Yesterday the Tour de France resumed action after its rest day. I’ve been trying ride my bike every day that the Tour has a stage, so I went out in the morning to try to ride from East Windsor to Allentown, NJ and back. You may remember that this was my intended route on Saturday as well, when I had such difficulty dealing with a rear wheel puncture.
I left my house at about 6:30am. After riding for less than 10 minutes, I had another rear wheel puncture. The air leaked very rapidly this time, and I heard the air rushing out. I got off the bike quickly, and started looking at the rear wheel to see if I could see a problem. I found a nail hole in the tire, in the middle of the tread, with air leaking through it. I realized that I needed to patch that hole somehow, or replace the tire.
This was not something I wanted to do on the road. Since I was only two miles from the house, I decided to walk back. I got back to my place about 45 minutes after I left.
The tires I ride, Michelin Wildgripper Sprints, aren’t made anymore. The closest thing Michelin makes now is the Michelin Jet S, which is a tubeless tire. These things aren’t cheap, $40 to $50 each, and I’ve gotten a bit less than a season out of the Wildgripper Sprints, so I want to patch the tire if I can.
I’ve come up with three ways to patch a nail hole in a mountain bike tire that seem reasonable:
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Patch from the inside using a patch from a patch kit. This is the method I’m currently trying. After I put the patch on, put in a new tube, replaced the tire on the rim, and inflated the tire, I could see the patch through the hole in the tread. So, I’m not sure how well this solution will work.
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Cut a piece of rubber from an old tube and glue it on the inside of the tire. This is known as making a “boot”. Most bicycle repair books consider this a temporary method, but I did it once to my father-in-law’s bike on a club ride we did together, and I think it lasted for quite a while after we got home.
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Use Slime Tire Sealant. I’ve never used this stuff before, but it’s an inexpensive way to patch a hole up to 1/8 of an inch in size. This is potentially a longer-term solution, as the manufacturer says that the compound can fill a hole for up to two years. I’ve heard that if you pump a lot of it into a tire, it can add weight. This is not a major consideration for me.
I’m going to try ride later today with the repaired tire. I probably won’t comment on the usefulness of the repair until it fails or I get a few successful rides out of it. But, I will let you know how my choice works out.