Do you patch pinch flats?

[NRRider]

Just got my first pinch flat in a while, snake bite holes and all. Last time I tried using a single patch to cover both holes and ended up trashing the tube. I know tubes are cheap but I feel guilty trashing them if they can be repaired.

Do you repair these types of flats and, if so, how do you do it?

[bike22]

yes

the patch kit often has a large patch that will cover both holes
sometimes two small patches or one medium sized patch will cover it

[echappist]

Just got my first pinch flat in a while, snake bite holes and all. Last time I tried using a single patch to cover both holes and ended up trashing the tube. I know tubes are cheap but I feel guilty trashing them if they can be repaired.

Do you repair these types of flats and, if so, how do you do it?
depends on the separation of the bites. if it's a tube i particularly like (michelin ultra lights), i slap on one of the larger patches.

[witcombusa]

No

[bronk]

no. i toss 'em.

[mudhead]

I throw the holed ones in box and when I bored in the winter, I sort through and patch some of them.

[vsefiream]

Yes, I usally carry a tube and a patch kit. I'll swap the tube and fix the punctured tube, including snake bites, before putting it back in my bag. This way I have a good tube ready to go next time. Just in case the next flat is more serious like a complete blow out or a valve failure of some sort

[Ralph]

I don't patch them, but think I should. Why add to the waste pile sooner than necessary?

[christian]

Yes, I patch them. Only time I don't use the little Rema patches.

[biker72]

No. Tubes are cheap.

[tannhauser]

Tossing the tube makes the world a worse place.
Patch via one big or two little.

[NateM]

Repair em if you can.Here is a nasty pinch flat from a bout with a series of pot holes. I tossed the tube then read this post and decided to give it a try.18-25 tube,2 seams,plus 4 nasty cuts..maybe this should be a trainer spare

[martinrjensen]

Looks good. I always patch. That seam there? I try to sand it down flush if possible when it's close to the hole. BTW that's one nasty pinch flat you got there. Never had one quite that bad myself. If it holds air for a day, I would day it's good for the life of the tube.Repair em if you can.Here is a nasty pinch flat from a bout with a series of pot holes. I tossed the tube then read this post and decided to give it a try.18-25 tube,2 seams,plus 4 nasty cuts..maybe this should be a trainer spare

[tannhauser]

Repair em if you can.Here is a nasty pinch flat from a bout with a series of pot holes. I tossed the tube then read this post and decided to give it a try.18-25 tube,2 seams,plus 4 nasty cuts..maybe this should be a trainer spare

Also, see how there is a spot on each side where the taper from patch to tube isn't smooth? Those are potential spots for leakage. Probably not enough glue or rolled back edge when applying the patch.

[fiamme red]

Whenever I'm riding alone, and am not in a terrible hurry, I patch right away on the road. It takes five minutes more than putting in a new tube.

[AngryScientist]

i make my own "patches" out of old inner tube, cut to fit. as long as you prep the area well, sanding it down and roughing the rubber up a little, use a appropriate amount of rubber cement, you're good to go. i'll patch anything. for me, it has nothing to do with the money, i just like tinkering with stuff. i usually wait for a rainy, miserable day and i've accumulated 5-6 punctured tubes and go to town in my garage or basement with copious amounts of scotch to fuel the patching machine.

[Dekonick]

i make my own "patches" out of old inner tube, cut to fit. as long as you prep the area well, sanding it down and roughing the rubber up a little, use a appropriate amount of rubber cement, you're good to go. i'll patch anything. for me, it has nothing to do with the money, i just like tinkering with stuff. i usually wait for a rainy, miserable day and i've accumulated 5-6 punctured tubes and go to town in my garage or basement with copious amounts of scotch to fuel the patching machine.

I like your style. I agree... I also enjoy tinkering.

[Kontact]

I'm just a little surprised how many experienced cyclists are getting pinch flats.

[toaster]

I don't patch pinch tubes because the holes require a bigger patch and I don't want to deal with that and rather repair simple punctures.

I may try to emulate the AngryScientist though, I like his ingenuity!

[skijoring]

Yeah, repair them. If the weather is nice (and I'm not in a hustle), I'll do the patch right there and take my time. Haven't had a pinch flat in a long time, though. 2 years? Glass flats, sure.

