Nailed

[Recht]

Out for a ride on the new V7III Special today, traction control starts faulting. I realize back tire is going flat. I was very close to home so I was able to limp back slowly. I discovered a nail is the culprit. The question is:
1. New tube
2. New tube, patch hole
3. New tube, new tire.
Which would you do? Bike has 130 miles on it.

[Kev m]

1 or 2, no need for 3 unless the nail was somehow in the sidewall.

[malik]

New tube. Good quality one, say, Pirelli or Michelin. Toss the holed tube, but save the valve for 'ron. You never know when it could come in handy. Buy a lottery ticket - finding a nail in 130 miles is something special.

[Bonaventure]

Out for a ride on the new V7III Special today, traction control starts faulting. I realize back tire is going flat. I was very close to home so I was able to limp back slowly. I discovered a nail is the culprit. The question is:
1. New tube
2. New tube, patch hole
3. New tube, new tire.
Which would you do? Bike has 130 miles on it.

I don't know, brand new bike leans me toward #3. 

[Kiwi_Roy]

Out for a ride on the new V7III Special today, traction control starts faulting. I realize back tire is going flat. I was very close to home so I was able to limp back slowly. I discovered a nail is the culprit. The question is:
1. New tube
2. New tube, patch hole
3. New tube, new tire.
Which would you do? Bike has 130 miles on it.

It still has tubes?
How archaic

[Tom]

1 or 2, no need for 3 unless the nail was somehow in the sidewall.

 :1:

[blackcat]

As above and add Slime to the tube.

[Jurgen]

I've had good luck with Ride-On tire sealant and balancer.  Actually I don't know if I ever had a puncture.  And it does really balance the wheel. tried it up to 100 mph.  It works on Tubeless as well as tubed wheels.  Slime is not loved by those needing to repair a tire.  Jürgen

[blackcat]

  Slime is not loved by those needing to repair a tire.  J�rgen

For a tubed tire, this is not an issue.

[Tom]

No problems with using Slime.  Has saved my cookies going down the highway.  It is water soluble.

[sign216]

1 or 2, no need for 3 unless the nail was somehow in the sidewall.

Yep, no need for a new tire.  I agree w Malik, get the best tube you can.

I used to use Slime, but now just carry a can of Trebond emergency sealant.  That worked for me once with no problems.

[Wayne Orwig]

Patch
Air
Ride

[wirespokes]

I've patched tubes many times with never a problem. I don't think I'd do sustained high speeds with a patched tube, but that doesn't usually happen the normal places I ride.

If it's a tubeless (as most bikes are these days), plug the hole, air up and go.

I've got a bottle of 'Ride On' but haven't used it yet. Didn't know it was water soluble.

[Arizona Wayne]

Over time Slime turns into powder in your tire.  Don't know about it's competitors.  At least then there's no slimy mess changing your tire out. 

[Recht]

Thanks all, new tube on the way. Over 300,000 on four different BMW's and I think I plugged two tires. Much easier than dealing with tubes.

[Tom]

Best benefit that I look for with tube sealant (any brand) is to mitigate a blow-out.  Not fun while underway.

[Sasquatch Jim]

 That depends on how much damage was done as you nursed it home.
 And how big the nail was.  These two things are related.

[Triple Jim]

A properly patched tube is just as good as it was before it got the puncture.  The tire should be patched to keep road dirt out.

It's interesting that a wheel with a tubed tire got a nail in it, and it leaked down slowly enough to let Recht get home.  This goes against all the posts I've read that say tubes are terrible because if you get a nail hole, they immediately lose all air.

[Steph]

Thanks all, new tube on the way. Over 300,000 on four different BMW's and I think I plugged two tires. Much easier than dealing with tubes.

Sounds like you're a seasoned rider.
-you should be telling us! 

[Kev m]

A properly patched tube is just as good as it was before it got the puncture.  The tire should be patched to keep road dirt out.

It's interesting that a wheel with a tubed tire got a nail in it, and it leaked down slowly enough to let Recht get home.  This goes against all the posts I've read that say tubes are terrible because if you get a nail hole, they immediately lose all air.

Years back I caught a broken car key (probably in grooved pavement of a construction site) in my Jackal's rear tire which nicked the tube. I was running 2-up, at highway speeds, loaded with luggage. I didn't realize I was losing air and actually have no idea how long it was leaking, until I happened to pull onto an off-ramp to look for fuel.

The rear end got very loose on the ramp and that's when I looked down and back to see the tire was flat or going flat.

I pulled into a gas station within 100 yards or so and could have sworn it was still actively losing air so it might have just been a huge coincidence, or maybe the key nicked the tube only when I leaned it over for the ramp.

But it wasn't a sudden catastrophic loss and the side-wall actually supported the weight pretty well.

[malik]

Of the many flats I've had, most have been fairly slow. One catastrophic rear tyre blow out at speed - put down to faulty vulcanising of the stem to the tube. More usual is finding the tyre flat after a stop. Sometimes it's a foreign object (nail, screw, metal shard), so the speed of deflation seems to depend upon the size of the object, how far in it went, how much is left out , the size & shape & how much punishment the tyre was getting. A tube pinched on installation usually won't hold air at, so you know immediately. Oversize tubes (put in by shops that should have known better) fold, and only eventually develop a hole, which leaks air slowly, at least it did so in the two instances of my experience.one of these let go after 2,000km, the other after 8,000km. In my experience, catastrophic failure is the exception, rather than the rule on street riding. On the track, it's likely to be a different matter. Check with the dirt riders - their experiences may well be different again.

Mal