Just threw away a tube without patching because I was lazy and I used sealant in it so it was stuck in all different twist and directions so figured not worth the effort. But it got me thinking… would you race on a patched tube? I personally would not. But curios about everyone else’s opinions.
With all that said having only one set of wheels and my old road bike permanently dedicated to the trainer I don’t even patch at all. Maybe now in the fall that all my races are done I might. But with that said it just ensures I don’t lose another tube between now and June.
I think the only time I would race on a patched tube, is if I had gone a really long time on the patched tube without any leaking or other problems. Just maybe that patched tube is better than a brand new tube. You’ve given it a second chance, and now it wants to pay you back with longevity. Throw it away, or not use it on race day and you’re cursed. Lol
Actually, I’d probably use a patched tube on the front, but not the back. Way too much going on in the back. Or is there? Any studies or research on which tire pops more? I’m guessing rear, but I dunno.
Yes, and I have. A properly patched tube is stronger in the patch area, than the original tube. This is also why I always put the tire lettering at the valve stem, so that the patched area of the tube, is (hopefully) where the tire puncture is, for double protection.
Yep. Race? Train, mountain bike (til i went tubeless there on the ‘main’ full susser mtb a couple of years ago) and commute on patched tubes for years.
Only thing is they are butyl, not latex, if that makes any difference.
Tubes are so cheap that I don’t understand why you would take the risk. You spent hundreds, if not thousands on preparing for race day that it seems silly to cheap out the $7.00 (or whatever they go for these days, I’ve been tubeless for 4.5 years) for a tube.
Tubes are so cheap that I don’t understand why you would take the risk. You spent hundreds, if not thousands on preparing for race day that it seems silly to cheap out the $7.00 (or whatever they go for these days, I’ve been tubeless for 4.5 years) for a tube.
I don’t see a risk in using a patched tube. I would add, I would NOT be using a patched tube that was patched the morning of, or even the few days before - I would actually strongly prefer to not use any product that gets load and wear, new, untested, within 7 days of the race.
I ‘batch’ patch my tubes, meaning I wait until I have like 3-5 of them and then I batch patch all of them. With a new patch kit (I use a new one every time), they never fail, and in the rare case they do fail, it’s one of those ‘flat-overnight’ situations, never an on-road patch failure. Once you get the tire up to 100psi, the pressure alone encourages the patches to really stay put.
And then you can have that tube on, tested in the several shorter workouts prior to race day, until you’re 100% confident in it.
I’ll also admit that now that Zwift+Kickr is here, I ride so infrequently outdoors that I haven’t batch patched for years (!!) although when I was mostly outdoor riding, I’d have a month or two where I’d get like 4 flats in a short period of time, and when tubes are $10/each for the longer stem ones, it’s cost efficient to spend 20 minutes to patch them all.
I could understand this question if you’re on a borrowed bike to attempt a local $35 tri, bike race, du or whatever. Because that’s all you can afford.
Otherwise…NO. Seriously. Butyl tubes are what? $3? Latex is like $12?
I’ve had people try to give me a fiver for me giving them a butyl tube on the side of the road. No dude/dudette. It’s yours, enjoy. It’s a tube.
I could understand this question if you’re on a borrowed bike to attempt a local $35 tri, bike race, du or whatever. Because that’s all you can afford.
Otherwise…NO. Seriously. Butyl tubes are what? $3? Latex is like $12?
I’ve had people try to give me a fiver for me giving them a butyl tube on the side of the road. No dude/dudette. It’s yours, enjoy. It’s a tube.
5 tubes @ $10 each, patched in 20 minutes = $150/hr. And that’s POST tax money. I’ll take that any day!
Tubes are so cheap that I don’t understand why you would take the risk. You spent hundreds, if not thousands on preparing for race day that it seems silly to cheap out the $7.00 (or whatever they go for these days, I’ve been tubeless for 4.5 years) for a tube.
I don’t see a risk in using a patched tube. I would add, I would NOT be using a patched tube that was patched the morning of, or even the few days before - I would actually strongly prefer to not use any product that gets load and wear, new, untested, within 7 days of the race.
I ‘batch’ patch my tubes, meaning I wait until I have like 3-5 of them and then I batch patch all of them. With a new patch kit (I use a new one every time), they never fail, and in the rare case they do fail, it’s one of those ‘flat-overnight’ situations, never an on-road patch failure. Once you get the tire up to 100psi, the pressure alone encourages the patches to really stay put.
And then you can have that tube on, tested in the several shorter workouts prior to race day, until you’re 100% confident in it.
l.
This about sums up my approach too.
I’d NOT patch a tube the night before and then go racing with it untested. (Same for all repairs / maintenance).
To counter the ‘just go new’ I actually put 2x new tubes in with 2 new GP5000 tyres a couple of weeks ago (i have a long race next week). Guess what… one of the new tubes (Conti) had a leak from the valve bonded attachment to the tube from the get-go !! Went down slowly and the fault was the bond of the valve ‘patch’ into the tube (not from any road debris etc).
Replaced with… yep… patched one ! And that’s still up now.
I never lose sleep over latched tubes. Either the patch is good or not. I do not think I have ever had one “go badâ€.
Typically I will hold my punctured tubes, then when I have few I patch them. I will replace the tubes currently in my wheel with the newly patched ones. I then put the removed ones as my on the bike spares.
This way I’m not bothered handing out a tube “patched but known to be good†to those riders who can’t be bothered carrying a tube themselves
I do not think I have ever had one “go badâ€. The only one I’ve had fail was a glueless patch. It took 3 years to dry out. I sanded down the residue and used a glue patch. I’ll be pleased if I get another 3 years out of that tube.
Yes, and I have. A properly patched tube is stronger in the patch area, than the original tube. This is also why I always put the tire lettering at the valve stem, so that the patched area of the tube, is (hopefully) where the tire puncture is, for double protection.
Exactly! This is why I puncture all my race tubes in a bunch of places and repair them. Makes them stronger, whatever doesn’t kill you and all that. Never once had a flat during a race to this day.
I train on the wheels I race on, and I only use latex in them. So when I do flat, I will patch them when I get home if the hole is just a small puncture. Assuming it patches properly, which it does about 95% of the time, I just leave it in there. If it’s part of the 5% that didn’t patch well for whatever reason (usually user error), you’ll know within 24 hours or your next ride. No real reason to swap it out just for races and put the patched tube back in for training afterwards. That’s just overthinking things unless we’re talking about patching a tube 1-2 days before the race.