I patch them all even the tubies. I got lots of kids to spend the extra cash on.
Dirtball

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Slowtwitch bitchist place on planet earth

I usually patch if the puncture is small and not on a seam. I know that it is only a few bucks for a tube but why throw more rubber in the landfill.

A

I haven't patched a tube in 30 years. Life is too short to bother.

50% patch, 50% toss

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I was, now I will tri again!
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Any time is a good time.
God Bless you my friend.

In training rides I carry one tube and a patch kit. I would use the spare tube first and if that one blows I'd patch it only long enough to get home and then replace it. If all else fails I'd call my wife on my cell phone and get picked up. Luckily, so far, that hasn't been necessary.

If the tube blows while on the trainer it gets tossed.

Richard

I patch, generally up to two or three times. The key for me is if the repair holds air as well as a new tube.

For those who repair their own tubies, you have my upmost respect :-)

In my younger, more naive days, I patched. I now replace. Why work my butt off 30 hours a week if I can't spend $2.25 on myself every couple of months? My wife is out right now spending $28.00 getting her toenails done.

Where are our priorities!

"Why work my butt off 30 hours a week...", Um, cry me a river, workaholic. Only 30 hours?!?!? Are you retired? ;)

Well, you know...between coffee break, checking message boards, another coffee break, 2 hour lunch, nap, ... I guess 30 hours is overstating it a bit. I'm sure I'm actually IN the office about 40 hours. But "working"...?

Finally, someone who tells the truth about how much he works!

If I were truly engaging my brain eight hours a day on work I'd probably blow a gasket.

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The deeper you get the sweeter the pain. Don't give up the game until your heart stops beating.
--New Order

Replace on the road, because it's quicker, and haul the blown one home in my jersey pocket. Then sit around one evening and patch up a bunch of tubes and use them again.

I've finally come to realize this about myself- I get upset when bad things like flats happen to me, but I get really, really upset when I do bad things to myself like screw up a patch job and get another flat because I couldn't get it right the first time. Knowing this, I save myself the inevitable heartache that comes from tracing the leak back to a bungled patch. For $3 I can protect myself from... myself. This is also why I NEVER try to adjust the front der any more. I am my own worst enemy with that infernal contraption. I can rebuild a smallblock Ford V8, but I cannot figure out how to get the front der to not rub.

I'm with Jacquie and Bernie S...I carry a spare (patched is OK for training, pristine for races) and a patch kit (training only). I reserve punctures as I go and on a rainy/snowy day I'll patch the whole batch. I'll patch for training spare purposes as many times as necessary, tossing only if/when a particular tube collects more patches in one place than another and sets up a rumble at speed from the imbalance. Rare. I toss splits and bad valves right away, but a $2 patch kit buys me 6-7 "new" tubes.



Carl - who has a couple tubes with 5+ patches...generally the ultralight ones, of course

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Carl Matson

What type of patch do you use? The instant/glueless or traditional patches?

I know this wasn't directed at me, but I'll chime in regardless. Traditional patches about 99% of the time. I used to use the quickie glueless (best results with the Park version) on my MTB tires as ride-savers with some success, but high pressure roadie/tri stuff just doesn't seem to be their bailiwick. I've been known to use them for boots in road tires when I get a particularly large cut, and so I generally carry them on training rides for that purpose.

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Carl Matson

Mostly glueless. One rider I know says the glueless never stick for him, so he only uses the traditional ones.

         I've been working six or seven days a week since mid February. Sunday was my first day off in three weeks. 66 hours this week and still training. Not like I would like to but I'm still getting some workouts done. Sometimes my three to five mile run around Yankee Stadium in the morning is all I can get in. I'm just glad to that done. I'm finishing up a job for Metro North RR in NYC and hope to get life back to normal by the end of April. First couple races, Columbia and Blackwater will be a little slow this year! And no I don't patch tubes, sometimes I don't even fix a flat for a week, just ride the other bicycle!

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

I always take with me some patches but also a tube. I pat once to three times. Then I toss the tubes.
I never tried the glueless patches. But I have some and will use them to fix my next flat and try them out.