Most patched inner tube?
Discussion
I happened to get a flat in my generic Dutch city bike yesterday so I set to fixing it and realised I know have 5 patches in the one inner tube. This happens to be a personal record.
Anyone do better or does everyone give up and replace their tubes more quickly?
It’s my only bike with inner tubes these days although my family’s bikes all still use them. I think most wheels in the family have at least one patch, as do quite a few of my spares.
Anyone do better or does everyone give up and replace their tubes more quickly?
It’s my only bike with inner tubes these days although my family’s bikes all still use them. I think most wheels in the family have at least one patch, as do quite a few of my spares.
Not the most but today I went to go out on my bike and it had a puncture. Wife away with the car, no puncture repair kit so used Araldite to glue a small square of self emalgemating tape over said hole then used a rusty Stanley blade to turn one of my little girls chalk crayons over the top, fired the tube back in, pumped it up and rode round the local woods for a few hours. I've said I'll go get another tomorrow but the reality is, I'll likely ride it like that for an infinite amount of time...
I have one tube with 4 patches on at present I think, and probably more to come;) I tend to carry one spare to change at the roadside and then I patch the punctured tube when I get home. That then becomes my spare tube, so the patches mount up over time.
Quite agree that roadside puncture repair is best avoided but I don't like binning tubes (or anything else) if they are repairable. It's not the cost, it's the waste;)
Quite agree that roadside puncture repair is best avoided but I don't like binning tubes (or anything else) if they are repairable. It's not the cost, it's the waste;)
take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:
Tubeless is awesome.
I recently retired a worn-out maxxis DHR and it was absolutely littered with cuts, nicks, thorns and other damage which I’m pretty sure would have punctured an inner tube if I had one. My gravel bike and mtb run tubeless and I’m sure it’s saved me a whole Loews of grief over the years. My town bike isn’t though and it collects punctures like crazy.
I've never used more 2 patches, and I concur with z4RRSChris and just bin them as I buy in bulk and always have a bunch of new ones available in various sizes.
I'm not sold on tubeless either as that's just adds another level of faffing around. First you need to spend an age getting bead to seat properly in the rim, then you need to remove the valve core and use a syringe to introduce sealant - and if you do puncture, sealant ends up squirting out everywhere making a total mess of the bike which you then have to spend ages cleaning.
I'm not sold on tubeless either as that's just adds another level of faffing around. First you need to spend an age getting bead to seat properly in the rim, then you need to remove the valve core and use a syringe to introduce sealant - and if you do puncture, sealant ends up squirting out everywhere making a total mess of the bike which you then have to spend ages cleaning.
Fady said:
I've never used more 2 patches, and I concur with z4RRSChris and just bin them as I buy in bulk and always have a bunch of new ones available in various sizes.
I'm not sold on tubeless either as that's just adds another level of faffing around. First you need to spend an age getting bead to seat properly in the rim, then you need to remove the valve core and use a syringe to introduce sealant - and if you do puncture, sealant ends up squirting out everywhere making a total mess of the bike which you then have to spend ages cleaning.
Not strictly true. I’ve had many that’s seal quickly enough as to be mess free. Where there is a bit of mess, it takes a lot less time to clean than sitting at the side of a trail trying to fix a puncture would take.I'm not sold on tubeless either as that's just adds another level of faffing around. First you need to spend an age getting bead to seat properly in the rim, then you need to remove the valve core and use a syringe to introduce sealant - and if you do puncture, sealant ends up squirting out everywhere making a total mess of the bike which you then have to spend ages cleaning.
Regarding some comments above - I admire the bravery of using a repaired tube as a spare! I’d only ever carry a new tube as a spare (I even do this with tubeless, tbh, just in case)
Fady said:
I've never used more 2 patches, and I concur with z4RRSChris and just bin them as I buy in bulk and always have a bunch of new ones available in various sizes.
I'm not sold on tubeless either as that's just adds another level of faffing around. First you need to spend an age getting bead to seat properly in the rim, then you need to remove the valve core and use a syringe to introduce sealant - and if you do puncture, sealant ends up squirting out everywhere making a total mess of the bike which you then have to spend ages cleaning.
Seating a tyre is a doddle. It's just technique and the right equipment. I'm not sold on tubeless either as that's just adds another level of faffing around. First you need to spend an age getting bead to seat properly in the rim, then you need to remove the valve core and use a syringe to introduce sealant - and if you do puncture, sealant ends up squirting out everywhere making a total mess of the bike which you then have to spend ages cleaning.
You also don't need to faff about with removing valves. Just un seat a section of bead, pour in sealant, rotate tyre 180 degrees, reseat then add air.
In 15 years of using tubeless (even on a fatbike with rims with holes in with non-tubeless really tyres) I've never had sealant spray everywhere requiring ages to clean.
.... but even if it did, a quick squirt from your water bottle will wash off latex sealant.
Edited by take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey on Monday 6th June 14:28
z4RRSchris said:
i just bin them, CBA to sit on the side of the road patching tubes, or even tking them home to patch.
when they are £2 from wiggle life is too short.
Same. A lot of my riding is either cross country or a trail centre. Tube out, cut in half to fully deflate it. Stuffed in bag. New one in and away again. when they are £2 from wiggle life is too short.
