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Gorilla glue for inner tube punctures?

Old 06-22-22, 12:38 PM
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BrenZan
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Gorilla glue for inner tube punctures?

complete noob to bike repair here...I've been looking online regarding glues for inner tube punctures (with patches) - I've only got Gorilla Glue at home currently, and it seems the concensus is to get rubber cement. I'm still curious as to just how effective Gorilla Glue would be.

also, how true is the stuff bike shops say about patching inner tubes being a short-term?
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Old 06-22-22, 12:53 PM
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Bill Kapaun
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Get a REMA repair kit.
Don't screw around with less.
https://www.rematiptop.com/products/...pair-kits.html
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Old 06-22-22, 01:02 PM
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No, get good stuff.
A friend of mine used a poundshop puncture repair kit and had the glue melt right off the tube due to the heat generated from braking on a fast and long descent.
Personally, I prefer a brand new tube every time.
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Old 06-22-22, 01:03 PM
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Velo Mule
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+1 on Rema Tip top kits. The patch, if done correctly, will last decades. I also like that the patch is thin and tapered at the edges but the most important thing is that it works. Bike shops always provide a new tube. This is just how they work. They get money for the tube and the labor.
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Old 06-22-22, 01:12 PM
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Rema, as prev stated. When there is a tried and true product, why would you use something else? If no LBS nearby, a local auto store probably has them. I've never considered a well done patch job as temporary.
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Old 06-22-22, 01:20 PM
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Another Rema fan. Good thing is there are plenty of other kits that use the same glue and patch system that work but Remas are consistently the best so I I have a choice I always go there. (Good patch kits use vulcanizing glue, not a cement. Fundamentally different system.)
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Old 06-22-22, 01:23 PM
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+1 on Rema patch kits. Skip the Gorilla Glue and rubber cement, go straight to the best.
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Old 06-22-22, 01:42 PM
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You do not want glue, you want "vulcanizing fluid" which, when correctly used, causes a chemical bond between the tube and the patch. Sulfur something something, one of the organic chemists in the group might chime in.
Ther previously-mentioned REMA kits have the right stuff.
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Old 06-22-22, 03:21 PM
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I have had patched tubes that lasted thousands of miles. Rema, IME, is the best. Also, I sometimes use glue less patches, again IME, they work well and I have had some last long term, some not. With all tube patching, it has to be done properly to work properly.
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Old 06-22-22, 04:21 PM
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Originally Posted by BrenZan
complete noob to bike repair here...I've been looking online regarding how effective Gorilla Glue would be.
Very poor, don't use it. Go to a bike shop or REI (heck, maybe even Walmart sells them) and simply buy a patch kit. Rema and Park make nice compact ones. I personally buy bulk patches and large tubes of glue, but keep the little compact kits in the saddle bag of all my bikes, either Rema or Park.

also, how true is the stuff bike shops say about patching inner tubes being a short-term?
False. A properly applied patch (which is simple to do) will last as long as the rest of the tube. I've never heard any knowledgeable person say such a thing. Was it the same person who suggested Gorilla Glue?

Last edited by Camilo; 06-22-22 at 04:26 PM.
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Old 06-22-22, 10:46 PM
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Thanks all, will order some REMA as suggested!

also, I've heard of some anecdotes regarding a patched tube losing integrity over time when left unused - I'm assuming this also holds no water?
​​​​
Originally Posted by Camilo
False. A properly applied patch (which is simple to do) will last as long as the rest of the tube. I've never heard any knowledgeable person say such a thing. Was it the same person who suggested Gorilla Glue?
I was just thinking of Gorilla Glue since I was a little desperate for a fix at the time and that was the only thing I had lying around - it's good to hear the patch will last long-term, though
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Old 06-22-22, 11:13 PM
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Originally Posted by BrenZan
I've only got Gorilla Glue at home currently, and it seems the concensus is to get rubber cement. I'm still curious as to just how effective Gorilla Glue would be.
Neither rubber cement nor Gorilla Glue are very good fluids for patching butyl tubes. You want a fluid that will react properly with the patch: the safest bet that's widely-available and convenient is to go with a Rema patch kit.

If you're using TPU tubes, you'll probably need a special patch kit.

Latex tubes are very easy. Patches for butyl tubes work very well with latex. Or, you can use a piece cut from an old latex tube as a patch, just apply the vulcanizing fluid to both the tube and the patch.

also, how true is the stuff bike shops say about patching inner tubes being a short-term?
Not true.
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Old 06-22-22, 11:25 PM
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I rotated through 3 tubes for my commuter bike over 12 years. Each of them have about a dozen patches. The only thing that eventually killed one was the valve broke.
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Old 06-23-22, 11:32 AM
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++++1 on Rema kits. Take your time, use the sand paper well, put the glue on AND LET IT DRY put patch on....ride
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Old 06-24-22, 10:19 AM
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A properly patched tube (with a separate patch and glue/vulcanizing fluid like Rema Tiptop) is not a temporary repair. The only time I have had a flat at a properly applied patch was when I was not able to find and remove the object stuck in the tire that caused the initial flat, and it eventually poked a hole through the patch.

The one-step peel-and-stick 'glueless' patches, in my experience, are a temporary fix at best, although others have had better luck than I.

