New tube or patch?

Kupe

Fighting with tyres and tubes this morning. Eventually got out on the road. However in the process on replacing a cut tyre, the incumbent tube had a leak. Replaced it with a second tube which had a seam leak. Third time was a charm. I had to buy a 'get out of jail' tube on the ride as I had no more in stock.

I now have 2 minor puncture tubes and am not sure if they are worth patching or just buying a couple more for the cupboard.

I would like to hear everyone's feed back on this one.

Snowoutspokin

I have the rule of 3... after 3 patches, the tube gets to retire.. However, if the leak or seam is just too much to fix, scrap it. Stock up :-)

TheBigYin

on a sub-23mm inner tube, anything that needs a patch that crosses the moulding seam gets binned. But I run Conti or Schwalbe inners with 30ml of Conti. latex in the on-bike tubes, and frankly (he says, tempting fate) i've had 4 punctures in over 9,000km - so - feck it.

I'll probably give road tubeless a go next season, mainly as I've already got tubeless compatible rims and a fondness for schwalbe tyres... as to winter season - i'm going with thick tyres/tubes/latex goop and a prayer to the Madonna del Ghisallo...

narak_lol

Always a new tube for me, only patch if I'm riding and run out of new tube.

(The tubes I use are USD2/2.5 for one so not too painful to bin...)

Spudnut72

On the road bike, I only use patches to get me home. Where possible I replace the tube every time. Also replace tubes at my major service - usually every twelve months or so. Keep your tyre pressure at the right level and that is the best you can do. On the road bike I average a puncture every 6 months or so (weekly average 150km) so it's not expensive for 'peace of mind'.

Spatialized

Patch the tubes and keep them for back-up. If you're consistently getting falts, checkthe inside of the tires for small pieces of debris that could be causing the recurrent flats...unless you're riding through glass continually the flats shouldn't be so frequent. I had a similar problem with flats and after careful inspection found a minute shard of glass lodged in the tire, it was deep enough to puncture the tube at inflation but on cursory inspectiuon was nearly invisible.

Guess I'm just cheap (or stupid). I run the tubes until I no longer feel safe, usually around 7-10 patches. It's pretty rare that I have a virgin tube to replace with, I tend to recycle and re-use tubes just for the cost side of things.

adam1885282

I was a patcher until I stated spending more time on the road bike and less on the mountain bike. I've had mixed success patching road tubes. I usually replace them. A patch kit is approx. $2. A tube is approx. $6. If I can spend $4 to save 1/2 hour of finding a puncture and hoping the patch takes, it's money well spent.

I still carry a patch kit just in case.

If I'm on the trail on my mountain bike, I'll put in a new tube, then fix the flat one when I get home and put it back in, saving the perfect one for next time.

Now that my mountain bike is tubeless, I'm hoping my trailside tube replacing days are over!

And I'll go road tubeless the same hour Continental releases a compatible tire.

ps. Wanted to add that tubes do go bar from age, especially when dry/warm air is involved. I lost 1/2-dozen tubes to my garage over the summer. All tubes are kept inside now. They were cracking at the seam or valve upon inflation.

TheBigYin

I remember "back in the day" when I used to work at a Bike Shop as the "saturday lad" (that dates it in itself...) we used to buy tubulars into stock and would store them down in the cellar of the shop (it was a old building, formerly built as a Butchers in the Victorian era) a large, airy, dry and cool space that I believe was the former meat-store. We used to keep them in there, in the dark, and they'd actually improve as the rubber aged for a couple of years... Most of the "racing lads" would actually buy a stock of tyres for the year, and leave them in storage at the shop, calling in and collecting them when they had need.

Mind, we don't relly have a big problem with tyres and tubes "going off" due to excessive sunlight or heat in this country...

sufferlandrian

I quit carrying a patch kit. On both my mountain and my road bikes I carry an extra tube and air and if I blow a tube, it goes in the trash. They are cheap and easy to replace and it's not worth my time to try to sit on the side of the road and patch it.

photojunk

With the fear of jinxing myself, I have only had 2 punctures in 3 years but on both occasions I have replaced the tube at the side of the road then repaired the punctured tube at home.