Bigger tires help avoidance of pinchers. :beer:

[tannhauser]

i make my own "patches" out of old inner tube, cut to fit. as long as you prep the area well, sanding it down and roughing the rubber up a little, use a appropriate amount of rubber cement, you're good to go. i'll patch anything. for me, it has nothing to do with the money, i just like tinkering with stuff. i usually wait for a rainy, miserable day and i've accumulated 5-6 punctured tubes and go to town in my garage or basement with copious amounts of scotch to fuel the patching machine.

I used to do this as a kid, but as the tire's volume got smaller as I got older I started feeling the home made patch.

[Chance]

i make my own "patches" out of old inner tube, cut to fit. as long as you prep the area well, sanding it down and roughing the rubber up a little, use a appropriate amount of rubber cement, you're good to go. i'll patch anything. for me, it has nothing to do with the money, i just like tinkering with stuff. i usually wait for a rainy, miserable day and i've accumulated 5-6 punctured tubes and go to town in my garage or basement with copious amounts of scotch to fuel the patching machine.
That's a good idea to try (except for the scotch part).

Do you sand the edges of the finished patches so they don't grab on the inside of the tires and possibly roll or peel off? Standard patches are tappered or beveled at edges.

[keevon]

Angry -

Are you using rubber cement or vulcanizing fluid?

[AngryScientist]

Angry -

Are you using rubber cement or vulcanizing fluid?

rubber cement, the cheap stuff too. i do sand the edges a bit too, but i think the real trick is to get full coverage of the glue, on both the tube and the patch, wait till they are just tacky and firmly press them together, smooth out all the air bubbles and rest something flat and heavy on top. takes a little practice, but once you've got it, it's quick and easy.

http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Staples/s0267993_sc7?$sku$

[drewski]

Kobayashi Maru tire incident



I am still traumatized by a flat incident that occurred earlier this year.
About 2-3 weeks before Hurricane Irene hit NYC,
I was riding from Brooklyn over the Marine Parkway Bridge. I got to Jacob Riis Park and rain and wind pick up the temperature must of dropped 10 degrees in a matter of minutes.

It then starts to pour and then hail. I then get a flat tire. I pull off
the side of the ride and I am in SAND!!!!! So I am under a tree and the
wind is so bad that the rain is coming down sideways. I then try
to make my repair. Needless to say it was pretty futile to try to APPLY rubber cement under these conditions. Finding the puncture was difficult too.
This was a lousy place to get a flat. No tall trees, with no solid sand, lots
of thorny plants. YUKKK!

By sheer luck I find a black garbage bag and make a tourniquet.
To my amazement it manages to work for a little bit. I then get a flat on the front tire from one of the sand burrs that are near the highway. ***!!!!
I then had to walk about 2 miles in pouring rain.

I was visiting a nursing home, so here I am with my Seven Axiom and a soaking wet brooks and I ask one of the people working in security if they would not mind watching my bike until the morning.

I then took a city bus home.

I left the bike there and everything worked out fine.

The moral: Always have a spare tube.

[Acotts]

Now Way!

You cant patch any part of a highly tuned man-machine.

It would throw off the rotational weight of the wheel and I would loose crucial time to that dude on the recumbant always racing me down the path!

[tannhauser]

Kobayashi Maru tire incident



I am still traumatized by a flat incident that occurred earlier this year.
About 2-3 weeks before Hurricane Irene hit NYC,
I was riding from Brooklyn over the Marine Parkway Bridge. I got to Jacob Riis Park and rain and wind pick up the temperature must of dropped 10 degrees in a matter of minutes.

It then starts to pour and then hail. I then get a flat tire. I pull off
the side of the ride and I am in SAND!!!!! So I am under a tree and the
wind is so bad that the rain is coming down sideways. I then try
to make my repair. Needless to say it was pretty futile to try to APPLY rubber cement under these conditions. Finding the puncture was difficult too.
This was a lousy place to get a flat. No tall trees, with no solid sand, lots
of thorny plants. YUKKK!

By sheer luck I find a black garbage bag and make a tourniquet.
To my amazement it manages to work for a little bit. I then get a flat on the front tire from one of the sand burrs that are near the highway. ***!!!!
I then had to walk about 2 miles in pouring rain.

I was visiting a nursing home, so here I am with my Seven Axiom and a soaking wet brooks and I ask one of the people working in security if they would not mind watching my bike until the morning.

I then took a city bus home.

I left the bike there and everything worked out fine.

The moral: Always have a spare tube.

This is a joke, right?

[microdraft]

i've patched pinch flats. no real problems. i've had patched tubes last for ages.