Manged to put a hole in my tubeless tyre today, on the tread pattern not the sidewall.
Thinking of putting a big puncture repair patch over it on the inside, anyone successfully done this. Any proper kits worth looking at?
B
yes - I've done this several times - got about 4 or 5 patches in an old tyre that I started running tubeless
I have one of those big strips of patch that can be cut to size
Works well. I either use a big inner tube patch or a bit of inner tube cut up. Just make sure that it's a good bit bigger than the hole.
That sticky string that you can use is v. good too. It normally works no problems, especially on the tread rather than the sidewall. It's perfect for a trail repair because you can fix it without taking the bead off and can normally inflate the tyre no problems again.
I have used the sticky string stuff 4 times now with no problems. This is a combination of UST tyres, lightweight tyres, holes in the tread area and up against the bead.
Using a proper UST tubeless patch with the proper (blue for some reason) glue seems to work the best.
Ordinary tube patches are stretchy - great for inflatable tubes but rubbish for tyres. A largeish hole will have the patch pushing through it in no time. UST patches don't stretch.
The only real problem is that most kits only have 2 patches and cost about 6 quid. Unicorn horn is obviously used to stop the stretch or make the glue blue.
The slug things are a temporary fix, great on the trail, but won't last more than a few rides without using a proper patch.
Pinches on the bead area are tricky - reccomendations have included bunging the hole up with superglue so that sealant has more area to stick to.
so how does the sticky string work?
Sticky string, 'slugs' - you make the hole bigger (mistake in my eyes) with a file coated in tyre vulcanising glue, then you prod in the sticky black slug with a special tool half way into the hole. Hey presto, a big hole with a big black bogey sticking out of it! Stops the passage of air though.
You put it on a needle, soak it in glue and poke it through the tyre. Then pull the middle back out again so you have a big W shape with the two loose ends and the middle sticking through the tyre.
Like this: --W-- sticking through the tyre where the W is the string and the -- is the tyre.
You cut the middle of the W so you can remove the needle and then you are left with something like this --VV-- sticking through the tyre. You trim the ends down a bit and it's now a --vv--.
Make sense?
It basically plugs the hole and combined with the sealant creates a repair.
doug - I didn't realise you were supposed to pull the middle back out again... I thought my kit said you make a ---V--- rather than a ---W--- though I've not had any of them fail....
Jon, how do you get the needle back out if you don't pull the middle back out? Note: I might be being slow, it's been a long day!
Edit: I see maybe you put the needle at one end of the string, push in one end and then pull it out again? I think you're meant to do the W thing, that's why the string is that lenght.
I have used sticky slug things when out on the trail. They seem like a decent fix to me. Ridden many times on them since without a problem.
I have used sticky slug things when out on the trail. They seem like a decent fix to me. Ridden many times on them since without a problem.
+1 - I use the patches on the inside if its a sidewall problem or a bigger hole?
When the AA man was last fixing my car I had the bike in the back and mentioned doing this W type of fix (as he had some slime in the van for fixing punctures in cars with no spare).
He said that this was similair to fixing motorcycle punctures, so the method must be somewhat robust.
I cut and old (thick) innertube down and stuck it over the hole, then glued a piece of plastic (milk bottle) to that to give it some stiffness and then another pice of innertube over that to make sure if I had to run a tube in it the plastic would not puncture the tube.
It's held up now for 8 months with no sign of the patch peeping through the hole and held the air well.
Might be overkill but it worked on a decent sized split
I cut and old (thick) innertube down and stuck it over the hole, then glued a piece of plastic (milk bottle) to that to give it some stiffness and then another pice of innertube over that to make sure if I had to run a tube in it the plastic would not puncture the tube.
It's held up now for 8 months with no sign of the patch peeping through the hole and held the air well.
Might be overkill but it worked on a decent sized split