tire.)

njkayaker

Not likely. If it was, there would be much more talk about it.

Gresp15C

Yes, multiple times. When tubes die, it's usually because I screw something up in a profound way, or they leak at the base of the Presta valve stem (Schrader stems seem more rugged). I've had fewer flats since I bought tubes that were not undersized for the tire. cyccommute has commented about this.

I carry one spare tube and a Rema patch kit. I now keep an additional spare tube and patch kit at work in case I notice a flat before I go home and can patch it during my lunch hour. I usually get one or two people to watch.

Fahrenheit531 

I swap in a new tube on the road. I do carry a minimal patch kit in case of multiple punctures but haven't needed to use it.

Once I get back home I'll patch the punctured tube and reinstall it, which lets me know for sure that the patched tube is 100% good to go. It also puts the unpatched tube back into my bag for next time, still 'new'.

GhostRider62

I patch using the vulcanizing patches. I've tried the Park instant patches but they only last around 6 months. I used to cut up old latex tubes and affix homemade patches with vulcanizing fluid but the commercial patches in the green box work fine. I suppose if I were racing, the 0.0241 watts lost to the patch would matter.

Carbonfiberboy 

I carry two tubes, so seldom patch on the road. My limit is 6 patches. Usually the valve's attachment to the tube fails before I get there. There's no fix I know of for that.

ThermionicScott 

Yep, I kinda enjoy patching tubes.

VegasJen

That's what I've heard. But it's something I never would have even considered had I not read about it hear first.

rsbob 

On my tubed bike I carry a spare tube and a patch kit. If I flat, I put in the tube and patch the affected one at home and put it in rotation, with a 3 patch maximum.

RCMoeur 

I was trading tires on my primary cruiser this evening as part of a test of some older tires, and the front tube had 3 patches. No big deal, because a properly-patched tube is as good as new. Right now with all the tubes I'm patching for nonprofits, I'm going through about one 100-count box of Rema patches every 6 months, along with the corresponding amount of Rema vulcanizing fluid.

njkayaker

The Park patches are meant to be temporary. So, lasting 6 months is more than one should expect.

njkayaker

Patching is economical and “environmentally friendly”.

I was on one trip were the group was going through so many tubes that patching was a necessity.

If it’s done correctly, the patches last a long time.

People don’t it because it’s more work and “mysterious”.

You want to be sure to sand the area being patched.

“Rubber cement” usually refers to the stuff you buy in art stores. You don’t want to use that.