• I have a whole drawer full of patched tubes that I save for "just in case". Probably never going to use them, but I have a hard time throwing away rubber like that.
• Yes, if the patch isn't put on well it will sometimes leak around the edge.
• Not a favorite brand, but I've found the patches with glue work WAY better than the glue-less ones.
• Use the glue! Rough the tube up with the sandpaper in your patch kit, spread the glue on, let it dry, then smash the patch on there.
• I've gone tubeless now, but when I had tubes, I would patch it on the side of the road rather than changing the whole tube.

I used to have a lot of problems with patches leaking. Like I was maybe 30% getting a good patch.

I'm almost 100% after I made one change (okay, maybe 2).

1) Make sure you rough up the tube well, and eliminate any injection ridges .

and... (this is the big one)

2) I put glue on the tube and the patch. Wait for the glue to flash off completely -- NO wet area -- and press together with some air in the tube. Put it in the tire immediately and inflate.

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Over the years I've had several tubes that exceeded 10 patches before I retired them. Out of many hundreds of patches I've had only a half a dozen or less ever leaked. To do a great job you need to clean the patch area well with Naptha or high test alcohol and abrade the now clean surface with appropriate sand paper. I've had great luck with Rema cement and patches and buy the glue in the large metal container. I only apply glue to the tube being certain to cover an area beyond where the patch will sit. Let the glue dry completely. Don't be in a hurry. Press the patch down hard on the deflated tube. I like to use the bottom of a spoon to really mash it into the tube. I never patch on the road but instead carry a couple of spares. Being sweaty and in a hurry don't go along with good patching procedures.

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

I try to not orchard on the road.‘it’s a lot harder and more annoying with all the dirt sweat etc

Batch patch at home. I’ve had no problems with butyl and latex tube patches. I buy a new $5 park tool patch kit before patching and then I do several at once

No real special tricks other than that I put a lot of glue to go a lot past the patch margin. I clean the tube but nothing crazy just the small sandpaper in the patch kit.

I tend to use the patched tube immediately so I’ll actually remove an unpatched mounted tube and replace with the patched one. I try to run on patched tubes and keep spares as new.

It's... a contact adhesive. That's how they're designed to work. I'm always somewhat amazed at how some people never figure this one out...

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
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The adhesive is already on the Rema patches and any other brand I’ve ever used. Now if you’re patching latex with a scrap of old tube, in that case both tube and patch must have cement applied.

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Yup... but two things:

- Rema (and etc) patches tend to sit around and get old and contaminated to the point that it's still just a good idea to apply new adhesive to them. Some of the off-brand versions, it's pretty much mandatory.

- Most people that I have seen patch tubes just glop the cement on the patch and then plop the glopped patch on the tube.

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

I’ve found the foil covering on Rema patches to do a fantastic job at keeping the important surface perfectly clean. I’ve used many hundreds of them and have never had a problem. If someone carries them around for years in their wallet or saddle bag like hopeful young men use to do with a condoms then all bets are off;)

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

That definitely hasn't been my experience. Here are the ones currently in the little green box in the seatbag on my bike -






... this is just from rattling around in the box. Rema patches are a couple of rides old. Lots of offroad miles, but (shrugs). I think living in the PNW is likely a factor as well; contents of seatbags tend to get absolutely destroyed in a relatively short time up here due to time spent riding in the wet.


Regardless, these are all in great shape relative to the ones I routinely saw people having trouble applying back in my bike shop days.

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

I patch tubes because I hate throwing away a tube just because of a tiny pinhole. I'll throw a tube away if it got sliced, if it got damaged at the valve base, or if there seems to be multiple holes and I don't feel like finding and patching them all.

I'm still using a box of small round Rema patches and a tube of Rema cement that I bought over 10 years ago. The key thing for me was watching Youtube and learning that you have a wait a few minutes to let the cement get tacky before putting the patch on the tube. What I do now is lightly sand the area to be patched, apply some cement, wait 5 minutes, apply a second coat of cement, wait 5 minutes, and then apply the patch. After awhile I'll pump the tube up and see if it holds air overnight.

