How to Repair a Tire Patch Tube

Most bicycle tires have two parts: the thick outer tire and the thin inner tube. Patches are small pieces of rubber that you glue over the leak in the tube. When you have a flat tire and don't have a spare tube, you can patch the punctured tube to keep riding. Patch kits usually cost less than a new tube and can fix multiple flats.

Patching a Tire

• 1
  Use your five senses to find the source of the puncture. ear image by Connfetti from Fotolia.com

  Remove the tube from inside the tire. Use the scoop end of your first tire lever to get between the tire and the rim and pry part of the tire outside the rim wall. Fasten the hook end of the lever to a spoke to hold the tire outside the rim while you use the second lever to release the tire. Once the tire is free of the rim, pull the inner tube from inside the tire.

• 2

  Inflate the punctured tube with the pump and listen for the leak. If you have a slow leak, you may not be able to hear the air escaping. Hold the inflated tube next to the sensitive skin on your lips or cheeks to feel the air escaping. If you are patching the tube at home, submerge the tube in water and look for the bubbles to locate the leak.

• 3

  Score the area around the leak with sandpaper. Scratching the rubber around where you will glue the patch helps the patch stick to the surface better.

• 4

  Apply a thin layer of glue around the puncture and affix the patch. Hold the patch firmly in place with your finger until the glue has dried. If you haven't used too much glue, it will be dry in a minute or two.

• 5

  Re-inflate the tube to make sure that the patch holds. If it does, let some air out of the tube. Having some air in the tube prevents it from twisting as you re-seat it inside the tire.

• 6

  Run your finger inside the tire to find what caused the flat. Glass and other sharp objects can lodge themselves into the tire rubber and continue to cause flats until you remove them.

• 7

  Re-seat the tube in the tire and replace the tire in the rim. Once the tube is tucked into the tire, begin re-seating the loose side of the tire inside the rim.

• 8

  Check that the tube isn't protruding from under the tire. Pinch the tire's sidewalls and look on both sides to make sure that the tube isn't bulging out. If the tube gets stuck between the tire and the rim, it will cause a new flat when you inflate the tire.

• 9

  Pump the tire up to the recommended pressure printed on the sidewall of the tire.