Possible to repair a tyre?

[StreetCowboy]

I picked up a puncture yesterday towards the end of a long ride.

 

There was a rattling, that I thought was a broken spoke, and then two seconds later, a hiss as the tyre deflated.  I was in some road works, so didn't want to stop right there to investigate, so I walked the bike a few metres to the side of the road.

 

No sign of any damaged spokes, though some were not as melodically tightly strung as I might have liked, and no sign of objects in the tyre.  I took the tube out - no obvious sign of damage, and inspected the tyre inside and out.  No sign of debris or sharp objects to the eye or to the touch, but there was a little nick where the tyre had been pierced.  So I am guessing I picked up a sharp piece of road debris, maybe a nail big enough to catch the chain stays as or something as it passed, but which then fell out again once the damage was done.

 

I know from experience that the nick in the tyre will give me punctures every few hundred km - I guess from tiny pieces of gravel forcing their way through the hole in the tyre.  Do you have any suggestions on how to repair the tyre?  I thought maybe a tube patch on the inside might stop stuff getting in, and protect the inner tube.  Maybe smearing flexible adhesive into the hole might also help a little.  I don't want to replace the tyre, as its only a few hundred km old.

 

So - any suggestions on how to repair a tiny hole in a tyre?  (It's a 32 mm wet-weather slick)

 

SC

[CNXBKKMAN]

Without seeing the damage if it's small like you say I would repair it. I have some old inner tubes that I cut up when needed. Useful for securing lights, stoping pannier rattles etc and fixing tyres. Just cut a patch out and stick it over the hole on the inside of the tyre (clean the tyre first, rough it up a bit with sand paper). Maybe stick another layer on that. When you put your tube back in and pump the tyre up you will basically have a triple thick inner tube at that damaged area. An old worn out tyre is a good option. This can be cut up and used as a patch and is tougher than an innertube. Also good for under chair legs or wobbly tables. 

               If it's the rear tyre that was damaged I would swap the tyres around. The repaired tyre on the front where it will be under less stress and load. I have a photo of a repaired tyre which I will upload if I can find it.

[CNXBKKMAN]

Pic

[el jefe]

MacGyver !

 

My riding companions and I have tried a dozen different repair solutions over the years. Only one can be done on the road, solves the problem permanently, and allows the tire to ride like new.

People have suggested US dollar bills, power bar wrappers, and other "booting" material but none work permanently.

The most indestructible material to carry is Tyvek. It's the material that the USPS and Fedex use for their soft envelopes. Maybe DHL too. The flap has an adhesive surface. Cut off the flap. (There are many other uses for the rest of the envelope.) Cut the flap into strips of different sizes but all approx 2-3 cms x 5-8 cms. Carry 3 strips with you at all times. When you need to repair the tire, peel the protective covering off the adhesive and stick the strip over the hole. overlap the strips covering the hole in the tire. That makes a permanent repair. I've left the patched tire alone like that and continued using it for as much as 5,000 kms.

 

if you can't get a Tyvek envelope where you live, ask a friend to bring a few back from the US or maybe Europe.

 

as an aside, if you ride in hilly terrain, you would always rotate your tires so the damaged, or more worn one is on the rear wheel. You want the newer, better tire on the front. You never want to risk a blowout on the front wheel. If you're only changing one tire, put the new one on the front and the old one on the back.

[StreetCowboy]

I cut up an old inner tube.  I started off taking a bit of emery paper to the inside of the damaged tyre, but that was just damaging the threads near the surface,  So I stuck a little patch over the hole, then a bigger patch over the little patch, and a third patch bigger than that.  

Probably a single ordinary inner tube patch would've done the job...

 

I've left the tyre on the back, for the reasons mentioned above by el jefe

 

SC

[StreetCowboy]

We were out in the city centre a week ago.  I'd mentioned I'd felt a bump in my tyre, and sure enough, a close inspection found a cancerous bulge maybe 15 - 20 mm across and > 5 mm in height - enough to make me dubious about getting home. But we were 15 - 20 km away, and more than 5 km from the nearest bike shop that I knew, so we let some pressure out and headed gingerly over.  Forgetfully, it slipped my mind that this was the repaired tyre, but I can't believe that the tiny little hole could be responsible for such a bulge.  Anyway, luckily the new tyre is a different brand, and has a reflective stripe on it to boot