How easy is it to fix a bike puncture?

[weareHKR]

Normal patch adhesive found in regular puncture repair kits are merely a cheap rubber cement & doesn't form a chemical bond with the tube, it basically breaks down the molecular structure to allow a cross-link to happen - a 'patch' by definition, the naptha in the adhesive (smelly stuff) is a carrier that is designed to evaporate quickly.
Vulcanizing glue, on the other hand, does form a chemical bond & joins the rubber together.
There are vulcanizing puncture repair kids on the marked, Park Tool & others have them & they're not even expensive tbh, I do have Park Tool glueless patches but never needed them .... so far...

 

[matticus]

...
When fitting a tube, I inflate it a bit and then bounce the wheel before inflating it a bit more. This helps to even out the tube within the tyre. Whether or not that is a true fact, I don't know. It's just what I've always done since I was a kid after my dad told me to do it.

My mum taught me to polish apples before I ate them.

Took me years to find out there was no nutritional benefit - she just liked seeing a shiny bit

 

[Lovacott]

There are vulcanizing puncture repair kids on the marked, Park Tool & others have them & they're not even expensive tbh, I do have Park Tool glueless patches but never needed them .... so far...

Vulcanising kits have been around for donkeys years. Here's a couple of old kits I have lying around (I collect old tins as a hobby).

The John Bull one still has the patches in it and half a tube of glue.

 

[Lovacott]

My mum taught me to polish apples before I ate them.
Took me years to find out there was no nutritional benefit - she just liked seeing a shiny bit

Also helped to remove a bit of fly shite as well no doubt.

The bouncing the wheel when part inflated idea was supposed to help the tube sit evenly in the tyre before it was fully inflated.

Not sure how that could be proven or disproven but It's a habit I still follow (just in case).

I also do a majorette baton flip thing whenever I pick up a spanner but I have no idea why?

 

[weareHKR]

The bouncing the wheel when part inflated idea was supposed to help the tube sit evenly in the tyre before it was fully inflated.

TBH I actually do that as well!

 

[Saluki]

As an addition, this is my full kit when cycling, you don't need all of this but it's what I've settled on - gives me the confidence that no matter what happens on a ride I can fix it and get home.

Topeak Saddle bag, Lezyne Pump, Skabs instant patches, Park Tool Tyre boot, CO2 cannister and inflator, Park tool Tyre lever, 11sp quicklink, Inner tube, Derailleur hanger and Topeak Hexus multitool.

This is the kit I have on each bike, you don't need the derailleur hanger or the CO2 but the rest is fairly basic. I only carry 1 park tyre lever as I know that I can get my tyres off with just one, but the multitool has two built in.

View attachment 544090

I carry similar but have 2 levers (Bontrager Red ones as they are brilliant). I also have BIKE rescue with ETA. £18 a year and they are brilliant.

As a veteran of many roadside fixes I can testify as to how easy it is. My dad taught me when I was a primary schoolgirl, aged around 7.

I change the tube out then fix any hole over coffee and cake at a cafe During the ride, in case of another P-Fairy visitation.

 

[Lovacott]

As a veteran of many roadside fixes I can testify as to how easy it is. My dad taught me when I was a primary schoolgirl, aged around 7.

Dads used to teach kids stuff like that. That was the job of a dad.

 

[si_c]

I carry similar but have 2 levers (Bontrager Red ones as they are brilliant). I also have BIKE rescue with ETA. £18 a year and they are brilliant.

As a veteran of many roadside fixes I can testify as to how easy it is. My dad taught me when I was a primary schoolgirl, aged around 7.

I change the tube out then fix any hole over coffee and cake at a cafe During the ride, in case of another P-Fairy visitation.

I like the Bontrager red ones, but find that the Park tool ones are slighly easier to get underneath a tight fitting tyre. I use the red for the MTB though it's perfect.

Same strategy for fixing punctures too.

I taught my Dad how to fix punctures last year

 

[Lovacott]

I like the Bontrager red ones, but find that the Park tool ones are slighly easier to get underneath a tight fitting tyre.

I've never attempted that feat (fixing a tube within a tyre).

For me it's always been wheel off, tyre levered off the rim on one side, extract tube, fix tube, check inside of tyre for sharp objects, cut finger, suck cut finger.

Reverse.

 

[Reynard]

Dads used to teach kids stuff like that. That was the job of a dad.

Hrmph... My dad was best avoided when going to someone with mechanical problems. The lightbulb moment for me was when I was about eleven, and he'd adjusted the brakes on my bike. The front brake blocks fell out of the callipers when I pulled on the levers, leaving me with no brakes to negotiate a right hand bend at the bottom of a hill.

After that, I taught myself to do the basics, although my mantra then was "if it aint broke, don't bloody touch it!"

 

[Lovacott]

Hrmph... My dad was best avoided when going to someone with mechanical problems.

Dads are a very good source of information until you hit 25 and finally realise that he was talking out of his arse all along.

 

[Reynard]

Dads are a very good source of information until you hit 25 and finally realise that he was talking out of his arse all along.

My dad was particularly inept mechanically. His "repairs" were best avoided.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Dads are a very good source of information until you hit 25 and finally realise that he was talking out of his arse all along.

Sorry you guys had an unsatisfactory experience. The older I got the wiser my father seemed to become.
I'm sure he showed me how to mend a puncture; once. And I have attempted to pass that on to my offspring, I suspect with varied success, mostly depending on individual motivation (and need). But a lot of knowledge and know how is discarded/given minimal transitory attention: the mantra seems to be 'I don't need to know. When I need to I'll jgi'. Just hope they haven't got an M+ fitted .

 

[Lovacott]

Sorry you guys had an unsatisfactory experience. The older I got the wiser my father seemed to become.

I've made a point of teaching my kids practical stuff since very early on.

They both know how to fry, boil, poach and scramble an egg. They can both fix tyre punctures, change lightbulbs and check and replace fuses (we have fuses in our fusebox).

I've also taught them how to skip stones, bait a hook, mend a leaking tap and mix mortar. I showed the boy how to install and wire up a timer over run bathroom extractor last weekend.

Not that I expect them to do these things themselves in the future or anything. I just don't want them to be helpless when push comes to shove.

 

[Lovacott]

Sorry you guys had an unsatisfactory experience.

In fairness to my dad, he is very clever in his field as a toolmaker.

But outside of what he learned is his apprenticeship, all of his information has come from blokes down the pub and the Daily Mail.

I've raised my kids with the benefit of Google and Wikipedia.

I can teach them stuff and they can fact check what I teach them.

It does make a difference.