Puncture fix strategy on long rides ?

[MacB]

out of curiosity, if you use a spare and take home the damaged one for patching at some point you could end up with all tubes you own having been patched. Is this acceptable or should you always make sure that at least one sapre you carry is new?

 

[HLaB]

out of curiosity, if you use a spare and take home the damaged one for patching at some point you could end up with all tubes you own having been patched. Is this acceptable or should you always make sure that at least one sapre you carry is new?

Its never caused me a problem touch wood; at least when you patch it at home you can make sure its a good job.

 

[Euan Uzami]

out of curiosity, if you use a spare and take home the damaged one for patching at some point you could end up with all tubes you own having been patched. Is this acceptable or should you always make sure that at least one sapre you carry is new?

either put it back on (bit of a faff) or if you've got room store it slightly pumped up that way you know the fix is sound, as you always see it hold its air. (not too much air in otherwise it'll fill the room)

 

[Joe24]

I always have one spare tube,(although for about 2 months i was carrying a spare that had lost the valve. The valve had come off and i folded it up and put it in the box, thought it was a new one but it wasnt. Luckily i didnt have a puncture on the road with it) 2 tyre levers(only need one really, but sometimes its usefull to have 2.
I just take the tube out and put a new one in then pump it up.
When you get a puncture and dont have water to see where to patch, just put a load of air into the tube when its out of the tyre. You will soon see where the hole is

 

[yello]

I always carry at least 2 spares (sometimes 3), levers and tyre boot.

I don't repair at the road side, I just put a new tube in and repair at home. The repaired tube then goes back on and the new spare goes back into the saddle pack.

BUT (and it's probably already been mentioned) ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS check your tyre for the cause of the puncture. No point sticking a new tube in if you've still got a bit of glass/thorn sticking through the tyre!

 

[PaulSB]

I carry the following:

2 x spare tubes
2 x tyre levers
1 x p*nct*r* repair kit
3 x CO2 canisters
1 x strong tweezers with a serrated grip at the gripping end

I would always replace the tube rather than try to repair at the roadside. I find the simplest way to find the offending sharp object is this. Find easily identifiable spot on righthand tyre rim, hold tyre in left hand, place fingers of right hand inside tyre touching the centre and righthand wall, slowly rotate tyre with left hand till you feel the thorn, nail etc. Turn tyre round so, lefthand side becomes the right and repeat. Use the tweezers to remove the sharp object - in my experience 99.9% certain to be a hawthorn thorn.

The best way to avoid the problem is to have the best quality tyres inflated to maximum pressure. I've had this policy with excellent, 100% effective, results for 4 years and 5 months.

 

[wafflycat]

No, take the old one home with you.

Never yet failed to find a puncture by putting some air in the tube and bassing it around close to my face. You can feel the air escaping.

Indeed. Once home, repair it and you've now got your spare tube for your next ride. What's with all the suggestions of throwing tubes away? I wouldn't unless they are beyond repair, in which case I'd dispose of it back home, not out on the road.

 

[Steve Austin]

Always replace when on the road with a new tyre. MTB is a totally different thing.... tubeless is your friend. I can't wait for tubeless to become commonplace on roadbikes. No more p******S!

 

[Iainj837]

2 x spare tubes
2 x tyre levers
1 x p*nct*r* repair kit
1 mini pump
I just change the tube then repair when home.
I always keep repairing a a tube till it cant be patched up any more

 

[jimboalee]

At the end of my 10,000km mileater in 2000, one of the inner tubes had fourteen patches on it. One six and the other two less than six.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I always carry 2 spare tubes and a repair kit. My rule of thumb is not to ride longer than I need to on a tube with three or more patches.

 

[BentMikey]

I always carry 2 spare tubes and a repair kit. My rule of thumb is not to ride longer than I need to on a tube with three or more patches.

Why would it make any difference whether a tube has 5 patches or 1 patch?

 

[gavintc]

1 tube, 2 levers, a multitool and the essential contents from a puncture repair kit. However, if I am doing a sportive or similar, I generally put an extra tube in my pocket. I just replace the tube and only if I get a second one do I worry about a repair. I had only 2 punctures in 2008 away from the house but had a couple of slow ones that I only noticed when getting the bike out for a ride, so I was quite lucky.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

As far as I am aware the greater the number of pathches the more the inner tube will deform and thus teh greater chance there is of future p£n^t*r£s. Something I learned also on my Bike Maint Course.

Why would it make any difference whether a tube has 5 patches or 1 patch?

 

[BentMikey]

Doesn't sound very likely to me. I usually patch tubes until they're dead.