How many tubes?

[jimmy]

I was thinking the other week, how many tubes do you carry when you go out for a road ride?

I typically carry 3 on the road bike, 2 in the saddle bag and one in the back pocket. The two in the saddle bag are my real emergency tubes as they are thin, and I will swap them out as soon as I can. But they don't take up a lot of space, are light and are always there.

James.

[mikesbytes]

I'm out of spares at the moment, I've got 1 long valve tube and one short valve tube. So if I get 2 rear flats, I'll have to recycle the front tube to the rear for the second flat.

Good idea to carry patches and know how to use them.

[fixedgear]

I usually carry two tubes. For extended rides over 100 km I tend to carry three.

[jimmy]

I carry a patch kit on the bike, but I prefer not to use it on the road. I prefer to do the patching at home when I can make a decent job of it.

James

[geoff m]

I've always carried one and gotten away with it. I always knew that if a club ride, there would be others who would have a second if I needed it.

Having said that, riding in Melb, and not knowing people I started taking two. Probably will continue with two now.

[weiyun]

I carry one, a BBB brand heavy duty tube that I picked up at some point. It has served to be the emergency tube well. I would patch the punctured tube by the traditional method at home and swap the BBB tube back out. I also carry a set of pre-glued patches for emergency use.

[Simon Llewellyn]

Two tubes has always been the thing to do since I first started riding with AL. & it has been sufficient for the last five years of riding to waterfall. I have seen someone get more than two punctures but it is rare and generally to do with not cleaning the tyre properly after puncturing.

[Huw]

I carry two tubes and a fast patch kit ("pre-glued" patches). I've found the fast patches work really well for patching holes in narrow tubes - in my experience (and I'd describe myself as an avid patcher-upper) they are more reliable than traditional rubber-cement based patches, and a lot quicker, but more expensive, at around 50c per patch. I've been using the very compact Park Tool patch kit.

[weiyun]

I've had the Park Tool patch leak on me over time (3-4 months later) and it was impossible to re-patch the same area due to residue glue. So I just use it as an emergency.

[FAswad]

Used to carry two, but currently have 1, so I voted 1 in the poll. Will go back to carrying two because it sounds like the right thing to do.

[jimmy]

Those glueless/instant patches aren't a permanent solution, patch kits are.

http://sheldonbrown.com/flats.html#patchkits

If you patch a tube properly, it will last for the life of the tube. Many of my tubes have multiple patches on them, and I only throw them out when something that can't be patched (usually a leak around the stem). These are pretty good instructions on patching

http://sheldonbrown.com/flats.html#patching

The only things I do different, is I use old safety razor blades to pare down the ridge line first, and I put the tube under something heavy (usually a leg of the coffee table) for a couple of hours before testing the tube.

The fact that many of my tubes have multiple patches, is that a reflection on me being good at patching? Or just tight?

James

[mikesbytes]

The fact that many of my tubes have multiple patches, is that a reflection on me being good at patching? Or just tight?

Environmental

[Adrian E]

I carry one tube and a patch kit. Two tubes and a patch kit for 100km plus rides... and my mini-mini pump... I like to pack light.
The way I see it, if your already down to the patches, your having a bad day and your just going to have to live with it. its not going to get any better lugging a few more tubes around with you all the time. Thankfully I have my three punctures in a day last December, so hopefully I'll be immune for another year.

[weiyun]

The fact that many of my tubes have multiple patches, is that a reflection on me being good at patching? Or just tight?

Boredom.

[micklan]

i carry 1 tube. there was a day when i had 2 flats in one day I think. exploding flats, and one where I even had to replace the tyre due to a very invasive kinda 5mm diameter stab puncture to the tyre . but i got continetal tyres, mr tuffy and she's been ok since then - thank you cyclops, touch wood and all the rest.