[bamm38]

Well this sounds super cheap, but I am wondering if any one patches a minor flat and continues to use the tube? I hate to throw them out. Is it safe / reliable?

 

[FatTireFred]

why not?

 

[AJL]

Yep, unless the flat is on a seam.

 

[nOOky]

If you do it right it's just as strong as the tube, maybe even stronger! Run 'em!

 

[fazzman]

I ride patched tube. After two patches i toss them. Glue patches work best. No problems at all with leaks or anything. Just switched tires and the rear tube had a patch and has been on the bike for well over 600 miles. Running latex now though, so will see if these can be patched with success.

 

[jetdog9]

That might be the better question... one I wonder about anyway... how many patches do you do before tossing the tire (fazzman says 2)?

 

[Mootsie]

Inner tube $4.
Peace of mind: priceless

 

[Tzvia]

Just stay away from those plastic 'self-stick' patches and you will be fine. Those things are only good to get you going again. Once back home, toss the tube, as the patch will rip the tube if you try to remove it, but will not last all that long as it is not vulcanized chemically to the tube. If you want to use a perfectly good tube that has a little hole in it, use the patches that come with the glue and sandpaper. Patch is as strong or stronger than the rest of the tube if done right. I've ridden on tubes with 3 patches, no worries. Now if the tube has snakebite type holes or is split on a seam, I toss it. I learned how to patch correctly back in the '80s when I ran tubular tires. Yep, I've sat on the side of the road with a needle and thread... Trust me, I did not want to do that more than once. And I did not want to toss something that expensive.

Not creating more trash with new tube packaging and old tube, priceless.

 

[MR_GRUMPY]

Science has proven that if you have one flat on your bike, you will have another one, sooner or later. This is the reason that you should always buy a new bike when you get a flat.

 

[Spanky_88007]

I've run a tube with 4 patches on it with no problems. Thorn resistant tubes are too dern expensive to toss in the garbage. And buying new tubes all the time gets quite expensive.

 

[Oxtox]

why is there a magic number of patches tolerated?

what's the diff between one or two or seven?

I'll patch a tube until the puncture requires the patches to overlap or it leaks at the base of the stem...

 

[Mr. Versatile]

Mr. Grumpy...I don't know what it is, but your logic always makes perfect sense to me. I get upset because I never think of stuff like that.

 

[bas]

Just stay away from those plastic 'self-stick' patches and you will be fine. Those things are only good to get you going again. .

It appears the Performance Brand/Forte are pretty crappy.

It also appears that they only perform when putting the tire back into the tube and pumping it up. It won't make a good seal in my experience by just laying the tube around since it won't expand.

There was another brand I used, the self glue patch held for a long time.

 

[TiCruiser]

I have had 3 or 4 patches on tubes. In the many years I've ridden, I've never had a vulcanized patch fail. I do carry the "instant patches" on rides. I have found that if I have already used my spare tube, or helping someone on a group ride out, they adhere better if it is damp out than vulcanizing patches. I have also found that the instant patches tend to harden and fail after about a year, so if I still want to use the tube, I replace with a traditional patch.

 

[GetReal]

I toss it on the 3rd patch.

use the kit with the vulcanizing glue, much better than the park tool self adhesive junk

 

[Fredrico]

You mean tossing the tube!

That might be the better question... one I wonder about anyway... how many patches do you do before tossing the tire (fazzman says 2)?

This was a while back, but I read a group of NYC messengers used to have a contest to see who could run with the most patches on an inner tube. The winner had 9.

When I lived in DC and got lots of flats, I'd throw the tube away after 4 patches, totally arbitrary. By that time, the tube was usually well over a year old. Old patches dry out. One sprang a leak on me. But it wasn't mounted in the tire. It was folded up in a sandwich bag and had jiggled around for at least six months of riding, rubbing against two aluminum tire levers.

I have so many tubes lying around, haven't had to buy any for a couple of years.

 

[King Arthur]

Against the laws of the cosmos

you must always ride a fresh tube. If you do not, you are tempting the fates, and we all know what can happen then.....

 

[laffeaux]

I patch tubes until they get a hole that either can't be patched (i.e. it's too big or a hole) or until it develops a slow leak that I can't find (even after submerging it in water). A patch tube is no different from a tube without a patch - a patch is a piece of rubber that covers a hole in another piece of rubber. If it's usable, why spend $5 on a new tube when a $0.25 patch does the same thing?

 

[Coolhand]

Maybe save one for your trainer tire, but otherwise say hello to mr trashcan!

 

[centurionomega]

You wanna hear cheap? I peel old patches off tubes that I am discarding and reuse them! Works great every time, but only in the case of tiny pin-prick punctures.

Also, a friend showed me that rubber cement works just like the tiny tube of glue you get in patch kits.

OK, flame on.