Not only will a torn sidewall quickly put an end to the day's riding, it will will also cost you money. This can be especially painful when the damaged tire still has quite a bit of life left in it, or even worse, is practically brand new. While some cuts will be fatal depending on their size and location, there still may be hope for that freshly gashed tire of yours.
What you'll need:
• High strength glue that works with rubber • Fine grit sandpaper • Cable cutters or scissors • An old tire that you don't mind cutting up
Helpful pointers:
• Using the correct glue for the job is the single most important point. Be sure that your glue is designed to work with rubber - many are not. Follow the instructions carefully and allow the glue to dry for the specified time. • Take a minute after sanding the inner wall of the tire and the patch to clean away any rubber dust that may have accumulated. • Large cuts and tears in the sidewall will not be repairable due to too many of the casing's threads being cut. No matter how big you make the patch you'll likely find that a large bulge will appear in the damaged area once the tire has been pumped up to operating pressure. This is not safe - do not ride it! • I say it in the video and I'll say it again here: Do not try to use a tube patch or any other stretchy material to repair the hole. It will simply stretch, come out of the hole, and you'll end up with yet another flat. You're using tire casing because it is far less elastic.
I once ripped my sidewall out at a downhill race while riding down to the top of the start line for my race run. We repaired it with duct tape and 4 or 5 lift tickets, I rode it like that for the remainder of the tires life.
Rather than cutting up a tire to make a patch just go to a local automotive or truck tire shop a pickup a vulcanizing tire patch. This type of patch is designed to be used with vulcanizing glue and will outlast the tire.
completly serious, I ripped the wall on my minion and i put a few layers of duct tape on it and its worked a bloody treat for at least a month now. oh, and google has informed me both are correct.. so stfu?
Duct tape is generally grey, is shiny and will leave goo on your gear if left too long, gaffer tape is matte black and less likely to become a nasty mess in the long term. Oh and if you have to actually tape up a duct, use aluminum duct tape. Cloth duct tape fails after a couple of years.
I find Tire Plug kits work great, and would trust them far more than the method explained here. It takes about 2 minutes and can be used in a tubeless setup. For $5.00 you can't go wrong.
These things are getting worse now its the home of opinion based garage fixes I could easily make the same video and say a tube patch on the outside and one on the inside as well will hold... EXAMPLE lp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb4369040/p4pb4369040.jpg That tires at about 80psi too.
i've also repaired tires with butyl and duct tape
In my opinion these should go back to tuning derailleurs and setting up shifting instead of over pressurizing your shock with CO2 and fixing garbage.
I totally get what they are trying to do but as a mechanic who works at a bikeshop one of the worst things to hear is
"I saw a video about how to fill my shock with a CO2 can" "then it blew up" Or "Why do my tubes keep puncturing i saw a video about how to fix cuts in the sidewalls." "now all the tubes you sell me aren't staying inflated its your fault give me free ones"
Now i have to explain to them that a patch is not a worth fix how many bike shops fix tubes (very few) its often more failsafe to replace the tube what makes you think you can patch a tire if Tube patches hardly stay...
I am going to go down as that guy who just hated on it all for no reason. But the fact of the matter is (especially on the internet) you HAVE to play to the lowest common denominator and they will not be able to do this safely and effectively.
I get the whole wide range of issues i do but the fact is that unless there is a way to make sure that only competent people will try this there is always going to be issues.
customers who blame you for their screw ups suck. As a former tech I can relate. It doesn't matter how many times you adjust the derailleur, if they don't take the load off the chain and cross chain it won't shift right.
Nevertheless, when a customer breaks their own bike and brings it to you to fix it you get to work on it and make money. That's your job. You should be glad if Tech Tuesday gets you more business.
while this is all good info for patching a tire, i have a much simpler, much faster way, AND it can be done with a 1" cut close to the bead : first, the ABSOLUTELY BEST GLUE IN THE WORLD - GOOP, about $12 a tube, dries fast and cures in hours AND this glue requires NO tube or other materials - you simply force some Goop into the cut and then for good measure put some on the inside and outside of the tire, smooth it over with your finger; this glue dries with an adhesion and strength that is amazing, yet is pliable, perfect for a rubber tire ! i had a cut all the way through a DH double sidewall and ran it for months with no problems and it is still good and i am keeping it as a spare. GOOP repairs virtually anything [ eg. you can build up worn down shoesoles or heels on your fav flats that are worn off on an angle by simply using masking tape on the edge of the heel to create the shape ] I even have repaired a busted up bumper on my JW - about the only thing i would not recommend it for is a repair that requires a Epoxy type glue, hard with no give...
I found it really useful....
