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New tire vs plug/patch

What to do with my tire?

  • Patch

    Votes: 10 16.4%

  • Plug

    Votes: 31 50.8%

  • New tire

    Votes: 20 32.8%
  • Total voters
    61
  • Poll closed .
Tharkûn said:
I've put more miles on these plugs than some people ride at all. I average about one a month

http://m.autozone.com/autozone-mobile/en/accessories/Slime-Tire-repair-plugs/_/N-25cn?id=542356
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Tharkûn said:
Yup right on the side of the road. Set the rope at the middle on the installing handle/rod. And then set that about halfway into the tire. It doubles over itself and the two ends are poking out. I used to trim but not anymore
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Yup, definitely this. But I do twist the handle about 90 degrees before pulling it out. I've done this so many times I've lost track. I'm sure I haven't stressed or rode as long on a plug as he has but I have put some rather spirited miles on plugs and I've only had 1 give out on me in 30+ years and that was my own fault for improperly installing it. Put another plug in and kept riding! :ride

FYI these and a slime air pump are in my emergency kit I take on all rides.

There are those cases where a plug won't work as MTG said so keep that in mind. :thumbup An inside patch will probably work when a plug won't though.

edit:damn typos! :laughing
 
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sfcootz said:
:nchantr

I have a nail in my rear tire, a Road Pilot 3 with about 3k on it. It's SMACK in the center of the tread. So far, pressure has been holding just fine. I've been riding on it for a few days without issues (just a few miles).

My question is, patch/plug or cough up the dough for a new tire? I'm primarily an urban rider, not very aggressive. The bike is an M900, so it is pretty torquey. I already asked Moto Tire guy for his advice but I thought I'd ask ya'll, too. ;)
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1. Plug for on the go if you have the kit (everyone should have this kit, for emergencies).

2. Patch is better and wont damage the steel belt inside, but you have to dismount the tire from the rim. Can be done at a shop but they will try and sell you a new tire.

3. I would plug it to get home or the shop. And then I would buy a new tire. It's my life, my ass on two wheels and I'm not ready to die yet.

4. Why didn't you ask me first..? I have the repair kit. :eboy
 
PS. On the car, I leave plug in until the tire wears out. It's just a car and it's not going to throw me off if a tire fails. ;)
 
I got a nail in my 200 mile old PR2. I plugged it with a string and rode 15k more until I hit the tread wear indicator.


YMMV.:laughing
 
I truly hate it when a good tire gets punctured. That being said, you have suck it up just like so many of life's little frustrations and replace the entire tire. The last thing you want is a tire failing at speed, ask me how I know?
 
Plug to get home and replace the tire, or if I'm a trip, to a shop to replace the tire. I do not trust a plugged tire PEROID! I guess ALOT of you guys have had zero issues with plugged tires, but.....an acquaintance crashed on plugged tire, ridding two up. He was seriously injuried and his wife was killed.
 
tankerman said:
I truly hate it when a good tire gets punctured. That being said, you have suck it up just like so many of life's little frustrations and replace the entire tire. The last thing you want is a tire failing at speed, ask me how I know?
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JPK said:
Plug to get home, then replace.
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^^ Pretty much what I've been trying to say. :thumbup

3B43 said:
Plug to get home and replace the tire, or if I'm a trip, to a shop to replace the tire. I do not trust a plugged tire PEROID! I guess ALOT of you guys have had zero issues with plugged tires, but.....an acquaintance crashed on plugged tire, ridding two up. He was seriously injuried and his wife was killed.
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Sorry to hear about your friend's wife. This is what I'm trying to get across. It might work 99% of the time. But why leave that other 1% out to chance..? :mstingray
 
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I'd be ok around town with one of those plug-from-the-inside plugs planegray mentioned. I'm running one right now on the 919, which had a straight-in nail hole in the middle third of the tread (making it a good candidate for plugging).

For inside patches, you dismount the tire, and use a drill with a rotary stone to rough up a spot larger than the patch (not all the way down to the belts, though), clean the area with rubber cleaner, lube the neck of the patch with rubber cement, carefully break the paper seal off without touching the adhesive, and pull the whole patch through by grabbing the wire and pulling with pliers. Then, use a spoon or roller tool to compress the edge of the patch against the inner surface of the tire. Check with a spray of water, look for bubbling.

Sticky string type plugs are also ok, usually, for around town--Safety Seal brand are the best. I've used 'em but eventually had one fail and lose air slowly, so replaced the tire. Mushroom plugs are good for an emergency but in my experience have been less reliable.

If you're planning on a trip or, say, the BARF rally, I'd slap a plug in there and then plan on replacing the tire before the rally. I know that Werkstatt and SF Moto will both do inside patches, and Werkstatt will do outside sticky-string patches. Other shops in town may, too.
 
The trick to a good plug job is to not ream the hole out very much with the little reamer tool. You want it to be a bitch to get the plug in. If it goes in too easy it's going to come out easy. You should be grunting down with both hands while cussing and swearing and just when that little bead of sweat starts to run down your forehead is when it goes in. If your not very strong have somone else do it. Always use glue on it and let it dry for 10-15 minutes before pumping up. Then I cut it off so there is about a quarter inch still hanging out. It will squish down and form into the tire tread and makes a nice little circle that you can visually check when you walk up to your bike.

I never patch a tire!!! If I'm gonna do the work to remove the rim and dismount the tire then I'm putting on a new one.

Also only use the rope style plugs, not the rubber cork ones. I've done trackdays and seen high triple digit speeds with plugs. I've also done power slides through dirt road corners on a zx750 on a rear plugged tire. If it's done right they hold till the tire is done.
 
my cbr got a nail in my front pr2 at 7,000 miles...used a rope plug and rode it for another 3,000 miles with a lot of canyon runs...the plug is that little white circle...:teeth...do not mind the cords...

8024163501_a7e5e5ae4e_z.jpg
 
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Russian roulette. :|
 
JPK said:
And therein lies the rub. How, exactly, can you tell if it's done "right" before you find out the hard way at an inopportune moment?
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If you didn't have to strain pushing it in the tire then it's not done right. I got a hole one time that was huge. Way too big for a plug. The tire was ruined but I needed to get back home so I tried using 3 plugs. They were sliding in way too easy. They came out about 10 miles down the road. But even with a large puncture it wasn't like the rear tire just exploded and sent me tumbling down the road. I felt it getting squishy and slowed down and pulled over. Some of you make it sound like the bikes going to turn into a rodeo bull if the plug comes out. It's not a big deal. In this case I rode the last mile to home completely flat at a slow 25 mph and got a new tire.
 
I agree that a tubeless tire doesn't go instantly, catastrophically flat if the plug fails. However, everyone here talks like they're some tire Jedi that can detect a 0.5 psi difference in pressure. I'll bet that half the people here couldn't detect a 10 psi drop if they're riding in a straight line. If the plug fails (either falls out completely, or still leaks - which is far more likely) the pressure drop may be gradual enough that you won't notice it until you get the bike leaned over in a turn and realize something's "not right".

Statements like: "it should hold if done right", "hardly ever fail", etc. are fine if you're jury-rigging up a fix for your heated grips... not so much if you're talking about tires IMO.
 
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