Just giving ye olde commuter ratbike it’s annual medical and the Bonty Race Lite on the rear looks like it’s gone 10 rounds with Freddy Kruger’s tiny brother thanks to that London’s junk-strewn streets.

No punctures for a while (save for a staple getting itself in there last month) and only one bit of flint to pick out.

Ive heard tell of people gluing the little holes up in their road tyres. Is this a good thing or unnecessary?

What glue for it? I have in the workshop
Epoxy,
Superglue (Cyanoacrylate),
Araldite,
PVA,
Silicone sealant,
Glue gun
and vulcanising solution.

ideas?

I’ve never done it but I know superglue is used by some people for this, not sure if it’s the best though as I thought it goes hard/brittle?

superglue works more as a temp fix out on a ride as it’s too brittle for a long term fix. Some one on here recommended a silicon based fix for longer tubeless cuts can’t remember if it was the “run of the mill” stuff or something more specialized.

well Ive got to pop into the bike shop today for some pads for it so I shall ask in there. If it’s expensive stuff distilled from unicorn hooves I’ll give it a miss.

superglue works more as a temp fix out on a ride as it’s too brittle for a long term fix

This. I used to routinely go round and glue up cuts when removing flints with superglue – but a few simple experiments proved it to be a complete waste of time as a) the glue is much stiffer than the rubber and b) much more brittle. So, after a very short time, the cut reopens, either because rubber has failed adjacent to the glue or the cured glue has simply crushed and broken up. If there is a better glue out there, I’m all ears……

rubberized superglue, it has some flex in it.

I bought Shoe Goo for this but ended up buying new tyres

I just superglue them. Have done since the mid 90s.
Deflate tire, go round and pick out pieces of glass etc, drop of glue into each cut, suspend wheel of floor, leave for a couple of hours, reinflate, put back on bike. Every 2 months or so.

I tried superglue, same experience as BristolBiker.

cheers guys, will whip out the superglue as a stop gap. The tyre is some armour guard type thing anyway so seems to hold up well to punctures.

Superglue is not durable as it is ultimately water-soluble (research how it dries) and usually states not to be used in a wet environment. It is also too stiff, so fails by peeling off the flexing rubber.

Best I have found is vulcanizing solution….patch glue.

Epoxy and contact adhesives all fail very quickly too.

Not tried silicone, but cannot see how it will fare better.

PaulD

do you just slop the vulcanising solution in the hole PaulD?

I clean it out with petrol and leave to dry, then slop in the glue and leave it to dry and finally push the cut closed.

Not ideal, but best so far.

PaulD

I use shoe goo. This is just to fill the gap up and stop anything else getting through though rather than to stick the tyre together

all above ref superglue not being suitable…

that is why you need to use rubberised superglue as it is flexible.

examples

Loctite 480

Flexi cyano

http://www.shop4glue.com/flexy-cyano-20g-flexible-rubber-toughened-cyanoacrylate-super-glue-adhesive-black-ca-superglue-86-p.asp

also model shops sell it as well.