shoe goo tire repair

[alancw3]

thought i would pass this along for what it is worth. awhile ago i got a cut in my front tire about 3/16" wide and 1" long. tires were in great condition so oh ****. anyway i thought about my tennis playing days many years ago and "shoe goo". an abrasive flexible liquid rubber product to put on worn tennis shoes. what the heck! i bought some $2.50 and refilled the void in the tire. wow, i have ridden on it several times now and it is just holding up great. seems to actually conform the the tire. so i saved a $35.00 tire that looks like it will last for a long time. note- the cut was not into the tire cord.

[toaster]

My experience is that Shoe Goo works, for a while. It will come out of your tire cut eventually. You can keep cleaning the cut with rubber solvent and re-applying Goo to get your money's worth out of expensive bicycle tires but it gets to be a pain.

Loctite makes a product that is not for sale in this country, probably due to environmental reasons, that I read about as having the ability to seal UST tubeless tire punctures from the inside out. It would really be helpful in tire repair. It was a link or a page on either Michelin or Mavic's website.

[toaster]

The Loctite product I mentioned was referred to in a Hutchinson article on repair.

It is Loctite 4850. No idea where to buy it, though.

[dekindy]

Any updates on the loctite or is shoe goo still the best alternative? Someone at my LBS with decades of riding experience recommended shoe goo.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . using Super Glue to seal up cuts of small to medium size in the tread area. But the success of this method depends heavily on how you do it.

When I first tried it I just put super glue on the cut while the tire was fully inflated. This didn't work because when the tire is inflated the sides of the cut are pulled apart, and when the glue hardens it's actually like you are creating a hard piece of glass that actually ends up making the cut deeper because every time the tire rotates it presses the piece deeper in the tire.

BUT . . . if you deflate the tire, THEN glue the cut AND then gently clamp the tire to the rim on either side using adjustable clamps--just enough pressure to force the sides of the cut together--the clamping forces the edges of the cut together while the glue sets and it works like a charm. I've fixed some pretty good sized cuts on the tread this way and it works great. But it doesn't work well at all if you've got a cut in the sidewall and I don't think I'd try it that way.

I've also used black electrical tape both on the inside of the tire and on the outside and it works surprisingly well. On the inside of the tire it lasts for the life of the tire, and on the outside it lasts a lot longer than you'd think. Well worth keeping a couple of inches of it wrapped around your seatpost or one of your CO2 cartridges to use in an emergency.

BBD

[dave thompson]

Any updates on the loctite or is shoe goo still the best alternative? Someone at my LBS with decades of riding experience recommended shoe goo.
After using Shoe Goo for a couple of years, I found a much better product for repairing holes, divots and cuts in my tires: Freesole. I've used Freesole for the last two seasons and have found it works far better in holding the edges of cuts together, filling in a divot or just putting a 'cap' on a hole in the tire. It's not as 'silicon caulk'y' as Shoe Goo and much less messy.

I've purchased Freesole at shoe repair places, who really like the product.

[David Kirk]

I flat spotted a race car tire once and fixed it with shoegoo. Cleaned it very well with acetone, warmed it with a heat gun and applied the goo. After it cured I filed it to shape and it lasted 1/2 a race season before the rest of the tire was toast. The goo never came off!

I heart that stuff.

dave

[Steve in SLO]

I've used silicon seal--the kind for tubs/showers, etc with good results. I have also used hot glue with OK results although you have to trim it flush for it not to just pull out,since it is stiffer. I'm sure most kinds of gooey/dries flexible material would work.
Maybe I'll try Liquid Nails next time, just for the irony. At the rate my Vittoria Corsa Evo CXs are cutting up, I am going to need something.

[Steve in SLO]

I flat spotted a race car tire once and fixed it with shoegoo. Cleaned it very well with acetone, warmed it with a heat gun and applied the goo. After it cured I filed it to shape and it lasted 1/2 a race season before the rest of the tire was toast. The goo never came off!

I heart that stuff.

dave

Home made retread. Nice one, Dave.
BTW: What kind of tire lasted 1/2 a race sason without needing replacement? I want those.

[David Kirk]

Home made retread. Nice one, Dave.
BTW: What kind of tire lasted 1/2 a race sason without needing replacement? I want those.

The kind under a 1200 pound autocross car - I use Hoosier road race slicks - 25B compound and get more than a season out of the rubber but it gets heat cycled before that.


dave

[rugbysecondrow]

-wrong thread

[nm87710]

. . . using Super Glue to seal up cuts of small to medium size in the tread area. But the success of this method depends heavily on how you do it.

When I first tried it I just put super glue on the cut while the tire was fully inflated. This didn't work because when the tire is inflated the sides of the cut are pulled apart, and when the glue hardens it's actually like you are creating a hard piece of glass that actually ends up making the cut deeper because every time the tire rotates it presses the piece deeper in the tire.

BUT . . . if you deflate the tire, THEN glue the cut AND then gently clamp the tire to the rim on either side using adjustable clamps--just enough pressure to force the sides of the cut together--the clamping forces the edges of the cut together while the glue sets and it works like a charm. I've fixed some pretty good sized cuts on the tread this way and it works great. But it doesn't work well at all if you've got a cut in the sidewall and I don't think I'd try it that way.
BBD

Done pretty much the same for 10+ years. Works great to repair tread cuts. I deflate, put in SG, squeeze tire by hand to close the cut, hold for ~60 seconds. If the casing underneath is cut at all I toss it. SG Gel works best.

[David Kirk]

Arguements are always going to be had regarding the value of the recipient, but at least Gore and Carter (to name a few) had actual points to discuss. Frankly, and this is not meant as a knock but a matter of fact, he is just too green as a Pres to be viable for this award. Even he said this morning it is not about his accomplishments, but about aspirations. Even Pres. Clinton would have been viable with all the relief work he has done, fund raising and awareness efforts. I could have seen that and I think it would have been reasonable.

Noble prize for Shoegoo!

dave

[jeffg]

Noble prize for Shoegoo!

dave

But for economics!

[Steve in SLO]

The kind under a 1200 pound autocross car - I use Hoosier road race slicks - 25B compound and get more than a season out of the rubber but it gets heat cycled before that.


dave
That's my problem--my cars need to get off the track and go on a diet.
I vaguely remember getting a year off some Bridgestone S-02s during a year of autox'ing my 911. I even drove them 30 miles each way in addition to the events. It sure gets more expensive when you race over 70 mph.

[vjp]

I flat spotted a race car tire once and fixed it with shoegoo. Cleaned it very well with acetone, warmed it with a heat gun and applied the goo. After it cured I filed it to shape and it lasted 1/2 a race season before the rest of the tire was toast. The goo never came off!

I heart that stuff.

dave

+1

I got a cut in the sidewall of my Hoosier when I got rubbed by another car that had some fender damage. It wasn't to the cord but it was a few inches long and shoegoo worked so well.

I still use it now on sidewall cuts/abrasions on my tubular tires and have had great success.

vjp