How To Fix A Tubeless Puncture & Save Your Tyres! | Maintenance Monday

What other maintenance videos would you like to see?

Issue I have with this - Self adhesive repair patch is specifically designed to patch the tube and depending on brand, most of them work absolutely great. But I would really like to see long term test of sealant on the glue, because I would imagine that in time, sealant can weaken adhesion of the glue and wash the patch off. It was never designed to be coated in sealant. As a get you home - fine. But restoring your damaged tire back? Also I used tire boot from ParkTool in the past and it works great to save the tire, BUT - adhesion to tire is not easy as tire is not best contact material. Main reason why tire boot works great is that tube is holding it in place and creating constant pressure on the spot. Without a tube and with sealant theoretically spoiling the glue, I can’t see it would work without longer term data.

Thanks Alex, I’ve converted to tubeless on my road bike and loving it. No way I’m using tubes again, although I do still carry one on every ride just in case. 😊

Thanks Alex. Appreciate this content. I think in an earlier video you mentioned that we should use more robust inner tube patches and not the instant patches. I have certainly had no issues when using "old school" (heavier weight) inner tube patches and plenty of standard inner tube glue on my tubeless tires. Oh just give it plenty of pressure during curing by puting it under a table leg for 2-4 hours.

As much as I love the feel of tubeless tyres on a road bike I’ve reverted back to inner tubes. In the last 12 months I’ve gone through 3 tyres all due to sidewall cuts. Patching is hit & miss. They all fail due to higher pressure that you need to run road tyres vs gravel & mtb tyres. If the technology improves I’ll jump back in but for now I’ll run tubeless on my gravel & mount bikes.

I use mushroom plugs. Just ream out the hole where the puncture is, clean the inside of the tyre and glue it in. Means you don't have the worry of the patch pushing out through the unplugged hole or need to botch shoegoo into your hole.

This is the first time I have attempted to repair a tubeless bike tyre. Where I live, we have a lot of road hazards, especially glass. and I ended up with a 3/8 cut in the wear area of my rear tyre. This repair went better than I expected. I used a good grade Upholstery thread, A medium-sized slime patch, Cleaned the area with Isopropyl alcohol, reinstalled the tire on the rim, with a tube installed. and aired up to 30 psi. I will let it sit for 24 Hrs. Thanks for your video, It Helped. Can’t Wait to see how well this repair holds up. Reply

I’ve had good results using the sidewall of an old racing tire (the part that says Pzero in this video) as a patch. Glue inside to inside using conventional vulcanization cement or contact cement. The hole I patched was about the same size as the one shown here but it was in an ordinary tire (Conti 5k) with a tube. The tire sidewall is thin, flexible and butyl coated, yet remarkably strong and stretch resistant, so it makes an excellent emergency boot, as well as a patch, when glued in from the inside.

These videos are just great. You hve just answered every question I had. Great channel. I wish you well,

Gorilla tape! I had a little slash from some sharp piece of city street debris that wouldn't seal, even after I jammed a Stans Dart in. Took it home, cleaned the inside as Alex has, just put some gorilla tape over the dart on the inside. 2 years later, it's still going strong even though I've ridden plenty of rooty and rocky trails. Honestly for something like a slice where you don't have a chunk of missing material (and in that case you would want to use a plug), just gorilla taping it seems like the way to go, it'll hold the structure of the tire together better than these smaller patches. Sealant will manage any pinholes.

Additionally...if you're patching a tire w/ dried sealant on the inside you MUST remove it completely down to fresh, clean tire rubber. I use 3 step process and it works. Goo Gone Pro Power (not Goof Off). Dissolve sealant thoroughly w/ Goo Gone. clean that residue off w/ Dawn. Wipe area well w/ Acetone. you should now have clean rubber ready for scuffing, gluing and patching....or self stick if you like. Happy riding.

Alex you are an Ace at repair! Absolutely stellar! Repair rather than replace. Its better for your purse and the environment. That is all great but a flat on the road with tubeless is a different challenge. I tell tubeless enthusiasts to carry a tube for the on the road repair when their sealant has dried up or the hole is too big for the sealant to meet expectation. I tell long distance riders (tourist), gravel adventurist and mountain bikers who use tubes or go tubeless a side wall cut can be a disaster. There is road repair if you are prepared. Get an old smooth tire, cut a section about 8 inches ( 20 cm ) long. Cut off the bead. Make sure it will reach from one bead to another on your tire. Carry it with your spare tube and tools. When you get a side will cut, put your tire casing between the side wall cut on your tire and inner tube. It may not be ideal but it will let you ride home. When you are out in the boonies your cell phone is not always a backup solution. Walking your bike home is never fun!

In 6000 miles I’ve had one puncture which was too large for sealant to seal. A big construction staple was the perpetrator. I used a “dart” from Stan’s. Other vendors make similar kits. I was surprised you didn’t mention that.

This procedure will also work on a clincher tire if you are worried that the hole will cause your tube to bulge out of it. If I need a boot, I use what is left of a cotton casing from a 1980's Tub with the tread pulled off. (Back in the 80's, Vittoria Tubs had their treads glued on, so it was easy to pull them off without wrecking the casing....Tubs now have their treads vulcanized on)

Vulcanising glue and a bit of an old inner tube are all you need to do this.

I’ve had good luck using automotive radial tire patches. Wax paper between patch and tube overnight, then back to tubeless instead of clamp.

I repaired a tubeless tire once with a patch, but I kept imagining the patch coming loose while I was bombing a descent causing a major blowout. I ended up just swapping out the tire. The repaired tire was nearly brand new, but I couldn't justify the cost savings if I got hurt because of a failed repair.

Having a hole that the sealant cannot plug is the worse thing about tubeless tyres in my experience ... until now! Having to pull the tyre off the rim breaks the seal made by the sealant to keep the system airtight. Most sealants are natural latex and as they dry it becomes a tedious job to clean the rim in readiness for re-installation. The worst sealant for this is Silca's with it's carbon strands that bond to the rim. Awful stuff for road tyres. If you use a synthetic latex sealant it stays liquid for longer and cleans with good ol' water. Pop the bead, run a hose inside the tyre and you're pretty much done. I use milKit which also has fibres within the sealant and the pressure retention is amazing with Hunt alloy rims (that leak air on the butt joint without sealant) and Hutchinson Fusion5 Performance.

My go to repair lately has just been to add more sealant, spin the wheel and reinflate. I'm continually amazing at the size of hole I can seal with, go figure, sealant. Even for a larger guy like me who needs 90+ psi in his tires.

Alex, How do these patches interact with sealant? Will the sealant eventually intrude and defeat the adhesive? Thanks for the knowledge.