I hate patching tubes.

Bicycle repair service in willow Glen CA. The shop is easily accessible and located on the corner of Pine ave and Jaunita Ave. You can find it between the major streets if Bird ave and Lincoln ave in San Jose. This is a neighborhood friendly bike repair shop that caters to family bikes to serious bike racers. We cover basic repairs like flat tires, brake and derailleur adjustments to ground up bare frame bike builds. We cover the serious mountain bike that rides in the Santa Cruz Mountains to all sorts of weekend warriors and commuters.

Replacing a Tube vs. Patching a Tube

Bike repairs can fall into different categories. The most common are flat tire repairs or often called tube replacement. Bicycle tubes are replaced now a days rather than repaired by patching. Patching can be unpredictable. If the patch is not applied correctly it can and will fail. Usually by the ends of the patch coming up by loosing adhesion.

The most common error when repairing a tube by patching is the preparation. If you are in hurry and do not scuff the area enough or most commonly not covering a big enough area for adhesion. The size of the prep area should be twice the diameter of the patch size you are using.

Scuffing of the area should easily be seen after the patch is applied. This goes for the glue as well if you are using a patch kit with glue. The area the glue should cover should be at least a size in a half if not doubled in size of the patch size. Using a little extra glue could mean the difference between a long lasting patch job or the patch failing off the the next day. Another important detail is trying not to touch the prep area with your fingers. Any dirt or natural oil from your fingers can contaminate the adhesion process.