Crwban

Which are best?

Eyes Roll

Did you search this forum, before starting the thread, on such a basic question?

wolfchild

Glue on patches will last forever if done properly...I haven't tried self-adhesive patches so I don't know how good they are.

Rick

​​​​​​​ I agree the glue on patches properly put on a quality tube will hold. I tried the self adhesive ones a decade ago and was not pleased with the results.

Iride01 

If I was going to use patches I'd go with glue on patches. But even with glue on patches the glue or whatever the more proper word is, will be dried up and useless by the time I ever flat. So I just change out the tube when on the road side. If I flatted a lot, I'd still change out the tube for new on the road side and fix the tube at home when I'm not in a hurry. But at one flat every two years, patches and replacing dried out glue seem to be more expense than a tube.

urbanknight

That's pretty much what I did (before I went tubeless). I would swap for a fresh (or previously patched) tube and only carried adhesive patches in case I had a super unlucky ride with more than 2 flats. I would stockpile the punctured tubes until I had 6+ and then just patch them all at once, then rotate them into.

But I only came in here to see if the chemist has sung his praises for Rema patch kits yet.

Iride01 

Yeah, I use to keep both adhesive and glue on patches just in case that one spare tube wasn't enough. The adhesive patches seemed to go bad sooner. I always bought the cheapies so maybe a better brand would be better, but then I'm getting up to the cost of a tube again.

I've never used Rema. Though others sing it's praises. I wonder if Rema or some other has some little single use tubes. Then maybe I wouldn't be plagued with opened tubes that dry up before the second use.

wolfchild

That's what I do too. If I get a flat which happens very rarely I just change the tube and patch the punctured tube at home.

urbanknight

Someone on this wonderful forum once told me that was because of not burnishing them properly, which is entirely possible because I only used that kind of tube out on the road. I burnished the next two tubes more carefully the next time, but went tubeless less than a year later and don't know how long those patches would have lasted. Lezyne brand fwiw.

drlogik 

Self sticky patches are great for a quick repair but for me, they don't seal that long. I've been using Rema vulcanize patches for 20 years or more with good results.

I do keep a spare tube of glue in my seat bag though, as they tend to dry out once opened and the patch won't stick without it. Hence why I carry Park self-sticky patches also. Overkill? Maybe, but I won't get stranded for a flat tire.

+1 for Urbanknight: As far as vulcanize patches, carry a small piece of emery cloth in your kit to sand the puncture area. If you don't sand the area, the patch won't stick well. It makes all the difference.

Fredo76

Lots of variables. I can report that Park Tool Pre-Glued Super Patch Kit GP2 patches seem well-suited to Pirelli TPU tubes...

dedhed

Recently put tires on someone's bike and had to replace the stick on patch that was coming off with a glue on. Was holding air and probably would have held up inflated inside the tire but didn't like the tube being pulled out.

soyabean

The OP should search the forum for my posts about rema.

delbiker1 

My experience with glueless patches is mixed. It seems to me they have a tendency to lose adhesiveness over time, and once adhered and working, they eventually peel off. I usually have patched tube as my backup, do patching at home with Rema, IME, the best.

spelger

i had a lot of luck with the self adhesive ones until one failed. then every one after that failed. back to the glue on and no more failures. but, take a bute with you when you go oout and repar ah tome.

pdlamb

I've had a couple of stick-on patches fail after 5 years or more. If a glue-on patch is going to fail, it'll show up much quicker. Either will fail if you don't sand or grate the tube down before applying the patch.

50PlusCycling

The best patches were the old type which were vulcanized with a match or lighter. My grandfather used to help me patch tubes on my old Schwinn, and in the Southwest with its dirt roads and goat head stickers, this once at least a once-a-week task. The flames and black smoke were cool, the patches never leaked. But in a country with nearly 60% of the world’s lawyers, selling patches which require an open flame to vulcanize is not as easy as it once was.

Glue-on patches work well enough, self-adhering patches are hit-and-miss.

JohnDThompson 

Rather than "glue-on," the term should be "cold-vulcanizing." The hot-vulcanizing process you describe was used before the chemistry of cold-vulcanizing was perfected. Hot vulcanizing is still used in industrial processes (like sealing the valve stem to the tube), but there's no compelling reason to use it in preference to cold-vulcanizing in repairing a simple puncture.

Rick_D

On the go I'll use self-adhesive, at home I use traditional vulcanized rubber patches, as they are the more durable of the two. But the little tube of rubber cement in portable kits, once opened will dry out quickly so they are less practical, and bigger.

rumrunn6

losing track of how long I've been checking on these 2 glued patches, on my MTB. I see them twice a year when I do the winter tire changeover. I'll bet they are at least 5 years old

this one might be 6 or more years old

genejockey 

I carry a spare tube and a Park GP2 self-adhesive patch kit. I have actually gone through 3 patches on one tube on one ride - long story. I have an ever-increasing pile of tubes to patch, for which I'd use the glue on (cold vulcanized?) type of patches. But I had a bad experience with one a year or so ago, fortunately not on the road. A patched tube had held for hundreds of mile, and I was riding on the wheel-on trainer when suddenly my power and speed numbers went nuts in the middle of a race. Patch failed. Now I worry about that happening on the road, so I am hesitant to depend on patched tubes.

OTOH, I'm nearly through the 10-pack of tubes I bought last spring.....

squirtdad

Glue on only. Rema Tip Top brand only. Replace kit every couple of years if you don't get a lot of flats.

Sand well, put on glue

Be patient and let glue dry
Be patient and let glue dry
​​​​​​​Be patient and let glue dry
​​​​​​​Be patient and let glue dry

​​​​​​​put patch on... your good

staehpj1

Yep, they are the best patch and the best glue. No reason to use anything else.

bbbean 

Depends. Did anyone wave at you on your last ride? Did somebody spend too much on tech you don't find necessary? Did you control the lane? Do you use a bell? Does your bike have hookless rims? Is your chain waxed?

Leisesturm

Yikes. You are not having a quality experience IMO. What tires are you running? It's your tires, not your tubes that are at issue. Bontrager H2 (Hardcase) or Schwalbe Marathon Plus and you won't need either the self-stick OR glue on patches ever again. Since switching to reinforced tires I haven't changed a flat in 10 years of daily riding in a big city with typically dirty city center streets.