It must be a few months now that I had a snake bite on the rear tyre. I had plenty of sealant sloshing around but it didn’t seal so jabbed a stans dart in the larger of the two holes in the tyre wall. The one near the rim “seems” to have sealed. Since that time, the tyre is losing air, and yesterday I noticed that the hole around the dart is opening up a little bit, then sealing again. I sort of believed that these repairs were almost permanent, but are they just a get you home fix.
Is there any way I can mend the tyre now so it isn’t an ongoing potential liability? Some patch on the inside maybe?
I realise that the damage near the rim might be the one that is more vulnerable, and a new tyre might be in order, but curious what the consensus is on darts/anchovies etc…
*not sure if Rock Razors are known to be porous or I’m getting lots of pin pricks but there is loads of selling weeping around the tyre.
Stick another dart in the hole?
I’ve never used the darts in my backpack but in the olden days of 25mm ID rims and weak sidewalls I had tyres with half a dozen anchovies next to the bead that kept going until the tyre was bald
It’s not really another hole to fill with another dart, just looks like the existing hole with dart in is getting a bit longer right next to the dart. A bit of sealant comes through, then seems to seal.
I'd just patch it on the inside.
You can get patches that work in the same way as car ones and are essentially like the tube patches of old. They're kinda like a dart but have a wide 'patch' that you put the glue on and you push them from the inside out. Leaves a nicer aesthetic than a dart too.
Think they're on amazon somewhere, a mate got like 20 of them which should be enough for many years.
The life of a trail-side repair varies, I've one in each of my tyres and both are holding up so I've left them alone.
As for weeping, I don't worry about it as long as the tyre stays inflated. I'll top up the sealant whenever I remember which is about every 6-9 months.
Have a look on ebay for mushroom plugs always repair ours with them once back off the trail
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131208504777?hash=item1e8ca2e5c9:g:J4sAAOSwHnRhLLaW
[img] 
[/img]
Even on the edge of the tyre can be done, just trim off the excess patch
I tent to consider those trail / roadside plugs a get me home kind of fix. However on a few occasions i have had them in for the lifetime of the tyre.
I do like the peace of mind that a proper repair gives you though. I'm always a bit nervous that the plugs might pop out (they sometimes do, event after quite a while of them being in there).
Those ebay mushroom plugs are a really good for a long term fix
Yep, mushrooms as above, imho essential for any fix that looks/behaves iffy/difficult to fix in field/v large plug. Says the man who got whiteout when a large plug failed explosively on the way home ……..
Same here with the mushrooms. A "temporary" fix really can last the life of the tyre and be fine, but the mushrooms are stronger than the tyre was before the puncture
Thanks all, I’d never even heard about the mushrooms! Everyday is a school day, as they say…
I had a slash consisting of 2 lots of about 1cm, so fairly sizeable. I patched it from the inside with a piece of weldite puncture patch material in a sheet, and I glued the fibres together in the cut with superglue - and it's been fine for 6 months. The tyre retained its integrity though in spite of the slash.
My rear has got 2 bacon strips in it, and one is right near the rim. It’s a pretty worn tyre so I’m just using it as it is until it needs replacing and it’s holding up well.
I bought a load of those mushroom plugs and a tub of glue - I’ve only used them to repair one tyre so far and it’s sitting in the garage ready to go on the bike. It’s a pretty much new tyre that my wife tore the first day out.
I recently threw a tyre out that was completely worn out right down to the canvas in places. It's had a mushroom plug in it for at least 12 months so I thought I'd see how strong it was. I wasn't able to remove it... not even without pliers!
