3 ms·

While I commend anyone who takes the time to patch a tube, if you have kids/job/life/etc it is so much quicker and easier to just replace the tube. They can be

by giobox 5y ago

While I commend anyone who takes the time to patch a tube, if you have kids/job/life/etc it is so much quicker and easier to just replace the tube. They can be bought for very little and fitted before you've even tracked down the hole on the old tube. If you are out on a longish ride, you probably want to be carrying full size spare tubes tucked in a pocket or bag anyway - patching at the roadside is not fun, and again takes far longer than just popping in new tube and getting on your way. Tubes with no air in them are very small/compact. Over the past 20 years of riding a collection of ~10 bikes, I would be lucky if patching tubes would have saved me even 200 dollars. What your time is worth to you may be different, but for most working adults I don't think patching makes time-money-sense. Assuming you already have a pump, instead of ordering a patch kit to carry with you on rides or keep at home, just order one of whatever tube your bike needs (usually ~5-9 bucks), some tire levers (reusable, 5 bucks) and keep in drawer until day dawns you need it. The rare time I buy a new bike with a weird innertube I don't already have, I buy a couple of spares immediately with the bike.

analog31 5y ago
That's fair, and you need a spare tube anyway because not all flats are repairable. I carry a spare tube and a patch kit, but typically patch the punctured tube at home. The patch kit is in case I get a second flat -- a vanishingly rare occurrence thanks to puncture resistant tires. Each person has to satisfy their own sense of time and money, which I suspect is partially subjective for most of us. For instance I actually have spare time, and am not paid for working extra hours on my day job. Admittedly, being self sufficient for bike maintenance is part of "life" for me, and even when my kids needed more attentive care, I was always able to carve out 15 minutes to patch a tube.
- rtsil 5y ago
  > I carry a spare tube and a patch kit, but typically patch the punctured tube at home. Paranoid me always carry two spare tubes, a patch kit and a puncture repair spray (it's supposed to inject a product that reinflates the tyre immediately, allowing me to keep riding and then go home without having to repair or remplace the tube, but since I've never had the opportunity to use it I can't tell if it's really effective).
  - analog31 5y ago
    Puncture resistant tires have really allowed me to be a bit more relaxed about flats. Also, fortunately I don't live in goat head country. Here in Wisconsin, a vital supply for fixing flats while on a ride is mosquito repellent.
    - rtsil 5y ago
      > Here in Wisconsin, a vital supply for fixing flats while on a ride is mosquito repellent. Where I am, in the south of France, as well. And they are of the really aggressive species!

by giobox 5y ago

analog31 5y ago

That's fair, and you need a spare tube anyway because not all flats are repairable. I carry a spare tube and a patch kit, but typically patch the punctured tube at home. The patch kit is in case I get a second flat -- a vanishingly rare occurrence thanks to puncture resistant tires. Each person has to satisfy their own sense of time and money, which I suspect is partially subjective for most of us. For instance I actually have spare time, and am not paid for working extra hours on my day job. Admittedly, being self sufficient for bike maintenance is part of "life" for me, and even when my kids needed more attentive care, I was always able to carve out 15 minutes to patch a tube.

rtsil 5y ago
> I carry a spare tube and a patch kit, but typically patch the punctured tube at home. Paranoid me always carry two spare tubes, a patch kit and a puncture repair spray (it's supposed to inject a product that reinflates the tyre immediately, allowing me to keep riding and then go home without having to repair or remplace the tube, but since I've never had the opportunity to use it I can't tell if it's really effective).
- analog31 5y ago
  Puncture resistant tires have really allowed me to be a bit more relaxed about flats. Also, fortunately I don't live in goat head country. Here in Wisconsin, a vital supply for fixing flats while on a ride is mosquito repellent.
  - rtsil 5y ago
    > Here in Wisconsin, a vital supply for fixing flats while on a ride is mosquito repellent. Where I am, in the south of France, as well. And they are of the really aggressive species!