Adhesive patches

I ended up having to give this a shot yesterday—purely out of necessity, really. But after about thirty minutes of driving, they just gave out on me—twice, actually. It was like the air just carved this tiny little groove right through the patch and escaped. If there’s anyone kind enough to walk me through the proper way to handle this, I’d be eternally grateful. I did wait about 15 minutes before I started pumping, but maybe I should have given it more time..?
Thnx!

Where on earth did you pick that up? Everywhere I look, all I see are the standard ones...

By the way, those little tubes of vulcanizing "glue" are actually pretty tiny, so you can easily just toss one into your patch kit bag. Just make sure you don't forget to let the adhesive set for a bit before you go pressing the patch down.

The adhesive ones work like a charm!

Just sand down the surface, slap the patch on, press it hard, and you’re set!
You can pump it up right away too. No waiting around.

The only catch is if your patches are old or cheap. Then you might run into some trouble.

Did you actually sand down the rubber before gluing it? A little bit of Gorilla Glue and that thing stays put forever...

So, I picked up some info from you guys on the forum—specifically from silentpanther15, though I can't say for certain—but I’m still feeling a bit skeptical about it all. I actually closed a deal over at Mark Development in Hell recently.

I mean, I went ahead and sanded everything down myself—even used a brick I managed to score from some guys working at a nearby construction site—but still...

I don't know... Bugsy, a buddy of mine, uses those sealant plugs and I was honestly blown away by how fast they fix a flat.

But if you ask me? Everyone should just be running tubeless!
Forget air compressors and messy patches!
Just build yourself a little DIY setup and call it a day...

silentpanther15 said:though... if you ask me, everyone should just go tubeless!
forget pumps and patches!
it's like making your own little ghetto utopia...

Man, I wish—and hopefully I will soon enough. But is it actually bulletproof once you make the switch?!

Jamie Palmer said:Man, I wish! Hopefully I can get there soon. Is it really that bulletproof by then?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTlZvOVG8zs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_BsT8D9JYY

Yeah... it’s puncture-resistant, sure, but you can still slice right through it, and those tubeless setups just aren't built to handle that.

It’s a fantastic little gadget, really. I can only hope they start mass-producing these for bikes soon... wouldn't that be something?

As for those patches—honestly, I think I'll just try a different brand next time. Or, if I'm being truthful, maybe I'm just overshooting the pressure when I'm pumping them up too much 🤷 If it works for you, it should work for me, right?

Cheers and thanks!

Jamie Palmer said:I sanded everything down and even tried pressing it with a brick I swiped from some workers at a nearby construction site, but still...

You messed up there; that brick wasn't the right tool for the job. Try it again using just your fingers and hold the pressure for a while.

silentpanther15 said:though... if you ask me, everyone should just be running tubeless!
forget pumps and patches!
go ahead, build yourself some makeshift ghetto setup in the middle of nowhere...

is it actually worth picking up conversion kits like Stan's notebooks?

Harold Perez11 said:You totally missed the mark there—that brick wasn't quite right for the job. Try it again using just your fingers, and make sure you hold it steady for a bit.

Well, I tried doing it with my fingers first, but they just went completely numb.🙂

Paul Davis51 said:Is it actually worth grabbing conversion kits like Stan's notebooks?

You can run those kits until they literally fall apart. Ghetto setups? They last right up until you peel off the first rubber band, then it's back to square one.

Not sure about the build quality since I haven't tried them myself, but people seem stoked on both the DIY stuff and the kits. Honestly, though? The happiest riders are the ones running the original OEM wheels. 😁

silentpanther15, how many bucks are we talking about to pull off this little joy...? At least a red one, roughly speaking? 🙂

No clue.
But honestly, I don't think it's that hard to figure out these days. 😁

Like, say two BMX air tanks run you about $13, and one of Stan's notebooks costs maybe $100. Might even be a bit more. But you get enough for several sets.

Check it out here: click!

So, I’ve been sitting here today thinking about those tubeless tires again. I was out riding through some empty backroads and vineyards earlier, and just imagine my luck—the front tire completely loses air. Just... gone. No other choice but to pull over, swap out the valve stem, and try to get moving again. So, I start pumping, but the tire won't even budge. Turns out, on Richy's valve stem—which was brand new, mind you—there's a hole big enough for a matchstick to slide right through. And the old punctured valves? They're leaking from two different spots. Just my luck, having exactly two patches on hand when I need them most.

It really got me thinking about going tubeless. Yeah, the upfront cost is a bit higher if we decide to buy a kit to convert our standard tires to tubeless right now. But honestly? When you're miles away from any shop that carries patches or new valves, or when there's nobody around to lend a hand... in those moments, that conversion kit doesn't seem nearly as expensive as it looks.

So, I was at the local hardware store today and saw these self-sealing inner tubes on the shelf at Joe's. It got me thinking... does anyone here actually have experience using this kind of tube?
They seem way more straightforward to deal with than those whole tubeless kits where you have to mess around with all sorts of complicated setups. The guy working there told me they come pre-filled with everything you need, and apparently, you just have to make sure the valve is at the lowest point while you're pumping them up.
I guess I just want to know how reliable this self-healing stuff really is when you're out on a ride. If anyone has dealt with them before, could you maybe drop a few thoughts on how they hold up in the real world? 😁 They're going for about 60 bucks a piece.

I bought this based on a salesperson's recommendation. Honestly, I had my doubts, but I figured I’d just take the risk and see what happens. It turned out to be a lifesaver. I accidentally ran over a pile of broken glass, and while the front tire gave up immediately, the rear one with this insert didn't even puncture. Now that I have them on both tires, I don't have to stress every time I see glass on the road. Just keep in mind, they won't save you from a snake bite; they're only good for debris up to about 3-3.5 mm in size.