Bikerdrummer

Hi-

I’m sure this has been covered but I didn’t find it.
I had a flat, the tube I fixed but the hole in the tire is getting larger the more I ride. It’s in the center of the tire. Originally it was 1cm, very tiny. Now it’s 3cm and growing.
What do you do to fix this? (Without purchasing a new tire, they are fairly new)
its a 700x28 Donnelly.
I saw a video where they used super glue. Also had the idea of using a patch square on the interior of tire.
Anyone with actual experience that can chime in?

veganbikes

Best way to fix a hole that is getting bigger in the tire is to get a new tire as fixing a hole in a tire is a very temporary thing to get you home. Yeah it sucks sometimes but better a new tire than more and more punctures and a failing tire. Plenty of people make odd suggestions of sewing and gluing and stuff like that but I wouldn't want to do that to save money unless I was desperate and couldn't get access to any tires at all.

Mulberry20

get a new set and buy a quality tire, Continental, Vittoria, Pirelli

subgrade

Are you sure it is 3 cm instead of 3mm? I can't imagine a 3 cm hole where tube wouldn't bulge out in a big way (and blow out real soon as it contacts the ground). If it really is a 3 cm hole, the tire is definitely beyond repair.
A 3 mm hole could be repaired by patching from the inside, but it's still a temporary solution. If you use a tube patch, it will eventually still bulge out of the hole as it continues to grow, and wear through. If you use something like a piece of an old tire which is more wear and stretch resistant, it will present a noticeable bulge, and may also have pronounced edges that could eventually puncture the tube.

So yes, you're better off with a new tire.

Bikerdrummer

Got it. Thanks. Ordered the continental 4 seasons tires. I read they had a better ride then the gator skins but still offered good city riding protection. (Which is probably a debate for another thread)

jadocs

In the future for small cuts you can get patch kits and patch the tire from the inside, making sure to also put glue in the cut itself.

Reflector Guy

Ah yes, that would be this thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...atorskins.html

pdlamb

An ordinary patch has worked for me with a ~1 mm cut. For something closer to 3 mm, a Tyvek patch (cut from a old FedEx envelope in my case) and glued in with patch kit glue let me ride that tire until it needed replacement because threads were visible through the tread.

On the other sub-topic, I've had better luck with flats using Gatorskins than the 4 seasons I tried. Every tire can be flatted, but Gatorskins have been an acceptable compromise for me between puncture and rolling resistance. Sure, you can get a Marathon or Armadillo heavy duty with twice the weight and perhaps 3X the tread depth, but you pay for that extra puncture resistance. (Great way to lose weight, if you can maintain the mileage, as you have that extra resistance to pedal through!)

Moe Zhoost

3 cm? That's wider than a lot of tires. You may have meant 3 mm. Nevertheless, it was a good decision to opt for a new tire.

Gary in NJ

I've been riding a pair of 32c Four Season tires since early summer. It's a comfortable tire (90psi) and has very good handling. As much as I wanted a GP5000, I chose a more puncture-proof tire over one with low rolling resistance (I do have to ride some gravel (tar & chip) roads).

Bikerdrummer

Here’s the puncture

Bikerdrummer

The tire has about 550 miles on them. But I have a 50 mile ride Saturday so I’m going to change just in case.

The inner tube patch worked great so I’m not changing the tube. Just the tire.

Milton Keynes

What I do in that situation is put a small car tire patch on the inside of the tire. I also carry some with my on my bike to use as boots. They're pretty tough, so I'm not worried about them blowing out too much, but if I had a tire with a cut that looks like the one in your picture I'd be quickly buying a new set of tires before I went on any long distance rides. Just riding around town, I wouldn't worry too much but getting 20-30 miles from home out in the boonies I don't think I'd trust it.

caloso

For a cut like that I would just use a standard Rema patch on the inside of the tire and maybe fill the outside cut with some Shoe Goo.

Doug64

My son rode back home using a $5 bill as a tire boot. I taught him this trick about 20 years ago with a $1 bill. He said it was inflation

Retro Grouch 

I always tell people that it's better to use a $20. That way you are more likely to open up the tire and fix it properly after you get home.

bblair

Too bad. But that tire looks to have more than 550 miles on it.

Sometimes I get 4000 miles on a tire, especially the front, but other times less than a thousand. Can't predict what you are going to run over, but higher quality tires do seem to last much longer. I have tried almost everything, but come back to Contientals. Start looking now and you can often find sales and save them for future use. I just mounted a set of Conti 5000 that I bought in February for about half price.

Arthur Peabody

My experience with damaged tires is the belts continue to come apart, thus I replace them as soon as I can. I keep spare tires at home so I don't have to make a purchase immediately. On the road I keep Tyvek floppy disk sleeves for boots.