HoustonB

I am curious if there is a consensus (lol in BF) about punctures and inner tube repair or replacement - this post triggered after reading A Good Deed Today.

There are basically 2 things I am interested in, fix or replace, but there is one angle that applies to both : After fixing the tube or replacing, we do not want another puncture when re-inflating. How many of us, as a matter of routine, make sure to find the cause?

In my case, I make sure when removing the tube, not to move it relative to the tire and rim, to facilitate finding the cause. For slow punctures this might mean inflating the tube to an almost comical extent. Deflating it, returns it to the same size as the tire and allows the position of the cause to be located usually to within a half inch (say 1 cm).

What are people doing : attempt fix at the road side, replace, or other?

If you do repair the tube, is it temporary until you have an opportunity to put in a new tube or do you let tubes accumulate patches until it just gets ridiculous.

Normally I carry a spare tube - since this is by far the easiest and fastest way to get going again. I got really lucky on a 2 week tour in Iceland on a new Trek 950 (back in 93) - I had 2 spare tubes and after a puncture free tour i discovered the tubes had the wrong valves (big valve, small hole in rim - presta / schraeder, i never remember which is which). Not happy with LBS!

-=(8)=-

Im a treehugger....I carry two and patch them until they might
throw the tire out of balance.
Mark your valvestem location on the tire before you leave your house.
Stuff a little piece of cotton in your flat kit and very lightly go over the
inside of the tire with it after you have on bead off the rim. It makes it
very easy to feel/see if there is something in the tire.
All this can be done without taking the wheel off, too.

Joey1

I carry two tubes at all times. Replace on the side of the road, few mins is all it takes. Just make sure your tire is clear of any debris before putting the new tube in.

ax0n

I carry two spare tubes and plenty of patches in my seat bag. When a tube gets punctured, it gets replaced with one in my seat bag. I later patch the damaged one at home or work, then put it back in the seat bag. On my MTB and hybrid when flats are less common I use just one spare tube. The results are the same, though. I usually patch and re-use them until the valve stems tear. Then, I cut the tube into narrow slices and turn it into rubber bands and throw away the stem!

WillisB

One spare tube with me and a patch kit. The patch kit is in case I should puncture the second tube prior to getting home. And, yes, I do check the inside of the tire.

ECDkeys

One thing I learned the hard way, it doesn't matter which method you choose, if you don't find the source of the puncture, you're screwed. One cold and rainy day, I had three flats. The first time, I was able to bring the bike into the destination building and patch the tube. I could not locate the culprit in the tire. The rest of the day I noticed the dreaded slow leak, but I was hoping I would make it home before it became an issue. On my way home, in the dark, still raining and cold, I felt my normally silent rear tire sound like a studded tire (cross tires rapidly deflating, engaging the studs on the side). After replacing the tube, I was cold, soaked, and miserable. 100 feet later, the tube was airless once again. Too far to walk home, I called someone to pick me up.

-=(8)=-

I have found that layering a few lengths of 23c tubes over
handle bars makes nice, lowbudget, winterbeater handgrips !

HoustonB

Were all 3 flats caused by the same thing - and what was it?

ECDkeys

Yes. This is a textbook case of worst case scenario with flats. The culprit was a tiny sliver of glass that I could not find initially because of the way it was wedged into the rubber. Running my fingers along the inside of the tire revealed nothing initially, and a visual inspection of the outer tread proved fruitless as well, so I made the (incorrect) assumption that what had caused the flat was left on the road.

At the end of the day, the lower tire pressure indicated a slow leak, so I knew something was still in there. I pumped it back up and took a chance riding home, hoping that I'd make the 6 miles without incident. It was the ride home that worked the glass in further, rapidly increasing the rate of deflation. By this time, it was dark, cold and rainy, so there was no way I was going to find the flat source. Replacing the tube was just a lame attempt to get my shivering and numb self back home.

After I got picked up and dropped off at home, I finally found the glass, as it was more prominent along the inside of the tire this time around.

HoustonB

When you were looking for the cause the first time, were you inspecting the whole tire, or did you use the position of the leak in the inner tube to narrow your search down to a specific couple of inches?

ECDkeys

The whole tire.

ianjk

Haha! I posted the old-tube winter handgrip on here a while back and got flamed pretty bad. Works well on skinny old Schwinn bars, nice big comfy grips that don't have you clenching your fists and restricting blood to the fingers

HoustonB

What I do is make sure when I remove the inner tube that I do not move it relative to the wheel and tire, for example by lifting it away and flipping it over. Then I inflate the tube to find the hole - for slow punctures this might mean inflating to point where it looks almost comical. But invariably I will find the hole in the tube. Then let the tube deflate back down to the same size as the tire. Laying the tube back on the tire, usually gets me to within half an inch of where the culprit is - including whether I should be looking at the tread, sidewall, or for something protruding near the rim tape. And in one case, it was no less than a tiny sliver of glass, only revealed by pinching the tread to open a tiny cut!

