# Inner tube repair - new option



## SL06 (Aug 3, 2011)

As many, I carry glueless patch and a spare tube on my ride. I also used glued patch at home.

Patch (glued of glueless) dont always work very well. First is depend on the quality of the rubber of the tube, patch dont stick well on some inner tube brand. 
If you have a big hole, its harder to repair. If you have ridge on the tube, the patch will leak. etc. Once repair, the patch can leak after several month. 

I was looking for a reliable option to permanently fix my tube, including some expensive fancy one. I came with this excellent solution, but it only work at home.

Material : 
1. VC100 solvent (PVC , ABS solvent cleaner and primer - found in the plumbing section of an hardware store) 
2. GOOP for shoes, or E-6000 glue (both are very similar). GOOP come in different version. Other could work but have no been tested. 

Step: Find the hole. Clean the tube around the hole with a bit of solvent. The solvent is strong enough to soften the rubber. The tube will become a bit sticky. Put a coat of glue on the hole and around ( 0.5 to 1 mm). Let dry overnight. Voilà. 

Once dry, its virtually impossible to remove the glue. Dont put to much glue. If you put just the wright amount, the tube will remain very flexible and easy to stretch. The glue thickness decrease a lot once dry.

If you have a major hole, you can cut piece of rubber from a old tube, Clean the patch and the tube, apply some glue and put a clamp. Leave it for 24 h or until dry, (Done once and unclamp after 48h).

Since last april, I have fix about 6 - 7 holes with a coat of glue and 1 with a patch. I have done a lot of milage on my 2 bike with those repairs tubes. 

It look like a permanent fixe and does not affect the tube elasticity as much as a commercial patch.

Obviously, I cant say how many year they will last since I have only start using this method 2 month ago, but I am very confident that it will last.

Happy to share...
https://ficdn.roadbikereview.com/images/smilies/smile.gif


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

SL06 said:


> Patch (glued of glueless) dont always work very well.


Then either your technique is bad or you're using inferior stuff. I have patches on tubes with 10s of thousands of miles on them. Patch failure happens maybe every 50,000 miles (or more).


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

Kerry Irons said:


> Then either your technique is bad or you're using inferior stuff. I have patches on tubes with 10s of thousands of miles on them. Patch failure happens maybe every 50,000 miles (or more).


I've never had a patch fail. Ever.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

I just got a flat where a puncture caused a slow leak resulting in lowering tire pressure which led to a snake bite...3 holes total. The tube already had 5 patches on it so I figured it was time to retire it. Never had a glue-on patch fail. Stick-ons have not been reliable for me and I only use them for temporary repairs on the road if I've already used my spare tube, and I replace them later at a convenient time.


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## steelbikerider (Feb 7, 2005)

I just threw away a tube with a failed patch. Tubes and patch were 2-3 years old and the patch had numerous cracks in the rubber and air was bubbling thru. Tube already had 4 patches so it had served its time.


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

I've tried the E6000 before...it holds for a while, but after repeated inflations it eventually fails.


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## SL06 (Aug 3, 2011)

Oxtox said:


> I've tried the E6000 before...it holds for a while, but after repeated inflations it eventually fails.


E-60000 and Goop dont hold that well without the solvent prep step. With the solvent, its impossible to remove...


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

SL06 said:


> E-60000 and Goop dont hold that well without the solvent prep step. With the solvent, its impossible to remove...


will try the solvent, have 10 tubes that need patching.

maybe I'm a lazy sort, just wish there was a single product that you could apply directly to the puncture and be done with it...


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## skitorski (Dec 4, 2012)

What he said.


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## CliffordK (Jun 6, 2014)

I tried to patch some PVC inflatable kayaks with Shoe Goo. It worked well at first, but then over the course of a few years, the Shoe Goo dried out, and cracked and separated from the PVC. Obviously rubber is different, but I would be leery about it. Also, the Shoe goo would make a pretty rigid patch which may stretch the tube in odd ways, and not be flat inside the tire. And, it takes a day or so to dry. That would be long wait for a roadside repair. 

I try to keep a single edged razor blade in my patch kits so that I can carefully trim off the ridges before applying the patch. I occasionally have a patch failure, but it is rare. I tried the glueless scabs once, and wasn't happy with the results with them, so I only use standard glue patches now. Generally with the thin red band around the edge such as the Rema TIP TOP brand patches.


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## CliffordK (Jun 6, 2014)

Several years ago I tried a "tubeless tubular" tire. I think it was the Wolber Liberty. 









The idea was that when you got a flat tire, you simply injected a dab of glue into the puncture and re-inflated the tire and went one one's way. 

If only it worked so simply. I couldn't get the patch to hold, so essentially the whole tire was wasted.

Perhaps the new tubeless clinchers are an extension of the idea.


