Green Hornet

I used to buy those bike-store tire patch kits. Most of them had round black patches with orange edges. But they seemed to peel away or "ballon" around the hole sometimes. They didn't always last.

So far, the best patches I have used come from an auto parts store. Brand name: "Monkey Grip." The patches are square, but the glue is the same. The bottom line: you get more glue (not that you need it!), more patch material, and the patches seem to last better. OH! They're only 99 cents! (Bike store patch kits are about 3 dollars.)

Am I missing something? :confused:

D*Alex

I hope that you actually glued them on-they aren't glueless, if you are talking about the Rema patches. Also, make sure you don't put the plastic side down.
If anybody thinks that I'm being condescending, I have actually seen people do both!

Green Hornet

Ha, ha! Yeah, I even make sure the glue is completely dry first. It just seems that the patches are not a tough under pressure. I even get slow leaks sometimes, but the Monkey Grips seem to work.

This is not a paid advertisement!

blwyn

I'm with ya on the Monkey Grips. I've never had a problem with one.

John E

At home, I use Remas with Monkey Grip glue from a 20-year-old (!) can. On the road, I use glueless patches or Remas with their own glue, but rarely need to, since I always carry a spare innertube.

RainmanP

Hmmm, I may try Monkey Grips though I have had no problems with the regular black with orange edge patches. I carry both a spare tube and a patch kit. The patch kit is backup. For a flat, I swap tubes then patch the old one at home. After glue failures in uses other than bikes, I routinely clean the area with alcohol on anything I am gluing. Zero problems when I do that. Tubes are so dusty/dirty I think it would be hard to get good glue adhesion without cleaning the area with alcohol.
FWIW,
Raymond

technogirl

The Monkey Grip sounds cool, but I've been using the tire patch kit that I got from Performance Bike. It's held up for the three bikes that I've patched up. So far, so good!

MichaelW

Is the rubber solution supposed to be a glue or a sealant?
Out of habit I tend to apply 2 thin layers, and wait until they are tacky before the next step.
I buy some German-made patches with feathered edges.
available separately so I dont get a new kit each time.

D*Alex

I always buff (with the sandpaper) a large area around the hole, then put a thin layer of glue larger than the patch around the hole, with a drop right on the hole. Peel the foil backing off, apply the patch, and squeeze it for about 5 minutes. when I'm at home, I use an old door hinge and small c-clamp to do this.
When the patch is dry, I spread a thin layer of glue around the edges, to make sure they hold down. This is after I peel the plastic off.

stewartp

...and further to D'Alex's comprehensibe reply . .

lastly dust off with talc or chalk to "kill" any excess glu that might make the tube stick to the inner surface of the tyre.

Note that all of this is best done in leisurely fashion, with no panic, at home in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and a donut. Not at the side of the road in the rain.

Carry a spare!

Stew

No funky sig after my name.
Oh hell! that is one!

Greg

A little powder from the donut works well to replace the talc.

john999

What ever happened to those vulcanising patches ? Thos ones where you lit the back of them and they'd melt the rubber onto the tube.

You can still get them in Asian countries. They were the only type that ever really worked in my opinion.

D*Alex

You can do that with any cheap patch (solid rubber, no plastic) and a bic lighter. Make your own patches from an old, thin innertube, bevel the edges, put enough glue so that it goes well past the edges of the patch, and light it up! It helps, though, if you clamp it quickly afterwards, though. I have even done this with rema patches, with the plastic backing removed.

Rich

I can recommend leeches to people (not the sub aquatic ones though!!).

They've been out in the UK for a while and are self adhesive...

Great name too! :thumbup:

Rich

D*Alex

Self adhesive patches are almost always cr@p. I still haven't seen one which can handle 100 psig, much less the 175 psig some of my racing tyres take. Self-adhesive patches should only be used as a quickie repair, something which you are only counting on to get you home slowly, and at reduced pressure.

John E

I have had particularly bad luck with Skabs brand glueless patches (from K-Mart -- need I say more?) and strongly advise against purchasing them. I carry a few glueless patches of the clear variety, but only as a desperation backup to my glue-on patches and spare inner tube. If I could find glueless patches which actually worked decently, I would purchase them, to avoid being stuck on the road with a dried-up glue tube.