Doh… a wee sidehop had my rear tyre come into contact with a sharp piece of metal about 4 miles into a planned 35 mile all day mountain epic.

Normally damage like this would be game over but I carry a piece of old jeans/shorts material usually wrapped around my spare tubes and tool kit.

It took a few goes to get it sitting right inside the tyre when the tube was blown up so as to not feel the constricted section of innertube – aim for the fabric tube to fit the tyre dimension not the tube!

Continue on the ride the remaining 30+ miles including two fantastic fast rocky doonhalls with big rain ditches.

Throw tyre in bin when you get home

or just cut a spare piece of milk carton/bottle and leve in your pack

A fag packet works too, with enough gaffa tape

Or a tyre boot. Many ways to do it; anything that salvages a ride is a good thing.

How to: Make a tyre boot

I used a piece of bark on my road bike when the tyre blew out the side wall – got me home in the dark and rain 🙂

Also recently I purchased some nice thick fibre impregnated patches used for the inside of tractor tyres – they work a treat 🙂

Or you van do it properly with a weldtite external (or internal) tubeless repair kit for about £3.

An energy bar wrapper is the traditional tyre boot of choice. I once rode 30 miles round the New Forest flint trails using one on my Brompton with the kids. Only problem is that one has to eat the energy bar first 🙄

Or you van do it properly with a weldtite external (or internal) tubeless repair kit for about £3.

You can’t do it with an external for sure as I already use one and you can’t mend great big side wall rips like that!

An the internal patches are poss not strong enough for a side wall rip – not that I have ever repaired one like that – I’d bin it myself or use a bit tractor tyre patch and adhesive using a reinforced patch 🙂