alexk_il

Got my first tire cut. Someone recommended to patch the tire rather than replacing it. So is doing this or something similar worth it or is it too dangerous?
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Miele Man

Looking at the cut tire in your other thread I'd say no way I'd trust that tire with any kind of repair. In my honest opinion t hat tire is dead and should be disposed of. I'd cut it in half and throw it out. I cut any unsafe tires of mine in half before throwing them out. That way I know that some poor person won't use it.

Cheers

Bill Kapaun

If you have to think about it, the gene pool can always use a little self chlorination.

KerryIrons

Assuming the tire in the video is NOT yours, unless you can show us the cut we have no idea whether it can/should be repaired. Small cuts that don't cut through the casing can be fixed with super glue or shoe goo. Small casing cuts can be booted and as long as there is no significant bulge in the tire, can be ridden safely assuming the boot job is done properly. When it comes to sewing the cut with thread, then you are on your own. I'm currently riding on a booted tire with over 3,000 miles on it.

Iride01 

My test for cuts is to look at them after they are repaired and inflated to riding pressure. I won't use them if the cut area is pooched out like grandma's lips wanting a smooch from us when we visited as a kid. Actually not even quite that much.

If the cut area bulges after repairing, then I feel that too much of the casing and structural part of the tire is damaged. Also, I'd just be too uncomfortable that it wouldn't last. And while I wouldn't be concerned about bad things happening to me while riding it, I'd just be imagining that it's going to more likely just have me fixing the flat on the side of the road again and maybe the tire be in worse and unusable shape. I don't carry spare tires.

alexk_il

https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...y-lessons.html

veganbikes

Why are people so cheeaaaaap. Safety seems to be somewhere in 23rd place for people. Accept the tire is dead and get a new tire. A tire boot is an emergency thing to get you home or to the nearest shop beyond that, the sidewall is done. If it truly is a small cut and doesn't bulge I guess I would monitor it very closely and still probably just get a new tire to be sure.

rumrunn6

very cool & surprising video

tFUnK

Looks reasonable for a fat mountain bike tire. I don't know if I would attempt on a skinny road slick. I've done sidewall patches on road slicks before (not with stitching) and while it looks like it'll hold, I can't convince myself to ride them with high confidence. I've had a catastrophic blowout before on a road tire with damaged casing, so perhaps I'm just scarred from that experience.

wrobertdavis

I recently banged a new scwalbe G-0ne speed 650bx50 tire that put a split in the sidewall. The split was on the outer layer -- it did not go all the way through the sidewall. Replacing it was not a question of cost (a $65 tire), but availability -- Out of stock everywhere. A mechanic friend suggested his approach to saving such a tire. He uses industrial rubber gasket material, which has a dense, tough cloth inner layer. It's about 1mm thick. He super glued it to the inside of tire, across the split location. Then he put three layers of duct tape across the boot, making sure it covered the edges of the boot. When inflated, there was no bulge at the split. Lastly, he told me to mount the tire on the rear - never the front.

I am happily riding on my repaired tire with no issues so far. When stock is available, I will order a new tire.

KerryIrons

I've been booting tires for over 50 years. You can call it cheap and I call it not being wasteful. Safety has nothing to do with it since I have NEVER had a boot fail or result in any kind of safety issue. Why are some people so paranoid?

t2p

just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean repaired tires aren't out to get me !

zandoval 

I would replace the tire for sure. Then I would patch the old one just to see if I could...

But then again I am one of those guys who can get mesmerized watching Youtube Hindi tire repair vids. Those laborers patching enormous tire gashes with raw butyl and vulcanizing cement.

Ahhh... the rich Toluene in the air... smells of victory... Ha

veganbikes

That is good luck then. Heavy damage to a tire is not worth booting it is not a paranoia thing it is a safety thing. You have gotten good luck that is awesome but it is not something I would recommend to someone. On a small little cut, maybe with some time and care you could do something that would work fine but for big damage it is a big no. The only thing I am Paranoid about is Black Sabbath's second album...LOL

Hondo6

"Victory?" You sure you don't mean "Akron - rubber capitol of the world?" (smile)

KerryIrons

No, it is not good luck. It's doing a proper boot job and knowing when the cut is too large to boot.

veganbikes

And good luck! You can say it isn't good luck but it is. You are doing a good job and having good luck it can be both.

Also I did say heavy damage so I think we are agreeing there hopefully as you mentioned too large to boot.

wrobertdavis

I agree with your assessment.

Lombard

That would all depend on the size of the cut and where the cut is. A small cut within the tread area can be booted safely. No way I would do that with a sidewall cut or a very large cut.

KerryIrons

Of course it would depend on the size and location of the cut. Perhaps I made a bad assumption about people's ability to make a common sense decision about those factors. Going back to the original photo, there is no way I would EVER stitch a tire casing to repair it. That is not booting a tire. It's a kludge.

Lombard

I rarely make any assumptions about ability or common sense.

Camilo

Well, I often make an assumption, but it's assuming the lack thereof.

On a different note, it's getting to the point of having to assume that nobody ever reads available manuals or instructions (RTFAMOI) about the parts that they're having trouble with before asking someone else to figure it out for them. But that's a different rant.

rekmeyata

Great response! I think it odd someone will spend $6,000 on a bike but want to patch a large split in a tire. I could understand if the person is very poor, and has a $50 used bike, and can't afford new tires, then maybe patching a tire cut is something they can afford to do. I will patch a cut in an emergency out on the road with a Park tire boot, but it's just so I can get home to replace the tire; of course, if the tire cut is really small that didn't go through the cords, I'll fill it in with Gorilla Glue super glue from the outside to seal it, but if the cut goes all the way through, I will replace it.

Hondo6

RTFAMOI - that stands for "read those freely available manuals or instructions", right?

2old

FME, it's not people that are cheap, but bike riders. Why would anyone even consider riding with any safety-oriented component that is compromised? Aren't the conditions riding a two-wheeled vehicle dangerous enough with perfect equipment?