Tire Plugs -- tips and tricks please

[aaron w]

I'm new to using tire plugs but I can tell they are something that I would like to include in my repair kit.  I would appreciate any tips or tricks that folks have learned using these things.  Also is there a particular brand that is best?

On a recent outing I had a cut in my tread that wouldn't seal.  My friend put in 2 plugs with a dab of superglue.  This worked pretty well but eventually the plugs got pulled out of the tire.  We tried again with the same result.  Eventually I put a tube in.  I can see the potential of this type of repair but perhaps our method wasn't quite right??

Anyway,  all advice welcome! Thanks. 

[AZTtripper]

Wrap some tape around the whole thing to hold the plugs in. Not a permanent fix but at least farther down the trail if not home. I start with electrical tape so as not have duct tape the final layer leaving residue on the rim.

I have always carried duct tape by wrapping some around my pump. The electrical tape idea came from someone else.

[aaron w]

Thanks for that.  I gather from your reply that it is common for plugs to get pulled out?  I'll add a bit more duct and elec tape to my kit...

How much of the plug should be in the tire, and how much sticking out?  Should the part that's sticking out be cut off with a knife to help prevent it from sticking to a rock and getting pulled out? 

Keep the tips coming! 

[Yogi the Barry]

If you are talking about a Stan's/latex sealed tire... try small bits of soft cotton t-shirt or bandana stuffed into the cut, or even pulled off bits from a cotton ball. Cotton fibers, in the inside of the tire, offer a lattice for the sealant to build onto and seal the leak. Not for gaping wide cuts, but works for the small cuts. A little bit of glitter thrown in with the sealant seems to stop leaks easier, but at the expense of more frequent latex blobs rolling around inside the tire...
BTW - I also carry a spare 2-oz bottle of Stan's, spare tube, spare valve stem, tire plug kit... in addition to bits o' cotton.
-B

[AZTtripper]

Bits of cotton sounds like a good plan, maybe even something from the first aid kit.

Also I have added rubber bands to my plug kit as the plugs turn to mush in heat of my bike shed.

Then the pair of 2 oz Stan's bottles to add more and a couple of cores. The cores tend to get plugged up so it's nice to be able to replace them when it gets too hard to pump.

When it comes to big gashes I can't see taking the time to sew, I know some think it's worth it, I would just go to the tube. For the boot that might be needed I carry cut up pieces of old Tuffy Liners. For a really bad gash you can even glue them to the inside of the tire.

The tapes not really to keep the plug in but to give the Stan's something to build up against. Kinda like the cotton.

Tim

[Yogi the Barry]

Re: the seal of cotton...
Forgot to add that I also carry a needle and thread to sew, but have never chosen to do so... If I can't get a seal, I mop up the mess inside the tire [carry a plastic grocery sack and paper towels for this], check for thorns, just throw in a tube and utter some expletives. However it is nice to know the needle and thread are an option for one of those Castaway nightmare experiences. Yep, nice bits of cotton can also be found in the cotton compression bandages everyone has in their first-aid kits...

Re: plugging valve cores
Full disclosure - I hate presta valves. All my mountain bike wheels have Schrader valves. Yep, I drill every single rim and then retape. Schrader, instead of presta valve, costs me about 1 g more weight. I'm a weight weenie, but no lost sleep. Wider area at base of stem will seal and is not a problem with rims wider than about 20mm [inside]. I either use custom turned-down [lathe] aluminum racing wheel valve stems [off a Mazda racing parts web site -?-] or lately, I just make my own from 20" Continental BMX tubes, which are threaded full-length [you want full-length threads to lock down the stem with a nut for tubeless sealing]. How does an entire Schrader tube cost less than one tubeless presta valve? The hole in the rim is larger than a presta, but I can pull out the stem and run either a Schrader or presta tube in a pinch. No more lost pump head adapters causing stress... Pull into a gas station and just add air... Walk over to the compressor in my garage and just fill 'er up... Put a metal valve remover cap on the stem, like the ones you get with a Slime bottle, and you can easily remove the valve core to add more Stan's/sealant without breaking the bead.
End of presta hatred.
Not yet - forgot my main point - IMHO, Schrader valves do not clog as easily as presta valves.

...maybe even something from the first aid kit... The cores tend to get plugged up so it's nice to be able to replace them when it gets too hard to pump...
Tim

[AZTtripper]

I hear you on the Schrader valves I used to do the same thing. After having to buy tubes at an Ace in the middle of nowhere AZ. Haven't been able to convince myself to drill the new Stan's rims as of yet!

Rather then mopping up the extra Stan's I would pour one of my extra bottles into the tube, I run Conti tubes with removable cores so I can run Stan's in them. Then once you have an empty bottle pinch the bead of the tire and pour as much of the Stan's as you can into the bottle. Yeah I'm that cheap!

[yz129]

Re: the seal of cotton...
Forgot to add that I also carry a needle and thread to sew, but have never chosen to do so... If I can't get a seal, I mop up the mess inside the tire [carry a plastic grocery sack and paper towels for this], check for thorns, just throw in a tube and utter some expletives. However it is nice to know the needle and thread are an option for one of those Castaway nightmare experiences. Yep, nice bits of cotton can also be found in the cotton compression bandages everyone has in their first-aid kits...

Re: plugging valve cores
Full disclosure - I hate presta valves. All my mountain bike wheels have Schrader valves. Yep, I drill every single rim and then retape. Schrader, instead of presta valve, costs me about 1 g more weight. I'm a weight weenie, but no lost sleep. Wider area at base of stem will seal and is not a problem with rims wider than about 20mm [inside]. I either use custom turned-down [lathe] aluminum racing wheel valve stems [off a Mazda racing parts web site -?-] or lately, I just make my own from 20" Continental BMX tubes, which are threaded full-length [you want full-length threads to lock down the stem with a nut for tubeless sealing]. How does an entire Schrader tube cost less than one tubeless presta valve? The hole in the rim is larger than a presta, but I can pull out the stem and run either a Schrader or presta tube in a pinch. No more lost pump head adapters causing stress... Pull into a gas station and just add air... Walk over to the compressor in my garage and just fill 'er up... Put a metal valve remover cap on the stem, like the ones you get with a Slime bottle, and you can easily remove the valve core to add more Stan's/sealant without breaking the bead.
End of presta hatred.
Not yet - forgot my main point - IMHO, Schrader valves do not clog as easily as presta valves.

I use old used dirtbike tubes,cut the stems out of the tube and grind it down to fit into the valley of the rim,then use the locknut to secure it. works really good and most motorcycle shops will save old tubes for you instead of throwing them away. (free) who doesn't like free stems.