Pump up flat tyre at home?

[crankcase]

Bad start to my week... came down this morning to find the front tyre of the bike completely FLAT. No idea if it's a puncture or a valve failure cos I didn't have time to examine.

 

I can take it down to the bike shop tomorrow, but I dare not ride when the tyre is at zero pressure. Any way to inflate for a short ride? I don't have a foot pump, but can I buy a compressed air can (not puncture repair mousse) from a petrol station or something?

 

Please advise

[plasticprison]

use a bicycle pump.

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

Can also get a can of Fix a Flat from petrol stations or hypermarkets like Mustafa, Carrefour, etc.

 

If no time to go, try calling friends - sometimes they carry spares if they ride bikes with big storage space (I rescue people on roadside using those cans)

[Silent Hunter]

Where are you staying bro, I got a bicycle pump at home.

[crankcase]

Thanks folks! A friend (with a big bike/boxes/etc ) dropped by last night with his electric tyre pump. Helped me fix the puncture (with the worm kit) and reinflate. It only got up to about 24psi before his engine started getting hot, but it was enough to get me to the nearest petrol kiosk.

 

Here's the culprit

 

http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq166/crankcase79/Bike%20photos/DSC00691.jpg

 

Seems to be holding up ok so far. But I think I'll go buy one of those Fix a Flat cans Pandora has mentioned. Cheers!

[eement]

hi guy...any solution to med those mended worm?

 

as in the hole had been mended by a worm...but now i realised that it leak from the worm?tks for any advice...

[kinwei]

You can ride to bike shop that deals with tire and patch from the inside.

[eement]

That mean must take out the tire?no way to patch from outside?

[Winners]

You can ride to bike shop that deals with tire and patch from the inside.

 

I won't suggest this. It will puncture again after a few weeks/months and this time will be sudden and immediate because the hole is already in existence. Why I say this is because I had personally tried and experienced it before. Once the first worm patch fails, it's unlikely to be durable again for subsequent patches on the same hole. Trust me. To save time and unnecessary inconvenience, it's better to change a new tire.

[kinwei]

That mean must take out the tire?no way to patch from outside?

 

Yes, remove tire and patch from inside. Another way is to remove the current worm and stuff 2 worms instead of one. And Sometimes it the worm that is faulty. After prolong storage , the worm might harden and will not seal up the hole properly. Judging from where the hole is, got a feeling the leak is coming from the groove side?

[kinwei]

I won't suggest this. It will puncture again after a few weeks/months and this time will be sudden and immediate because the hole is already in existence. Why I say this is because I had personally tried and experienced it before. Once the first worm patch fails, it's unlikely to be durable again for subsequent patches on the same hole. Trust me. To save time and unnecessary inconvenience, it's better to change a new tire.

 

Of course the ideal solution will be changing of tire.

 

By the way, you mean you tried patching from inner side and it sudden leak? From my understanding, inner patch is much safer as the air pressure constantly pressing the patch against the tire and of course the the patch is supposed to be glued on to the tire. There is no external factor to pull the patch away from the hole.

 

Unless you mean replacing the old worm with a new worm? If thats the case, yah, it may not be durable. If there is a leak even if after patched, usually it means either,

 

1) the hole is too big to be patched. Normally if it is too big to be patched by worm, you will know it the moment you tried patching it.

2) the worms may be spoilt (harden). It supposed to soft and sticky so that it can seal up the hole properly

3) the hole is at the grove. You need to compress the worm against the road to seal up the hole properly.

4) Improper patching. You must leave a slight amount of worm sticking out of the hole so that it can be compressed to provide complete seal. But leave too long, it might be pulled out by the tarmac.

 

I personally had patched a few tires based with proper method and it last me till the tire become fully worn out. And I do travel at rather high speed on it.

 

But still changing a tire is still the best solution provided your pocket allows it.

[eement]

ok but how do i pull out the current worm that is in the tyre?

[Winners]

Of course the ideal solution will be changing of tire.

 

By the way, you mean you tried patching from inner side and it sudden leak? From my understanding, inner patch is much safer as the air pressure constantly pressing the patch against the tire and of course the the patch is supposed to be glued on to the tire. There is no external factor to pull the patch away from the hole.

 

Unless you mean replacing the old worm with a new worm? If thats the case, yah, it may not be durable. If there is a leak even if after patched, usually it means either,

 

1) the hole is too big to be patched. Normally if it is too big to be patched by worm, you will know it the moment you tried patching it.

2) the worms may be spoilt (harden). It supposed to soft and sticky so that it can seal up the hole properly

3) the hole is at the grove. You need to compress the worm against the road to seal up the hole properly.

4) Improper patching. You must leave a slight amount of worm sticking out of the hole so that it can be compressed to provide complete seal. But leave too long, it might be pulled out by the tarmac.

 

I personally had patched a few tires based with proper method and it last me till the tire become fully worn out. And I do travel at rather high speed on it.

 

But still changing a tire is still the best solution provided your pocket allows it.