Fundoreen said:
On a related note. Just brought a puncture repair kit from local bargain shop. About 48 patches but only one small tube of glue,which will probably go hard after its opened so you will only patch one time.
Yes those tiny tubes of rubber solution dry up v quickly. Get a decent sized tube and it will last much longer once opened. Still prob dry up before you have finished it though!take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:
Fady said:
I've never used more 2 patches, and I concur with z4RRSChris and just bin them as I buy in bulk and always have a bunch of new ones available in various sizes.
I'm not sold on tubeless either as that's just adds another level of faffing around. First you need to spend an age getting bead to seat properly in the rim, then you need to remove the valve core and use a syringe to introduce sealant - and if you do puncture, sealant ends up squirting out everywhere making a total mess of the bike which you then have to spend ages cleaning.
Seating a tyre is a doddle. It's just technique and the right equipment. I'm not sold on tubeless either as that's just adds another level of faffing around. First you need to spend an age getting bead to seat properly in the rim, then you need to remove the valve core and use a syringe to introduce sealant - and if you do puncture, sealant ends up squirting out everywhere making a total mess of the bike which you then have to spend ages cleaning.
You also don't need to faff about with removing valves. Just un seat a section of bead, pour in sealant, rotate tyre 180 degrees, reseat then add air.
In 15 years of using tubeless (even on a fatbike with rims with holes in with non-tubeless really tyres) I've never had sealant spray everywhere requiring ages to clean.
.... but even if it did, a quick squirt from your water bottle will wash off latex sealant.
Edited by take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey on Monday 6th June 14:28
You even have youtube videos on how to clean dried sealant off a bike https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOSefLjMpwQ so safe to assume that a squirt of water won't always do the job!
Fady said:
I'm pleased for you, though as with everything there will be dependant factors. Like type of rim, type of sealant etc. I'm a road cyclist so I'm only use 700c wheels. So I'm referring to high pressure tyres and bikes travelling at speed where the stuff can then ooze out and squirt all over the frame, wheels and drivetrain.
You even have youtube videos on how to clean dried sealant off a bike https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOSefLjMpwQ so safe to assume that a squirt of water won't always do the job!
Ah... That wasn't clear in your post - that you only run 700c. You even have youtube videos on how to clean dried sealant off a bike https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOSefLjMpwQ so safe to assume that a squirt of water won't always do the job!
Tubeless with sealant is a different prospect then. Much much lower volumes and higher pressures are not great for sealant to work effectively.
I still use thermoplastic tubes on the rare occasion my road bike gets ridden.
That said, you still don't need to gunk the valve as you can crack the bead and fill that way.
pablo said:
I’d have put money on Yellowjacket winning this hands down, surely he has a “twelver” lurking in the garage somewhere?….
Crikey.Some say I have a reputation in three counties for being careful with my money,
but even I usually stop at four patches.
Patches are about 20p each, new tubes about £2, so it's a no brainer.
I can beat your ten and raise you a whopping 28!
I have ended up with my Grampa's bike (now the bicycle equivalent of a classic car, rather than a daily drive).
That bike existed in 1946 although it may have been new before that.
When it was passed down to my Dad in 1997 after many years lying unused in Grampa's shed, it needed new tyres as they were badly perished. The front inner tube was stamped "Ministry of Supply - War Grade Rubber" and had 28 patches on it. Quite why I didn't replace it then, I forget. Anyway, it lasted another decade before the valve finally tore off.
Anyone know where to buy War Grade bike inner tubes that will last 60 years?
I have ended up with my Grampa's bike (now the bicycle equivalent of a classic car, rather than a daily drive).
That bike existed in 1946 although it may have been new before that.
When it was passed down to my Dad in 1997 after many years lying unused in Grampa's shed, it needed new tyres as they were badly perished. The front inner tube was stamped "Ministry of Supply - War Grade Rubber" and had 28 patches on it. Quite why I didn't replace it then, I forget. Anyway, it lasted another decade before the valve finally tore off.
Anyone know where to buy War Grade bike inner tubes that will last 60 years?
weeredmetro said:
I can beat your ten and raise you a whopping 28!
I have ended up with my Grampa's bike (now the bicycle equivalent of a classic car, rather than a daily drive).
That bike existed in 1946 although it may have been new before that.
When it was passed down to my Dad in 1997 after many years lying unused in Grampa's shed, it needed new tyres as they were badly perished. The front inner tube was stamped "Ministry of Supply - War Grade Rubber" and had 28 patches on it. Quite why I didn't replace it then, I forget. Anyway, it lasted another decade before the valve finally tore off.
Anyone know where to buy War Grade bike inner tubes that will last 60 years?
Great story. Think how long it would have lasted if it had been made of non war grade rubber! I have ended up with my Grampa's bike (now the bicycle equivalent of a classic car, rather than a daily drive).
That bike existed in 1946 although it may have been new before that.
When it was passed down to my Dad in 1997 after many years lying unused in Grampa's shed, it needed new tyres as they were badly perished. The front inner tube was stamped "Ministry of Supply - War Grade Rubber" and had 28 patches on it. Quite why I didn't replace it then, I forget. Anyway, it lasted another decade before the valve finally tore off.
Anyone know where to buy War Grade bike inner tubes that will last 60 years?
Bit sad that so many people seem to think it's OK to bin a tube with only one puncture;)
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