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Tire Repair - Roofer Madness

haileymon

haileymon

Bicycle
Well, dammitt!! I just found a freakin' roofing nail in my nearly new rear PR2 (maybe 1000mi on it)
As I see it I have three options:
1> Bite the bullet and replace it.
2> Patch it. I have a DynaPlug Kit on the way.
3> Reinstall the barely worn Sportmax 220ST that I removed to install the Michelin.

What do ya'll think?

 
Plug it with good old sticky string and glue. I've done that many times. Still have an ME880 with 8,000 miles on a sticky string plug. My first PR2 went 7,000 miles on a sticky string plug.

BTW, in my experience, Dynaplug is not as easy to use, and I had one fail. Gave the thing to a friend.
 
Just had the discussion in June with several replies. The group had valid arguments for going either way. Tire manufacturers and dealers will tell you to replace the tire. They don't want the responsibility and liability on their hands if you were to have a catastrophic failure of your tire at high-speed. It all boils down to the amount of risk that you were willing to take. Those who say plug it and everything will be fine have done this many times without a problem. Then there are those who say that these are high performance tires not ATV tires where it's okay to plug and go. If you're tire does fail more than likely it will just lose air and you can either plug it again or replace it. Like I said it all boils down to the amount of risk that you willing to take. My take on the whole subject is that I am not willing to have a major catastrophic failure of my tire when I am at high speed and especially with the passenger on my bike. $200.00 is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that it will give me that I am taking every precaution to ensure the safety of myself and those who ride with me. I will plug a tire only if I am out on the road and need a temporary fix until I can get it replaced.
 
Millions of plugs in millions of care tires over the last 50 years, with a continual improvement in the technology. A pretty large experiment, if you ask me.  :great:

Yes, bike tires aren't car tires...but they share a lot of common engineering. If you were planning on cruising at 100+ the only concern I'd have is loss of air pressure if the plug failed. But having done hundreds of plugs myself (grew up in a shop in the 70's/80's), I've never had a plug fail (even when the tire manufacturers were saying you can't plug radials).

One bit of advice - if the damage is in the sidewall, on ANY tire, forget it. The tire is done. It's a general rule when working with tires, one which I've tried to skirt many times. It never works. The sidewalls have too much flex, even to patch and then use a tube. It'll cause the tube to fail.

So, my vote is to plug it and move on.

 
As long as it's nowhere near the side wall, you can plug & play.  The speed rating will be "derated" somewhat, which is not usually a problem unless you weren't maxing out the speed rating (186mph for W?) on a regular basis.
 
Thanks, folk.
The puncture is near the center of the tire, in a rain groove and appears to be nearly straight in. I ride aggressively but not crazy fast.
The tire is Z rated, my ass is not. I may occasionally break 100 for brief moments, but mostly not above 80.
As Sevo said, loss of pressure would, I expect be the most likely failure, as this is a very well made (and expensive - and nearly brand new) tire.
If it were near the edge, if it were more than a roofing nail, if the tire had more miles on it, I would not even consider a patch.

A couple of years ago, I picked up a brad in a brand new AVON AZARO. I popped it out and a spit test showed it leaking just a bit. Two days later, the spit test showed no leak. I rode 4k miles more on that tyre without leakage. Held 42lbs for months on end.

I think I'll try the DynaPlug. If it does fail, I have more plugs, an onboard compressor, and a Sportmax as backup.
 
Sticky string plug no doubt.  Carry a small compressor and string kit at all times.  TPMS should give you some heads up if a problem arises. 
 
A plug and compressor to get home. Break the tire down and use an umbrella patch, and go....
 
JPavlis_CA said:
Plug it with good old sticky string and glue. I've done that many times. Still have an ME880 with 8,000 miles on a sticky string plug. My first PR2 went 7,000 miles on a sticky string plug.

BTW, in my experience, Dynaplug is not as easy to use, and I had one fail. Gave the thing to a friend.
Click to expand...

I agree, the Dynaplug is not easy to use. I've only used mine once and the brass tips came off two of the plugs (which rendered them useless) while trying to get a plug into the handle. I finally got one in and it sealed but man, it was a pain! By the way, I didn't mean to hijack the thread, I say plug it!  :motonoises:
 
roofing nail?
sticky string and glue...
.I don't trust any plug that says it doesn't require glue to make the bond......that's simply rediculous..... :-\
dynaplug just took the already reliable $5 repair, and turned it into a $15 system....
I still don't trust them as much as a well goobered stickystring.

