Repair or replace inner tube?

I've had self-stick patches but never bothered to use them due to the reports of them being inferior. Try 'em and let us know. :)

yeah armadillos are quite amazing in terms of bulletproofness... i had one, never a puncture, after 3 months i decided to give it a look. man, the amount of glass chips i managed to dig out of that tyre is phenomenal.

but then i have to say i hate them cos they ride like they're made of wood. schwalbe blizzards or bonty hardcases do the job as well as armadillo but they ride much better.

edmundane schwalbe blizzards.
AMEN BROTHA!!

edmundane yeah armadillos are quite amazing in terms of bulletproofness... i had one, never a puncture, after 3 months i decided to give it a look. man, the amount of glass chips i managed to dig out of that tyre is phenomenal.

but then i have to say i hate them cos they ride like they're made of wood. schwalbe blizzards or bonty hardcases do the job as well as armadillo but they ride much better.

true hard, bulletproof...but also very quiet tyre ;)

i had a nasty stack in kent when riding armadillos. my nerve went for a while after that. now i use contis or bontis, both great and much more grippy. armadillos ride like a car tyre, and even when not inflated they feel hard as nails.

About the pre-glued patches advice - I don't use them myself, but in the context that the dude-in-distress had never patched a tube before and I was trying to get him home as easily as possible I thought pre-glued would be faster and easier.
With the normal type there is a possibility of using too much / not enough 'vulcanizing rubber cement' and the drying times are longer, and the tube can then get stuck to the tyre... but it rocks because you can use old inner tubes to patch newer ones if you are really cheap.

1. making inner tube patches
   

provenrad 12. making inner tube patches

Genuis!

I used armadillos for ages without a puncture. I wore through to the kevlar on the back tyre though, and then the rubber on the front started peeling away. Not sure what tyres I use now though - something cheap I expect

provenrad 12. making inner tube patches

any good instructions on how to do this? i tried but never got it to work...

provenrad I don't use them myself, but in the context that the dude-in-distress had never patched a tube before and I was trying to get him home as easily as possible I thought pre-glued would be faster and easier.

LOL Dude-in-distress, i did know how to repair a tube but i wanted to know if it was best to replace or repair the tube, i just have not done it on a 700x23 tube before, and i thought it would affect the ride.

edmundane [quote]provenrad 12. making inner tube patches

any good instructions on how to do this? i tried but never got it to work...[/quote]

Chop a circle or what ever shape you wand out of the old tube. roughen up the side of the old tube that is on the outside (Not the chalky side) and apply alot of glue, more than usual but wait till the glue is touch dry before sticking it

glue both the tube and the patch cutout. Leave it to vulcanize for 5-10 mins, then bond them together.

If you are using relatively narrow tyres 700x23c-28c then most puncture repair kits will only contain 2 or 3 patches the right size for that size inner tube.
If you go to Mike Dyason (http://www.mikedyason.com/productDesc.asp?session_id=5a68c33ebc8c3532bfccc65e86bf1f93&text_product_id=VP15MM) you can buy the very small patches in a pack of 100 for about £4, well worth stashing in the bottom of the tool kit!

Personally, I carry a small DHB (Wiggle brand) saddle pack with 2 spare tubes a 5/6mm allen key and a single Park tyre lever. That will usually get me home even if I have a problem with the first spare tube. The pack also contains a set of Park instant repair patches, but I've never used them, so have no idea if they're any good!

If you buy a presta to schraeder adaptor (50p from Wiggle) you can screw it onto one valve and then you can use any garage forecourt pump if you don't have one with you.

I also tend to buy my inner tubes in packs of 10 or 20 from Ribble and then just repair them in batches of 5 or so when I have a free Sunday afternoon.

probably a bike radar question...
to repair a tube can you simply cut a section from an old tube, and use super glue to patch?
[I have been a simply-buy-a-new-tube person, but 2009 is the year of thrift]

• sand inner tube (so that it's got something to key in to)
  
• vulcanize (let it dry)
  
• patch (press firmly)
  
• grate a little chalk so that the inner doesn't stick to the tyre
  
• wait
  
• put tyre and inner on the rim
  
• inflate