Introduction: How to deal with tyre puncture.
Are you a bike enthusiast or a regular bike rider? Do you cover kilometers on your bike on a daily basis? Then you are likely to experience a tyre puncture someday. Ignoring a flat tyre could be highly dangerous for your life, especially if you are a regular bike rider and cover kilometers on your bike. Punctured tyres are also the reason for various road accidents. A punctured tyre means that it is under-inflated and therefore does not have enough air pressure. It becomes harder to control or modulate tyres that do not have sufficient air pressure.
All you need to do is fix the punctured tyre. Nowadays, old fashioned tubes are getting replaced by tubeless tyres. Often bike-riders fix tyre punctures with plugs and patches. But how many times can you repair your tyre before it’s time to replace it? Is it safe or is it a long-term fix. In this blog, we discuss everything you need to know about tyre puncture.
Tubeless Tyres: The Latest Trend.
Technology is constantly evolving to meet the needs of people in this fast-pacing world. Bike tyres experiences rise in temperature with great speed. When drivers go high speed, ordinary tyres cannot sometimes handle the rise in temperature. High temperature causes high pressure. Ordinary tube tyres in such a situation experiences tyre punctures, or sometimes even worse, tyre bursts. A tyre blow-out can be very risky and sometimes fatal when drivers are going at an extremely high speed. Hence, tubeless tyres came into the market. Tubeless tyres are better equipped to handle high temperature.
What do the experts say? Tyre Repair 101:
The leading tyre manufacturing companies in the world, for example, Bridgestone, Metzeller and Pirelli all have given their expert opinion on tyre puncture repair to ensure maximum safety. Although they have their own set of rules and restrictions when it comes finding the most preferred tyre repair solution, there are a few areas they all agree upon-
Never plug sidewalls:
Customers can definitely go for plugging flat tyres while keeping in mind certain rules. For one, the most acceptable way of tyre plugging is to apply plugs or patches at the center of the tyre. If the puncture is anywhere near the sidewalls, you are not recommended to plug in the area. This is because sidewalls are structured in such a way that it cannot hold the plug properly. Manufacturers and technicians advise that only the crown of the tyre can be repaired using plugs and patches. Plugging is allowed up to 25% of each side of the center line.
Double protection for double safety:
The most recommended way of repairing tyre puncture is to first fill the puncture with a repair stem then put a repair patch on top of it. This method is popularly known as patch/plug repair method.
Only small punctures are repairable:
If the puncture size exceeds the range of 6mm, then consider replacing the tyre with a new one. Only smaller punctures can be repaired with patches and glues. Larger tears any more than 6mm in size cannot be repaired any longer. How many times you can go for puncture repair depends on what kind of tyre you have. For J speed tyres, repairing is allowed if the puncture is no more than 6mm. For V speed tyres, punctures more than 3mm size should be replaced and not repaired.
Exchange your tyre if it’s too old:
Riding your bike with an old tyre can be dangerous. Even if there are no punctures, you should replace your tyres from time to time. If your tyre is too worn out or if it has been working for far too long, then replacing it with a new one is the smarter choice. Even if the tear is small, you are recommended to get your old tyre replaced with a new one.
Do not depend on tyre repair in case of multiple punctures:
You cannot keep repairing the same old tyre again and again. Specific tyres have specific repairment limit. If your bike has J speed rating tyres, you are only allowed two repairs per tyre. In case you own V speed rating tyres, you are allowed only one time repair for each tyre. Also, if your tyre has multiple punctures on it, then sometimes repairing it can become more expensive. Rather, getting it replaced would be cost-effective.
Some additional rules-
Here is a list of few other criteria that you need to look for before fixing a tyre puncture-
- The puncture must be on the tread area- belt edge to belt edge.
- The penetration angle must be withing 45 degrees.
- The tyre tear should not be more than 1.6mm of the tread depth.
- The tyre must not show any signs of under-inflation damage.
- Up to three repairs are allowed for a minimum of 150mm.
Contact Apnamechanics for professional guidance on tyre puncture repair.
Leave these tasks in the hands of professionals for a hassle-free experience. Tyre punctures can be annoying, especially when you are on the go for an important meeting or some urgent work. It also requires professional level expertise to inspect the type of puncture and to find a suitable solution for it. Also, professional mechanics are equipped with the latest tools to give your bike the treatment it needs. Therefore, we recommend you contact our bike servicing experts at Apna Mechanics. We are your best bike servicing center in the city. We offer an online service at the most affordable prices. You can book a service from the comfort of your home anytime using our Apnamechanics app.
Whether you need to replace your tyre or simply a quick fix to a puncture, we will take care of your every bike problem. We provide doorstep service with our best trained bike mechanics. Install the app on your phone for a seamless experience.
