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I’ve had great success with patching holes in tyres before using mushroom plugs and vulcanising glue, but my last attempt was a bit of a nightmare on my wife’s gravel tyre. It did stick in the end but I thought it was going to be a failure.
The tyre was a tan wall and tan inside with fibres just below the surface. A light sanding exposed the fibres, which may have been the problem?
Is it user error or does vulcanising glue not work unless it’s onto decent black rubber?
And any recommendations for mushroom plugs please, mine are a bit chunky for gravel tyres or a different type of glue that might work better?
I’ve come back from my last ride with a tyre with 3 holes in it and because of my last attempt I’ve just bought a new one instead of trying to repair it for now 🫣
Watching with interest
I shroomed a tyre last week, glue inside tyre wait a minute, expose sticky side of mushroom, straight down and stuck right away. Could be tyre inner surface not rubbery enough?
It probably depends on the glue.
Isn't most puncture repair glue - rubber cement? That relies on partially dissolving* the surfaces before bringing them together. If that is the case then the fibres would lead to a weaker bond (less of the soft material in contact).
You are pretty much stuck with the tyre you are repairing. So just follow good gluing practice. Get things as clean as possible, sand to expose fresh rubber and then wipe with IPA or another similar solvent. Liberally apply the glue and allow to "dry" before pressing together then apply pressure.
Only other thing that comes to mind is an old patch -the softer material that should be easier to dissolve could have hardened.
*swelling for polymer pedants.
I recently patched the inside of a tubeless tan walled gravel tyre with a normal tube patch and vulcanising glue. I spent a bit of time cleaning any sealant residue with IPA and then sanding the area. Let the glue dry before applying patch then really pressing it with a screwdriver handle to ensure a really good bond. I left it overnight to cure before fitting the tyre. A week and a couple of rides later it hasn't lost even 1psi of pressure.
Vulcanising ‘glue’ isn’t really glue. It creates a chemical reaction that melts the surface of the rubber and bonds it to the patch or mushroom.
You have probably rubbed away too much rubber so the ‘glue’ has nothing to bond with.
Try Supaglue around the mushroom head. I have had success using it with a tyre patch that wouldn’t seal in the past.
I use Rema SC-BL for tyre repairs, seems to give a pretty robust repair
I use Rema SC-BL for tyre repairs, seems to give a pretty robust repair
Is that different to Vulcanising glue?
What are these mushroom patches then? I've only just got the hang of anchovies (or whatever they're called).
I use Rema SC-BL for tyre repairs, seems to give a pretty robust repair
Yep, same here: blue tube for tyre patching, green tube for inner tube patching
Lael Wilcox was supergluing holes on her recent RTW effort; not sure how good a long term solution this is though?
Just realised I’m out of mushroom patches and need some more. I can’t remember what size I used but they were fairly small- is it the 3mm ones that are generally used for bike tyres?
What are these mushroom patches then? I've only just got the hang of anchovies (or whatever they're called).
They are these or similar. Although not necessarily this big. They go in from the inside out.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yosoo-Health-Gear-Motorcycle-Agricultural/dp/B08TC1TWTV
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yosoo-Health-Gear-Motorcycle-Agricultural/dp/B08TC1TWTV