I used Vittoria Pit stop on a tire that had a small puncture hole in it and it seemed to work just fine as far as stopping the air leak with it sitting in my garage, but I was curious whether you would trust it to continue holding in a race when the consequence of it failing are so high. I would love to be able to continue using this tire as it has literally 4 rides on it and it would be a shame to dump and reglue if I can ge away with the Pit Stop holding up :).
Brandon
I’ve raced on one with a 1/2 inch gash sealed by about 5 coats of tufo sealant. Cut happened on it’s first “break-in” ride and no way I was ditching a $100 tire after 2 miles. The sealant has held up for about 100 race/testing miles and 10 months, and pressures up to 120.
Personally, I wouldn’t, I would just get the new tire.
Guess that depends on what is more valuable to you: $100 bucks or not worrying about whether your patched tire is going to hold up in the big race you spent 20 weeks training for, let alone the $250 - $550 you dropped in the entry fee if it’s a WTC event.
I’m with Bryan, get the new tire. Or be like Chrissy and switch to clinchers…
How about pulling the tire and fixing it? Doesn’t anyone patch tubulars anymore?
How about pulling the tire and fixing it? Doesn’t anyone patch tubulars anymore?
He’s done 5 for me in the last year. Butyl tubes only, and he leaves some glue on the sides of the tire, but they’re nicely sewn, round, and ride just fine.
I’ve never had any issues riding/racing on a Pit Stopped tire. I did so for about 300 miles last year. I consider Pit Stop to be a near permanent fix. If Pit Stop does not fix the tire, it’s toast, if Pit Stop works, it’s good to race/ride on.
I’m with ironshoe on this one. I once sliced a new ProRace 2 Light tire on its maiden voyage less than three miles out from my house. I was not happy, but changed the tire anyway. I patched the slice and put it on a training wheel where it rolled along for four or five months before it blew out one day, through the slice. I swapped out the tube and rode it home on low pressure and then tossed the tire.
Most races cost more than the price of a good tubular so why would you risk a tire issue after putting up the money, and more importantly, spending the time to train? On the other hand, the one thing I patched with Pit Stop held air just fine afterwards. This kind of decision helped push me to clinchers, especially after somebody tested a highly patched (10, I think) latex tube at the same crr as a new one.
Chad
Maybe it’s muddling along in the middle but you could also pump in some Caffelatex in addition to the sealant from the Pit Stop.
I’d also factor in how critical is the race to your season, and how much travel is involved? If I had a few local B races to do, and had a handful of successful test rides on the tire before them, I’d roll the dice and keep using it. For an A race that involves a plane ticket, I’d replace the tire.
Anyone know whether there’s an expiration date for Pit Stop? I have a can that’s several years old that I’ve never ussed. Will it still be good? Thanks.