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the long shot: patching hole in tire tread?

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the long shot: patching hole in tire tread?

Old 05-23-21, 07:34 PM
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thook
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the long shot: patching hole in tire tread?

i know...it'd be best to ditch the tire, however i found some used knards 700c at the thrift store for just a few bucks. probably wouldn't have bothered had i known at the time, but didn't find the hole in the tread of one of them until i'd mounted them and began checking my brake adjustment. i'd say it's about 3mm in diameter. big hole, right? anyway, seems a shame to toss it given that it's mostly still in good shape, otherwise. folding bead and 120tpi. anyone ever patched a hole in the tread and made the tire usable, again? i'd thought of clipping the tread from a road slick and patching it, but wondered if it wouldn't just create a bump in the ride. probably would, eh?
thanks!
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Old 05-23-21, 07:44 PM
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I would put a regular tire patch into it and see if it holds. The less than a dollar try is worth the effort and it may help you save the tire. Smiles, MH
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Old 05-23-21, 07:45 PM
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I have 3 mm cuts in tires that I ride, where I patched the tube but didn't do anything to the tire. If it were me, I'd probably try a regular tube patch, just to keep the tube from pooching out the hole, but would then just put the worst tire on the back and ride them. But I'm certainly not a pro mechanic, so I can't give you an "official" opinion.
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Old 05-23-21, 08:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Mad Honk
I would put a regular tire patch into it and see if it holds. The less than a dollar try is worth the effort and it may help you save the tire. Smiles, MH
regular tire patch....ie. "tube" patch?
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Old 05-23-21, 08:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Gresp15C
I have 3 mm cuts in tires that I ride, where I patched the tube but didn't do anything to the tire. If it were me, I'd probably try a regular tube patch, just to keep the tube from pooching out the hole, but would then just put the worst tire on the back and ride them. But I'm certainly not a pro mechanic, so I can't give you an "official" opinion.
"official", to me, would mean "yeah, i tried this and it worked".

i'll try the tube patch. if that fails, a clipping from another tire. i've got some 60 tpi's, also. these are noticeably lighter. it'd be cool to use them
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Old 05-23-21, 08:32 PM
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My spouse has Knards, and they are nice tires.
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Old 05-23-21, 09:57 PM
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Two layers of duct tape is over kill, but it will work.
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Old 05-23-21, 10:10 PM
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Originally Posted by davidad
Two layers of duct tape is over kill, but it will work.
the hole is right in the middle of the tread. you really think that'll hold up? i'm not trying to do just a temporary fix, btw.

edit: oh wait a minute!! that gave me an idea. i have "abrasion" tape that i used in my well to protect the wiring running down the piping to the pump. i think i'm gonna try that!! brilliant! thanks!
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Old 05-23-21, 11:06 PM
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I yanked a tire off an old bike and found a strip of duct tape folded over itself inside. Upon inspection, I saw a small hole in the tire. It was maybe a 4" strip, had clearly been there a long time, and was on a bike someone had been riding.

I don't know how well it worked, but that's how I found it.
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Old 05-23-21, 11:27 PM
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Originally Posted by OldBike876
I yanked a tire off an old bike and found a strip of duct tape folded over itself inside. Upon inspection, I saw a small hole in the tire. It was maybe a 4" strip, had clearly been there a long time, and was on a bike someone had been riding.

I don't know how well it worked, but that's how I found it.
okay then!! i guess either way it'll be good to go. thanks for chiming in with that
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Old 05-24-21, 05:11 AM
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Thookie the Wookie!

I'll mirror what Mad Honk and others have said about trying a patch, and here is how I would do it:

1. Turn tire inside out.
2. Rub the are to be patched thoroughly with acetone. I would use a nonwoven abrasive pad for this and nothing more aggressive so as not to disturb the remaining threads any more than I had to.
3. Apply rubber cement, and wait until it dries. Let it completely dry.
4. Apply another coat, and wait until this coat is dry enough so that nothing comes off when you touch it with your finger. Keep that finger out of your nose.
5. Apply the patch.
6. Roll and press the patch with a ball peen hammer using light taps. Try to get the patch really pressed firmly to the tire carcass.
7. Inflate the tire to full pressure and let it sit over night to cure and harden

The two-coat of glue technique was learned at my old high school job in a shoe store. We did custom heels and arch supports and wedges and a whole bunch of stuff we never would have had to put up with if there had been any foot doctors in town. My boss bought the store from an elderly man who ran it for 60 years. There was a fascinating array of shoe stretchers and devices to manipulate the fit of a shoe. If you had a bunion, we had a device that could stretch that area. Needless to say, I learned a lot and the two-coat glue technique was one of them.

Honestly, this procedure should do the trick. When I was a kid growing up in Maine, I was like ten years younger than all of the kids of the people that my mother knew. My parents didnt have me until they had been married for ten years, and subsequently, life went on for all of their friends. This meant that all of my mom's friends had bikes just lying around when their kids grew up, went off to school, got married, and left home, and went on with their lives. So my mother would ask them if I could have those bikes and she would bring them home to me. My mother knew a lot of people, so pretty soon, I had a couple dozen bikes by the time I was 11 or 12. I fixed up bikes for me and all of the kids I knew. The trouble was back then - it is for many people now - lack of money. So I had to be inventive and make things work that would ordinarily justify a replacement part. Much was the case for tires.

I can't count how many times I patched tires and have sewn up sidewalls with my mother's "Aunt Lydia's thread." The neighbor worked as a mechanic somewhere and with four boys and two girls in that family, they were poorer than us. I supplied each one of those kids with a bike. You would laugh at how many patches we had on some of those tubes!

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Old 05-24-21, 10:31 AM
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Usually a hole less that 1/4" doesn't need a fix, but the tape will give you peace of mind. I have used 1/32" reinforced rubber gasket material to fix big cuts in tires and have been able to wear them out with out failure. Just to be safe the booted tire ends up on the back.
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Old 05-24-21, 10:49 AM
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i have grossly understated the size of the hole. i've blinked a few times since i actually looked at it. it is actually closer to 1/4" in size....so roughly 6mm's. anyway, it looks like whomever got to skidding on the tire and ripped a knobby off. 120tpi, eh? score for 60tpi durability...lol! i've skidded those plenty on gravel and that's never happened
thank you all muchly for the input. not sure if any of my glues are still viable. and, i believe all i have currently are the stick on/instant patches. i know...they suck. gotta get some proper patching kit!
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