Slow puncture

[Pete]

"BUGGER!"

That's what I said when I got to my bike this morning and noticed the rear tyre was flat as a flat thing. I took the car to work, when I got back this evening I pumped it up and checked it an hour later. It's gone from 42psi to 39psi, so it's a slow puncture. I've checked it for screws / nails / knives / screwdrivers / axes and can't see anything wedged in that might be causing the leak. I guess it could be the valve but can't detect any air coming out.

Any ideas on how I can detect this leak? I'm hoping it's going to be a plug repair rather than a new tyre, it's only got about 2000 miles on it (isn't that always the way!?).

Thanking you...

[Guest]

Soapy water Pete. It will bubble. If you can put it in a spray bottle, all the better

Check valve head and base of valve. Also check around rim. Spray and leave. Any proper punctures would hiss. Slow ones should show themselves withing 5 or 10 minutes.

[Pete]

Soapy water Dan, fantastic! I knew you'd come up with something!

I've already tried the spit test, but that was minging.

[Guest]

soapy water always, we used it to check for gas leaks, when setting up burners in the field, (catering)

[Pete]

Blokes, I've said it before and I'll say it again, you are more than just men, you are shiny golden gods.

http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/DSC_0009.jpg?t=1263849795

It's slap bang right in the middle of the tyre. I checked the valve and the rims first and they came up with nothing. I didn't expect spraying the breadth of the tyre would result in much but thought I'd give it a go. Got nearly all the way round and it started bubbling like mad. As you can see it's in the middle of a groove, do you reckon that'll be a problem for matey boy to plug?

Speaking of plugging it, a mate of mine has a self-plugging kit. Are these things safe or is it best to get "the guy" to do it down at the local bike garage? I think I know what the answer will be, but thought I'd ask...

...this is all hoping it's not a written off tyre and I need a new one. Thankfully it LOOKS like it'll be OK - not in the wall, quite a clean hole, etc. but you never know...

[Guest]

Is location is fine to plug.

Assuming it hasn't been driven on flat, it shouldn't be damaged either.

Stick the spare on. you won't make a friend of the tyre fitter if you try plugging it yourself. Plus the repair will be better.

[Pete]

What spare Dan? No I won't be plugging it myself, just watched a how to video on YouTube and I'd rather trust someone else to do it!

The garage is about a minute from my house, take about an hour to lose 3psi so I'll be able to get it round there this Saturday. Result !

[RiffmasterII]

its very easy to plug your own tyre, but ive been told not to bother as its a risk riding on a tyre for too long at high speeds with a plug

[Pete]

True, but I know someone (naughty person) that rode at high speeds from Birmingham to the south of France with a nail in his tyre! I'm sure (hoping) a plug is as safe as can be (hopefully as safe as a tyre without a plug / hole in the first place) otherwise they wouldn't allow them? Isn't there a rule to how many plugs one tyre can have, 3 plugs isn't it? I've never had to have one before!

[Guest]

Good tip re: soapy water

Glad you've sourced it Pete... I'd get it sorted professionally.

[RiffmasterII]

True, but I know someone (naughty person) that rode at high speeds from Birmingham to the south of France with a nail in his tyre! I'm sure (hoping) a plug is as safe as can be (hopefully as safe as a tyre without a plug / hole in the first place) otherwise they wouldn't allow them? Isn't there a rule to how many plugs one tyre can have, 3 plugs isn't it? I've never had to have one before!

 

I dont know if there's any rule about the amount you can have, all I know is that my mechanic man tells me that he wouldnt risk it for the sake of another £100 for a new tyre, and I trust him as he doesnt make any money from doing the work on my bike. Its your call and Im sure it would be fine with a plug, I did one myself to get me home on to save forking out £140 to join the AA at the road side and its lasted for days until I could get a new tyre delivered.

[Colin the Bear]

That tyre looks done to me, not much tread there in the middle

[techno]

That tyre looks done to me, not much tread there in the middle

Nah looks fine to me more than a 1mm there

I got told and have run a tyre with a plug done at the tyre place as pete said if it isnt gonna be fit for purpose they wouldnt do it, and i certainly wouldnt keep forking out £100-£150 for a new tyre each time worst case you could get a puncture a week unlikely but you get my point!

