Originally Posted by
Daniel4
What do you carry with you?
On patch kits, the vulcanizing glue dries up so fast that once it has been used, you have a whole bunch of patches that can't be used because the tube is all dried up. Unless you buy a whole bunch of new tubes of vulcanizing glue.
I have a garage full of patched tubes but I don't have a lot of confidence taking them out as spares because too often I still hear leaks after patching them up.
So I have a stock of brand new tubes too.
We have 4 regularly-ridden bikes equipped with spare tubes and patch kits. I'm not sure without re-checking them which ones are currently carrying patched tubes versus brand-new ones, but I hold them in equal regard, so I voted for patched tubes.
My policy is to only carry fresh, unopened tubes of glue on the bikes, and will sometimes check them by giving a little squeeze. I almost never need to patch tubes while out on a ride -- usually the spare tube suffices. But if I do, I will immediately use that tube of glue to patch any other punctured tubes I have when I get home. If that doesn't trigger it, I'll go ahead and open a tube of glue once I've collected at least a half-dozen punctured tubes, or start to run low on a particular size...
@
noglider Tom has some great tips for patching. I recommend keeping up your practice, and using a spare wheel to do more realistic testing of your patches. If the tire doesn't go soft again for at least a couple of days, that tube is probably good to go.
