At loose ends, my buddies are all up on the Range of Light Gypsy Tour and wanting to get out of the house I made up the need to go check out the new facility for my old fencing club down on Blossom Hill Rd in San Jose, 51 miles. No problem running down. Didn't get the gossip I wanted to know about, as they had all been told to keep their mouths shut. Did he or didn't he and that sort of thing. But so hot. the ride down was comfortable enough in the 70's F. Hit the northern border of San Jose and the temps rose between 10 and 15 degrees. Leaving the club and climbing back on the bike the bike felt sort of "wonky"/unstable as I started off. Seemed like there was a problem with the rear wheel. I stopped and took a look but the wheels looked fine. Here's the real stupid part. My knees are suffering from osteoarthritis and it's right painful to 1.) get down on my knees or 2.) pop the bike up on the center stand. So I looked, but didn't take out the pressure gauge and check. I figured that the wonky feeling was just me. Got back on the freeway but was taking it easy. That is didn't exceed the speed limit very often.No problem on the freeway. Made it back through the tube/tunnel onto the island and stopped at In-Out Burger for lunch. Leaving In-Out tires felt wonky again but it's only 2 miles home. So I got home, gave the bike and the tires a chance to cool off. Went to measure the tire pressures. Front was fine, 33 lbs. The rear wouldn't register on the tire gauge. Got out another 3 gauges and the same thing. Gauges won't register anything lower than 10 lbs of pressure. So it appears I rode 51 miles on a tire with 10 lbs or less air pressure in it. Think I'll go to church tomorrow. Anyway with the bike up on the center stand I filled the tire and started looking. Found a clean hole no more than 1/4 inch (1cm) off the the tire center line. Probed it and it's a clean, straight through hole. If you're going to have a puncture I guess this is as good as it gets. Looked at my tire patch kits and went off to the local auto store in search of the mushroom sort of tire patch as opposed to the string/rubber thingie you push through. I can dismount a tire in a pinch.  But they inform me they don't carry such as that's a specialty item only obtainable from tire stores and the like. So I suspect it will be Tuesday before I can get it patched in a manner I want.

Lesson learned: If it feels wonky, don't just look, measure. Still I'm impressed the Dunlop 404 rear tire seems to have performed amazingly and I got home safely no thanks to my own stupidity.

Addendum: I meant to add, has anyone else had a similar experience and what are the chances that the tire was damaged? I've not taken the tire down/off the wheel. Won't until after the US holiday when I can borrow an electric tire mounting tool. I could do it by hand but why get in a hurry and I want to get the more desirable patch. The tire looks fine from the outside but I'm wondering what to look for on the inside.

jjefferies wrote:Think I'll go to church tomorrow.

I'm one of those people that simply doesn't trust patched tyres, however much I'm told they'll be okay. That resulted in a ten-day old tyre hitting the bin once, but hey-ho. I chose to go that way.

I've been  riding with free tyres for 10 years, re-using the punctured ones the police mechanics were not allowed to patch on the police bikes. So I dit it anyway and never had any problem!

Question to US members. Any suggestions or thoughts on where to get the mushroom type tire patches? Yeah I looked at Amazon and Ebay. They are available with a week to deliver and doubling price for shipping. Just wondering if these were available at any brick stores. I tried Riley's and was assured that neither Riley or any of the regular parts stores carried them. Specialty item found only at tire repair shops. For anyone no aware of the differences this is what I was asking about:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/142839230873?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=142839230873&targetid=1645685073328&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9031977&poi=&campaignid=16730423415&mkgroupid=135815925780&rlsatarget=pla-1645685073328&abcId=9300841&merchantid=114766312&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmdGYBhDRARIsABmSEeOSdCpdn2M0SiEJgfWDSiEPN-HZpkgVJ167l0SKiVftgqim2xImfT0aAr6ZEALw_wcB

Stop n Go is my tyre puncture tool of choice. They use a 'mushroom' shaped rubber insert that gets either threaded in (from the outside) with an Allen key device into the (enlarged) puncture hole or pressed in with a caulking gun type of device. I choose both, the smaller version for traveling and the larger for garage repairs. 

The rubber content of the plug is such that it will meld itself into the rubber of the tyre. One can wear out a newish tyre with them inserted, and as long as you're frequently checking the air pressure, you'll be laughing at the money saved. The Washington state police and local coppers round here all use that type of kit on their RT-P models and we often change their worn-out tyres in the workshop to discover four or six or eight plugs in the old tyres.

Two Wheels Better wrote:Stop n Go is my tyre puncture tool of choice. They use a 'mushroom' shaped rubber insert that gets either threaded in (from the outside) with an Allen key device into the (enlarged) puncture hole or pressed in with a caulking gun type of device. I choose both, the smaller version for traveling and the larger for garage repairs. 

DON"T LAUGH! I've got one of these or I did have. But I haven't used it in years and I've searched high and low and side to side and not found it. The only possible answer is that I gave it away. Does happen from time to time. But I remember it vividly and where it was. But I re-organized the garage or at least the tool boxes and sigh... I'm still finding stuff where it wasn't before. I'm stalling about buying another knowing that as soon as I do the old one will magically reappear. Which is one reason for looking for the push from the inside mushroom type.

I looked at the Stop n Go but didn't like the fact that you had to ream the hole out so big. So after some further research I went with the Motorpressor tyre plugger which is a cross between sticky strings and a plugger. You insert the string as normal but then rotate the insertion tool 1 and a 1/2 times and pull it through and trim, it forms a mushroom plug on the inside. The  system is extremely compact. I just bought the tool. See the video on Rocky Creek Designs site.   https://www.bing.com/ck/a?
Regards Martin.

