New tyre? Or Repair jobbie?

****!

Got a little nail in my 1,500 mile old rear Dunlop 208 !

Its a very slow puncture and I need my bike for work so I'm still using it at the moment . If I can sneak out early I will get it sorted before the weekend, if not, it will be done on Saturday before my trip to local Brands Hatch (BSB Final!!) on Sunday .

Before I get the problem sort I need some advice...

New Tyre? Or get it repaired?

Ive never had a tyre repaired and I'm not sure if its the best way to go. Obviously its got to be cheaper then £70 for a new rear... hasn't it?

And what happens to the handling? I'm not exactly a slow rider with roads, weather, and traffic permitting.

Hi mate,

I got a puncture a day before the KillSpills Rally a few weeks ago. It was bang in the middle of the tyre so no damage to the sidewall. Called the AA and they came in and did a temporary bung.

I think someone on the forum recommended The Cavalry - a mobile tyre repair guy basically just rocks up, off comes the tyre, plug from the insdie and then you are ready to go. Cost £40 and he came to my office in Holborn. Got told the plug will last as long as the tyre does.

Hope this helps.

[jambo]

Always carry a puncture repair kit for stuff like this, as if the nail comes out you're likley to loose a lot of air fairly quickley. As long as the hole is in the centre 70% or so of the tread (as in not right up by the side wall) you should be fine to have it patched properly. They should take the tyre off and insert a plug from the other side, at which point it's as good as new IMO

Had a nail through the middle of my rear tyre and got that plugged for £20 on a loose wheel at the local bike shop. Lasted until I replaced it about 2500 miles later.
Didn't make the slightest difference to the handling but then I wasn't going too mad on it (they were MEZ4 by the way so the handling was crap to say the least at the best of times).

Once repaired or replaced, what about using some of that gel stuff that goes inside the tyre that is supposed to prevent a puncture? Never used it myself, so dunno if its any good or not, or what it does to the handling

[jambo]

Originally Posted by zedleppelin1981

Once repaired or replaced, what about using some of that gel stuff that goes inside the tyre that is supposed to prevent a puncture? Never used it myself, so dunno if its any good or not, or what it does to the handling

It doesn't so much prevent a puncture as supposedly plug any leak, this can mean you don't notice shrapnel in your tyre and do further dammage to the carcas. I'm also told tyre shops absolutly hate it because of the mess it makes when they change the tyre.

That said it's got plenty of supporters as it's supposed to help stop slow and fast punctures before you've lost too much air. I believe it's sold as "Ultraseal" in shops such as Hein Gericke, there's also "Slime" that seems much the same stuff.

I carry a repair kit such as the "Rep & Air" bung type kit also sold By HG for about £12 like this one here since Rictus had to rescue me Takes about 10 minutes to sort out including faffing about and I've trusted several such repairs to last me until I can get it fixed properly.