Tire patch on a staple puncture

Aens

Aens

Well-known member
So I have a staple in my tire and it is a huge leak (15minutes and it goes from 40psi to less than 20psi, staple is still in). The staple is about 1cm wide between the two prongs and both look to be embedded and puncturing the tire. The puncture is right in the center of the rear tire away from any grooves. I tried calling around to a few shops and none of them will patch a tire. Dunlop Sportmax D222 (OEM version of Roadsmart 2), CB500F, 4000km on the tires.

Normally I would have no qualms about a patch if it were a nail, but the double puncture and huge air leak make me wonder if this can be patched. What kind of patch should I use and do I need to take the tire off to patch it?
 
To properly patch it the tire needs to be off the rim. I wouldn't want two string patches that close together, and the newer style inner patch/plug is designed to seal one hole.
Also those electrical staples cause some pretty nasty punctures, not round at all.
Your call, but I'd likely buy a new tire.

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I'm with iceman, it sounds like a staple to hold electrical cable. If it is, there are flats to keep it from driving in too deeply. Those flats have been pushed through your tire and will need to be pried back through again. That's a lot of damage to the casing. I have no problems patching mc tires, but in your case, I would think about replacing it.
 
I pick up one of those electrical staples in my car tire after leaving my local home depot one day. It had 2 punctures which I had patched. They didn't remove the tire from the wheel. Just shoved a strip of rubber in the hole with an adhesive. Snipped it flat. That was over a year ago and still good.

The position of the holes was similar to what you found, which is good the heat of the rubber and road will help it mold together.
 
If you have the tools and know-how to remove the tire and patch it yourself, and if money is a bit tight, I would go ahead and patch it. I have full confidence in a patch. (not so much with a string plug)

If you have to take it to a shop, I would definitely be replacing the tire. At 4000km, that tire isn't exactly new.
 
sburns said:
I pick up one of those electrical staples in my car tire after leaving my local home depot one day. It had 2 punctures which I had patched. They didn't remove the tire from the wheel. Just shoved a strip of rubber in the hole with an adhesive. Snipped it flat. That was over a year ago and still good.

The position of the holes was similar to what you found, which is good the heat of the rubber and road will help it mold together.
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You will find a huge difference patching a Mc tire, that's why all the shops refuse to do it for the Op. With a car you have four tires not two, much less critical if the patch fails.
I personally have no problems with string patches but I don't believe they are intended for this use.

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Replace the tire. Do you really want to worry if the patch or plug will hold up every time you go out for a ride? I know I wouldn't.

It's a shame the tire only has 4000kms on it.

It's not about cost, it's about safety.
 
I'm with GreyGhost if it's an electrical staple. Those things are nasty. How much twisting and slashing did it do going in?

If a push in plug gets you home or to a shop OK but take a serious look at the tire when you're at a safe place and reevaluate.

A M/C tire has different set of dynamics than a car tire. A car tire has designated wear surfaces and sidewalls. The wear surface is parallel to the road and the sidewall perpendicular. With a M/C tire the duties are shared depending on lean angle. It's those variables that make the patching argument so opinionated.

Percent of tread left and age of tire are also factors.
 
It went straight in from what I can see. I'm going to get a new tire since it seems like most shops have some sort of advertised special. I don't have the mechanical experience to confidently remove a tire, patch and mount a tire. I'll just keep this tire as a spare. Next question is if I should change the front too. Minimal wear D220 (Dunlop Roadsmart 2 OEM). I'm going to get my rear replaced with a Dunlop Roadsmart 3. Since they are the same product series, would it be alright to mix the two? A lot of noob questions and I don't want to be taken advantage of by a sales guy or make a terrible safety decision.
 
Aens said:
It went straight in from what I can see. I'm going to get a new tire since it seems like most shops have some sort of advertised special. I don't have the mechanical experience to confidently remove a tire, patch and mount a tire. I'll just keep this tire as a spare. Next question is if I should change the front too. Minimal wear D220 (Dunlop Roadsmart 2 OEM). I'm going to get my rear replaced with a Dunlop Roadsmart 3. Since they are the same product series, would it be alright to mix the two? A lot of noob questions and I don't want to be taken advantage of by a sales guy or make a terrible safety decision.
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I'd be ok with a single tire in this case.
 
Don't think I'd be doing much riding on a bike tire that's been plugged, emergency only. But I'd consider running a parched tire for a bit if it were dismounted and damage not bad after inspection, and patched from the inside.

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JavaFan said:
Don't think I'd be doing much riding on a bike tire that's been plugged, emergency only. But I'd consider running a parched tire for a bit if it were dismounted and damage not bad after inspection, and patched from the inside.

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I've ridden plugged tires for 10,000+ km. I agree, a patch is better, but I was on a trip and didn't want to waste time at a shop getting a patch installed. The hole was a single clean puncture.

My worry with the OP's situation is the potential tearing up of the casing/belts due to the ugly shape of the staple. Neither a plug nor a patch fix potential structural damage, they just stop the air leak.
 
Patch it from the inside is best. I have used the string plugs before and will again. Used em till the end of the tire tread...thousands of kms. You have to keep in mind if the plug fails it's just going to leak air, the tire isn't going to fall apart. Not good if you are away from a source of air.
Personally I'd plug it and see how it holds up in the short term.
 
Aens said:
It went straight in from what I can see. I'm going to get a new tire since it seems like most shops have some sort of advertised special. I don't have the mechanical experience to confidently remove a tire, patch and mount a tire. I'll just keep this tire as a spare. Next question is if I should change the front too. Minimal wear D220 (Dunlop Roadsmart 2 OEM). I'm going to get my rear replaced with a Dunlop Roadsmart 3. Since they are the same product series, would it be alright to mix the two? A lot of noob questions and I don't want to be taken advantage of by a sales guy or make a terrible safety decision.
Click to expand...

Keeping things as a spare is OK if they are easy switch outs but if a R&R is a lot of work is it worth it?

IIRC swapping a tire on a car is about $25.00 but they come off with 4 -5 nuts and there are a lot of shops. Bikes usually require a lot of disassembly so you don't get a lot of bang for your buck monetarily and then there's the safety factor.

IMO it costs more to install a used part than a new one because a diligent mechanic will spend a bit more time cleaning the part and checking it for flaws.
 
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