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## SL06 (Aug 3, 2011)

CliffordK said:


> I tried to patch some PVC inflatable kayaks with Shoe Goo. It worked well at first, but then over the course of a few years, the Shoe Goo dried out, and cracked and separated from the PVC. Obviously rubber is different, but I would be leery about it. Also, the Shoe goo would make a pretty rigid patch which may stretch the tube in odd ways, and not be flat inside the tire. And, it takes a day or so to dry. That would be long wait for a roadside repair.
> 
> I try to keep a single edged razor blade in my patch kits so that I can carefully trim off the ridges before applying the patch. I occasionally have a patch failure, but it is rare. I tried the glueless scabs once, and wasn't happy with the results with them, so I only use standard glue patches now. Generally with the thin red band around the edge such as the Rema TIP TOP brand patches.


I have patched several tube with shoes Goo and E6000. If you put just a thin layer, the patch remains very flexible and stretchable, much more than with a patch. Its almost invisible and impossible to remove (with solvent prep step) That is what I like about it. Because the repair tube is inside the tire, its not expose to the sun and water and less likely to dry. It should hopefully last several season, but only time will tell. 

I cycle 150 km a week total, with 2 bicycle, and my 4 tube have patch with Shoo Goo since the beginning of the season. Have not seen any sign of drying up to now, but will keep monitoring.


Rema Tip Top patch are very good but not easy to get my area. 
I still prefer Shoes Goo, to patch because it does not affect the tube property (remain very flexible , stretchable). Will it dry with time or not is the only question left in suspend....


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

I'm always curious about the motivation to take something as cheap, simple and long lasting like patching a bicycle tire with readily available materials and making the process much more fussy and much less fool proof. But then again, I've never ever had a patch leak when I actually installed it with due care (as opposed to in a rush on the road where the glue gets messed up, I don't use a large enough glue spread, or just don't let it dry for more than a few seconds).


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## CliffordK (Jun 6, 2014)

Most inner tubes have about a dozen seams going around them. Why do they need so many? Anyway, I usually use a single edged razor blade and carefully trim the seam away closest to the hole. Then just use a standard patch. The shoe goo is an interesting idea, but it would also take a lot longer, 12 to 24 hours?


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## shiggy (Mar 18, 2005)

CliffordK said:


> Most inner tubes have about a dozen seams going around them. Why do they need so many? Anyway, I usually use a single edged razor blade and carefully trim the seam away closest to the hole. Then just use a standard patch. The shoe goo is an interesting idea, but it would also take a lot longer, 12 to 24 hours?


Except for latex tubes, inner tubes do not have ANY seams. Butyl tubes are cast in one piece. The number and size of mold marks varies widely. Michelin and Panaracer tubes have next to none.

I see no reason to repair a rube with anything other than normal glue type patches. I use the Rema Tip Top 16mm patch with either the Rema cement or cold vulcanizing fluid from the auto parts store. Getting a good reliable repair is easy and takes just a few minutes.

Glueless patches are temporary at best.


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## SL06 (Aug 3, 2011)

Since last year, I have patch numerous puncture with this method. I ran 4500 km last year and I about to reach that number this week.

100 % success rate up to now. I have in my hand a tube that have been repair 6 times. All patch hold very very well after more than one year. They are still very flexible. I guess they that they should be OK for at least a few year more....


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## Pirx (Aug 9, 2009)

Mike T. said:


> I've never had a patch fail. Ever.


Me neither. When I have a flat or leak, I chuck out the tube and buy a new one.


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## robt57 (Jul 23, 2011)

Pirx said:


> Me neither. When I have a flat or leak, I chuck out the tube and buy a new one.



I just patched 20+ tubes from the box I toss flatted tubes into. I get tube for 2.99 each and got 20 at a time last order, 10 order before that. 

I don't remember having that many flats honestly. Although I had a twisting rim tape episode in the garage last season which after the 4th new tubes [and 3 re-tapes] I started patching before I ran out of new ones. I thanked my lucky stars that happened in the garage and not on the road... And I do remember getting three in the garage rolling a bike over a bath carpet I put on the concrete in the winter. It had a bunch of short pieces of brake cable strand in it. [wonder who caused that?] Took me a while to figure out I got the flats coming into the garage and not in that last mile of the ride. ;O DUH, got a few in my feet too, ouch...


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Pirx said:


> Me neither. When I have a flat or leak, I chuck out the tube and buy a new one.


Tubes are cheap enough to replace them when they fail. Carrying a patch kit is still a good idea if you run out of tubes on a really bad day. I would still take out the tube and replace it when I got home.

I carry the glue ones, never glueless. Glueless fail too easily.


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## burkeqc (Sep 25, 2006)

In my younger cheaper days, I had as many as 10 patches on one tube. I found they held up well, but eventually slow leaks came from some patches. Lately, 3 patches per tube is my limit.


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