patching a sidewall?
 

I have a GP5000 with a ~1/4" cut in the sidewall where a brake rubbed up against the casing. I was able to limp home with some tape covering the hole and reduced tire pressure. Lots of life left in the tread, but not sure its salvageable.

I've done a bit of searching and seen similar questions, and answers with "do you value your tire or your collarbone more" and such. Not super interested in those responses, but if you feel the need . . . .

Can one patch a clincher road tire? It tried with tube patches, guess I got the expected result being that it doesn't work. Are the patches for the inside of a tire that are for more than emergency use? I thought I read something about reinforced tire patches, but haven't found much else. With the price of tires, and my normal riding being commuting, and now on a bike with disc brakes, wondering if there's a way to salvage the tire.

It wouldn't hurt to post a picture of the cut with this question, unfortunately I think you are probably going to get the same answers as what your search results yielded.

Good question, below is a picture. Do the mythical
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...63a727649d.jpg
tire patch foil visible through the tire above my finger.
reinforced tire patches actually exist?

Can one boot a tire? Sure. But the closer the cut is to the bead the less able the boot will work. I suggest replacing the tire. Maybe save it for a trainer stand one and practice tire booing. Andy

I like to save any tire I can and currently riding a GP5000 with a booted sidewall cut but even I would not trust OP's tire. Too much sidewall damage in a larger area than just that one cut.

IMHO, that cut just looks to be the worst of the damage. The sidewall is damaged far past the cut and I assume all around the tire. I'd bite the bullet and trash it unless you have a trainer and do as suggested above.

The damage was partly due to a rim that's not round. The damage is isolated to the area in the picture. Agreed that the damage is more than just the area where the foil is visible. The picture above is tire inflated to 70 psi, I typically would ride closer to 100 in the back, where this tire would go.

So far I'm hearing what I sort of expected, except no one yet has mentioned patching the tire, it that is even possible, with the so far mythical reinforced tire patch. I have put a boot on other tires that had different sort of damage, and rode for quite some time. IIRC I used part of an aluminum can then tape around it, That worked surprisingly well, but it was on the tread, not the sidewall.

Neither fixable nor rideable, IMO

Agreed, that looks destined for the garbage unfortunately.

I wrote a little tutorial before the photo was posted but changed my opinion to "not bootable" unless an emergency. Too much damage surrounding the cut and longitudinal which is much more likely to keep tearing.

I have sewn such damage, but the stitch sticks out and is vulnerable. I have used boots. You get temporary results and have to check the situation repeatedly. In the end, as others said, it is not worth it.

After all that, I have to say that I have one tire, with such a damage, that I simply continue riding. It is a heavy duty studded winter tire. You ride it at such a low pressure that the damage is practically irrelevant as the tube pushes with a weak force against the tire.

https://www.rematiptop.com/products/...t-5060160.html
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fbd952a3d1.jpg

???

Why would you save that tire? It is done, if you wanted someone to say only what you wanted to hear record yourself and play it back but that tire is done and I wouldn't want you to get hurt just to save a few bucks. Yes products exist but they are generally temporary things to get home with. Yes GP5000s are fine tires and cost money but a damaged tire like that has probably long been over and if you are dying to use the tire make a belt out of it or some sort of other project or do as others have said and use it for a trainer.

Nope. The sidewall flexes too much for a patch to reliably hold there. And your puncture is right along the bead, so there isn't enough tire to glue a patch to, even if it would hold. Which it won't.

Call this experience a mid-priced lesson to keep an eye on where your brake pads sit on the rim.

.
...tyres are consumables. Be happy you got what use out of it you did. I hit a big piece of broken glass coming out of a blind curve on the MUP here, flatted instantly, and had to toss a Vittoria Rubino Pro that was almost as costly as yours. The tyre had 8 miles on it. It just happens sometimes.

I came with a question, is there a patch for the inside of a tire. I gave some background info, included a picture eventually. I got lots of reasons why I shouldn't save the tire, but didn't get an answer regarding patches. Eventually I dug around for awhile longer and found a product that I thought might be applicable. That was my previous post.

Hmm, make a belt out of it, interesting thought I suppose.

So, I'll try to ask a clear question, as my last point was definitely not clear. I appreciate that sidewalls are critical, actually the whole tire is critical, in terms of not having a blowout. It seems that a reputable company sells patches for tires, so I'm thinking some folks purchase this product and use it on tires. Is that exclusively on the rolling surface? For holes less than 1mm? In this post the OP showed a picture of a repaired tire that looked similar in size to what I have. So it appears possible.

From the OP,
A couple posters were clear in their answers, don't try, throw it way. Other answers were regarding using a boot, which I agree is not going to work. Were some posters referring to fixing with a boot when they said don't try? I don't know, as their was not detail in the answer, or personal experience shared.

I sort of thought that I could POSSIBLY patch my tire and be on my merry way, but wasn't sure what patch to use. I thought maybe I found that? Granted the other post, the hole is in the tread, not on the sidewall. Being inexperienced in these things, I thought this could be a place to get advice. Advice based on personal experience that is shared with me. Perhaps I was wrong.

I do appreciate the responses thus far, just wish there were a bit more behind them beside, make a belt.

Here's the answer I was looking for! Thanks so much, I think our posts crossed in the Ether . . . .

I get all of that but the tire is done for. That is why I said make a belt, it allows you to use the tire in a critical role (keeping your buttocks from sticking out) but allows for damaged sidewalls which are more damaged than just the hole you want to patch.

Too often people want to squeeze every last Zimbabwean dollar out of every item and it just isn't worth it. Maybe patching tread would be something to consider to use temporarily to get home or get by as you cannot find tires at your local shop or something but I would rather just get something new and reliable so I don't get stuck out somewhere or worse get into a crash. Tires are cheap compared to hospital visits or having to fix other damaged parts of the bike.

Agreed, pennywise and pound foolish, or maybe pound of flesh foolish in this case.

Seems to me you got a ton of good advice--but perhaps some of it was simply advice that you didn't want to hear.

I'm not going to say "unfortunately," because it is what it is: Cycling at this level is not for the cheap. The bikes and parts cost lots of money. It's just the way it is.

I'd change the tire. I generally will only live with a cut on the tread. Sidewalls are very thin so they don't give a harsh ride. So they don't have much additional structure for when they get compromised.

But I wouldn't fear for my life if I continued to ride it. And I have ridden many a tire with compromised sidewalls just to see what happens. But you need to consider how far you ride from home or where ever you have to get back to. If you ride with others, you might get a bad reputation if your flat slows everyone down or holds them up.

I know that if you get a cut or puncture through the sidewall of a automobile, or motorcycle tire, no dealer or service center will touch it. Using common sense would lead me to think bicycle tires would be similar, but who knows, why not just put a patch on it and get back to us. I for one, am curios to see how it works out, especially on a high speed descent.
Tim

This tire must be many years old. Look at the entire sidewall and you see many more of those splits developing. You would have to boot the entire tire....

I don't think what you point at is a cut, this just tore apart from being so fragile at this point.

I would have replaced it without that large tear developing just based on how the rest looks like.

Might want to correct that if possible. Could lead to a repeat of the same problem

When in doubt, it's best to aim sidepull/centerpull brake pads a little lower on the rim, since they will tend to hit higher up as they wear. If you can't fix this wheel, or it's as good as you can get it, use the low spot for setting up the brakes.

(Of course it's different for cantis, but I doubt that's what you have.)