Newb questions about fixing flats.

[mello yello]

Was the hole on the inside or outside of the tire? I just had two tubes rupture there… on the inside, at apparent weak spots in the rubber material. It had nothing to do with the tire, or the perfectly smooth rim-strip. I also had trouble getting my patches to hold in that particular location.

Of note, if you want to add sealant inside the tube on a Presta-valved tube, you need to cut it open, add the slime, and then patch it. I’m not comfortable enough to do that. A schrader you can take the valve out with the attachment on a can of slime.
Edit: maybe this was just how my old scout leaders did it back in the 90’s… I’m reading some of the previous posts and it looks like this is not true. You learn something new every day.

[bentbike33]

@mello yello 145746 wrote:

Of note, if you want to add sealant inside the tube on a Presta-valved tube, you need to cut it open, add the slime, and then patch it.

Some presta tubes now have removable valve cores. Stan’s NoTubes makes a tool for that, or you could use a small adjustable wrench.

[hozn]

Some presta tubes have removable valve cores, which should allow you to inject sealant. (Most don’t, though.)

[huskerdont]

As Mellow Yellow (quite rightly) implies, tubes that flat right by the valve stem might not have flatted from foreign object debris. I’ve had a few go there over the years. Sometimes it’s a weak spot in material, and sometimes it’s just from extra stress in that area. Still worth it to inspect the tires though, even if you can no longer line up the tube to see where on the tire the hole was.

[bentbike33]

In my experience…

@huskerdont 145752 wrote:

… tubes that flat right by the valve stem …

… were due to the advanced age of the tube, or tightening the little round presta valve-stem nut too much. Best to be a weight-weenie and recycle those things.

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