Tubeless dilemma

[geocycle]

So why not just stick a patch on the inside of the tyre where the hole is, I run tubeless on MTB and road bike, without problems, the road bike has run flat inserts, as will the mtb soon.

A patch can work, I did this with some Schwalbe pro ones on another bike. It depends on the interior of the tyre and the compatibility of patch and solution. I might have tried that if at home. I will look at the inserts idea, thanks for that.

 

[Dogtrousers]

That raises the question of how you should patch tyres?

I've done it only once. I used regular rubber solution and an ordinary patch. It seemed to work, but I was aware that the inside of a tyre is different stuff to an inner tube so there was no reason to expect it would be the right stuff to use.

Can you get special tyre patches/ glue?

 

[Sea of vapours]

Can you get special tyre patches/ glue?

Yes. Hutchinson do a specific patch kit for tubeless tyres. So far as I can tell, the patches are just normal ones, that you'd use with 'rubber cement' (they seem the same as those in the Hutchinon normal repair kits, which contain 'rubber cement'), but the glue is some form of superglue which Hutchinson claim to be, and to remain, flexible.

Conversely, Park Tool produce a repair kit which explicitly states that it's not suitable for tubeless repairs and contains a tube of glue which calls itself 'rubber cement', which suggests that the latter is not ideal for the inside of tubeless tyres.

All that said, I've used both and both have remained intact for the life of the tyre (a few thousand kilometres in both cases). Of course, it's possible that any lifting of the patch is itself sealed by sealant ..

 

[Dogtrousers]

Thanks @Sea of vapours. Another pointless purchase coming up. I'll buy some, and then in a couple of years I'll need them, by which time they will be irretrievably lost.

 

[geocycle]

That raises the question of how you should patch tyres?

I've done it only once. I used regular rubber solution and an ordinary patch. It seemed to work, but I was aware that the inside of a tyre is different stuff to an inner tube so there was no reason to expect it would be the right stuff to use.

Can you get special tyre patches/ glue?

The one time I’ve done the patch on the inside of a tyre option I used standard rubber solution and an old fashioned inner tube patch. It did work but no idea how reliable it would be.

Yes. Hutchinson do a specific patch kit for tubeless tyres. So far as I can tell, the patches are just normal ones, that you'd use with 'rubber cement' (they seem the same as those in the Hutchinon normal repair kits, which contain 'rubber cement'), but the glue is some form of superglue which Hutchinson claim to be, and to remain, flexible.

Conversely, Park Tool produce a repair kit which explicitly states that it's not suitable for tubeless repairs and contains a tube of glue which calls itself 'rubber cement', which suggests that the latter is not ideal for the inside of tubeless tyres.

All that said, I've used both and both have remained intact for the life of the tyre (a few thousand kilometres in both cases). Of course, it's possible that any lifting of the patch is itself sealed by sealant ..

That’s good to know about the Hutchinson ones. Would be better than throwing away a tyre although that would need to be at home with track pump and solution to hand.

 

[Sea of vapours]

I'll buy some, a

I recalled finding the 'right' one being tricky. I've just checked again (in my spares drawer and on-line) and the photograph of the contents on most sites - well, all sites I found in fact - shows a tube of stuff which calls itself 'rubber cement' in the kit which is called 'Kit Rep'Air Road Tuebless'. I bought the MTB version of that as I couldn't find the Road one, but I presumed the patches and glue would not know the difference. The thing is that what comes in the kit is 'Instant Adhesive', not 'Rubber cement', and the instructions are for the instant adhesive (I just checked this in my kit) not for cement. Given Park Tools expressly saying that their kits aren't suitable for tubeless, it seems wise to not use cement if an alternative exists (though again, I did and it worked for 3,000k of use).

The point of all that is that the photo all vendors use is the Hutchinson one, which is itself wrong it seems :-\ That information may save the fruitless and irritating searching that I did a while back !

 

[rivers]

I've used standard patches inside a tubeless tyre. It does require a good clean before applying. All have lasted the life of the tyre.

 

[T4tomo]

Of course, it's possible that any lifting of the patch is itself sealed by sealant ..

Which may well be what happens. Al you require from the patch is for it to hold enough or to subsequently leak slowly enough that the sealant seals the hole behind it, rather than continuing to spew straight thru what was a bigger hole. Don't you in time eventually end up with a seal / layer of dry sealant all round the inside of the tyre with the topped up liquid sealant on top anyway?

 

[wonderloaf]

A while ago I got a large puncture (about 4mm long) in a brand new tyre which the sealant (Orangeseal) couldn't quite seal, but no way was I going to bin a new tyre so thought I'd invest in some vulcanizing cement and large tyre patches (meant for motorcycles I think), like these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133186714396

The patches are quite thick but once applied and the adhesive set I was unable to peel the patch off the tyre (and I tried really hard!), so I don't think there's any chance of the hole getting any larger or a leak occuring. I've now completed about 2,500 miles and the repair is holding really well, looks the same as when first applied and no further leaks.
The patches and adhesive were a bit spendy but I've now got enough to probably keep me going for the next few years!

 

[blackrat]

I got fed up with trying to keep my tubeless inflated, and the leaks through the valve were non- stopping. I switched my Canondale to tubed and now all my bikes are that way. I use Continental Gatorskins and very rarely have any problems with punctures.

 

[Sea of vapours]

I have asked Park Tool about the use of [their] vulcanising cement on tubeless tyres and why they advise not to. Their remarkably rapid answer is: 'Almost all tubeless tires use a liquid coagulant/sealant. The VP-1 will not stick to the dried up sealant.'

Soooo....... in fact, it's fine to use cement, provided you clean the sealant off thoroughly first. I feel that this is less than surprising. Anyway, it makes all the above about superglue versus cement immaterial and either ought to work fine provided the area is cleaned thoroughly, which really does apply to most things involving any kind of glue.

Don't you in time eventually end up with a seal / layer of dry sealant all round the inside of the tyre with the topped up liquid sealant on top anyway?

You do, yes. though that is probably not overall airtight; it's the plugs in the small holes which are doing the actual sealing, and I'm sure that would include badly stuck on, internal patches.