What's the best tubeless tire repair kit???

[Mh434]

So, I was on a ride with a group to a small town in the interior of British Columbia over the weekend. Great ride, meals, company, etc. Sunday morning, time to put the hammer down & head home (route takes us through mountain passes, etc., and little civilization).

I discovered my rear tire was just about flat, with a nail sticking out of it. I tried adding air with my onboard compressor, but I could hear air hissing out around the nail, so I knew I couldn't tackle 300 km of mountain roads & passes without fixing it. Of course, the nearest town with a motorcycle shop was over 100 km away and, being a Sunday, was closed anyway.

I figured the only thing I could do was to try the emergency tire plug repair kit I've been carrying for years (the kind with a T-handled plug insertion tool, rectangular strips of rubber, and a tiny tube of glue). After pulling out the nail & letting the last of the air out, on the first attempt at inserting a plug, 1) the new, sealed tube of glue contained only air & one drop of glue, and 2) trying to push the plug in resulted in the entire end of the tool breaking off in the hole in the tire.

One of the other guys had a kit, too, although his used knobby cylindrical worms of some kind of rubberized orange putty instead of strips of rubber. It also included a reamer to open up the hole in the tire. No glue, or anything. We were finally successful in getting one of those plugs into the hole & extracting the tool (we did spread the end of it enough that I need to replace it for him), leaving about 1/2" sticking out. I trimmed off most of it, pressurized the tire, and checked for leaks with soapy water. It seemed to be holding properly, so we did the ride home without issues (speeds up to 120 km/h).

The instructions in his kit say to ride the bike, very slowly, directly to a tire repair place which, of course, was impossible. At this point, the repair is still holding fine, but I will have to effect some kind of permanent fix or replacement of the tire (figures - it still has 80% left, and I can't get a tire locally in less than a few weeks - by which time riding season will have ended).

Anyway, has anyone here had experience with using these kits? Any recommendations for a particularly good one? I know I won't be going on any long rides without one in the future, but I want to get a decent set.

Or...other ideas for emergency flat repairs (something small enough to tuck away in a corner of a saddlebag, etc.)?

[MikeB]

I've used The Plugger several times with excellent results:
http://www.stopngo.com/standard-model-tire-plugger/

There is also the Pocket Plugger
http://cyclemax.com/inc/searchresults?s ... r&n=709423

I have both but have not used the Pocket Plugger yet.
Either way you go should work well for you.

[WingAdmin]

I got to try out the Dynaplug tire repair tool this past January at our motorcycle show (pound a nail into a tire, then pull it out and plug it with this tool). It was quite easy and worked well - and you can use multiple plugs to plug larger holes.

I would only ride on a plugged tire to get me home (or to someplace where I could replace the tire). I will drive with a plugged tire, but not on my motorcycle.

[Andy Cote]

Over the years, I have tried several of those string/glue kits and have never had success. I have tried the Stop n Go mushroom plugs on my van twice and they worked fine once I mastered the install technique. I carry this kit now and while I hope to never need it, feel it could save me a towing bill if needed.

[HawkeyeGL1200]

I'm going to admit up front that I never used that Stop-and-Go kit.

I will tell you that I have plugged a few motorcycle tires with the "stringy" tire plugs you can buy in most any auto parts section at WalMart or in any auto parts store. I only used the plug to get me as far as I needed (LIKE HOME) and then changed the tire before I rode the bike again. The reason I've decided to NEVER ride on one of those plugs again is, I had one come out while I was headed home after repairing a tire puncture and it nearly got me killed. The tire not only deflated rapidly, but it actually broke the bead loose from the wheel. The experience can only be described as similar to riding one of those mechanical bulls that were popularized by the movie "Urban Cowboy".... with the exception that there were no padded mats in the ditch in which I ended up.......

So, having said all that. I haven't bought one of those Stop and Go kits yet, but I plan to. I also have decided it it the only kind of plug I'm willing to ride on, ever again. The mushroom shaped plug, properly installed, can't pull or pop out. That means a lot to me.

Another confession here is that I used to run tires longer than I should have... trying to squeeze a few extra miles out of them between changes. It is a terrible practice that I will never engage in again. As soon as mine get close to wear bars, they get changed and tossed in the trash. As the Michelin Tire commercial says, "there's so much riding on your tires" and when there are only TWO tires, the risk is significantly higher than when there are four...

There's my 2$ worth.