On the road I'll put in a spare tube because finding the hole and patching it will take too long. I do carry a little glueless patch kit to be used as a last resort but never had to use it.

I've also patched latex tubes using a piece of an old latex tube instead of a Rema patch. I still use the Rema cement.

Of course the main thing is to run good tires and ride smartly to avoid getting flats in the first place. I'm convinced the 80/20 rule applies to any cycling group. 20% of the riders will get 80% of the flats over a season. Might even be 90/10.

When I think the valve won't hold up any more

Yes, but it's not often, maybe once every 5 years. When i patch at home i normally put that tube back into a wheel.

No, but i don't like the pre glued ones

Clean and roughed up surface to bond to

Swap tubes, if i get a second flat i will choose the easier one to patch

Patch it right there, especially in a race… if the reason for the flat, is still stuck in the tire… and 9 times out of 10, it still is. If so, you don’t need to take the wheel off the bike. This seems to be a lost art from the old days, when tires flatted much more often. I’m amazed at how many times I’ve seen folks remove wheels and tires out on the road, without inspecting the cause for the flat first.

As you are riding, as soon as you detect a flat, stop, and inspect the tire. Most of the time, the thorn/glass/nail/goat head/whatever, is still stuck in the tire. This tells you right where the puncture is. Leave the wheel on the bike. Pop just enough of the bead off one side of the tire, to pull the tube out, patch the hole, don’t forget to remove offending object, stuff the tube back in, reseat the tire bead, air up and go. Out in the wind and the sun, the glue dries in seconds, and this can be done in much less time than fighting wheel removal and tube changes. And it’s especially nice not to deal with rear wheel hassles.

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Athlinks / Strava

I've tried this for my past 3-4 flats, and I could find nothing any time.

Amen to this ^^^ Did it all the time while commuting before I went tubeless. Usually a chunk of glass, or a screw, or something obvious. Pop that part of the tube out, patch it, shove it back in. Way faster than removing the whole wheel and replacing the tube. On the rare occasions the cause wasn't obvious, removing the whole tube and pumping it usually revealed the leak. I think only once I had to replace a tube because I just couldn't figure where the leak was coming from to patch it.

When do you throw away an inner tube?
five patches is my usual rule of thumb, or a leak around the base of the valve which is unpatcheable, that usually happens before 5.

Do you ever find the patch being the cause of a leak?
fifty-five years of patching, not yet.
Exception - the only leaks I've had came from using newfangled pre-glued patches which claimed to have adhesive already installed, peel and stick. That doesn't work. Clean, rough up, apply adhesive to both tube and patch, wait for it to dry, apply and give it a couple minutes hard pressure.

Do you have a favorite brand of patch?
nope

Any special tips for getting a good patch to hold?
as with any glue work preparation is 90% of the job. Protocol as above.

If you get a leak on the road, do you patch right there or swap tubes?
swap tubes, patch at home, swap patched tube back into tire. This does two things, one is ensure the patch is holding and I found whatever punctured it in the tire, the other is to apply further pressure on the patch/glue bond while it cures fully. This second part may be merest superstition, on the other hand it's worked for fifty-five years..

-There really isn't a limit to patches per tube, since each is probably in a separate area of the tube.

-Carry a spare tube (new or patched) with you on rides. The patch kit on rides is really "get home" insurance in case of multiple flats, but it's better to patch at home.

-The biggest cause of patch failures are the raised seams on many butyl tubes that keep the patch from sitting flat. Make sure to sand these down before applying the patch.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

A disposable razor works fantastically well for shaving off the seam flash quickly prior to a light sanding of the patch area.

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

I patch all my latex tubes w/ sacrificial latex tubes. It saves on money and it also saves the planet (however small).

I Usually patch it at home (on the road will swap to a spare butyl) then fix back to bike and inflate. Wait the next day and see if it works well. if still holds air, then I consider it fixed.