:rotflmao:
ymmv
 
My Vote is to replace the tire,  yes it sucks to lose the $ but what is your life worth?  The plug may be fine but do you want to risk being the one who has a failure? 

Just my 0.02
 
I had this problem this summer.  I went to ride and the rear tire only had 22 PSI in it and I discovered a siding trim nail in it.  I filled with air and went for a ride while attaching the TPS the whole time.  The next free day I removed the tire and took it to a local tire dealer to get it patched.  They were hesitant, but said they'd do it since I had the tire off.  They also asked that I not tell anyone so they don't get a bunch of motorcyclist coming in to get tires patched.  It has been holding air for the last two months and 2,000 miles and has not affected the handling characteristics.  That is my two cents.
 
Since it is in the rain groove, string plug may not be such a hot idea.  Those work a lot better when there is more "meat" for the string to seal against.  You would be better off with the conventional patch from the reverse side.  That, of course, requires you to take the tire off the rim.  Done properly (clean area, roughen with sandpaper, apply patch with rubber cement, and stead pressure), the patch is darn near indestructable and will easily last the remainder of the tire life.  It only works well when applied near the center 1/3 of the tire tread though.

Since it is almost brand new, it may be worth the expense of paying somebody to R&R the tire.
 
Mad River Marc said:
My Vote is to replace the tire,  yes it sucks to lose the $ but what is your life worth?  The plug may be fine but do you want to risk being the one who has a failure? 

Just my 0.02
Click to expand...

This SOUNDS so logical, other than the fact that I've never heard of catastrophic failures on plugged tires.  Carrying around a steel umbrella is cheap insurance to keep watermelons from hitting me in the head too....
 
Catastrophic failures of plugged tires are mostly reported in the sport bike world. Sounds like it would be an episode of myth busters. Supposedly the higher speeds attained by sport bikes will cause a plug to be spit out causing a cascade shearing of the tire. Doesn't sound like I would want to be scraping my knee on the ground when this occurred.
All this discussion does make me want to put together the ideal fix a flat pack. So  give me some suggestions of what you would put in a tire repair kit on your bike, along with some sort of micro air compressor. I've seen the slime product advertised with a kit that comes with a compressor has anyone ever used this?
 
The little compressor is a real spacesaver but I wouldn't slime an mc tire . I carry plugs and a small can of fix a flat . Only for roadside repairs until I can replace the tire . I've been down a couple times on bikes so I'm extra cautious . Its a shame that some have to get burned sometimes before changing their minds .
 
Jeff - after trying some of the preformed plug kits (dynaplug and such) I have gone back to good old sticky string. I carry two sizes of sticky string, two reaming tools (one for each size string), an insertion tool, a 4 oz tube of rubber cement, and a disassembled cheapo wally-world type compressor. Everything except the compressor fits in a small pouch that would fit in the palm of your hand. The compressor, hose and power cord are kept in a 6"x5"x4" electronics hobby box. I've also lengthened the power cord so I can reach from my bike to someone else's, as well as fitted it with bullet connectors so I have other power options (plug into acc leads under seat, plug in lighter plug or battery clamps)

The CyclePump has a very good rep among the world traveler types, and is roughly the same size as my setup. Another alternative is the Slime pump which is about the same size and looks to be a good unit.

My pump: $
Slime pump: $$
CyclePump: $$$
 
How about one of those run flat car tires? Sounds like a true safety item to me....

:-\ ;D

Sorry, couldn't resist- plugging motorcycle tires seems to generate similar strong opinions and positions as using car tires on motorcycles so it seemed like it might be time to combine those two ideas.... Of course I am joking and NOT suggesting to use a car tire on a motorcycle (disclaimer!).

<duckin', runnin' and grinin'>

You should do whatever makes you feel comfortable with your own bike in my opinion. A lot of people plug motorcycle tires with good success, especially if the puncture is round rather than a cut or slice from an oddly shaped object. But if you are not comfortable then you will be worried about it all the time the plugged tire is on the bike so just replacing the tire would probably be a better option in that case.

I have heard of plugs failing but usually only when either the original puncture was too large to plug (using more than one plug is a sure sign) or the puncture is elongated in the first place. When plugs do fail it usually results in a leaking tire again rather than an explosive blowout and with a TPS system on the bike that is not nearly as dangerous, again in my opinion. Sticky string plugs seem to work the best overall and are pretty easy to use.

