Comments on: Cyclist tip: Change your patch kit glue

By: Obscura!

Obscura! — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:56:17 +0000

I started using slime a few years ago and haven’t had to fix a flat yet. I get punctures all the time and they self seal. It’s fun when you hear pssst… pssst… pssst… pssst… and then it stops.

By: john t

john t — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:21:09 +0000

I got sick of flats, so I got quality thorn-proof tubes. There is so much broken glass where I ride I that could count on a flat a day without them. No more pinch flats, and you hardly ever have to add air due to normal losses. One of these days, I am going to get a flat, and I will hardly remember how to fix it. I haven’t had a flat in years, and I ride all the time.

By: pedalmaniac

pedalmaniac — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:54:10 +0000

I always have a few glueless patches with me but I have found that they don’t “hold” well over the long run. I will always use my spare tube first and then use the glueless in a “pinch” if I have run out of spare tubes.

Another reason for not using the glueless patches is the fact that I feel bad about throwing out tubes. Because I have found that the glueless don’t work as well as traditional patches over time I figure that if a tube has a single glueless on it it is not worth fixing again and I will discard it. I feel bad about this so I will tend to use traditional patches on a tube until there is no more tube to patch.

But, again, in a pinch the glueless has saved my bacon a few times.

By: Noah

Noah — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:13:13 +0000

I have a total of five Glueless patches on my Trek 1200. Three in front and two in the back. I’ve had them on for about 5 months now, and I’d say the oldest of them has seen about 1,000 miles. These are Park Tool glueless patches installed on 25-28mm inner-tubes inside 25mm Bontrager tires and pumped to 100-110 PSI. I didn’t ride it much over the winter, but at one point it went 6 weeks without being ridden. The front tube was down to 65 PSI and the rear was down to 80 PSI.

I’ve noticed 3 situations where glueless doen’t work well at all (or at least, they’ve failed me plenty:
* If you get a pinch flat where you have to cover 2 punctures close together. Glueless patches like to be centered over a puncture, and sometimes two patches overlapping doesn’t cut it.
* If the puncture is adjacent or on a molding seam. You have to work to really smooth that seam out or you’ll have problems.
* If you’re running tubes that are “just big enough” for your tires, like 22-25mm tubes in 25mm tires. They stretch too much upon inflation and come loose.

Like CO2 inflation, I like glueless patches because they’re small, quick and easy when they work. Neither is a sure-fire deal, however, and I make sure to have an “out” plan.

By: Dave Lloyd

Dave Lloyd — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:21:05 +0000

I patched the tube in my front tire with a glueless patch about six months ago; it’s been long enough that I’ve forgotten exactly when. Oddly, my front tire holds air better than my rear.

The Park glueless patches cost a bit more, but are definitely worth it.

By: Justin

Justin — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 02:21:45 +0000

Glueless patches are okay for getting you home, for sure. I am of the mind to replace your tube as soon as you get a hole in it, but that hasn’t happened in the year and some odd months since I got my Marathon XRs.