How to quick repair a puncture?

[fmm1000]

Short version.
Is there a quick way to fix a flat tire without taking the tube out of the tire.


Long version.
I am planning to go alone on a cartrip to The mountains in south Poland to ride all the mountain passes on my ebike.
I just have one problem.
I cannot repair a puncture.

My bike is a BH Easy Motion Neo Race with a back motor that is pretty annoying to take off.

I have Schwalbe durano plus on the wheel and an inner layer between the tire and the tube to prevent punctures.

Despite this I just had two punctures in a week and therefore replaced the old Durano Tire with a new one.

On the last puncture I tried to put some repair foam I have bought in Lidl into the tire but it did not help. The tube was still totally flat.

My question is now. Is there some quick fix product to repair a flat tire so I will not end up stranded 40 kms away from my car.

Please dont post answers like: Just learn how to fix your tire or with those skills you should stay home . I really want to go despite my handicapped fingers .

 

[flecc]

One comment I'd make is that fixing a puncture doen't entail taking out a back wheel, I never do and never did when in the trade. You just take the tube out of the tyre on the non-chain side to do the necessary.

There is no foolproof quick and easy way to repair punctures, slime type products often fail. The conventional method is the only way that always works, other than changing the tube.
.

 

[E-Wheels]

Short version.
Is there a quick way to fix a flat tire without taking the tube out of the tire.


Long version.
I am planning to go alone on a cartrip to The mountains in south Poland to ride all the mountain passes on my ebike.
I just have one problem.
I cannot repair a puncture.

My bike is a BH Easy Motion Neo Race with a back motor that is pretty annoying to take off.

I have Schwalbe durano plus on the wheel and an inner layer between the tire and the tube to prevent punctures.

Despite this I just had two punctures in a week and therefore replaced the old Durano Tire with a new one.

On the last puncture I tried to put some repair foam I have bought in Lidl into the tire but it did not help. The tube was still totally flat.

My question is now. Is there some quick fix product to repair a flat tire so I will not end up stranded 40 kms away from my car.

Please dont post answers like: Just learn how to fix your tire or with those skills you should stay home . I really want to go despite my handicapped fingers .

Quick fix #101
Without taking the wheel off the bike, remove the punctured tube from the tyre. For a rear wheel puncture take the tube out from the non drive side. For a front wheel puncture it can be removed on either side. Don't cut or damage the tube, keep it in one piece and wrap it around the seat & chain stays on the rear or at the top of the front fork and secure it with some cable ties so it's out of the way and doesn't get caught or rub on the rotating wheel. Install one of these http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/inner-tubes/gaadi-tube to get you out of trouble and back on the road. When you get home take out the Gaadi tube and keep it in your kit for next time (you know there will always be a next time). Unwrap the punctured tube and repair whilst it is still on the bike. Refit into the tyre and job done.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I often get punctures in my road bikes. there's no need to take the wheel off:
Turn the bike upside down;
Lever the tyre off one side;
Pull out the tube;
Fix the puncture;
Push the tube back in;
Push the tyre back on;
Pump up, and you're ready to go. About 10 minutes max.

Another thing: for a ride like that, change the tyres to Schwalbe Marathon Plus, then you won't get any punctures.

 

[rich_r]

I get the impression that the OP cannot repair a puncture due to a physical issue. So maybe swapping the inner tube is the best type of solution.

 

[Danidl]

I get the impression that the OP cannot repair a puncture due to a physical issue. So maybe swapping the inner tube is the best type of solution.

.. I picked up on that also. The suggestions made to date are all reasonable and correct, for the able bodied , . There is one addition I would make to d8veh s contribution, so obvious, that he would do it without thinking. Before fixing the puncture look very closely along the tyre for any nail, glass or thorn, and remove it. It's surprising that we often neglect that step and rue the next puncture after 2 miles
But coming back to the OP dilemma, of trying to fix the puncture with a handicap. Don't.. fit the wheels with slime filled at the factory, tubes and marathon plus tyres, and replace them yearly. Expensive but effective.
Alternatively, get solid tubes fitted by the dealer. Noiser, more vibration, but infinitely effective.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I read it that his problem is getting the wheel off, not in actually fixing the puncture.

Good point Dan. I wasn't thinking straight. With this method, you can normally leave the valve in place, so when you find the leak, you can hold the tube against the tyre to see exactly where the thing is stuck in the tyre. It's always worth having a good look around it in case there's anything else, particularly if it was a thorn that caused the puncture. If it's a pinch flat, they nearly always come in pairs and sometimes there's another pair if you hit a pothole.

 

[Danidl]

I read it that his problem is getting the wheel off, not in actually fixing the puncture.

Good point Dan. I wasn't thinking straight. With this method, you can normally leave the valve in place, so when you find the leak, you can hold the tube against the tyre to see exactly where the thing is stuck in the tyre. It's always worth having a good look around it in case there's anything else, particularly if it was a thorn that caused the puncture. If it's a pinch flat, they nearly always come in pairs and sometimes there's another pair if you hit a pothole.

