Cautionary tale

[Brad]

Went out for an enjoyable 40 mile ride on the G80 yesterday evening. On the way home I stopped off at a local shop for a couple of ice creams to take home. Started up the bike and pulled away only to find I had a totally flat back tyre. Nothing for it but a 1/4 mile push home. Just made it before the ice creams melted. Had the wheel out and tyre off today to find no less than four patches on the tube, one of which was peeling off to reveal a 1/4 inch hole!!! Now I don't know what you wise folks think, but I reckon four patches is a bit excessive. Its not as if a tube costs an arm and a leg, but bearing in mind I had touched 60mph on several occasions it could well have cost me an arm and a leg while sliding up the road!
Does this mean that when we buy old bikes such as ours, we should inspect tubes as well as all the other things, before we ride them?

[GOLDSTAR]

bought a new tube to take to Latvia about 2 weeks ago, didn't need to use it,at a cost of about £8 I now never patch an inner tube unless there is no alternative, it appears some of the composition in the modern tubes will not vulcanise with the adhesive supplied in the kits, kind regards

[SPRIDDLER]

In 30,000 miles home and abroad on the Matchless I've never had to patch a tube at the roadside but always fit a new one and rim tape when I fit new tyres. Until recently it was annually for the rear (6000 miles) and every 2 years for the front.
Although I'd never reuse a punctured tube I have half a dozen old ones hanging in my shed.................(along with boxes of duff spark plugs, worn out carb parts and dynamo brushes, knackered oil pump plungers, retired chains, bent conrods, rusted switches, headlight or Stop/Tail lamps with one duff filament, and Lord knows what else.
(Why do we do that? )

[alanengineer]

Hey Spriddler,
That sounds like an autojumble stall i have just been to. Have you any rock hard tyres by any chance

[SPRIDDLER]

Does this mean that when we buy old bikes such as ours, we should inspect tubes ?

We should, as apart from punctures and patches it's a good idea to inspect the inside of the rims. Rust builds up between the spoke head and the rim tape which creeps out and abrades the tyre.
A pal put 'Slime' in his tubes which is claimed to seal punctures, which is o.k. (perhaps) if the puncture is due to something pointy like a nail penetrating the outer (tread) surface of the tyre. His blow-out was as a result of rust on the inside of the rim scarring and finally abrading a hole in the tube.

Slime 2 (480x360).jpg

...and before anyone makes rude comments, no, I do not have pink trainers

[SPRIDDLER]

Hey Spriddler,
That sounds like an autojumble stall i have just been to. Have you any rock hard tyres by any chance

Nah, sorry Alan. Roy's 'ad 'em all for his next stall at Kempton on Sunday.

[G15 Roy]

Hey Spriddler,
That sounds like an autojumble stall i have just been to. Have you any rock hard tyres by any chance

Nah, sorry Alan. Roy's 'ad 'em all for his next stall at Kempton on Sunday.

I must confess that I did ride a bike to Denmark with more than six patches in the front but only found this out a few weeks ago when moving the bike to find the front was flat all OK now as one more patch fitted.

[Harry44]

I won't even use a repaired tube on a push bike. I fit a new tube with a new tyre. I always have old inner tubes hanging up in the garage they make great rubber bands and gaskets etc etc.

I've even used an old tube to bleed brakes.

[Groily]

Too many punctures round here over the years, caused by 1. tubes fretting against slightly-rusty rims or 2. the valve seat ripping clean out of the tube and leaving a perfectly round hole (which happens a lot with cheapo tubes from who knows where).

So . . . current personal rules are:
1. no repairs allowed, same as Harry
2. new tube and rim tape with each new tyre, always
3. 4mm thick Michelin tubes, MotoX quality.
Nothing else compares, even if they're a so-and-so to fit especially on some front rims, and aren't cheap.

You get what you pay for - but around £18-£20 a tube is worth it to me after several nasty near-offs at speed due to sudden deflation. (Don't have to be going very fast to get hurt though, like on a bend.)

As has Spriddler I now have loads of tubes festooned from hooks and rafters in nooks and crannies. With useless chains in-between - never know, could all come in useful, along with the massive stack of dead tyres and only half-dead bulbs! And bits of inner tube can make very good waterproof 'over-gloves' in winter, if carefully shaped to suit . . . I swear by them.

[GOLDSTAR]

you ttok the words out of my mouth Groilly, we keep the crap because 'it may come in useful later' every so often I attempt to have a clear out, pile all the crap then go through what I intentend to discard to retain anything which 'may come in useful later', most is recovered oh doh! kind regards