Repair Tire or Replace

[JCANRUN]

Hi, have a newbie question (sorry if asked before, but a search brings up lots of threads with lots of pages and no clear indication of which one to look at.)

If you get a nail or screw in a tire, let's say near the middle of the tread, can you just repair it, plug, and then go on like normal as you would with a car tire? Or do you have to replace the tire as the repair is only a temporary fix?

Seems like if a tire is properly repaired, with no leaks and you keep an eye on it, that repairing it should be fine. But web searches all seem to indicate that you need to replace the tire for safety reasons, but it looks like more to me it's for liability reasons.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

[Yossarian™]

Hoo boy.

Tubeless or tube type tire?

I've plugged tires before (tubeless only) but afterward never pushed as hard on that tire as I would before the repair. I seem to lose a little trust in the tire not to self-detonate.

In my basement tire rack is a Diablo Corsa III with 500 miles on it. Yep, it's patched with a mushroom type plug/patch, and seems perfectly fine, but I can't bring myself to put it back on the bike.

[stevie88]

Plug it and haul ass.

[outagas]

I've used more plugs than I've had tyres!

If it plugs ok and isn't boarder line (near the wall) and your happy with how the plug went dont loose any sleep over it!

After you've cut off the lug outside it will wear down with the tyre and become virtually invisible.

I've not heard of a tyre failing in any way because of a plug, apart from it not sealing properly due to not being fitted well in the first place and all that happened was a very slow puncture, cure was to re-do the plug, problem solved.

A properly internally glued patch will always give more piece of mind but that's all!

Bit of advice, buy a good plug kit (don't scrimp), get an old tyre (a car tyre will do), and test the plug kit so you can see how it works! You don't want to be stuck on the side of a motorway in the rain trying to work it out!

Rgds Lee!

[der_saeufer]

Originally Posted by outagas

I've used more plugs than I've had tyres!
I've not heard of a tyre failing in any way because of a plug, apart from it not sealing properly due to not being fitted well in the first place and all that happened was a very slow puncture, cure was to re-do the plug, problem solved.

I don't understand some people's paranoia about plugs. Even if the plug fails completely (i.e. it blows out of the tire), you now have a tire that's still structurally sound but has a nail-sized hole in it. It's not as if getting a nail through a tire somehow shreds all the belts and makes it want to explode. The only way you'll get a blowout that's even related to a plug is if the plug leaks and you continue to run the tire way below the proper air pressure. But that can happen no matter how the air gets out.

I suppose if you're a shop, you don't want to plug tires because if your plug leaks and your customer never checks his air pressure, bad things can happen.

[pluric]

I've run the plugs as a band aid to get where I need to.
On a group ride a Harley got a flat. We plugged it and went on.
A few miles down the road it started smoking bad. The cord had been
severed and the side wall ballooned out rubbing the belt.

I'd never seen a tire do that on a bike. After that I was less concerned
with getting a few more miles out of a tire than being stranded.

Low pressure ATVs sure, run bubble gum on them if needed. The rest
I now scrap the tire as soon as convenient cause you never know what
may have happened to the cord support.

At the Baja border not a single US shop would touch plugging a tire for us.
"Too much liability" was all we heard. Went over the border and had it plugged
in minutes. $5 is $5. And yes the inner patch held the rest of the trip.

Plug came out in the night...


Let the pros do it the next time,

[JCANRUN]

Thanks for all of the replies. Yes, forgot to mention I'm talking about a tubeless tire. Also, I'm just talking about if you find a nail/screw in your tire while parked and then repairing it. Or finding the next morning your tire is flat.

I understand that if you are out riding at speed and get a flat and if you end up riding a bit on that flat tire (not able to pull over right away), that the sidewalls might be damaged due to riding on a flat tire (not to mention possible wheel damage) and then I would replace the tire after doing a repair to just get me home, etc.

[TeepS]

I vote "plug it" as I have done many times.
Disclaimer: your experience may vary.

Ultimately, it's YOUR BUTT on the seat.

[DSM8]

Since I commute so much on the bike I take into consideration a few things when plugging a tire.

If the hole is not dead center of the tire or sidewall I will plug it.
That said I will also not take that tire screaming into the canyons like I would one without a plug.

I have not had a plug fail on me but have had one come loose since it was kind of scrubbed out a but while riding in the twisties.

Lesson learned.

I always use the worms with glue, I have had one of those mushroom plugs fail on me, it was cut through by the tires cords.

Just my .02

[Bigger Al]

Plug it to run it, patch it for a permanent repair.

[stevie88]

Originally Posted by Bigger Al

Plug it to run it, patch it for a permanent repair.

[yokesman]

I had stored my bike with radial tubeless tires for several years and just hopped on it and rode it, handled like a drunk mule in the corners.
got home and the tire gage could not read pressure.
this gives me some confidence that even in a blowout the tire will be controllable,and remember previous tube type blowouts but all on premium tires.
I put many 80 + mph miles on the plugs(red works best) even now on my car have 10k plus miles on them. If you cannot come to use them ,put them in the freebee section of the sale forum where someone might get some use out of them.
just to clarify this does not include the sidewall.

[larryboy]

There are many brands of plugs, the only one I trust for a permanent repair is made by Safety Seal. I have plugged hundreds of tires and run them until the tire is worn out and replaced...literally hundreds. Motorcycles, lawnmowers, cars, pickups, heavy trucks...all of them.


www.safetyseal.com

[pluric]

Originally Posted by larryboy

There are many brands of plugs, the only one I trust for a permanent repair is made by Safety Seal. I have plugged hundreds of tires and run them until the tire is worn out and replaced...literally hundreds. Motorcycles, lawnmowers, cars, pickups, heavy trucks...all of them.


www.safetyseal.com

You need to find a better place to store your nails.

[larryboy]

Originally Posted by pluric

You need to find a better place to store your nails.

I used to wrench for a landscape company, the complex we worked out of had been owned by a roofing company before we had it, no amount of magnet dragging in the gravel yard could get all the nails, I swear I plugged at least 15 tires a day.