[chongoman]

I'm sure this is not new to most of you, but I thougt I'd make a thread and post some photos in the hopes of saving AZ MTBers some cash.

Background:
A while back I ran into Ronnie (forgot his screen name) on National after pinch flatting on a square edge rock and he whipped out some squares of cut up t-shirt and proceeded to seal the holes for me. It worked like a charm.
The cotton soaked up the Stan's and provided enough of a blockage to seal the hole. This simple patch lasted for at least a couple of months. I've been using the method and have saved lots of cash on tires due to it.

Yesterday I pinched my new-ish rear tire (Spesh Fast Trac Control 29er) against my rim Stan's Flow and made a couple holes that were too big for my Sealant. SInce the holes were a bit big I opted to jam some cotton in them to get me home and repair the holes from the inside later. The pinch happened when I was climbing up a steep rocky move. My pressure was a bit low and I hit it with too much speed.

Photo 1: The sealed holes (lots more hanging out than necessary, but it was not sealing very easy and once it did I didn't want to mess with it.

Photo 2-5: Big Pinch inside and out

Photo 6: cheap rubber cement patch kit from Ace. 2$ or so.

I've found this to work WAY better than the stuff marketed specifically for tubeless repair. Give it a shot.

 

[reamer41]

Thanks!

How do you get the cotton into the holes? Jam it in w a allen key or screwdriver? Or, us one of those crochet-hook looking plug tools?

 

[chongoman]

Thanks!

How do you get the cotton into the holes? Jam it in w a allen key or screwdriver? Or, us one of those crochet-hook looking plug tools?

I use my smallest allen wrench, but any small diameter probe thingy will work. :thumbsup:

 

[GR1822]

Nice tips and pics.

 

[Hardluckhero]

Great tip! Thanks!

 

[Maadjurguer]

how big (dimensions?) do you make the t-shirt patch?

 

[chongoman]

I make them all different sizes depending on the hole.
Usually a piece is 3/4 in by 1/2 in or something like that.
Keep in mind that most of the cotton is inside of the tire soaking up the Stan's.
The ones in the photo are a bit too big, and would have been trimmed if I was going to leave them in permemantly (I've left them in for over 2 months in the past and they've held), but once it sealed up I rolled out because I knew I'd to a internal rubber patch when I got home.

After Doug and I left you all on the NYD freakshow ride. Doug pinched his tire on Javalina and I cut off a piece of my tie to seal the hole since I didn't have my tool bag replenished. It was pretty funny.

 

[chollaball]

good tip, thanks Chongo. adding a swatch to my toolkit.

 

[Fletch 1]

good tip, thanks Chongo. adding a swatch to my toolkit.

Me too! Awesome tip, Thanks Chongo! :thumbsup:

 

[Maadjurguer]

I really could have used that tip yesterday....ran over a nail or something that stans would not seal on my way up 4-peaks yesterday.....drained all my fluid trying to get it to seal...had to put in a tube eventually. Thanks for the tip.

 

[kenbentit]

How fortuitous! I just puncture my sidewall this morning so I'm about to attempt a repair. Have to give this a shot. I tried using a patch before but had trouble getting it to stick. The sealant seems to permeate the tire too much to let the cement do it's thing. I think I'll try the cotton thing, maybe even a Q-Tip...

 

[chongoman]

How fortuitous! I just puncture my sidewall this morning so I'm about to attempt a repair. Have to give this a shot. I tried using a patch before but had trouble getting it to stick. The sealant seems to permeate the tire too much to let the cement do it's thing. I think I'll try the cotton thing, maybe even a Q-Tip...

Huh. I've never had a problem getting a patch to stick on the inside after cleaning it with a rag. I'm using the Monkey Grip brand patches.
Maybe Stan's permeates some tires more than others.
good luck :thumbsup:

 

[DurtGurl]

I once tried to do the material plug with a bit of red shop rag.... it was too porous and would not hold. Su Ling donated a 1 x 1" square of cotton bandana and it sealed just fine. I do believe that tire is still on my Behemoth!

 

[kenbentit]

I've only had to patch my kevlar tires and they tend to be very porous so the Stan's gets right in there. Haven't tried those patches, just a big automotive style from Checker...

 

[mikeoffroad]

This often works for me. Use the "genuine innovations tubeless tire repair kit" (google it), but instead of the strips they provide, use thick cotton string or yarn. If the hole is big, tie a knot in the string and push the knot through the hole with the tool they provide. The knot will keep the pressure from blowing the string back through the tire. Maybe even put two or three strings into a really large hole. The stans sealant will coagulate around the string and it becomes permanent. I've used the technique for sidewalls. If you use the strips they provide, they are not permanent, and will often push out. Plus they do not interact with the stans sealant. But they are better than nothing if the stans has dried up

 

[pwrtrainer]

Sorry to drudge up old stuff, but today I was cleaning my pistol and noticed the patches I use (Outers 200 bulk cotton patches) would be perfect if cut to the right size. Saves me from ruining a perfectly good Europe, The final count down tour shirt, and costs quite a bit less...like 6 bucks.

 

[chongoman]

Sorry to drudge up old stuff, but today I was cleaning my pistol and noticed the patches I use (Outers 200 bulk cotton patches) would be perfect if cut to the right size. Saves me from ruining a perfectly good Europe, The final ****down tour shirt, and costs quite a bit less...like 6 bucks.

Tshirt cotton really is not the best since it varies in consistency and is sometimes too thick to push thorugh small holes. Bandana is my favorite, but i've seen gun cleaning cloth and I be that would work well too.

 

[chongoman]

update

This double snake bite held tight, but clearly the tire is toast. check out all the bandanna patches.
I have come to the conclusion that UST Nevegals have no business being the rear tire of a bike ridden in Phoenix.

 

[mb300]

Small pieces of paper towel also works. Just stuff it in with a small allen wrench.

 

[helimech]

They make a kit that uses a needle head and you just put an old tube strip piece onto it and push in the hole then pull out and cut. Worked for me. Kinda like a car tire plug. The snake bite is a different story.