MichaelW

I use old inners as extra padding beneath bar tape. They also make excellent boots for the headset lower race.
My repair kit normally includes a set of pliers (Leathermanm mini style) which are useful for picking out chunks of glass, flint and metal. I even used them once to undo a siezed valve retaining nut. I now smear the nut threads with vasaline (seems to work better than grease).

dwainedibbly

Swap the tube on the road, patch it when I get home. Carry patches just in case I get a 2nd flat.

Noting where the tube was relative to the tire is something I do, too. It makes it a lot easier to find the offending shard. I do the "dunk the inflated tube under water if the hole isn't obvious" thing most times, as taught by my grandfather back when cars used tubes. Even slow leaks become easy to locate that way.

ECDkeys

Yes, noting tube puncture relative to the tire is important, and something I overlook in my haste. Then I realize I have to check the entire tire, which makes it more likely I'll miss the offending object.

My last flat I was not in a situation where I could even locate the puncture, let alone determine its relation to the tire. It was at night on a busy but dark street, and the traffic noise made it impossible for me to hear where air was escaping. I tried in vain to place my face near the tube to feel the leak, but alas it was also windy that night. A finger inspection of the tire revealed nothing. I lucked out this time, as the replacement tube held out just fine.

CBBaron

I use good tires so I seldom get punctures. When I do I replace the tube. I usually hold on to the flat one until I can exchange it for a new tube. This is with my normal commuter with inexpensive tubes. With my Pugsley and $15 tubes, I will patch it until I have to overlap patches. At 10-30psi I have alot more confidence in a patch than at 85-120psi.

Craig

ItsJustMe

I hardly ever flat (maybe once a year) so I carry only one tube. If I flat, I replace the tube, then patch it when I get home. I have some glueless patches for if I happen to have two flats but I use REAL patches otherwise (they're cut from an old tube that was exposed to sunlight while folded and fell apart on the fold). At one flat a year I've never had a tube get more than 3 patches, I don't know when I'd retire the tube but it's more than that. Probably the stem would die first (I converted back to schrader a year or so back; I have no problem pumping 100 PSI on a schrader, and I hated presta for a number of reasons).

Eggplant Jeff

I have had little to no trouble with patches.

I used to change tubes, but after doing a few patches I realized it's really easier to patch on the side of the road, because you don't have to take the wheel off. Flip the bike, attempt to determine the source of the leak (careful inspection of the exterior tread).

If you can find it, you only have to dismount that part of the tire, pull the tube out, remove the offending sharp object, patch tube, remount tire. If you can't find it, dismount the whole tire (still on the bike) and pull the tube all the way out. I carry a rag which I can slide around the inside of the tire and it will usually catch on whatever punctured it (One time I found a tiny sliver of metal, no bigger than a thread!). Using a rag is easier on your fingertips too.

I actually use the glueless patches that everyone hates. I've had good luck though. My back tube has three patches on it at the moment (two on top of each other in fact, I had something re-pierce the first patch through the hole in the tire ). I have used "park tool" brand patches and "slime" brand (they're green ) and a third brand I don't remember. I think the key is to scuff the area pretty well, and then apply the patch with a lot of pressure for 30 seconds or so. You can't just stick it on and expect it to hold.

Speaking of patches, I may be doing that before my ride home... I ran over a glass bottle on my way in to work .

modernjess

+1 replace tube on the road, Later at home in a relaxed setting with a beer, patch the tube, put back in the seat bag for next time.

Tire mounting tip - Mount your tires on the rim with the tire lable centered over the valve stem.
A. It looks pro.
B. More importantly, it's easier to locate the source of the puncture and check your tire. One you take your tube out and locate the hole, it's easy to go back and line it up with the spot in the tire where the puncture occured and check it carefully for objects etc. before you put in the new or repaired tube. It saves time and aggravation.
C. Did I mention it looks pro?

dwainedibbly

+1 to that! I haven't had any trouble with glueless patches, either.

Cadfael

Been there... and got the tee-shirt. I know have a dot of tipex on the valve, the tire wall, and one on the wheel rim, but away from the braking area.... but only on one side. This way I can line up the tube and tire, and the rim... to check just where abouts the punture is happening... I have even had a shard of glass puncture through a patch in the past.

But once I am in the ball park, I can then check the tire if the wheel and tube are okay. I have often found a little blemmish on the inside of the tire, and when I have shoved a paperclip through it... a small shard of glass has fallen out.

But now I have Shwalbe Marathon Plus front and back... and I have no punctures for 8 months.

HoustonB

With you on decent tires to reduce punctures and i like the idea of an identifying mark on the tire to record exact alignment with the rim and valve.