There are a few kludges that can replicate the less-than-100%-reliable glueless patches (Gorilla tape, and the stretchy plastic tape we call 'hockey tape' might work), but nothing that works nearly as well as Rema vulcanizing fluid and the patches made to bond to it.
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Old 06-25-22, 01:54 AM
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If you have been around long enough you know once you open the little Rema Tip Top glue tube it will be dry the next time you use it. So my SOP is to carry a couple of inner tubes and just replace as needed.
Walmart sells an 8 oz can of SLIME brand Rubber Cement "for use with patches and plugs" that I have used. NAPA Auto Parts also sells some kind of vulcanizing fluid that I have used.
So when I'm home and at my leisure I patch my tubes with the Tip Top patches (the best IMO) and save opening the Tip Top glue (vulcanizing fluid) until I have an emergency on the road.
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Old 06-25-22, 02:48 AM
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Originally Posted by HelpSingularity
If you have been around long enough you know once you open the little Rema Tip Top glue tube it will be dry the next time you use it. So my SOP is to carry a couple of inner tubes and just replace as needed.
Walmart sells an 8 oz can of SLIME brand Rubber Cement "for use with patches and plugs" that I have used. NAPA Auto Parts also sells some kind of vulcanizing fluid that I have used.
So when I'm home and at my leisure I patch my tubes with the Tip Top patches (the best IMO) and save opening the Tip Top glue (vulcanizing fluid) until I have an emergency on the road.
The trick with the Rema glue tube is to squeeze the tube gently until the glue reaches the top of the nozzle and then thead the top back on. With no air in the tube or nozzle, the glue will stay properly viscous more or less indefinitely.
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Old 06-25-22, 07:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Trakhak
The trick with the Rema glue tube is to squeeze the tube gently until the glue reaches the top of the nozzle and then thead the top back on. With no air in the tube or nozzle, the glue will stay properly viscous more or less indefinitely.
+1. Since doing this years ago, I've gone through a few tubes of fluid and not had any dry up yet. Just finished off a tube that was opened 3 years ago and was able to use every last drop of it.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that, I believe it was cyccommute, pointed out some time ago that it's not the air that gets in but the solvent that evaporates through a poor seal at the cap so basically using the same solution is to keep an airtight seal and a little fluid at the cap helps to do this.

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Old 06-25-22, 05:30 PM
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Here's an oldie but a goodie classic take on the question

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...er-cement.html
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Old 06-25-22, 11:10 PM
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I've done the Gorilla Glue thing as an experiment (to fortify a peeling edge of a regular patch job) and while it seems to hold up it should not be the primary recommendation. It takes forever to cure properly and when it does it expands and hardens. Best to go with the popular opinion already mentioned in this thread.
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Old 06-28-22, 12:27 AM
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Originally Posted by HelpSingularity
If you have been around long enough you know once you open the little Rema Tip Top glue tube it will be dry the next time you use it. So my SOP is to carry a couple of inner tubes and just replace as needed.
Walmart sells an 8 oz can of SLIME brand Rubber Cement "for use with patches and plugs" that I have used. NAPA Auto Parts also sells some kind of vulcanizing fluid that I have used.
So when I'm home and at my leisure I patch my tubes with the Tip Top patches (the best IMO) and save opening the Tip Top glue (vulcanizing fluid) until I have an emergency on the road.
I have large tubes at home, and little ones in the saddle bag. I buy the little ones in multiples from eBay sellers and consider them one time use - although they often surprise me and don't harden up between uses.
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Old 08-05-22, 09:10 PM
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Got the Rema patches and applied them - 1 week in and they're holding well! Thanks all
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Old 08-06-22, 10:20 AM
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Originally Posted by BrenZan
complete noob to bike repair here...I've been looking online regarding glues for inner tube punctures (with patches) - I've only got Gorilla Glue at home currently, and it seems the concensus is to get rubber cement. I'm still curious as to just how effective Gorilla Glue would be.

also, how true is the stuff bike shops say about patching inner tubes being a short-term?
The tube needs to sanded or use acetone to clean off the mold release then coat the tube with cement, let it dry and put on the patch and rub it in with a hard object. Properly patched tubes last the life of the tube. I have friends who have ridden on tubes with 5 or s 6 patches with no problems.
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Old 08-07-22, 03:10 PM
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Gorilla glue won't hold up because it won't stretch as the tube expands with air. You would be better off for about 12 hours using the black Gorilla tape!

Rema is the best in the USA, as others have stated. I've used Rema for years till I switched to glueless patches about 30 years ago and was using nothing but Park glueless patches, the other brands of glueless patches sucked, the Parks would last till the tube dry rotted! But then about 3 years ago I started having problems with the Glueless patches holding up, they would only last maybe 48 hours. I thought I got a bad box, so I tried another box, same thing, I then e-mailed Park and asked them what was up, they said the tube manufacturers changed the composition of the tubes which in turn made glueless patches a fail. That was sad, because I loved glueless patches.
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Old 08-08-22, 11:30 AM
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ClydeClydeson
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rekmeyata Never tried it on a tube, but I was told that Gorilla tape can be used as a rim tape for tubes AND tubeless setups on fat bikes. It works on my fat bike with tubes, haven't tried tubeless yet.
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