cyccommute 

For tire boot material, skip the sticky boot patch. It's a one time use. Go down to your local US post office and get one of the Tyvek mailing envelopes. They are light, reusable, super tough and, most importantly, free...until you mail something. I've had occasion to use mine several times recently and continue to be impressed with how well it works.

RubeRad

What is Tyvek? I see that word plastered all over houses under construction, when they put up whatever underlayer the siding or whatever goes on. Didn't know they made envelopes out of it too!

cyccommute 

Tyvek is a spun high density polyester. It doesn't tear when cut and is waterproof. One of the reasons that the Post Office uses them is that they don't tear easily during shipping. You can cut through them but the cut won't propagate (aka "run"). Hazmat suits are made of Tyvek because of those properties and the added benefit that polyester is chemical inert for the most part.

noglider 

It looks like paper, and it feels like paper that is plastic-impregnated. Wikipedia says it is made of .flashspun high-density polyethylene fibers. When floppy disks really were floppy, the paper sleeves were made of Tyvek. Aren't you glad I didn't use "let me google that for you" on you?

I patched two tubes yesterday. I learned that my memory is not reliable. Well, I knew that already. I thought my bulk patches were Rema and the bulk glue I got at the auto parts store was vulcanizing fluid. It turns out the patches are Sunlite (a no-name name), and the glue is marked as rubber cement. Well, I've been using this setup for a while, and it's working, but I still agree that Rema is the best stuff.

jack002

I used them a lot. Two problems with them today. 1, the patch is too big for a road bike tube, I would cut them down to fit. 2. They dont' make them any more. I can't find them now. They do/did work great

RubeRad

link?

rebayona

This is an interesting thread since about 3 years ago I realized that after 25 years commuting, glueless patches are quite handy. You use glue like 2 or 3 times a year, so the fourth time glue is dry. Glueless patches (or stickers if you like) last longer on your bag.
They're not common in my country, in fact I have to order them online, since if I can find some they're quite expensive. I started using them when I got a kit as a gift (park) and loved them. Run out of them and tried to find similar ones, and found Skabs, by slime.They work great too, but just ran out of them. Looking for their replacements I started to give it a little research and found this thread, a little late since I ended buying cheap ones on aliexpress. I thought: "what is the difference between brands, is just tyre rubber and glue". Reviews are 98% positive, but only a few for the product, most of the are just for receiving the item.
However, they look fine. What's your aversion against glueless? I only had one issue with them in the 3 years I've been using them, they adhere to the surface just like the glue ones.
I'll let you know how it goes with this sketchy "duuti" glueless patches, and I promise I'll go for you beloved Rema if they don't do the work.

Chesterton

Who knew that patches were so controversial! I have always used Rema kits and generally had no problems. One thing I've noticed is that the new Rema kits say that you don't have to wait any time between applying the fluid and putting down the patch. They don't offer an explanation for the change, and I'm set in my ways enough that I still wait a bit, or at least I take my time getting the patch ready after applying the fluid.

zandoval 

Oddly one of the hardest things to do when installing a patch is to let the glue dry before applying the patch. Really it is only about 5 min but they appear to be very long minuets when your waiting. I carry just a generic ChiCom patch kit with the little 5-7 gram tubes. But I also carry an unopened little tube of Generic Super Glue as a back up. Using a dab of super glue works well for a patch but it is not flexible and therefore not a reliable patch.

Some times my generic ChiCom patches get kinda dry. No biggy, I just put vulcanizing cement on them and they soften up.

Again... Remember to let that glue dry before application. Often its a hard task...

oldbobcat

Years ago I bought a can of Rema cement and a box of 100 Rema patches. The glue dried up after a couple year, but the patches still work great. I use a rubber cement that I bought at the local True Value store. They work fine together.

RCMoeur 

My experience, after patching hundreds upon hundreds of tubes for local nonprofits (and my own re-use):

Surface prep is 95% of success. If I'm patching at home, I use a dremel with a sanding drum attachment to get a good clean nothing-but-tube-rubber patch area about 25% larger than the expected patch. Turns a tedious chore into seconds of easy work.

