# repairing tire cuts



## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

Has anyone had success filling in or repairing tire cuts? I'm not talking about booting a tire where the casing is compromised but those small cuts and gashes that seem to accumulate over time.


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## KenB (Jul 28, 2004)

DaveG said:


> Has anyone had success filling in or repairing tire cuts? I'm not talking about booting a tire where the casing is compromised but those small cuts and gashes that seem to accumulate over time.


 Try a drop of super glue.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Two solutions*



DaveG said:


> Has anyone had success filling in or repairing tire cuts? I'm not talking about booting a tire where the casing is compromised but those small cuts and gashes that seem to accumulate over time.


The two most common approaches are superglue and Shoe Goo.


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## firstrax (Nov 13, 2001)

Loctite 380 Black Max. Apply with the tire inflated. May not completely fill the cut but it will stop it from getting worse.


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## cpuffe (Aug 1, 2004)

Super glue used sparingly worked well for me. Booting the tire under the cut also helps. Had a mtb tire last 2 years after doing this.


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## everydaybike (Feb 25, 2005)

DaveG said:


> Has anyone had success filling in or repairing tire cuts? I'm not talking about booting a tire where the casing is compromised but those small cuts and gashes that seem to accumulate over time.


I agree with Kerry...

I ride in very rural areas of Central Va where the roads are not the greatest and there is lots of debris.

Until I switched to Conti's Gatorskins I used Michelin Pro Race but they didn't fare well to the road conditions and I was replacing tires too often. I've used Shoe Goo for years and it works very well. Sometimes, it's hard to find the cut after the repair. However, bonding does depend on the compounds used in the tire. I tried it on a couple of Rubino Pros and it didn't work. Super Glue also works but again it's about he compound used in the tire. Either way, it's a pretty cheap experiment that can let you squeak out a few more miles from your tires. I even carry a tube of Super Glue in my seat bag for those nasty cuts that are so big that a boot won't heal them... smear a bit on the boot and on the tire and you have an instant bond that will get you home. I've even used a piece of plastic cup I found along the roadside by "supergluing" it to the inside of the tire. Worked for the 40 mile trip home.

Cheers...


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## Dinosaur (Jan 29, 2004)

*Another Shoe Goo user..*

Shoe Goo is the only thing that worked for me. Super Glue would harden and eventually pull out of the tire.

Actually the thing that worked for me was going to Conti Ultra 2000 tires. I used Conti GP 3000's. among various others (you name it) and the Ultra's are pretty resistant to cuts. They wear like iron (I've got close to 3K out of a rear tire) and they can be found for cheap, especially if you go to a wire bead. But the answer is matching the tire to the type of roads you ride. type of riding and rider weight. The Ultra's are more-less a training tire and don't have the 'zip' of a more expensive tire, but they work for me...


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## 180 (Jan 10, 2009)

Has anyone tried the shoe goo with Bontrager Race Lites? I've got a Century comin up and got a couple gashes goin should I just get new tires?


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## jmlapoint (Sep 4, 2008)

Kerry Irons said:


> The two most common approaches are superglue and Shoe Goo.


Agree...
SuperGlue or Shoe Goo.


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## Dinosaur (Jan 29, 2004)

Man this is an old post. I responded to it back in Sep '05.


If you are going to ride a century, I get new tires.


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## 180 (Jan 10, 2009)

Dinosaur said:


> Man this is an old post. I responded to it back in Sep '05.
> 
> 
> If you are going to ride a century, I get new tires.


lol yeah that was a little freaky...thnx new tires it is


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## Kenacycle (May 28, 2006)

thanks to this resurrected thread (in conjunction with the easter theme), I repaired a cut I sustained on my new tire last month.


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## EverydayRide (Sep 12, 2008)

Edited out=

Looks like you got your responses.


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## Ibashii (Oct 23, 2002)

Dinosaur said:


> Man this is an old post. I responded to it back in Sep '05.
> 
> 
> If you are going to ride a century, I get new tires.


Wait a minute: If 180 rides a century, you get new tires??? That's a sweet deal.

Seriously, it all depends on the severity of the cuts: if I replaced my tires before every century-ish ride or race just because of a few cuts, I'd be putting on new tires every couple of weeks. Basically, any cut that isn't ginormous and/or doesn't seriously compromise the sidewall or the radial/kevlar/whatever layer isn't a big deal, whether or not you are into supergluing/shoogooing them (incidentally I've never found it to help much, but that's just an impression). To quote the late great Sheldon Brown:

"Cracks in the tread are harmless. Small punctures in the tire such as are typically caused by nails, tacks, thorns or glass slivers are also harmless to the tire, since the tire doesn't need to be air-tight."

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#replacement


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## Dinosaur (Jan 29, 2004)

*Yeah, but*



Ibashii said:


> Wait a minute: If 180 rides a century, you get new tires??? That's a sweet deal.
> 
> Seriously, it all depends on the severity of the cuts: if I replaced my tires before every century-ish ride or race just because of a few cuts, I'd be putting on new tires every couple of weeks. Basically, any cut that isn't ginormous and/or doesn't seriously compromise the sidewall or the radial/kevlar/whatever layer isn't a big deal, whether or not you are into supergluing/shoogooing them (incidentally I've never found it to help much, but that's just an impression). To quote the late great Sheldon Brown:
> 
> ...


My thinking is if you have a doubt about tires and you have a century coming up why consider riding the century with old tires? Pretty easy decision for me.


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## 180 (Jan 10, 2009)

Kenacycle said:


> thanks to this resurrected thread (in conjunction with the easter theme), I repaired a cut I sustained on my new tire last month.


