TimothyH

I carry spare tubes and use them too, but isn't this thread about marking the location of the hole so you can find it when you get home? Is carrying a sharpie on the road really necissary for that and if you are going to patch then why not just locate the hole by pumping the tire?


-Tim-

RubeRad

I keep a pin in my patch kit for sticking in punctures once I find them.

Troul 

old fashion orange, yellow, or white crayola crayon.

u235

Sharpie or a pen. I put a line about an 1 or so inch away on both sides of the hole. The glue and patch get applied centered in between the lines. Being about an inch away still allows me to scuff and glue and the lines are usually still visible. When I am done, if the patch is close to centered between the lines, it was a success. I don't carry a pen with me on the road but my on road patch kit is skabs and they are easier to finger over the hole and just slap on.

Other things.. I place a X on the left sidewall of my directional tires with a gold or silver sharpie. This helps to quickly identify the right mount direction. Seems obvious but sometimes on the fly, when it's dark etc.. It is just quick and easy. I also mount the tire with that X centered on the valve stem. It allows for easier correlation of the hole in the tube to the relative position of the tire for finding the source or cause. I refresh the X occasionally but it seems to last 6+ months easily.

ccinnz

I'm old school... chalk

Kontact 

I don't understand why you can't see the hole after you've put some air in the tube. But ball point does work great.

rm -rf

Silver Sharpie (gold sharpies are useless, quite dark, not very visible on just about any surface.)

Four lines pointing to the hole, far enough out that the scuffed tube or the patch won't cover them. It's often not easy for me to see the hole after the rubber cement has been applied. The marks make it simple to center the patch.

I also mark new tubes with an arrow near the valve, and install them with the arrow in the direction of travel. The tire is mounted with the label next to the valve hole. Now I can quickly line up the flat tube with the tire after I find the hole, and don't need to look that far from the valve in each direction. I only need to examine a few inches of the tire for embedded slivers.

Silver sharpies are great for marking dark painted bike components -- like the bars near the stem clamp, or the seatpost, when doing setup adjustments. The marks easily wipe off with drugstore rubbing alcohol.

I have a lot of uses for these markers, other than just bikes.

~~~~~
Like the above comments, I keep punctured tubes until I have 3 or 4. Then patch all at once, with a fresh tube of glue. So the marker works for me. My flats are many months apart, so an opened tube of glue never lasts long enough between times.

skillasw

White electrical tape. Just put a small piece over the hole, when you find it.

davidad

I carry a pocket knife and slightly enlarge the hole to be able to find it after I let the air out.

neverquit

Thanks!...Didn't even know that patch kits included chalk....Need to look for that.

neverquit

Hmmm....Another good idea that is easy, not complicated....Thanks

neverquit

Thanks, but with my luck, I'd have the tube IN HALF!.....

cambiker71

No worries, glad to help

rzldzl

+1

Leebo

Black sharpie. I wonder why tubeless is so popular?

RubeRad

Sidebar, but for me the big plus of tubeless is really the fact that sealant means I don't have to worry about goatheads on the trail anymore. For my road/commuter, I just squirt some sealant into my tubes.

DiabloScott

Is it? It's certainly *gaining* popularity, (up from zero a few years ago), but it still seems kind of fringe to me.

RubeRad

It's almost as de rigueur as disc brakes in the MTB world

Velo Mule

I am surprised to find that someone else uses toothpicks too. If I don't have toothpicks handy, a ball point pen or my thumb.

Leebo

Not fringe. Most every mt bike sold can be set up tubeless. Fat bike too. Need tubeless ready rims and tires. Seem perfect application for those cross bike types. 1 flat in 4 years for the mt bike and fat bike. No pinch flats, no flats from thorns either. No tubes. Works really well for me. YRMV.

Sy Reene

+1
Never had 3 flats yet, but 2-3 rides with 2 flats. 2 tubes, 2 C02s, and small pump (water bottle cage mounted), and 2 self-adhesive patches in my wallet. The self-adhesive patches and pump are for the mythical 3rd flat. The pump has also been useful for the newbie group riders who only brought 1 C02 and didn't know to check/clean their tire for what caused the original flat.

mcarrington

For the odd occasion where you do have to mend a puncture by the roadside, marking is really helpful. You can easily find the hole when the tube is inflated, but it is really difficult to keep track of it when you are roughening the surface and applying the patch.

wheelreason

I blow up the tube and sand the area a little big, then I blow up the tube again and put the cement on, the hole will leave a witish mark on the cement...

DiabloScott

Looks like @neverquit quit posting about 4 years ago.

AndreyT

Not sure what is this topic supposed to be about and why. Tried "felt tipped markers"? That probably includes an ordinary permanent marker. End of story. Problem solved.

P.S. Some people previously mentioned using silver-colored markers, but ordinary red or green marker works perfectly fine as well.