I use only Rema cement. I buy the 4-pack of 7 gram tubes every so often - if there's a long hiatus between patching sessions, I only potentially lose what's left in the currently open tube. NOTE: the newer Rema cement tubes say the formula is now a "no-wait" one and the patch can be applied immediately - I still wait 3 minutes or so out of habit.

I've used non-Rema patches with Rema cement with good success, but using Rema (or any) patch with non-Rema cement sees an unacceptably higher failure rate.

Oval Rema patches have an amazing ability to fix long cuts / blowouts / bigger holes, but aren't 100% foolproof . Don't ask me how I know this. The bigger frustration is now they're nearly 50¢ each on Amazon, so wasting an oval is an annoyance.

Rolla

Four year old thread

alcjphil

Sadly, I have had so few flats in the last 10 years that I have forgotten almost everything I ever learned about patching inner tubes in my earlier life. One thing I do remember is usually applying a second coat of the vulcanizing fluid after waiting for the first coat to dry and waiting again for the second coat to dry. I also remember those hot patches. I had a 1972 Peugeot that had tube type Michelin X radial tires. I remember repairing a couple of punctures using those hot vulcanizing patches. The nice thing about tube type car tires is that you can remove the tire without needing any special tools other than a set of old fashioned tire irons. My grandfather was a master mechanic and I inherited a set from him

RubeRad

lemme bust out my world's tiniest violin to make some sad music while I cry for your sadness

icemilkcoffee 

I used to use generic rubber cement with Rema patches. They seemed to work very well. The etches were all glued down very well. But then I started seeing the patches crack after hanging around in the garage for a few months. So I switched to Rema glue. The gold standard supposedly. But now the edges don't stay down. In fact the other day I peeled one patch right off. I put on a second patch, and I was able to peel half of that off. I ran out of time so I had to quit there.
So from where I sit, Rema sucks.

Yan 

I use generic Chinese branded patches with generic Chinese branded patching glue tubes. I've used countless different brands of patches and glue, both name brand and generic. They're all the same, at least the ones that I used. My record is 11 patches on a tube.

I do not use peel-and-stick patches as I find they come off eventually.

cyccommute 

Your problem is probably in the preparation. The tube has to be well sanded to remove any mould release compound. The fluid has to be dry…the longer it sits, the better. Don’t touch the patch or the dried fluid…oils from your hands can interfere with the bonding process. It takes a little attention to detail but I find the results to be worth the effort.

icemilkcoffee 

I sanded the tube and also used acetone to wipe it. I waited between 5-10 min. With 5 minute wait, I could pull the patch right off. With 10 minute, I was able to pull half of it up. So I don't know, maybe next time I'll try 15 minute. Is there such a thing as waiting too long?
Also- could it be the temperature? Is there an ideal temperature to do this exercise in?

cyccommute 

I’ve had tubes sit for weeks before putting a patch on. It still held.

Make sure you put on enough fluid, as well. You need to make sure the fluid goes beyond the edges of the patch.

oldbobcat

Spit works too. Just as long as the tube's clean and dry before you apply the glue.

reconnaissance

As with most adhesive applications, surface prep is of highest consideration.
1) clean of the waxy parting compound from the tube with a solvent (acetone, isopropyl alcohol, etc) soaked rag, and roughen the surface with fine sandpaper
2) mark the location of the hole with crosshairs or equidistant x/y axis marks
3) apply a thin coating of the adhesive. To accelerate drying and to warm the rubber tube, ok to light it on fire, but blow it out before bubbling starts. (If you use fire, make sure your solvent rag is not close by the flame)
4) quickly apply your choice of patch (Rema, Tip Top, etc)
5) stitch the patch with a roller or coin shaped object with a hard object beneath the tube
6) stitch it again, in all the directions
7) partially inflate just enough to round out the tube, but not stretch the rubber and check for other leaks
8) put it back in the tire and enjoy your ride!

I’ve also found that the Skab patches work very well following steps 1 and 2.

RubeRad

Skab patches don't require step 5? That's amazing!