Video: How to patch a flat tube
Thank you to all the participants who joined us for the Fix-A-Flat Skillshare event at Happy Go Bikes on February 27th! Shout out to the instructors Ben and Bean for leading a hands-on event where participants had the chance to remove, inspect, and fix a flat tire. For those of you who missed it and want to learn more, check out Trey Robinson’s video on How to Fix A Flat Tire.
Materials You Will Need:
- Tire levers
- Pump
- Marker
- Patch kit
Finding the hole in the tube:
- Inflate the inner tube and look for leaks
- Listen and feel for air escaping the inner tube
- In some cases, immersing the tube under water will help you identify where the hole is (look for the bubbles).
- Once you identify the hole, assess whether or not the patch repair kit is the best way to fix your flat. If you have a flat, always inspect the tire, tube, and rim to figure out where the flat originated from. Here are a couple different types of flats that you might find:
- A small pin hole in the tube may be from a thorn, glass, metal etc (inspect the tire and remove the object if it’s still there)
- Snake bites or pinch flat – you hit something too hard or you didn’t have enough air in your tire
- Blow out – improbably sealed tire, tube came outside of the tire due to improperly sealed tire or rip in tire. If the tire rips, replace as soon as possible (in the meantime, you can use a tire boot patch)
- If there are no holes, see if the valve caused the leak. Put some soapy water on the valve and inspect for bubbles. If it bubbles, then tighten the valve)
- Inspect the rim – see if the rim strip is damaged – are there rips? Spokes poking through?
Patching
- Mark your hole with a marker
- Use the sandpaper from the patch repair kit to clean the area, make sure you use the sandpaper on the surrounding area of the hole.
- When possible, use a cleaning solvent, such as alcohol, to clean the area. You don’t want to use a solvent that leaves film.
- If you are using a pre glued patch, peel the backing off and lay the patch directly over the hole, making sure the hole is in the center of the patch as best you can.
- Apply pressure to seal the hole.
- The tube is ready to put back in the tire. Do not test the tube by blowing it up outside the tire. You may blow it up past its capacity, which pulls on the patch and weakens it.
- If you are using a “vulcanizing patch kit,” open the liquid, dab some on the area of the hole, and use your finger or a clean piece of paper to spread the liquid around the area of the hole.
- Allow the fluid to dry – don’t rush! Test by touching the edge of the fluid.
- Once dry, peel off the back of the patch. Place the patch on the tube centered on the hole. Apply the pressure to the patch, especially the edges.
- Leave the clear plastic cover on the patch.
- After a few minutes, inspect the patch and ensure that the edges are bonded to the tube.
- You’re done! You can place the patched tube back in the tire!
Works cited: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0F_hibWHlU