How To Repair an Inner Tube Puncture: Tips from a Professional Bike Mechanic

Repairing a punctured inner tube is a simple job when you know how and this video takes you through the important steps to get your bike back up and running in no time.

Presented by Jim from Jim The Bike Guy, a professional Cytech level 3 qualified bike mechanic specialising in servicing, upgrading and repairing all types of bikes from his bespoke workshop in West Berkshire. He specialises in high-end road, cyclocross and gravel bikes as well as cross-country race bikes. In his spare time he enjoys riding and racing all types of bikes to an enthusiastic standard.

Jim The Bike Guy

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[themtysibulba]

heck, this guy is the Bob Ross of bike repairs. Such a soothing voice. Very nice and very informative Video.

[jessemacohlsson]

Jim, in my bike service shop, I’ve developed a trick to make the search for the cause of the puncture trivial. Before you remove the inner tube from the tire, index the tube and the tire. Mark the tire where the valve stem is. I use a ball point pen and put a small mark on the sidewall of the drive side of the tire, to show where the valve stem was. Then, mark the inner tube to indicate the drive side of the inner tube.

What that does is allow me to reproduce the exact orientations of the inner tube and tire. After I patch the inner tube, I can then realign the inner tube and tire, and the new patch will show me exactly where to find the object that caused the puncture, if it remains in the tire.

A word about those peel and stick patches: I patch a couple hundred inner tubes a year in my shop. I have never seen an old, functioning, peel and stick patch. I have patched dozens of inner tubes with failed peel and stick patches. They are temporary, at best. I do not recommend them and don’t sell them in my shop.

[TeamTingTong]

I usually carry a couple of spares and a glue kit for longer rides. Like most people here, I find those stick on patches are pretty unreliable. I usually wait until i have about 5 or 6 tubes then spend a few minutes fixing them at home. 3 coats of glue, couple on the patch, overnight with some weights on them and they're good to go. I've got some tubes that are more patch than tube now.

[darthvulcanis]

1. Jim... your moustache is epic
2. This video was like watching a Bob Ross painting tutorial - EXCELLENT

[DrDonO]

Watch this @ 2X speed playback. All is quite clear and well explained.

[mickbrown]

Great video Jim- clear, concise and to the point.

I've long held the view that it's best to simply use my spare tube (having first carefully inspected the tyre for thorns, shards of flint, glass, etc), in the event of a puncture, and take the punctured tube home for repair where it's warm, clean and dry. Granted that plans fails in the instance of a second puncture but so far luck has been with me!

Whilst great care is required, I've found a fingertip search of the inside of the tyre is sometimes needed to locate the offending intrusion - but I can't stress enough the need for caution as clearly the item will be needle / razor sharp!!

[Izzy]

Thank you so much, I was struggling to get my tire back on. Thanks to you I successfully did it

[shanegreen]

I always blow my inner tube up and hold it to my wheel where the valve would go to get an idea where the thorn or object might be in the tyre.

[jacobc]

I couldn’t agree more. Everything I needed, nothing I didn’t. Thanks so much for the very helpful tutorial!!

[davidbee]

Such GREAT EXPERT videos Jim presents . . . I've found that if you are having trouble finding the puncture, try running the tube really close under your nose - an extra sensitive spot to help detect air escaping ! Happy trails!

[nafs]

Awaiting 2 new treaded tyres for my e-bike which, loaded with 2x panniers of shopping, developed a puncture after getting home. It was a wet day, the tyres were slick and the bike very heavy, not surprising really. These couple of puncture/tyre change tutorial vids are really handy reminders and will make my repair job much easier come the day. Yes, I will def. be carrying a spare tube from now on. 👍

[DiabloOutdoors]

TIPS:

If you have difficulty finding the hole, try this:
Pass the tube very close to your upper lip. It's a very sensitive area and you will "feel" the air.

OR

Add dish soap to water then stir so there are bubbles. Then use a sponge and rub it on the tire. It will blow bubbles where the hole is.

Add to your kit one of those tiny wipes they use at the hospital after using a syringe. Very good to clean the inner tube! You can find them for cheap at any pharmacy.

[tomaskozler]

0:40 100%! I won´t ever forget how i cycled around Manchester full of rubbish all over the place as a messenger on gravel tyres Continental - good brand, good reviews on the particular tyres, 15 quid each. worthless. for half a year I was getting punctures all the time, when it was only once a week that was a blessed week, sometimes it was more than once a day. I was even trying good old tricks as placing old tubes without valves in between the tubes and tyres as an extra protection, helped a little, then upgraded for a strip of carpet, helped a little more, but still plenty punctures. once I god fed up and swapped them for high quality puncture more resistant tyres from Challenge, 50 quid each, and I was waiting for my first puncture another half a year and that thorn was nearly ready to puncture a car tyre. no need to go into details how quickly that investment paid off on saved time and morale. sticky patches - I tried them once and didn´t work. so I´m back to the old school and with good patches it works just good. but yes, it is a hassle so thanks to your video I will try the new ones again. also, the old school patches usually come quite large whereas the punctures are usually no more than 1mm. I cut them in halfs, quarters or even more if large enough. just need to work them in and also hit the hole with the center of the patch better then with a bigger one. I find it easier, less wasting and even though marginally, adding less weight. the only thing I was missing in the video was the promised topic on when is the tube ready to be dismissed, I was looking forward it...

[grahamryle]

Clear, comprehensive and helpful information. Thank you

[alexcollins]

Jim is a brilliant tutor. May I suggest an idea💡 for a video - fixing a tubeless tyre at the roadside please.

[calgarymosquitosociety]

Excellent video, thank you Jim! Clear, easy to understand, comprehensive. Well done.

[lafamillecarrington]

I always start the hunt for the source of the puncture by looking around the tyre before removing the inner tube. If you find a thorn/flint, you know where the hole in the inner tube will be.
I'm still searching for a good way to mark the location of a puncture on the inner tube accurately. I've seen people suggest making the hole larger so it is easily visible - that just seems crazy!

[blandoworthlessness]

I've never had one of those sticky patches work for me. I've gone through a whole pack and it's never adhered properly. Only thing I can think of is I roughed the tube up too much, the sticky part touched my fingers and got oil on it, sometimes I draw a circle around the hole with a marker and that interferes, or maybe I didn't rub it hard enough. I thought they were just a bad product but after watching this I might try again.

[ivornotion]

Thanks Jim. Would appreciate feedback on Bruno's comment below that the patches you used are temporary and not as good as the old glue hot patches method for a long term fix. I have had a lot of issues with the temporary patches staying on over time.

[alexelmagnifico]

Wow. Excellent tips. Thank you for helping us out! Cheers!