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Patched tubes vs. new ones

08.27.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 12 Comments

Last weekend, I flatted on my Saturday morning ride. I was only two miles from home, and was too worn out to change the flat then and there, so I called my wife and had her perform sag duties.

That evening, in the cool of my kitchen, I pulled out the tube and replaced it. The replacement tube had two patches, but they looked pretty sturdy. I generally will patch my flatted tubes and reuse them, so doing this again wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for me.

Sunday morning, I went out to the garage 20 minutes before the club ride was due to begin, and to my horror, found that the tire had gone flat overnight. Yikes! I pulled the wheel from the bike and hauled my tire levers and floor pump into the kitchen again. Then, I grabbed a new tube that was still in its box, fresh from the bike shop.

I scrambled to get the tube replaced and the tire remounted on the wheel. Everything seemed okay, so I quickly filled my water bottles and dashed to the coffee shop to meet the club ride. I got there within five minutes of the start — a record time for me at replacing a flat tire.

Then I proceeded to worry throughout the ride that I had been too hasty, and that the new tube might not be seated correctly, or any of a dozen other things that could cause me to flat again. But the tire performed well, and caused me no problems.

Obviously, I had missed a leak in the repaired tube — the one with two patches. There should have been a third one in there. The question is, when do you patch tubes and when do you replace them?

I’ve got four older tubes hanging from the wall in my garage right now. Each has one patch. Each would be called upon as a replacement tube if I get a flat (although since I’m running a new tube in the tire now, I would probably just go ahead and patch it, and remount it).

But is that a wise policy? Are patched tubes less durable somehow than new tubes? How many patches can you put on a tube and still have it give good service? How do you deal with the question?

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Categories // Equipment, Maintenance Tags // flat tire, tires, tube

When to replace a tire

04.13.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 6 Comments

My saga of the hard-to-seat tire got me thinking about tire replacement in general.  As I said, I felt it necessary to buy a new tire because of my upcoming MS 150, and I wanted it in time for last weekend’s 52-miler.

The original tire was new in February.  Because of its kevlar tread, I was hoping for some puncture resistance.  But I don’t think anything could have survived the piece of glass that got this tire.  It was kind of a fluke, too, because the cut was duplicated halfway around the tire.

They weren’t even cuts, exactly — more like a hole, about an eighth of an inch in diameter. When I ran my fingers over them, I could feel a slight bulge right around the hole itself.  It didn’t affect a larger area around the holes.  Because the holes weren’t big, I decided to keep riding on the tire.

The next day, I did a club ride for 38 miles on city streets and rural country roads.  No tire problems.  In fact, I didn’t even think about the tire.  It’s been on several rides since then, for a total of a bit over 200 miles.

When the replacement tire arrived in the mail, I didn’t change it immediately.  I was even considering doing the 52-miler on the damaged tire, since it seemed to be performing fine.  But I happened to be  sitting in the living room reading a bike book, and it said, if the tire is cut, the cut could turn into a puncture.  If it bulges, it will turn into a puncture more quickly.

I went out to the garage and took another look at the tire.  Not only could I feel the bulge, I could see it. That’s when I had my wrestling match with the replacement tire.

I know of some riders who are rather cavalier about their tires.  They’ll ride until they see the tube pushing through the tread, or until it wears down to the threads.

What’s your rule of thumb for replacing your tires?  How far or how long are you willing to ride when you know the tire is less than 100 percent?

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Categories // Equipment, Maintenance Tags // tires

Mounting a new tire

04.11.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 12 Comments

I set a record the other night.  It took me a full hour to get a tire mounted on a wheel.

I bought a new tire to replace one that had some severe cuts on the  tread. Since I had a 52-mile ride coming up Saturday, I didn’t want to risk anything — even though the cut tire had seen a good 200 miles on area roads since getting cut in two places by broken glass three weeks ago.

New tires are not as elastic as they get to be with some riding. This one was right out of the mail order box. I put one foot inside the tire, and tried to pull up on it like a rubber band. No give at all.  I turned the tire several times, and pulled each time, to try to add a little bit of stretch to it.

Then, on the wheel. Getting one side into the wheel wasn’t too much of a problem, although even here, I had to patiently work the remaining three inches over the rim. I got the deflated tube inside the tire, then started stretching the other side over the rim.

It was fine for about half the tire’s circumference. Then, it didn’t want to cooperate. Again very patiently (a rarity for me) I worked the bead over the rim bit by bit, and popped it into place. Finally, I had five inches to go. It wouldn’t go. It was as though the tire had reached the limit of any stretch built into it. Whenever I managed to get a small section of bead to pop over the rim, the bead at the other end popped out. It seemed I would be unable to get the tire seated properly.

I know you’re not supposed to use tire levers to mount a tire. There’s some danger they might puncture the tube. I yielded to temptation. The levers worked — sort of. I now had only a three-inch section that refused to mount.

I worked it, and worked it, and worked it. And finally, it happened. The remaining part of the bead popped into the rim. I carefully checked to make sure the tire was seated properly all around, inflated the tire and put it on the bike. Elapsed time: one hour.

I change tires when they flat from time to time, but I haven’t had a lot of experience putting new tires on. They’re very different from changing flats, when the same tire that has miles on it is put back on the wheel. I’ve never had a lot of trouble with those, because use has stretched them out. It’s the brand new tire that was the troublemaker.

These are kevlar tires — I don’t know if that would make any difference or not. But I do remember that the only other time I mounted a brand new tire — one that was not kevlar — I didn’t have anywhere near the trouble.

Any suggestions for making the mounting of a new tire any easier?

P.S.: I was glad today that I did get the tire mounted. I did a hilly 52-mile route from Dripping Springs to Johnson City, Texas, and back again. It was a training ride organized by the Hill Country Ride for AIDS, but I used it as my last hurrah before the MS 150 next weekend.

A lone rider approaches the rest stop in Johnson City.
A lone rider approaches the rest stop in Johnson City.

 

My bike with its new rear tire in Johnson City.  Still with torn bar tape, and with one silver and one white bar plug.
My bike with its new rear tire in Johnson City. Still with torn bar tape, and with one silver and one white bar plug.

I just hope the weather next weekend is better than we had today. It was forecast to get to 80F, but never got above 60, with a chilly northeast wind blowing all morning.

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Categories // Equipment, Maintenance, Rides Tags // hills, tires

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