My apologies if this has already been answered. I rolled over a piece of glass that cut a gash too big for the sealant to seal up. I got it to hold with a plug. What is the general consensus on using this tire moving forward? Is the plug a permanent fix? Is there something better? Should I buy a new tire?
Thank you,
B
Know some who have endless plugs in their tyres and will carry on using them…
Myself, I’d view the tyre as compromised in strength and will possibly will fail at the most “inconvenient” moment. It will always be a weakness IMO.
Depends on how you push your tyres, riding style etc.
I’d replace as soon as I could.
You can also patch the tyre from the inside with a tyre patch (like a thickish tube patch). But the same doubts about it holding up willl remain…
Ive patched Pro Ones a few times. Last tyre had 3 patches at the end. Did at least another 2,000km after the first patch and was fine, was even starting to show canvas on an unpatched cut (must have had a slight bulge there) when I tossed it.
I’ve used inner tube patches to repair tyres in the past with 100% success rate.
I have had to plug two Pro Ones with Dynaplug’s. Ill continue using the tire if it keeps the tire pressure. On weekdays, the bike is on the trainer, on the weekend it goes outside. If, by the time the weekend comes and the tire is completely flat, its usually an indication that the tire has a pretty big hole.
I had to replace a pro one because it kept leaking at the same spot no matter how many times I plug it / add more sealant. At that point, its better to replace it than waste plugs.
Ive used plugged pro ones for around 3000 km after being repaired.
So yes, plugging it can extend the life of the tire so long as it still seals at the damaged area. If you have the time, add a tube tire patch from the inside for additional peace of mind.
Hope it helps.
Has anyone tried patching Schwalbe G-One RS or similar from the inside (I think the Pro Ones are similar in terms of materials). I have tried using special tubeless tire patches from Rema TipTop and they didn’t bond at all with the inside of the tire. The cut I got yesterday is 3-4 mm and a bacon strip doesn’t hold either. My tire is 1000 km old and I want to keep riding it tubeless. My old G One Bites could be easily fixed with a bacon strip and lasted thousands of kilometers. The G One RS has this structure where you can almost see the textile layers. Could that maybe the reason my patches didn’t hold.
I’ve had really good experiences with the hutchinson patches.
I haven’t tried patching those, but I’ve always found that the rubber cement doesn’t work that well inside tyres. I usually put the patch on carefully, then let it dry overnight, which mostly makes it stick. Maybe some other sort of flexible glue would also work? (The inside of most tyres these days isn’t actual rubber, so maybe jo surprise it doesn’t work well.)
With the tyre structure like that, I’d also let the patched bit sit in some sealant overnight after you put the tyre back on, to let the sealant creep into all those gaps.
I go as far as to put the tyre on a spare wheel with a tube in it overnight to keep pressure on the patch while it cures. The tyre does look problematic though - I’m pretty sure rema sell a different adhesive which is meant for this kind of thing - much more adhesive than vulcanising solution in this case.
Did you clean the surface with alcohol and rough it up with sand paper then put a weight on the patch for curing? It could be that it’s not actually a rubber casing and the vulcanizing doesn’t take place, causing a failed seal.
I cleaned it and roughed it up with sandpaper but the rubber layer is so thin that you go straight to the fabric below. I also think it isn’t much rubber there for it to vulcanize. After waiting 10 min I tried removing the foil on the patch and the patch came off with it. Next time I can try leaving it dry overnight for better results.