Tube Repair or Dispose - What to Do

[K u r t]

Hi Paceliners,

I'm looking for some guidance here-

Lately I've been grappling with the question of whether to repair or dispose of my punctured tubes.

On one hand, ecological sensibilities compel me to patch any repairable tube and save the earth from yet another strip of wasted rubber in a landfill. First world consumerism has gotten out of hand.

On the other hand, I've taken great pains - and significant investment - so that my bike works perfectly. This includes smooth turning wheels with no lumps or imbalance, which patched tubes inevitably cause.

What do you do with your punctured/ repairable tubes?

Am I making too big a deal about imbalance?
Is there a better solution than sending the tube to the dump?
Does someone sell a very thin & light patch that preserves the rolling properties I've come to expect?

Any wisdom about this would be much appreciated! Thank you.

Kurt

[Cicli]

A patch should not cause any lump or imbalance. Its just not enough if its done right. You dont want a patch any thinner than the tube though.
Patch the tube. It will be fine.

[ripvanrando]

I use Park super patches on latex tubes.

http://www.parktool.com/product/super-patch-kit-gp-2

[ldamelio]

On the other hand, I've taken great pains - and significant investment - so that my bike works perfectly.
Kurt

First and foremost, if you're riding clinchers, this is already really not the case. Also, as someone has already stated, there isn't any discernible difference with a patched tube. Princess and the pea and all that. The reasonable median approach atmo is to patch a tube a couple of times then recycle.

[kramnnim]

If nothing else, save them and send them to someone who wants them, I'm sure there are frugal folk who would be happy to pay for postage.

[Rob1519]

Recycle. REI locations collect old tubes and ship to a recycling operation.

[palincss]

On the other hand, I've taken great pains - and significant investment - so that my bike works perfectly. This includes smooth turning wheels with no lumps or imbalance, which patched tubes inevitably cause.

What do you do with your punctured/ repairable tubes?

Am I making too big a deal about imbalance?


I patch them. There is no imbalance, there are no lumps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_and_the_Pea

[scharny]

I find that when using tubes the only imbalance is where the valve is located, due to some tubes having extra reinforced rubber in that area. YMMV with different tubes - I've always used the cheap ones so that may be why. I now run tubeless rims/tires on my road bike and mountain bikes so it's no longer an issue for me.

[Vinci]

I am a big proponent of saving and patching. I just chuck the punctured tubes in a box and patch them all in one shot once a year or so.

Even if you don't want to ride patched tubes, and there's really no good reason not to, you can use the tubes for a whole host of other things. I am constantly cutting them up for little projects here and there.

[redir]

I always patch them if they are simple punctures. A well patched tube is good enough for race day imho. I've had patched tubes last years. But once they get too many patches or a rip instead of a puncture then they get tied off to my long tube rope and re-purposed as clamps for my guitar making. Perhaps you can find clever re-purposing uses for old tubes.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HJrcYnK6kqYWSe0ZBSBL1VQw2Q8c57GnwgEbS-RBCS5jJwuEP3DDafNUvku521siSebPjyLY4StjCf7nXQGESvid xKHI6qpzMEkeKp6zDsBawCW_ic1hFc-OjPeaDRLLJAhcqu88jfbmWVg7F1_XDEZoN8r6AniC8aNFFu2E4 sTpKKk0_2go3HDkx-2-Wzs6LHPXT4ULMEjrjqsai6EZm41Q5iAkj-Yvijx9ftCKJT9PJ7sOhUDLR_gf76cOzoz34ILE42bP4M-lNRvnVkD_ZfanlWUzyNcZgAMxAAqRqLHnu2zXcg91foxoU1unv iS-dCj2tLy62oq3MrZfK295CswPx_IhoQ1HBNxsMk5N2WGnlK4brE ObpjkuXDM6onira7IjagyECDsdf6nfCwi71UaumagHZWz8EC8Z S1gPCtXWzAKwq-dAHCW8C5CKUSCgZtWWR3mVbOhLUJn5wjVe9NsyysM-lQFCO555Wks23wcXRIhuj23q4rx7DmL5E3Qc93aoFwjTGIcwr-IhBYzyd423G1PVlyMg9yQpCXBTGHKq1IrUyexQyfBJgPo_grzo 2fXuJA=w1137-h955-no

[bcroslin]

There is so much road debris where I ride that when I wasn't patching tubes I was spending $30-$40/ month on new ones. At the very least you should patch a tube once before tossing it. It makes environmental AND financial sense.