Internal patching is also an option to save a nearly new tire and is probably even more reliable than any type of plug. The tire has to be dismounted though so there is more work and / or cost involved to use a patch.

Way back in the olden' days there were hot patches available and they worked very, very well. The patch was held in place with a special C- clamp and the patch housing used wall current to heat the patch; the patch was actually vulcanized into the tire and was flush when finished. I have not seen one of those in many years though and current patches all seem to be glue based.

Brian


haileymon said:
Well, dammitt!! I just found a freakin' roofing nail in my nearly new rear PR2 (maybe 1000mi on it)
As I see it I have three options:
1> Bite the bullet and replace it.
2> Patch it. I have a DynaPlug Kit on the way.
3> Reinstall the barely worn Sportmax 220ST that I removed to install the Michelin.

What do ya'll think?
Click to expand...
 
I've had Dyna Plugs fail.
I've had Stop & Go plugs fail.
I have never had a sticky rope plug fail.  I have plugged several MC tires and ridden them for over 6000 miles without a problem.
In the last 7 years I have plugged about 75 punctures in our fleet of work trucks with sticky ropes.  None have failed.  I carry the same professional kit on my bikes when I travel. 
I use a Slime pump on my bikes and they have been great.

 
.

- i remember seeing a very elegant patch kit on sale here which comes in a pouch , with a pair of CO2 canisters , a small rubber tube with connectors to feed the CO2 into the tyre , an inserter , a reamer , the worms and a small tube of rubber glue.

- but : not sure how far a pair of CO2 canisters would go towards inflating the tyres on the bike.
.
 
I used the Co2 to fill my plugged rear tire years ago on my 14. Each cartridge was good for about 5psi. After I used 5 cartridges I had less than 25psi. I made it the 11 miles home to break the tire down and patched it. Needless to say I carry a slime or stop and go compressor with me now. And have used them several times in the last 3+ years on this bike alone...
 
JPavlis_CA said:
Jeff - after trying some of the preformed plug kits (dynaplug and such) I have gone back to good old sticky string. I carry two sizes of sticky string, two reaming tools (one for each size string), an insertion tool, a 4 oz tube of rubber cement, and a disassembled cheapo wally-world type compressor. Everything except the compressor fits in a small pouch that would fit in the palm of your hand. The compressor, hose and power cord are kept in a 6"x5"x4" electronics hobby box. I've also lengthened the power cord so I can reach from my bike to someone else's, as well as fitted it with bullet connectors so I have other power options (plug into acc leads under seat, plug in lighter plug or battery clamps)

The CyclePump has a very good rep among the world traveler types, and is roughly the same size as my setup. Another alternative is the Slime pump which is about the same size and looks to be a good unit.

My pump: $
Slime pump: $$
CyclePump: $$$
Click to expand...

What pump do you have?

I use the <a href=http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-250-psi-compact-air-compressor-4077.html>El-Cheapo's from Harbor Freight</a>, they're typically $9.99 or less on sale. They work, I don't care about them, and replace about once a every other year or so. Hard to beat for the price, but if the one you have is smaller, that would be nice.
 
Thanks for all the input fellers.
At this moment, I have repaired with DynaPlug. I, too, had the brass head come off the first one and it took two plugs to make it hold. (so far) The DynaPlug is basically sticky string with a tip on it to ease insertion. It actually was easy to use. If this doesn't hold I'll put an internal plug/patch in it. I'm not sure about manually breaking down this tire. Never tried it on a modern sportbike tire. I should own a pair of spoons though, and will order some tonight. (Murph?)
I agree that the hole being in the rain groove presents a much thinner surface to seal. I wish it hadda been in the meat of the tire. Actually I wish it hadda NOT been in the tire at all but if wishes were horses...

I do carry a compressor. Its made by AeroStitch and is essentially a WallyWorld compressor without a case. It came with a Caribiner to hang it whilst inflating and several different connectors (spade lugs, small battery clips, cig lighter, and that automotive male/female bullets in a rubber housing thing like a trailer connector.) It has a nice long cord with a switch and a denim drawstring bag to stash it in. All stuffed in its about the size of a rather lumpy softball. I've had it several years and it does work well.
I also have a cool little talking digital gauge with a soothing female voice that measures in tenths of a psi so I can check in the dark or when the nipple is where I can't see it. (I hate when that happens).
I'll be monitoring the psi's closely, as I always do.
If it leaks, I'll report back. 
 
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