[Closed] Self adhesive puncture patches

Use a traditional glue on patch and stop chucking them away! It's only a little extra faff and the repair is reliable

(Or go tubeless)

yep even the halfords stuff (glue and patchs/patch sheets) is as good any.

Ive tried a few varietys, none as good as TipTopp Rema. The edge of the patch melts in the glue and over 30yrs of patching, none have failed.

Specialised Flat Boy patch kit. Never had an issue with these. I’m tubeless now (which I would recommend over a tubed system) but on an epic day will carry a tube and a Flat Boy patch kit. Never had to use it tho in 3 years I’ve gone over to tubeless.

I've used Park repair patches for ages, and they've been great. Only time they cause trouble is when it gets really hot in the shed, then the glue or patch seems to soften and fails. Ultimately not as good as a 'proper' patch with vulcanising glue, but good for quick trail/roadside fixes.

Depends. For the MTB I find traditional Tip Top feather edge patches & solution work best but on roady tubes I got some Lezyne self adhesive jobs which have been good.
Saying that, I did have 6 thorns at once on the HT & fixed them all with Lezynes (didn't have spare tube at the time) & none of those have failed.

I think the slime (or whatever sealant you're using) messes with the adhesive - I've never been able to get one to work on a tube that's had sealant in...

Tip Top Rema for me; the only hard bit is separating the patch from the cellophane cover.

When out and about I find the self-adhesives work great, but I'll use a proper patch kit for any I fix at home.

I clean, I sandpaper, I stick, I leave, I only pump inside a tyre and not just to see if it’s worked.

Personally rather than the "I leave" step, "I apply pressure to the patch for about a minute".

I'm with you on the self-adhesive patches, not found them reliable at all - either leaving them fior a while, or applying pressure. I'll be going back to using glue and patches personally

Which self-adhesives are people having trouble with? I've used Park, Lezyne and Knog, all have worked well for me (Knog were style over substance, but were all the LBS that I was passing had).

globalti, you are meant to leave that bit on. It acts as a layer of frictionless protection between the patch and tyre.

I used the park ones a few times - seemed to work well, the tube that had 3 separate punctures held well using them - in fact I think it was still in the front tyre when I sold the bike.....

none as good as TipTopp Rema

Same here. And I usually dust a bit of chalk around under the edge but don't bother trying to take the clear bit off.

I use Evans own brand (fwe?) and they work well. When I returned from living abroad I at first could not believe they would work - much to the amusement of my LBS - but `they did.
I think jimbubleyu might be right, they are tricky to use with slime tubes.

You may have to keep throwing away your tubes, though. The reason I stopped using them is I found they only really work for one puncture, after that the sealant never seemed to work as well. I've gone back to old-fashioned tyre, tube, repair kit; I get a few punctures, but I can deal with them in minutes.

I've been using them for years without any problems at all, the Park Tool and Leyzene ones. Make sure the surface of the tube is clean, place it on a hard surface then stick the patch on and make sure to iron out any air bubbles. If I'm out I tend to flip the bike upside down and use the BB shell for a hard surface and the edge of a tyre lever to press the patch on with. I've only ever had problems if the hole in the tube is too big or if the hole is right next to another patch because they don't like being stuck on over the top of each other.

Patching a slime tube will always be an exercise in futility.

The cellophane comes off easily. There's a fine cut down the middle of it on the Tipp Top patches. Squeeze,the repair in half slightly ones it's cured and peel from the inside to the outside edge. That way, there's no risk of peeling the patch off.

As for repair "glue", it's actually vulcanising solution and works best if you let it dry rather than just waiting until it goes tacky.

I've used Park glueless patches in the past and they've worked perfectly, even on a punctured camelbak bladder.

I carry Lezyne ones in my pack when commuting. No idea why, cos I'm tubeless and don't get punctures! 😆
back in the day, they worked ok though - but I think the best ones were Scabs (Skabs?) - they're green, so will match the slime leaking out of your oldskool tubes. Skabs (Scabs?) are more stretchy than most of the other brands, so survive being pumped up better.

Prefer the Topeak ptches to Park, but they are not a permanent fix and will fail. Tip Top Rema are the best, but I find them hard to buy, others aren't too bad. But I often see them fail too. Modern inner tubes are just not rubber. Now fixing latex tubes is another matter, the patches really do stay put with the vulcanising glue!

I've used scabs, park and some draper ones and have all worked. I don't bother sand papering but do apply pressure for a minute or two.

I fixed an air bed with a scabs one the other week and it's been inflated since Saturday whilst we're away camping!!

I've used the Park ones and some Ribble ones. Never failed. I tend to keep them for situations where glue/patches would be inconvenient (cold/raining/in a hurry), but I've used them and not bothered to replace them and they've held so far.

I've got one on my self-inflating mat that had a small hole, and it's survived dozens of bikepacking trips, getting unrolled, slept on, rolled up, and stuffed back in a bag.

I occasionally use Park self-adhesive patches, and for repairing tubes on the road they're pretty good. With the right process (clean, dry, roughen up tube, etc) they stick well and hold air when you inflate.

The problem comes when/ if you deflate the tube again; something about the tube's and the patch's elasticity not being the same means the patch goes all wrinkly, and I've never managed to get it to reliably hold air afterwards.

So for roadside repair, they're good; but if you're patching in the shed/ at home, it's easier in the long run to use glue and traditional feathered patches, IME

Never had an issue myself, normally with the Park ones, and once patched I've never had an issue of them failing at the patch that I remember on either road or mountain wheels. This to be fair is only on normal tubes - never bothered with slime filled tubes, as I'm normally tubeless anyway.

The problem comes when/ if you deflate the tube again; something about the tube’s and the patch’s elasticity not being the same means the patch goes all wrinkly, and I’ve never managed to get it to reliably hold air afterwards.

yep, true it goes wrinkly but I've never had an issue with re inflating the tubes. Some of my tubes have had up to seven patches on them, I've had to throw them away because the rubber fails at the valve before the patches start to lose air.

Onza is correct re the removal of the plastic backing from adhered rema tip top patches.You can leave it on but it's obviously designed to be removed because as he says ..if you squeeze the patch the plastic cover will split neatly down the middle allowing you to peel it off starting from the middle. Some people try and remove beforehand which is daft and others try and peel it of from one side which may lift the feather edge and cause possible leakage. Once you know the technique it's so easy.

squeeze the patch the plastic cover will split neatly down the middle allowing you to peel it off starting from the middle

Every day's a school day. I usually wait until I've got a few that need patching then go at them with tip top patches. So far (tempting fate!) I've been able to rely on carrying a spare rather than patching on the fly.