[PaulE]

I am partial to the Michelin Aircomp A1 butyl ultralight tubes - pricey but I like the unthreaded valve stems. So I patch them a few times. I accumulate a few that need patching and then do a bunch at once. A new tube is only one shard away from a flat anyway, and it's a small green step for me.

[carpediemracing]

I am in a similar sort of situation. I rarely flat. I patched back in the day but had a less than 100% success rate, which really turned me off from patching - I didn't want to set out and have a patch fail or something.

I saved all my tubes (tossed a box of them a while back) but now I'll save them for REI or some other recycling thing. I think I have one so far from the last few years :)

[ultraman6970]

All of this depends a lot of how anal the rider is, some guys cant stand imperfections, and honestly? nothing is perfect, not even god.

Regarding the lumps and unbalances, well if done right you shouldnt feel the patch, heck many times had to save tubulars with cuts and put a big patch under the carcass just to be able have something to train with, sucks to ride with a thum thum thum in the wheel but well, we did not have too much money either. Had friends that were recycling tubbies that other riders were trashing because they did not have money...

If the op wants to give away those old tubulars that are punctured, I'll take'em! :D

[dgauthier]

I toss mine -- screw the earth! ;)

As others have pointed out, if you're riding clinchers you've already demonstrated you're not *that* picky. (Hey, I ride clinchers too.) Patch 'em if trashing them bothers you.

[K u r t]

Very good advise here! Seems my concern over a lumpy ride was unfounded. Excited to score some Park patches - that's my fix. Thank you.

[pinkshogun]

when the hole is too big to path i cut into strips to make bar tape with...i always have bikes that need it

[bcroslin]

100 tube patches for under $6 via Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-Bulk-Patches-25mm-Diameter/dp/B000BMUB38?ie=UTF8&keywords=tube%20patch&qid=1462289767&ref_=sr_1_4&sr=8-4)

[dsillito]

Do you stick mostly to riding on glass surfaces? The roughness of a road is an order of magnitude above what a patch could possibly cause (and a patch shouldn't cause a bump anyway).

I patch as long as the patches hold, and have no real limit. I am awesome at patching though. Cut up tubes make great bungee cords to hold stuff on racks, or padding under bar tape, or a frame wrap where you lean a commuter frame against posts, or for an MTB chainstay protector. I've seen crafts like wallets made from them, so if you could find someone who re-uses them, that would be ideal.

It is refreshing to hear people considering even these relatively small things though, so kudos for that! I'd say it gives me hope, but that would be overstating it. We may all be screwed, but I'm going to try my best to contribute my minimum to the downfall. I'm not perfect, but trying to move in the right direction.

[dsillito]

Also useful whenever you need some kind of shim, like for putting bike light mounts on etc.

And one last thing that I've been trying out, and seems to be working. I had some foil tape kicking around (the type for sealing ducts with), and cut a few squares of that to put in my patch kits. I use it to tape over the glue nozzle before putting the cap back on, and it seems to keep it from drying out so fast. Nothing more frustrating than finding all of your glue has evaporated from a poor-fitting tube lid. Nobody in the history of the world has ever used up the supply of patches before the glue is gone. Have they?

[marsh]

Is there a bike Co-op nearby? I'm sure they would appreciate a bag of tubes that need patching. I know Working Bikes in Chicago does.

[CunegoFan]

Also useful whenever you need some kind of shim, like for putting bike light mounts on etc.

And one last thing that I've been trying out, and seems to be working. I had some foil tape kicking around (the type for sealing ducts with), and cut a few squares of that to put in my patch kits. I use it to tape over the glue nozzle before putting the cap back on, and it seems to keep it from drying out so fast. Nothing more frustrating than finding all of your glue has evaporated from a poor-fitting tube lid. Nobody in the history of the world has ever used up the supply of patches before the glue is gone. Have they?

I live where there are goathead thorns. Not patching would send me rocketing to the poor house. I patch a lot of tubes. In my patch kit I always carry one unopened tube of clue and one opened one. That has saved my butt a number of times when I go to patch on the road and find the opened tube has evaporated.

I keep adding patches or glue to the same little box kit. And, yeah, one tube of glue will work for a ton of patches. One caveat I found, though. If opened glue is not used for a long time then it thickens a bit and loses it ability to vulcanize; patches seem to adhere alright but air will often create an escape channel under the patch.

[Tony T]

I toss `em

[Seramount]

patch or pass them on to someone who will.

[batman1425]

Patch until I get 5+ patches in the same tube. Then I cut them half, remove the stem, and use them for various purposes around the house. Find old tubes to be particularly useful as elastic tie downs, wraps for tools and clamps, etc.