Fixing punctures while out on the road....



jack06

New Member
Oct 20, 2006
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hi guys
just wondering how everyone fixes their punctures when out on the road i.e on a commute from work to home.
Do you replace the tube with your spare inner tube, then patch up the punctured tube at home?
Do you patch up the tube while you're out?
Catch a cab home and fix punture at home?
cheers
jack
 
jack06 said:
hi guys
just wondering how everyone fixes their punctures when out on the road i.e on a commute from work to home.
Do you replace the tube with your spare inner tube, then patch up the punctured tube at home?
Do you patch up the tube while you're out?
Catch a cab home and fix punture at home?
cheers
jack

When I'm on my road bike (not commuter bike) I quickly pop the wheel off and replace the tube with a spare one and continue riding. When I'm on my commuter bike, I usually cycle through the city, which means, that I have several option. I can leave the bike (of course locked) and take a bus home and get my Volvo and drive back and pick it up. Or I can walk to nearest train station with the bike and get a ride home. If everything fails, I can always call my dad .. parents loves me! Once I caught a cab ride home. The rims had cracked and there were no way I could ever have it fixed again. It was 3 o'clock in the morning and I had just finished 5 hours of cleaning at the gas plant I used to work at back in high school. Those were the good old days! :p
 
I don't commute, but if I puncture I put in the spare tube (I carry 2) and fix the puncture at home (if it's fixable). Otherwise I throw it in the trash. I'm using Specialized All Condition Armadillos just now so punctures are few and far between :):)
 
thanks strid
unfortunately, ill be living in the outer suburbs, my parents will be on the other side of the world, I don't have a car, and not enough money for a cab
cheers for the reply though :)
 
DZ-015 said:
I don't commute, but if I puncture I put in the spare tube (I carry 2) and fix the puncture at home (if it's fixable). Otherwise I throw it in the trash. I'm using Specialized All Condition Armadillos just now so punctures are few and far between :):)
thanks DZ,
yer it definetely saves time
jack
 
everone's situation is dif. i personally carry a cell phone and if i have a flat, i just call my retired parents. i used to carry a pump, tube repair kit, etc, but i had a flat once and i baked in the hot sun for like 30 minutes and the tube patch would not stick no matter what i did. i vowed that from that point on, i would not even carry a spare tube. if i flat, then i just call my folks and wait. thats it. no fumbling, no freezing hands in the winter, no baking in the summer heat.
 
vio765 said:
everone's situation is dif. i personally carry a cell phone and if i have a flat, i just call my retired parents. i used to carry a pump, tube repair kit, etc, but i had a flat once and i baked in the hot sun for like 30 minutes and the tube patch would not stick no matter what i did. i vowed that from that point on, i would not even carry a spare tube. if i flat, then i just call my folks and wait. thats it. no fumbling, no freezing hands in the winter, no baking in the summer heat.

What if they're, like, in the middle of something? :eek:
 
Xsmoker said:
What if they're, like, in the middle of something? :eek:

i know my mother paints all day and father is usually fidling around in the yard, so i know they are both dependable. father loves having a reason to leave the house out of boredom. lol. they also know that cycling is important to me and they like to help out whenever they can. so im covered. and flats are rare around where i live. all country roads that are paved well. plus i have good tires (conti grandprix 4000)
 
i carry 2 spare tubes on me at all times and change it then throw it away to me not worth fixing .



jack06 said:
hi guys
just wondering how everyone fixes their punctures when out on the road i.e on a commute from work to home.
Do you replace the tube with your spare inner tube, then patch up the punctured tube at home?
Do you patch up the tube while you're out?
Catch a cab home and fix punture at home?
cheers
jack
 
Use some genuine innovations seal n' flate or Vittoria pit stop. seal n' flate is cheaper. This take 1 min max and requires no removal of anything. You don't have to carry a pump, tube or patch and it gives you puncture protection.

Or, use GP4 seasons and don't puncture at all ;)
 
I have always had great difficulty getting the tire off the wheel when changing and I've never done it on the road as a result, always at home after I walk home with the bike.
My cycling adventures have always involved a short commute to work but since moving to Australia I am looking into purchasing a decent road bike and getting into cycling properly.
With decent road bikes and I'm guessing decent wheels is it easier to get the damn things off ? I have changed tires on various bikes over the years and have always found it difficult to get the tire off ? How do you guys/girls manage it on the open road ?
Thanks,
Steve
 
I have patched tires on the road many times. The hardest part is finding those small holes and then making sure the offending object is not still in the tire.
If you have plenty of water it is a lot easier to find the puncture by looking for the air bubbles,otherwise a pain in the butt.
A spare tube is easier.
 
jack06 said:
hi guys
just wondering how everyone fixes their punctures when out on the road i.e on a commute from work to home.
Do you replace the tube with your spare inner tube, then patch up the punctured tube at home?
Do you patch up the tube while you're out?
Catch a cab home and fix punture at home?
cheers
jack
Making sure the offending object is not still in the tire is important in either case.
I buy tubes by the case of 25 so I usually have 2 spares on board and swap it out... sometimes saving patching at home until I am nearly out of "box" spares... sometimes I just recycle the leaking tube because it takes more time than it is worth.
 
bobbyOCR said:
Use some genuine innovations seal n' flate or Vittoria pit stop. seal n' flate is cheaper. This take 1 min max and requires no removal of anything.
Hi Bobby,
Have you actually tried either of these products. I ask because I had my first puncture in over a year not long ago and had a can of the GEAX Pitstop. When I went to use it I just ended up with the white foam spraying everywhere except in the tyre. Just couldn't get the connection to the valve secure enough. Annoyed the hell out of me and wasted my time and money. Ended up changing tubes (fortunately had one on me which I had only put in my bag that morning; must've sensed it was going to happen). Positive side was that I finally had the opportunity to use the CO2 inflator I've been carrying for some months. Worked great. It's the BBB one with regulator.
 
sm0241 said:
I have always had great difficulty getting the tire off the wheel.
With decent road bikes and I'm guessing decent wheels is it easier to get the damn things off ? I have changed tires on various bikes over the years and have always found it difficult to get the tire off ? How do you guys/girls manage it on the open road ?
Thanks,
Steve
Tip, make sure you loosen the tyre beads from the rim all the way round, then at 180 degrees from where u attempt to start the removal get the beads together in the well [centre] of the rim.
Decent wheels prolly don't make it any easier, & some lightweight folding tyres are actually often harder to get off & on
 
sm0241 said:
I have always had great difficulty getting the tire off the wheel when changing and I've never done it on the road as a result, always at home after I walk home with the bike.
My cycling adventures have always involved a short commute to work but since moving to Australia I am looking into purchasing a decent road bike and getting into cycling properly.
With decent road bikes and I'm guessing decent wheels is it easier to get the damn things off ? I have changed tires on various bikes over the years and have always found it difficult to get the tire off ? How do you guys/girls manage it on the open road ?
Thanks,
Steve
Tire levers and elbow grease if you're in a hurry.
 
I carry 3 tire leavers, a valve converter, a spare tube and pump. I find that I can't pump the tire back up to 90psi so i pump it up as hard as i can and then when i go past the next petrol station, I just wip out the valve converter.
I can understand why some find it hard to change a tire, After not getting a flat for 6000kms, I got my first flat and i was unprepared and clueless. lol
 
You can buy an "Innovations Tire Repair Kit" for about $15-20 and with a spare tube, I can install and inflate a flat in minutes. I also carry a pair of rubber surgical gloves (cheap at Walmart) so I don't even get my hands greasy from the chain. I would never leave home without these things in by seat pack (been burned before).

 

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