Interesting. It does expect you to spend some time making sure the hole is 'clean'. See the reamer in my second Stop n Go kit image? It's not any bigger in diametre or length than the OEM BMW reamer I have in several tool kits. The 'caulking gun' style tool is definitely the easier one of the two choices to squeeze the mushroom plug in with as compared to the Allen key version, but the hole is just about the same. Plus, the 'po po' use them regularly on their RT-P bikes. I have had, over the years, one or two mushroom plugs pop right through the tyre's carcass if I'm distracted at the roadside by flying B-doubles (semis) sliding by my shoulder in a huff of speed.

I have been using the Stop and Go kit for several years.  It has worked on moto, auto, and tractor tires.  I will admit it does take a bit of cranking on that Allen wrench to get the plug in, but so far I have never lost a plug or had one leak.

jjefferies wrote:Question to US members. Any suggestions or thoughts on where to get the mushroom type tire patches? Yeah I looked at Amazon and Ebay. They are available with a week to deliver and doubling price for shipping. Just wondering if these were available at any brick stores. I tried Riley's and was assured that neither Riley or any of the regular parts stores carried them. Specialty item found only at tire repair shops. For anyone no aware of the differences this is what I was asking about:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/142839230873?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=142839230873&targetid=1645685073328&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9031977&poi=&campaignid=16730423415&mkgroupid=135815925780&rlsatarget=pla-1645685073328&abcId=9300841&merchantid=114766312&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmdGYBhDRARIsABmSEeOSdCpdn2M0SiEJgfWDSiEPN-HZpkgVJ167l0SKiVftgqim2xImfT0aAr6ZEALw_wcB

I buy those from NAPA.  They have quite an assortment of sizes of patch diameter and plug sizes.

I've used Safety Seal brand "sticky strings" on a few flats over the years and never had one fail. I always carry them in my tire repair kit when touring and trust them based on past experience.

Despite the fact I carry the Stop and Go kit, I have seen a video on You Tube a while back where there is a test of the common road side tire repair options; standard plugs, Stop and Go, and sticky strings.

The test involved pushing the repair into the tire and pulling it out.  The force required was measured for comparison.  As I recall, the the standard smooth plug was the easy to push in or pull out, the Stop and Go was easiest to push in, but harder than the standard plug to pull out. and the winner was the sticky string which was hardest to pull out and almost impossible to push in.

I looked, but can't find the video to post it.

Point-Seven-five wrote:. . .I have seen a video on You Tube a while back where there is a test of the common road side tire repair options; standard plugs, Stop and Go, and sticky strings.

That's got to be this one that records the apogee of wholesome fresh air tire plug testing.

That's not the one I referenced, it's much better.  The one I saw was specific to moto tires.  No sense in looking for it now that a much better video has been posted.

Kr4mo wrote:

jjefferies wrote:Question to US members. Any suggestions or thoughts on where to get the mushroom type tire patches? Yeah I looked at Amazon and Ebay. They are available with a week to deliver and doubling price for shipping. Just wondering if these were available at any brick stores. I tried Riley's and was assured that neither Riley or any of the regular parts stores carried them. Specialty item found only at tire repair shops. For anyone no aware of the differences this is what I was asking about:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/142839230873?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=142839230873&targetid=1645685073328&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9031977&poi=&campaignid=16730423415&mkgroupid=135815925780&rlsatarget=pla-1645685073328&abcId=9300841&merchantid=114766312&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmdGYBhDRARIsABmSEeOSdCpdn2M0SiEJgfWDSiEPN-HZpkgVJ167l0SKiVftgqim2xImfT0aAr6ZEALw_wcB

I buy those from NAPA.  They have quite an assortment of sizes of patch diameter and plug sizes.

That's weird. Went to NAPA and the sales person said they didn't carry any such. Different locales? or Idiot Salesman?

A bit weird, I posted an update and it apparently didn't make it to the server. Maybe it's the electrical issues we are having  in CA. Anyway to recap, I went looking for those mushroom pull through type patches. Didn't find any at the local auto parts stores, ordered a box from ebay. Then after the holidays thought to check the local bike shops. First one I called sold me a box. So I decided to go ahead with doing it at home with the tools I had. Honestly I think it took me at least 5 hours to dismount and remount the rubber tire on the wheel, 1/2 hour to patch it. All in all, while patching from the inside may have some safety advantages not sure it was worth the effort. The stem of the mushroom does nothing other than fill the hole with a loose plug. The actual repairing comes from the patch over the hole and surrounding area. My insistence on a specialty patch was probably wasted effort as from what I could see a simple glue on patch such as used for bicycle tubes would have worked possibly as well.

That said the job was done and after the struggle to get the rubber mounted on the wheel the issue of how to get it to seal arose. I solved that by wrapping a come-along tie-down around the center line of the tire and tightening till the rubber met the wheel. Then a simple air fill. Interestingly I measured the tire pressure at 17:00 that evening and it was 36.5 lbs. Measured the next morning 9:00 AM and it was 35. lbs. Uh Oh. Slow leak? Measured it later in the afternoon and the pressure was 37lbs. Same gauge. But the temps had gone from 75F to 90F. At 95F it was 37.5 lbs. Oh well. I'm going to guess it isn't leaking.

Final step right now is to check balance statically. I wound up taking off a 1/4 oz 7gm weight. And still it's not not always going back to the same place. The static balance is one of the Harbor Freight Chinese thingies. Is a 1/4 oz difference enough to cause vibration on the rear.? Just trying to do it right.

best regards
J.