 

Well, I have personally experienced the failure after doing an inner patch repair job (after a failed worm repair on the same puncture) at a tire shop in Kallang Bahru. I suppose the technician would know how to do it well since it's a tire shop. Anyway, after less than 2 months of traveling, one day it suddenly punctured again from the same patched hole. This time it's instant flat because the hole was already in existence. I suppose the problem is because prior to doing the inner patch repair, the punctured hole will have to be cleaned and reamed (to remove the remnants of the existing worm).

 

Once the punctured hole is above a certain diameter, the durability of an inner patch repair is tremendously compromised. If it's a small nail hole of less 2mm in diameter, probably an inner patch could have worked well, but if the hole was already reamed larger (more than 5mm in diameter) for the prior repair by using worm, then it'll be useless to use inner patch repair because it won't last. I've learned my lesson the expensive way the last time as I had to pay an additional price for removing (and reinstallation) of the wheel at the motor shop and then bring the tire over to the tire shop for the inner patch repair.

 

In summary, what I'm saying is that if the original puncture is 2mm or less in diameter, an inner patch repair should be okay. But if this puncture had previously been repaired by worm before and it leaks again, then an inner patch repair will be useless because the punctured hole would have been reamed to more than 5mm in diameter (in order to insert the first worm repair) already. Thus the inner patch repair will not last due to the excessively large hole being created by the first worm repair. Furthermore, a second worm repair on the same hole will also not last as I had tried it by myself before I embark on the inner patch repair job as a last resort. My tire then was less than 2k km mileage, but no choice had to change to a new tire eventually.

Edited May 24, 2011 by Winners

[kinwei]

Well, I have personally experienced the failure after doing an inner patch repair job (after a failed worm repair on the same puncture) at a tire shop in Kallang Bahru. I suppose the technician would know how to do it well since it's a tire shop. Anyway, after less than 2 months of traveling, one day it suddenly punctured again from the same patched hole. This time it's instant flat because the hole was already in existence. I suppose the problem is because prior to doing the inner patch repair, the punctured hole will have to be cleaned and reamed (to remove the remnants of the existing worm).

 

Once the punctured hole is above a certain diameter, the durability of an inner patch repair is tremendously compromised. If it's a small nail hole of less 2mm in diameter, probably an inner patch could have worked well, but if the hole was already reamed larger (more than 5mm in diameter) for the prior repair by using worm, then it'll be useless to use inner patch repair because it won't last. I've learned my lesson the expensive way the last time as I had to pay an additional price for removing (and reinstallation) of the wheel at the motor shop and then bring the tire over to the tire shop for the inner patch repair.

 

In summary, what I'm saying is that if the original puncture is 2mm or less in diameter, an inner patch repair should be okay. But if this puncture had previously been repaired by worm before and it leaks again, then an inner patch repair will be useless because the punctured hole would have been reamed to more than 5mm in diameter (in order to insert the first worm repair) already. Thus the inner patch repair will not last due to the excessively large hole being created by the first worm repair. Furthermore, a second worm repair on the same hole will also not last as I had tried it by myself before I embark on the inner patch repair job as a last resort. My tire then was less than 2k km mileage, but no choice had to change to a new tire eventually.

 

Yes of course, if the hole is too big to be mended, a tire change will be inevitable. But you certainly enlighten me on the possible failure of a inside patch.

[CMYRS]

ive used a inner patch, and 23,000km later, pressure is still holding fine after extreme abuse.

[eement]

hi all juz diy to replacethe current worm...it didnt leak...but need to observe for a few day...tks for all the advice

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

Very educational sharing on tyre repair and failure, thanks @Winners for tech details

[Winners]

hi all juz diy to replacethe current worm...it didnt leak...but need to observe for a few day...tks for all the advice

 

Do observe carefully for the next few weeks. The leak (from subsequent worm repairs on the same hole) may be very slow and minute, but you can witness it by applying your saliva around the worm and observe for a very very slow bubble forming. For my case, I only need to inflate my tire once a week to compensate for the leak, so you can see it's very minute, but very irritating indeed. Anyway, that was also the clue on how I began to suspect the leak from the (second) worm repair on the same hole.

 

A lot depends on luck and the extent of the damage from the first worm repair. A successful worm repair (on first attempt) may last eternally, but on rare occasions, it may leak again. In this case, the second worm repair on the same hole will have to be monitored carefully. For my case, it lasted about 6 months before the slow leak started again. 1 contributing factor for me is because I don't use my bike much. That's why after 6 months, my mileage is just about 2k km. Furthermore, I suspect that the "re-leak" could have happened because I may have parked my bike at the position where the worm is pressing and touching the ground and it may have remained in this position for weeks (since I don't use my bike often).

 

Needless to say, if you need to inflate your tire at exceptional intervals, there may be a leak at the old worm repair, at the tire valve, or maybe there's another new puncture.

 

Good luck.

[Hydher]

What the option with tubed tyres?