30-05-18, 11:24 PM
Yesterday, Russ of Russ' Tyres here in Portsmouth did a workshop for a number of us from the local IAM group.
What he did was to get several old tyres either with holes already in them or he'd drill holes so we could try out different puncture repair systems.
I found that the Cargol Turn and Go key I tried didn't work on a 4.5mm hole (despite them saying it would work up to 5mm) and when I tried it on a 3mm hole, it broke off before sealing it properly (although it might have been weakened by trying to use it twice).We also tried a Crafty Plugger (the one with the long strands that look like liquorice sticks), but they were a bit fiddly and didn't work all the time.
Most effective were the Stop and Go Pocket Tyre Plugger or the Tip Top Rep & Air set (which uses the figure 8 style plugs) that managed to seal a slit-like puncture that was almost a centimetre long.
He did make the very important point that any such repair should *ALWAYS* be treated as temporary until you can take the tyre off and check for internal damage because, although you may have read posts from people saying "I plugged this and rode on it for 5000 miles", that's no guarantee that the puncture repair you do is 100% safe and, personally, I'd prefer not to risk my safety when a professional with 30 years' experience gives advice like that :thumbup
What he did was to get several old tyres either with holes already in them or he'd drill holes so we could try out different puncture repair systems.
I found that the Cargol Turn and Go key I tried didn't work on a 4.5mm hole (despite them saying it would work up to 5mm) and when I tried it on a 3mm hole, it broke off before sealing it properly (although it might have been weakened by trying to use it twice).We also tried a Crafty Plugger (the one with the long strands that look like liquorice sticks), but they were a bit fiddly and didn't work all the time.
Most effective were the Stop and Go Pocket Tyre Plugger or the Tip Top Rep & Air set (which uses the figure 8 style plugs) that managed to seal a slit-like puncture that was almost a centimetre long.
He did make the very important point that any such repair should *ALWAYS* be treated as temporary until you can take the tyre off and check for internal damage because, although you may have read posts from people saying "I plugged this and rode on it for 5000 miles", that's no guarantee that the puncture repair you do is 100% safe and, personally, I'd prefer not to risk my safety when a professional with 30 years' experience gives advice like that :thumbup