morning all.

cycling down garburn pass last night I get a puncture from, of all things, a needle. don't think it was a junkie who likes fell walking, most likely something to do with agriculture or a trap laid by a fell walker. anyway, it quickly flattened my rear tyre. I pumped back up and the sealant partly did its job so I kept pumping up a couple more times rather than put a tube in as this was the last bit of the ride anyway.

Hole is prob 2mm wide. was just about to order a new tyre but thought there might be some genius repair tips out there for when the hole is just too big for the sealant but not massive.

cheers in advance
Dave

old piece of tyre + superglue!

tubeless repair kit:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=79&ModelID=34775

Geninue Innovations do a "tubeless tire repair kit"(sic). I've seen it in use. You push a rubber strip into the tyre and it seals up and seems to work ok.

In my experience the tubless repair kit + sealant works well for most small holes on the main tread of the tyre but on the sidewall won't work. On the sidewall I've used a peice of inner tube superglued on and it's worked perfectly for many, many miles!

i did the same coming down moor lane at the back of Grizedale, have stuck a bit of the kit nickjib mentions above in the hole and left it, its stayed up fine for over a month.

I know that you can get kits for motorcycle tyres that have some sort of rubber bung that goes in the hole. They're probably a little oversized for MTB tyres though. Buy one of the kits mentioned above. Personally I'd try supergluing a piece of inner tube both inside and outside the tyre wall. Obviously the outside patch would depend on position. I have found that superglue is pretty good at actually closing a hole in a road tyre with no reinforcement. No problems so far.

Silly string didnt work for me, 5mm hole twixt the tread, it just popped out, so used a thicker than normal patch (on the inside) , held up fine. Used silly string on the sidewall and that was OK.

I've got the panaracer kit that nickjb posted the link for. It sealed a 5mm cut in a tyre from a massive thorn no problems.

I'm surprised that the tyre sealant didn't plug a 2mm hole though. What are you using and how long has it been in the tyre?

cheers for the advice so far – think it's worth a try a small bit of old some tube or if not I'll get the kit. I did wonder about the sealant, but it's only about 8 months old; it's some bontrager stuff from the LBS. seems to work well with not very much in (no puncture that I know for nearly three years) – could be worth a try at tipping a load more of that in… but then I'm a bit of a weight weenie!

Can't believe anyone runs tubeless and doesn't carry a tubeless repair kit?

I prefer the Weldtite one over the Panaracer one but both are quick and easy to use compared to fixing a tube.

I use the 'anchovy' things for trail side repairs but these;

http://www.justridingalong.com/shop.php?product=82

are much better as a long term solution.

If its a small hole I just use a normal inner tube patch. Didn't think of super glue, shall re-ignite some of my old tires tonight!

Can't believe anyone runs tubeless and doesn't carry a tubeless repair kit?

I prefer the Weldtite one over the Panaracer one but both are quick and easy to use compared to fixing a tub

do they still work if the tyre has sealant in, or does this affect the rubber cement from bonding properley?

ed34 – they're designed to work with the sealant still in – you don;t need to unmount the tyre just put a good gob of glue and force the strip of anchovy in, wait a couple of mins and then reinflate.

They work pretty well and I did run a tyre with one in for a couple of months – they 'feel' a nit temporary though – you're left with this wadge of stuff sticking out the tyre.

I use the 'anchovy' things for trail side repairs but these;

http://www.justridingalong.com/shop.php?product=82

are much better as a long term solution.

wwaswas, i have one of those kits, did you use the sachet of hand cleaner ever? Its bizarre stuff, looks like white liquid soap but when you rub your hands it dries and flakes odd taking all the dirt + grease with it. I've been trying to find them seperately but only seem available in France 🙁

On the trail I would just use an inner tube and something to stop it bulging out the hole if needs be. I don't run sealant so this is an easy/clean fix.

Back home I've used tube patches on tiny holes, and a combination of bigger tube patches and Freesole/Shoegoo for slightly bigger ones.

I don't trust Freesole to stay airtight but I like to think it re-enforces the tyre enough to let the patch do its job.

ed34 – I *think* you're supposed to use it to clean the inside of the tyre – at least that's what the instructions imply.

To be honest I've never opened them as I've used the kit at home and just rubbed with a cloth and then a bit of emery paper to clean up the tyre.

I used the Weldtite kit to fix a ~2mm hole in the tread area…

It's basically a tube of superglue and a pretty standard patch so you probably have all the kit you need to do the same repair already at home, A canibalised old tube or tyre and some Superglue would work just as well, just clean the area and apply a good dollop plus your patch and then re-inflate… Jobs a goodun…

What about a piece of innertube and rubber solution – make sure both sufaces are cleaned with alcohol?

wwaswas this is what came in mine
http://www.velox.fr/fr/index.php?art=16&th=20

Had a picture of hands on it so i guessed it was for that, but yeah it could have been for cleining the tyre with 😳 Its worth trying it for the novelty value though! never seen hand cleaner like it, i thought it was just going to be an alcohol wipe, but it worked loads better.

do they still work if the tyre has sealant in, or does this affect the rubber cement from bonding properley?

Yes. Never had a problem with it anyway.

I used the Weldtite kit to fix a ~2mm hole in the tread area…

It's basically a tube of superglue and a pretty standard patch so you probably have all the kit you need to do the same repair already at home, A canibalised old tube or tyre and some Superglue would work just as well, just clean the area and apply a good dollop plus your patch and then re-inflate… Jobs a goodun…

No its not its a squidgy worm thing that you insert with a tool from the outside and standard rubber cement that reacts with the stuff on the worm to stick.

Repairs are permanent enough for me – I've had 'em in until the tyre wears out in some cases.