Today’s quick tip comes to us from Kerry Irons, whose informative comments you’ve probably noticed on many RBR newsletter articles. It’s a follow-on to another recent tip. Here’s what Kerry wrote:
As a follow up to Quick Tip Keep Your Repair Kit Up to Date, I have gotten into the habit of stuffing my punctured inner tube into my jersey pocket rather than putting it back into the seat bag.
From too much experience, I know I can forget, just as Russ Wood did, and neglect to patch that tube.
It’s ungainly and not sleek to carry a used tube stuffed into your jersey pocket, but with my punctured tube in my pocket (instead of “hidden away” in my seat bag) I’m 100% guaranteed to patch the punctured tube when I get home.
THEN – and only then – does it go back into the seat bag.
the risk is getting the jersey dirty from tire/wheel gunk.. but good idea anyway..
Patch the tube and put it back in the wheel. Unpatched tube goes in the seat bag.
“From too much experience, I know I can forget, just as Russ Wood did, and neglect to patch that tube.”
Been there, done that.
Craig Farrell: all of my tubes have patches, typically several patches. The tubes on the bike have patches and the tube in the seat bag has patches. Every 40,000 miles or so I might have a patch fail so I consider a patched tube to be just as reliable as a new tube. I throw out a tube when it fails, not when it needs a patch.
I pretty much agree. However, I will not patch (a) a pinch (snake bite) flat, (b) where I have to overlap a preexisting patch, or (c) so close to the stem that I know it will not hold. Notwithstanding, I prefer to have unpatched tubes in my saddle bag and will switch out a tube after I get home. The risk of a failed patch is low, but the burden of precaution is also low. If a patch is not holding air, I’d rather find out at home.
I carry 3 tubes (the enemy is Tribulus terrestris fruits…also known as goat heads in New Mexico). I put the defective tube in my pocket, replace it in my saddle bag when I get home. The defective tube goes to my sun room where it is patched after I have 3 defectives. Three patches is the max before tube is tossed.
Old thread but timeless topic!
I always stuff the old tube in my jersey pocket.
1. Too hard to stuff it back into my small seatbag.
2. Forces me to eval the tube after the ride to check how/where it punctured (check tire/wheel for anything that might predispose to future punctures)
3. GUARANTEES that old tube does not get left on roadside as trash.
4. Possible emergency re-use…..might need to try patching it on the road if I get another flat
I just wanted to add a discovery I just made, although I have been riding since ’71. Slime works! I got tired of fixing flats on my little e-bike. It happened a lot, even with my Schwalbe Marathons. It is a real hassle to patch a rear tire flat because of dealing with the derailleurs, chain, calipers, wire and heavy motor. So the last time I had a flat, I just tried Slime. I didn’t even ever fix the leak, didn’t even remove the tube. I just squeezed in some Slime and inflated it. That was about a month ago. I did get flat again, but it was just the very slow leak all tubes have. I pumped it back up, and it is hard a day later. I don’t work for Slime, in fact reviews show that Flatout is even better. I haven’t tried it, though. Now I think I’ll fill my (tubed) gravel bike tires. Not much different than going tubeless with Sans. Maybe slightly heavier. But a lot less trouble.
I’m using Sunlite tubes I buy in bulk boxes of 50 and split with friends. We’re talking $2.25 per tube. Flats go in the trash! I’m not patching any more!
I don’t bother patching a tube which leaks extremely slowly when I pump it up back home, and I can’t find the leak – I figure it’s likely a faulty valve (I would never bother to try and fix a flat tube on the road – waste of time). However, I always cut the valve part off and use the rest of the tube as a tie-down. I have garden trellises and fenceposts secured with old inner tubes, and have tied many things down on my roof rack. Once you tie something down with a used inner tube, the knot never gives way. Besides, my wife and I have gone tubeless on 3 of our bikes, so find that inner tubes with a few patches on them are a good donor of valve cores for our tubeless setup!
The punctured tube goes in the jersey to fix it when I get home and when I have verified that the patch works well, I mount it on the wheel that was there, so the tube without patches is once again the spare. If a patch failed I would see it at home, not on the road.
Been doing it that way for quite a few decades. I guarantee that if I don’t put the punctured tube in a pocket, I’m bound to forget about it.