[Colin the Bear]

Less tread, more punctures

[Pete]

That tyre looks done to me, not much tread there in the middle

 

Very funny Colin, teeheehee! There's loads of tread, probably about 2.5mm, must be the way the picture was taken. Like I said it's only done about 2000 miles and I expect about 9000 from it! Oh and the sides do get worn in the summer as well

We'll see what the tyre bloke says but I'm expecting a straight forward plug which is a huge relief (for those of you following my cycle to work thread this means I can now save £120 I thought I'd have to spend on a Michelin Road Pilot 2CT and put it towards the push bike!).

[Guest]

That tyre looks done to me, not much tread there in the middle

 

Very funny Colin, teeheehee! There's loads of tread, probably about 2.5mm, must be the way the picture was taken. Like I said it's only done about 2000 miles and I expect about 9000 from it! Oh and the sides do get worn in the summer as well

We'll see what the tyre bloke says but I'm expecting a straight forward plug which is a huge relief (for those of you following my cycle to work thread this means I can now save £120 I thought I'd have to spend on a Michelin Road Pilot 2CT and put it towards the push bike!).

 

Im looking at getting them for the summer! I have heard good things, whats your opinion if you don't mind?

[Guest]

There are no limits, in law, on the amount of plugs you can have in a tyre.

The law does however, stipulate that no repairs over 6mm can be repaired.

It is bad practice to have them overlap (the patch attached to the plug, on the inside of the tyre). And the idea of where you can plug is limited because of the patch. The patch must be on a flat surface. So, if the centre of the plug is too close to the edge, the patch itself will ride up the tyre wall. And because of the constant flexing of the tyre in motion, will cause the repair to fail. This is why, if you have a puncture too close to the shoulder of the tyre, it cannot be repaired.

This is a plug commonly used. The stem is pulled from the inside out. The stem itself fills the tyre wound and the patch sits on the inside of the tyre. The 'tail' is then trimmed, evenly to tyre surface and thus will wear down with the tyre through normal use.

[Colin the Bear]

I would have no worries about a repaired tyre, especialy on the rear.

However, if you're down to 2.5mm after 2K miles I think it's optimistic to expect much more than 3 maybe 4K miles.

Your legal limit is 1mm, so is it worth all the hassle for 1.5mm of soft tyre, that's probably getting squared off and past it's best.

I'd replace it.

[Guest]

Hi,

Took my new thundercat out yesterday (which i only got at the weekend!) and have managed to get a flat rear tyre already! I managed to ride it slowly to a garage about 400m away, pumped it back up...and had a look for the hole, found it and it was hissing like mad!

I am pretty new to all this, so was just wondering about this plugging technique as sounds much better than forking out for a brand new tyre! The hole is pretty much bang in the centre of the tyre on the main surface, not in a tread. Is this ok to be plugged? also (sorry!) how much does this roughly cost and is it permanent?

oh and one last thing to extend my bad luck, the front lost about 3psi over night too, looks like thats buggered too!

thanks for any help

archie

[Guest]

I am pretty new to all this, so was just wondering about this plugging technique as sounds much better than forking out for a brand new tyre! The hole is pretty much bang in the centre of the tyre on the main surface, not in a tread. Is this ok to be plugged? also (sorry!) how much does this roughly cost and is it permanent?

oh and one last thing to extend my bad luck, the front lost about 3psi over night too, looks like thats buggered too!

thanks for any help

archie

 

Yes should be ok, depends if there is any other damage.

Yes it is permanent

Cost depends on where you take it, I used to charge £15.00 but that included rebalancing etc.

A 3psi loss could be anything, monitor it, if it comtinues it does suggest a slow puncture. Cover the trye in soapy water, leave for 10 minutes or so, any slow leaks should show like a fine foam.

HTH

[Guest]

ok cool thanks.

do plugs effect the performance of the tyre?

[Guest]

In a word.... No.

[Colin the Bear]

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc261/Squeeze_Bang/plug.jpg

[Guest]

You would not believe how long it took for the penny to drop

[Decor58]

What spare Dan? No I won't be plugging it myself, just watched a how to video on YouTube and I'd rather trust someone else to do it!

The garage is about a minute from my house, take about an hour to lose 3psi so I'll be able to get it round there this Saturday. Result !

 

Guessing you mean this type of plug?

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These aren't the sort a garage would use and personally I wouldn't trust it. I prefer the idea of having something attached inside to make sure the plug doesn't come out