.. I would think that pinch flats with up to 4 gashes are not worth repairing , just replace the tube... . You would have the two patches abutting each other, a recipe for a leak.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I had six pinch flats at once one time, when another cyclist ran me into a pothole on a cycle route. I repaired them all. They're normally in pairs about half an inch apart, so plenty of room for two patches. I carry a spare tube, but i never use it unless it's absolutely necessary, because there's always the possibility that it'll get cut too.

 

[flecc]

During and just after WW2, bike tubes often had layers of patches overlapping each other. Tubes often had so many patches that the odds were it was a patch that punctured, rather than virgin tube!

That was partly due to wartime shortages, but mostly sheer lack of money to buy a new tube. Sometimes we even made our own patches.
.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I got my bike for passing my 11+. I had it until I was 16. i had loads of punctures, but i don't remember ever buying a tube. In fact I never visited a bike shop in the entire time I had it.

 

[Danidl]

During and just after WW2, bike tubes often had layers of patches overlapping each other. Tubes often had so many patches that the odds were it was a patch that punctured, rather than virgin tube!

That was partly due to wartime shortages, but mostly sheer lack of money to buy a new tube. Sometimes we even made our own patches.
.

Well I must be the last of the big spenders.. when I was seriously commuting cross city as a student, I used to get a new set of tyres and tubes say in September, and use them until the second puncture, usually 10 months later. And then replace them. I used to find that punctures would become a regular occurrence otherwise...

 

[anotherkiwi]

Tyres and tubes were made of different rubber back in those days it seems, when a tyre started getting brittle it was time to change. Nowadays the tread wears out before the sides go hard. I had a period where instead of patching my sons tubes I'd just buy a new one because often they went when they were doing jumps and you can't find patches that long!

Then I bought my first Schwalbe tubes! I have a patch kit in with my tools but riding longer distances I prefer carrying a spare tube or two. That way I can patch in the warm comfort of my third floor appartement.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Times have changed. When you only got one shilling for your pocket money, A new tube was out of the question, I guess. We live in the throwaway society these days. Old habits die hard. I always repair my tubes with patches until I have about 10 patches on them. I get a puncture nearly every time I use my road bike. That would work out a lot more expensive than my electric bike if I replaced the tube every time - in fact, probably more expensive than running my car.

 

[D C]

Short version.
Is there a quick way to fix a flat tire without taking the tube out of the tire.

Please dont post answers like: Just learn how to fix your tire or with those skills you should stay home . I really want to go despite my handicapped fingers .

I think from your question that you can't physically get the tube out whilst on route so I think the best option would be puncture resistant tyres and slime filled tubes either fitted by a bike shop or maybe with the help of a friend at home.
I think the incidence of punctures depends on the territory being cycled over. Where I live now there aren't any prickly hedges to be cut and left on the roads so if you are careful on the rocky bits and don't ride the bike over the wooden bridges covered with broken chicken wire, a puncture is unusual.
If you do get one it will be raining of course
Dave.

 

[rich_r]

I only seem to get punctures when it's raining. At one point when I was cycling every day, I was almost convinced that there was something about rain that made it more likely. Maybe spiky things get washed along the edges of the road?

 

[flecc]

If you do get one it will be raining of course

Indeed, and that isn't just a coincidence. Water is the best lubricant for rubber, so it makes it much easier for anything sharp to penetrate. If you want to cut rubber with a knife, wet the cutting area and it will slice through much easier.

As a junior in the trade from 14 on, punctures were my job, so I hated wet mornings which meant large numbers coming in from the morning commuters. When dry there were sometimes none at all.
.

 

[flecc]

I only seem to get punctures when it's raining. At one point when I was cycling every day, I was almost convinced that there was something about rain that made it more likely. Maybe spiky things get washed along the edges of the road?

See above!
.

 

[E-Wheels]

I only seem to get punctures when it's raining. At one point when I was cycling every day, I was almost convinced that there was something about rain that made it more likely. Maybe spiky things get washed along the edges of the road?

A wet tyres does not allow debris to fly off like in does in the dry so it sticks onto the tread area and with every rotation the debris gets pushed further into the tread until it hits the tube

 

[georgehenry]

Obviously ideally you need be able to mend a puncture and I carry a spar inner tube, stick on patches, tyre levers, and a good quality mini pump.

However as I commute to work I want as few punctures as possible and ideally none at all.

I have found the best puncture resistant tyre systems combined with a slime filled inner tube to be very effective.

I have used specialized armadillo tyres or schwalbe smart sam plus green guard both combined with slime filled tubes.

In just under 20,000 miles since 2011 I have had no punctures, zilch zero. 16 miles of my 26 mile return journey to work is off road with all the hazards you find there and I weigh 100kg and carry two full panniers on a rear rack. I ride all year.

When I started my commuting to work I naively set off on the tyres that came with the bike and punctured daily on the off road route.