I bought a brand new tyre, within the first week got a cut in the sidewalland had to buy a new tyre but now i can save cash and repair that one
Tyres from CRC are so cheap (DH tyres from £8.99-£10.99 26X2.5), This video is very helpful but for safety reason if tyres are worn out or torn throw it and buy a new one...Its only my opinion...
yepp. that's what i thought too. It is good to know, how to do it, but it is the same with the higher mathematics learned in school. You know it, but you will never use it ever in your life. Unless you study some space out things...Astrophysics or sg like that...
Cheap tyres are not necessarily good tires though... if you have a £40+ tyre and it rips, if its still got plenty of tread you're probably going to want to try and repair it rather than fork out for a replacement, or put on a bargain bin tyre...
this may show my ignorance ...which i try hard to act like i dont have but this is the first ive ever heard of (repairing) a tire ive always been told to replace a tire thats even slightly damaged for safty reasons...
@yelyayan1976 if you rip a high roller your not exactly going to replace it with a spike tyre. that WTB does look to be a good deal but it still comes down to rider preference, if the tyres you ride and trust are £40 each then your willing to spend that much to get them and will repair ripped ones. just my opinion based to trying out various different downhill tyres
west
that would probably mean that this video isnt for me then because doing freeride my swamp things and muddy marrys arent going to like being patched
still good to know though ... that i wasn't completely wrong
all well and good just throughing it out and getin another one bit if its a 35quid mac dirt then i wanna repair it! and would it work on kevlar if u used a wiere tyre for the pacth?
around here we use this kind of repair more like a "temporary repair" when you are on the trail. Who wants to walk when you can ride. I usually carry a piece of rubber from an old tire or thick inner tubes, but also use whatever is on hand, like pieces of plastic from beverage bottles, wood bark, or whatever is on my backpack or the trail that can hold the inner tube pressure. Never used duct tape but I agree that is strong and versatile. I will try it some day.
I used a dollar bill folded up and smothered in a GU chomp. Stuck in in as the patch, repaired my tube and made it another 17 miles. May not be a permanent fix but it got me home.
I just buy a new tire. Id hate to have the tire rip out while flying down a trail at 20-30mph. Id also hate for it to rip out when Im 20 miles back in on my favorite trail.
Did this before (patched a ripped tire a few years ago). Glad to know PB is giving out tips which would actually save you money rather than the other way around
Awww... Mike has so confident voice in that tech tuesday, must be an amazing bait for girls... never go to the club with Mike boys, at least do not allow him to talk about fixing cut tyres, as you won't get any girl that night - all of them will end up with Mike, super-glue, patches and tyre levers in a workshop
Its 'Duct' tape... Duck tape is a brand of 'Duct' Tape.
Forks * points to kitchen*
Problem solved.
www.princessauto.com/trailer/trailer/trailer/tire-repair/8107708-2-pc-2-tire-plug-patch-kit
lp1.pinkbike.org/p4pb4369040/p4pb4369040.jpg That tires at about 80psi too.
i've also repaired tires with butyl and duct tape
In my opinion these should go back to tuning derailleurs and setting up shifting instead of over pressurizing your shock with CO2 and fixing garbage.
"I saw a video about how to fill my shock with a CO2 can" "then it blew up"
Or
"Why do my tubes keep puncturing i saw a video about how to fix cuts in the sidewalls." "now all the tubes you sell me aren't staying inflated its your fault give me free ones"
Now i have to explain to them that a patch is not a worth fix how many bike shops fix tubes (very few) its often more failsafe to replace the tube what makes you think you can patch a tire if Tube patches hardly stay...
I am going to go down as that guy who just hated on it all for no reason. But the fact of the matter is (especially on the internet) you HAVE to play to the lowest common denominator and they will not be able to do this safely and effectively.
I get the whole wide range of issues i do but the fact is that unless there is a way to make sure that only competent people will try this there is always going to be issues.
i had a cut all the way through a DH double sidewall and ran it for months with no problems and it is still good and i am keeping it as a spare.
GOOP repairs virtually anything [ eg. you can build up worn down shoesoles or heels on your fav flats that are worn off on an angle by simply using masking tape on the edge of the heel to create the shape ] I even have repaired a busted up bumper on my JW - about the only thing i would not recommend it for is a repair that requires a Epoxy type glue, hard with no give...
But this is a little more professional looking. Im going to try it on one of my old michelins, then sell it to a friend
but this is the first ive ever heard of (repairing) a tire
ive always been told to replace a tire thats even slightly damaged for safty reasons...
and would it work on kevlar if u used a wiere tyre for the pacth?
Suggestions anyone? Because if "Tech Tuesday" don't have anything interesting to show us then maybe you do...
Unlike: How to explode your rear shock or How to mend your already worn and destroyed tire...