What do you do to repair a flat tire while out cycling?

[rwest]

Not quite a tool or patch kit, but I just remembered to toss some sort of I.D. in my spare bag- I saved my old driver’s license for this exact reason.

[NutmegCarrera]

Late to the party here.
Back to sew-ups, I used to ride them for everything. Favorite was continental sprinters on Mavic GL330 rims. Not all about weight. The ride was sublime. Modern clinchers on aero V section rims are really stiff and harsh. The old steel frames aren’t as forgiving as todays carbon.
Mind you this was 1980’s.
Today -
Carry a tube, patch kit, levers, cO2 inflator and a set of individual Allen’s.
Proffered patch kit is the park glueless.
My worst day was a stage of “cycle Oregon”, a really nice supported tour.
First day, I rode through a bunch of weeds in parking lot before the ride.
Dumb midwesterner - I didn’t realize they were thorns.
Went through spare tube and all my patches. (Frame fit pump for tours like that).
Walked the last bit into the end of the ride and found the support guy. Two new tires and tubes and a couple spares. No more flats the rest of the week. The tires basically had gotten loaded up with thorns.

Lately doing more MTB than road. Tubeless there, and honestly don’t carry anything.

[stuartj]

Originally Posted by red-beard

One day I had to fix a tube 3 times. It then bit me a few miles into a ride the following week. A tiny tiny wire was in the tire, very very hard to spot.

Yep, a 40 mile ride with 3 flats is no fun! I have pictures and everything!

I had a similar thing happen. Puncure after puncture. After the third or fourth I found the tiny wire. A single strand from the front derailleur cable had embedded in the tyre. A tiny piece that I missed on repeated checks of the tyre carcas, but it was enough to pierce the tube under load.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by look 171

I tell you what. I show you mine if you show me yours

Originally Posted by rwest

Nice, a deals a deal...

Those are beautiful....like works of art!

[look 171]

West, great wheels, bottle cage choice. I had the same saddle on mine too, but took it off and put it on another bike. You have the Bstay C40, the next gen or a few years younger. the tubes aren't creased?

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Baz

Those are beautiful....like works of art!

I have always wanted one since I was a kid, an deep orange, steel one, the Mexico. I use to wheel suck off of one often on our animal rides

[rwest]

Originally Posted by look 171

West, great wheels, bottle cage choice. I had the same saddle on mine too, but took it off and put it on another bike. You have the Bstay C40, the next gen or a few years younger. the tubes aren't creased?

I think mine might be towards the end of the run; I bought it new in 1996. The tubes are creased- hard to see in the photo.

Part of me wants a new bike with the hidden cables, but I really like the Art Deco design on the older Colnagos’ and frankly mine does everything I need it to do and so well.

[T77911S]

Originally Posted by look 171

Yeah man, don't talk about flats. The min someone talks about it then it happens. Never fails. I haven't had a flat in over 6 months and I ride regularly once to twice weekly. I ad a bug up my butt and put in 80 last Saturday then another 30 the next day. Haven't been on it since. I might go out later today

I tell you what. I show you mine if you show me yours

i dont ride anymore.
beautiful bike.
i dont like the new colors and designs of the new bikes and especially the looks of the new wheels. too flashy or busy. i had the specialized tri spokes, a set of the heliums and a few others. i think i had a wheel fettish.
i rode a trek carbon most of the time. broke a few but they always replaced them
last one i got hit my a car so thats hanging in the garage but i built up a spare cannondale saeco frame.

[recycled sixtie]

No Porsche pics next to my bike! I don't carry any tools or spares for my bike as I don't cycle that far, maybe a couple of miles. If I got a flat tire I would just walk the bike home.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by look 171

Yep. I don't even spend the time patching them anymore.

The patches I carried were a backup to the usually 2 tubes I carried.

[fanaudical]

I carry tire levers, glueless patches, a hand pump, and a mini-roll of duct tape (~18 inches wrapped around a piece of plastic tube) and a piece of light rope to tie the recumbent into a tree if the back wheel needs to be pulled. I carry spare tubes on long rides.

I run clinchers (Scwhalbe Marathon Plus on the recumbent and one of their cyclocross tires on the gravel bike); they are near impossible to remove without tire levers. Thankfully those are relatively puncture-resistant tires and I haven't had a flat in a long time.

[David]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Mr West has raised a question in my mind requiring a hijack.

Can youse guys recommend a home service stand? A DIY home made unit would be cool too.

This is probably way more than you're looking for but I use a Park stand that's made to mount on a work bench. Instead of a work bench, I have some round bar welded to square bar that I clamp in my vise with the Park clamp on it:

[gregpark]

My worst case flat incident involved riding through a wind swirled pile of dried goat heads. Instant double flat with 8 or 10 in each tire. I carry a new tube and 2 CO² bottles but just a few patches. I waved a car down to barrow their cell. Had a buddy grab my truck and fetch me.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gregpark

My worst case flat incident involved riding through a wind swirled pile of dried goat heads. Instant double flat with 8 or 10 in each tire. I carry a new tube and 2 CO² bottles but just a few patches. I waved a car down to barrow their cell. Had a buddy grab my truck and fetch me.

I'd never heard of "goat heads." I had to look them up.

They look similar what I've always called sandspurs. Either way, I'm pretty sure they are the spawn of satan.

Goat heads


Sandspurs

[T77911S]

oh man i have some BAD experiences with multiple flats.
once i had to wait for my brother to ride home and get the car and come get me,

we were doing a 4th of july ride (100k) that we always did. both me and him had multiple flats. finally we gave in and got in the broom wagon.

i had multiple flats due to rim tape.

i use to patch, then just gave up and went to one tube and one air bottle and a cell phone.
oh, always carry 5-$10 with you in case you "bonk"

[herr_oberst]

Colnago's and 911's - dime a dozen, apparently!

Here we have an alu Trek 1100 converted to SS with parts bin parts and covered in stickers. Wooden fender custom made from an old Ikea chair.
Leaning up against a BMW Crew Cab of 1984 vintage.
(That's right, those ARE Gatorskins!)

ooh and aah at your leisure. I'll leave it posted here.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by masraum

I'd never heard of "goat heads." I had to look them up.

[Bill Verburg]

problem w/ patches is finding where the leek is on the side of the road

Co2 cartridge a couple of small plastic spoons and a spare tube usually suffice, toss away gloves don't hurt

and yes ID, cash and cc info just in case

[Jolly Amaranto]

A friend of mine ended up for a month in the hospital after being rear ended on his bike by a hit and run driver on a quite residential boulevard. No witnesses. Ever since, I have a GoPro mounted under my seat behind my tool pouch looking back for forensics purposes. Comes in handy as well to see if I really saw what I think I saw. Today it was a coyote.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Colnago's and 911's - dime a dozen, apparently!

Here we have an alu Trek 1100 converted to SS with parts bin parts and covered in stickers. Wooden fender custom made from an old Ikea chair.
Leaning up against a BMW Crew Cab of 1984 vintage.
(That's right, those ARE Gatorskins!)

ooh and aah at your leisure. I'll leave it posted here.

fooking hipster with that handle bar and stickers