Cycledude
Well-Known Member
First time I ever heard of a porcupine quill actually puncturing a tire.
I always use glue too, even though the plug kits say it isn't needed, for exactly the above reasons. one caution is to wait a little before getting back underway so that most of the glue solvent has evaporated. Usually only takes a few minutes, You want to give the glue a little time to set up and avoid lubing the plug back out again!The cement acts as both a lube and as a filler for tiny areas where the sticky string might not bond on it's own in irregular holes.
That's it then-decision made, I'll get the gummy method with T-bar handles on tools, and of course make sure there's glue with the kit.This sounds like my experience. I tried both Dyna plugs and Stop n Go products, and though others have had luck with them, I've had none. The Stop n Go plugs are unreinforced and tore apart when I tried to plug a tire in the middle of nowhere in the rain returning from Montana. I tried several times with no success and ended up tossing the whole kit into a roadside rest stop trash bin out of frustration. Luckily I had a couple of the red automotive sticky string "gummy worm" thread reinforced plugs and tools along with me. That worked the first time. I thought the Stop n Go kit was going to be an upgrade, glad I held onto my back ups. In that case I happened only to have CO2 cartridges, but I had done the tire volume calculations and figured I needed ~7 of them to pressurized the rear tire to 42 PSI. I tossed in 8 figuring I'd waste the first one trying to use the inflator. As it turned out, I forgot about the fudge factor and ended up putting in all 8. That pressurized the tier to >50PSI! The gummy plug was holding so I skedaddled to the closest town and stopped at the first service station I saw with an air hose and determined the repair was holding up just fine.
On the road again I started to worry that if that first attempt to seal the tire hadn't worked I'd be out of CO2, so have since added a compact 12V compressor to my kit. Since then I've plugged both car and bike tires at least a half dozen times or more (I had an incredibly run of bad luck with punctures a few years back) with gummy worms having a 99.9% first try success rate. In all cases I ran the plugged tires until they were worn out. The reason my success was not 100% was I had one plug that developed a slow leak (a couple of PSI a day) after a few thousand miles. I just ended up re-plugging it and that was that. I had a buddy with a Gold Wing who had tried to repair a rear flat with a Stop n Go plug on a day ride, but a few miles later the entire plug was spat out and he suffered a sudden deflation. Luckily he is a very skilled rider and avoided an accident.
I've noticed that an increasing number of cars are replacing spare tires with repair kits. My thoughts are that if people have problems fixing a flat with a conventional spare tire, and jack. . . . they're very likely to have even more issues with a kit.. . . . I'm now the proud owner of a mini compressor and rope kit with TBar handles, ready for any repair, these will go with me now on any journey.
Agree, that is what CAA is for.I've noticed that an increasing number of cars are replacing spare tires with repair kits. My thoughts are that if people have problems fixing a flat with a conventional spare tire, and jack. . . . they're very likely to have even more issues with a kit.
You have a valid point there that I had not considered...I was surprised to see that he tested the plugs strength by pushing the plug back into the tyre, I thought the reason the permenant repair and the mushroom repair are their shape was to prevent the air pressure inside the tyre from forcing the bung out? Not to stop them from being pushed back in? Enjoyed the video, just not sure he is right about what force direction on the bung is more critical? But the rope repair still looks very good.
test is valid from what I see. air pressure is static holding pressure, which acts as part of the sealing plane. any attack on the tire, and more specifically that patched area will be from punctures or pressure from the outside. It would be critically important to know that if something as simple as a rock on the road, that i happened to run over is enough to dislodge the patch and deflate the tire again.I was surprised to see that he tested the plugs strength by pushing the plug back into the tyre, I thought the reason the permenant repair and the mushroom repair are their shape was to prevent the air pressure inside the tyre from forcing the bung out? Not to stop them from being pushed back in? Enjoyed the video, just not sure he is right about what force direction on the bung is more critical? But the rope repair still looks very good.