Fixing Punctures / Puncture Repair / Exploding Tubes

I have never got Tubs for anything other than hardcore racing and track in this day and age. If the TDF boys can do tubes, then surely...

Do pros use tubes now? Did not know that. I'm getting a road bike built at the moment and I considered tubs for all of a millisecond before plumping for tubes.

Do pros use tubes now? Did not know that. I'm getting a road bike built at the moment and I considered tubs for all of a millisecond before plumping for tubes.

Kording to Bikeradar and a load of other stuff I read - can't recall where.

Tubs were used coz peeps couldn't make high pressure crochets stay on rims. No so no, so now advantage.

the dura ace road wheelset are tubs, probably because they are carbon, nevertheless changing tubs is a bit of a bastard compared to clinchers, but if your a hard nut, and like a good stout challenge in everything you do, go for it, tubs all the way !

Can someone tell me what im doing wrong when I try to patch punchiers.

The glue never seems to bond the patch completely - when I pump them backup I always get airbubbles building behind them and eventaully the patch fails.

Am I not using enough glue?
Too much glue?
Not waiting long enough before pumping?
Need bigger patches?
smaller patches?

happens with about 50% of all my repairs it seems.

Are you putting the glue on the tube?

Maybe lfgss should run a puncture mending course..

yeah on the tube.. over and in the hole..

on the patch works better?

No. I rough up the area around the hole, then run a circular patch shape amount of glue over around and over the hole.
Enough glue so that after 5-10min it hasn't evaporated to nothing in spots. It should be tacky to touch.
Once you've waited the 5-10, wack the patch on and squeeze the shit out of it. Reinstall, inflate, ride.

the 5 minute wait is the critical bit. enough time for a sandvitch

No. I rough up the area around the hole, then run a circular patch shape amount of glue over around and over the hole.
Enough glue so that after 5-10min it hasn't evaporated to nothing in spots. It should be tacky to touch.
Once you've waited the 5-10, wack the patch on and squeeze the shit out of it. Reinstall, inflate, ride.

I never wait more than about a minute before patch on, but I do blow on the glue a bit to dry it out. Never have any problems with it.

Also don't just squeeze the patch but also give it a little bit of a stretch and make sure that the feathered edges are down properly. Make sure that the tube isn't twisted in the tyre as you put it in and if you have time, inflate slowly.

i'm waiting.. maybe im waiting too long.

maybe a dab of glue on the patch as well can't hurt?

Wrong. You don't want too much glue on there, contrary to the principles of breaking strain.

I never wait more than about a minute before patch on, but I do blow on the glue a bit to dry it out. Never have any problems with it.

Also don't just squeeze the patch but also give it a little bit of a stretch and make sure that the feathered edges are down properly. Make sure that the tube isn't twisted in the tyre as you put it in and if you have time, inflate slowly.

I usually fix mine at home and do something else at the same time (ie. forget all about the drying glue). I also find that the longer you leave the better the stick.

No need to wait more than a few seconds. Huff on the glue (less is more glue) till it does cloudy in appearance, then stick on the patch. Squeeze for 10 secs to set, done.

There is a need to wait more than a few seconds. If the glue isn't tacky, the patches don't stick properly. Since your man up here is having trouble with patches not sticking properly I suggest he's more patient with his glue curing time.

If you need more than a few seconds followed by a 10 sec squeeze, there's something wrong with your solution/patches.

If you're only waiting a few seconds for the glue to 'dry' there's something wrong with your process.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/flats.html#patching

Patching

          Inner tube patching is a very old, well established technology, and is quite reliable if done properly:         

• Select a patch appropriate to the size of the hole(s).
  
• Use the sandpaper provided in the patch kit to buff the surface of the tube for an area a bit larger than the patch. You need to buff the tube so that it is no longer shiny. If there is a molding line running along the area where the patch is to be applied, you must sand it down completely, or it will provide an air channel. Avoid touching the buffed area with your fingers.
  
• Apply a dab of rubber cement, then spread it into a thin coat, using your cleanest finger. Work quickly. You want a thin, smooth coat of cement; if you keep fiddling with it as it begins to dry, you'll risk making it lumpy. The thinner the cement, the faster it will dry.
  
• Allow the cement to dry completely.
  
• Make sure the cement has dried completely!
  
• Peel the foil from the patch and press the patch onto the tube firmly.
  
• Squeeze the patch tightly onto the tube. You're done!
  
  

If you follow this procedure, and use good materials, your patched tube should be basically as good as new. Patch failure generally results from one of two errors:

• Not buffing the tube sufficiently, or:
  
• Applying the patch before the cement has dried fully.
  

If you're only waiting a few seconds for the glue to 'dry' there's something wrong with your process.

Yeah - worked fine for 35 years, WTF would I know?

Hopefully someone will post Sheldon's guide to breathing next. FFS.

It is not glue. It's vulcanising solution. It needs time to start the chemical process before you whack the patch on.

As much as it pains me to say it Hippy is right.

Again.

Not the instruction in bold. It's not just me you're arguing with..
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=149

Your patching might work but it would be a more duable fix if you waited longer.

we have an 11 page thread on fixing punctures. this place really has gone to shit this week.

This thread is a merge fest from a good 3 years of debating patching friggin' bicycle tyres.

Cool - you lot stand around wasting time whilst I get on and ride my bike; I've never, ever had a patch fail. Nor did my father so far as I can recall, and he raced and rode club for 50+ years.

Still, you know best.

it's great that it works for you but you can stop talking.