Yeah that sometimes forgotten search box can work wonders hey? And we even got a cameo appearance from one of the OPs back from 05...that's pretty sweet. RBR is good like that.


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## 180 (Jan 10, 2009)

Ibashii said:


> Wait a minute: If 180 rides a century, you get new tires??? That's a sweet deal.
> 
> Seriously, it all depends on the severity of the cuts: if I replaced my tires before every century-ish ride or race just because of a few cuts, I'd be putting on new tires every couple of weeks. Basically, any cut that isn't ginormous and/or doesn't seriously compromise the sidewall or the radial/kevlar/whatever layer isn't a big deal, whether or not you are into supergluing/shoogooing them (incidentally I've never found it to help much, but that's just an impression). To quote the late great Sheldon Brown:
> 
> ...


Very interesting. Yeah I only have a couple small gashes. I haven't had any flats in over a year, these tires are about 2 yrs old (June 08). They've def seen some miles and varying terrain across the country. I'll keep a close eye on them...and maybe pick up a pair of tires to have on hand when things do go south. Can never be too prepared.


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## 180 (Jan 10, 2009)

Dinosaur said:


> My thinking is if you have a doubt about tires and you have a century coming up why consider riding the century with old tires? Pretty easy decision for me.


A century is only 100 miles, I do that every couple of days. I am just unsure as to how often people change tires really. These are the original tires to this bike. I just restarted road biking 2 yrs ago. Last road bike I had before this one I was about 10 yrs old. I never replaced anything back then lol You're right though, somewhere in the back of my head I am thinking of the gazillion miles they have seen and a fresh set would ease the conscience a bit fer sure.


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## Dinosaur (Jan 29, 2004)

*What I do*



180 said:


> A century is only 100 miles, I do that every couple of days. I am just unsure as to how often people change tires really. These are the original tires to this bike. I just restarted road biking 2 yrs ago. Last road bike I had before this one I was about 10 yrs old. I never replaced anything back then lol You're right though, somewhere in the back of my head I am thinking of the gazillion miles they have seen and a fresh set would ease the conscience a bit fer sure.


I change tires when

1. Bad cuts that I dwell on.
2. Tire is worn through the casing and the thread is showing 
3. I get tired of looking at them (this seldom happens). If I do this I use the old tires for spares. In case I get a cut in a fairly new tire I can use the spare until the new one arrives.

I get mixed mileage on tires, even with the same models.

I've had two bad crashes, both tire related. So I am paranoid about tires.


If you ride 100 miles in a couple of days, my hat is off to you. That is 50 miles a day. I ride 100 miles in about 3.5 days.


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## 180 (Jan 10, 2009)

Dinosaur said:


> I change tires when
> 
> 1. Bad cuts that I dwell on.
> 2. Tire is worn through the casing and the thread is showing
> ...


No I don't have time to do 50 a day. Sorry I should of said "a few days." I ride on avg 20 - 45 a day. Did you crash from flatting out?


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## Dinosaur (Jan 29, 2004)

*Crashes*



180 said:


> No I don't have time to do 50 a day. Sorry I should of said "a few days." I ride on avg 20 - 45 a day. Did you crash from flatting out?



My first crash in '02 happened when I hit a couple pieces of small rocks (large chunks of gravel) when descending. I lost air in my front tire and it went flat as I was making a left turn. At least that's what I think happened. I don't recall going down. I was knocked unconscious and fractured 4 ribs. 2nd crash, in 'late '05, occurred when I lost traction while climbing my very steep driveway in the wet. I went down hard fracturing my right hip. In both cases I was using the old Conti Ultra 2000's. Which really had nothing to do about my mishaps. More about lacking brain cells.

Yeah, I got the time to ride (I'm retired), but the old body is having problems getting a kick start this year.


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## 180 (Jan 10, 2009)

Dinosaur said:


> My first crash in '02 happened when I hit a couple pieces of small rocks (large chunks of gravel) when descending. I lost air in my front tire and it went flat as I was making a left turn. At least that's what I think happened. I don't recall going down. I was knocked unconscious and fractured 4 ribs. 2nd crash, in 'late '05, occurred when I lost traction while climbing my very steep driveway in the wet. I went down hard fracturing my right hip. In both cases I was using the old Conti Ultra 2000's. Which really had nothing to do about my mishaps. More about lacking brain cells.
> 
> Yeah, I got the time to ride (I'm retired), but the old body is having problems getting a kick start this year.


Those _were _ some nasty crashes...and exactly what I imagine happening to myself when riding in those conditions. I've been on a couple crazy descents and you just never know at 40+ mph what can happen. And climbing something like your own driveway, well we all just get used to doing things and not expecting to mess up something we do almost daily. So many crashes happen due to over confidence, but hey were human and sometimes were up for the challenge. I'm glad to hear you recovered well from them and are back to riding without many residual problems. I wasn't very motivated the past few months myself. Finally getting a little spark up my butt to get out there. I just don't have as high of goals as I did last year. I've got enough stress in other areas of my life, I'm not going to add any to my riding. Take care and lots of good riding to you this spring/summer.


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## squareslinky (Aug 13, 2009)

Hi. I am new to road bikes. Can someone explain the process for using shoe goo to repair tire cuts?

thanks.


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## Kenacycle (May 28, 2006)

Just smear some goo in the crack of the tire with a toothpick- let dry - You're golden




squareslinky said:


> Hi. I am new to road bikes. Can someone explain the process for using shoe goo to repair tire cuts?
> 
> thanks.


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