Flat tires

[crv16]

Over the past two years, I've had 5 flats.  I've fixed the last 4 myself and wanted to relate how mindlessly simple flat repairs really are.

Walmart sells a combo kit with plugs, reaming tool and plug insertion tool.  You simply find the offending hole in your tire, remove any screw or nail, and make the hole bigger with the reaming tool. Squirt a little rubber cement on the reaming tool, and ram it in and out again, to coat the surface of the hole.  Next, thread the plug into the plug tool, squirt some more rubber cement on it, and stick it in the hole.  Pull the tool out, the plug stays in!  Then just cut the remainder of the plug flush with the surface of the tire.

The whole thing takes less than 10 minutes.

My last two punctures were within the first inch of sidewall - a region where tire shops "won't repair".  I'm convinced that policy is more about selling more tires than safety.

Anyone else fix their own flats?

[footoflead]

Over the past two years, I've had 5 flats.  I've fixed the last 4 myself and wanted to relate how mindlessly simple flat repairs really are.

Walmart sells a combo kit with plugs, reaming tool and plug insertion tool.  You simply find the offending hole in your tire, remove any screw or nail, and make the hole bigger with the reaming tool. Squirt a little rubber cement on the reaming tool, and ram it in and out again, to coat the surface of the hole.  Next, thread the plug into the plug tool, squirt some more rubber cement on it, and stick it in the hole.  Pull the tool out, the plug stays in!  Then just cut the remainder of the plug flush with the surface of the tire.

The whole thing takes less than 10 minutes.

My last two punctures were within the first inch of sidewall - a region where tire shops "won't repair".  I'm convinced that policy is more about selling more tires than safety.

Anyone else fix their own flats?

its cheaper for me just to take it to discount tire where my tires our underwarrenty....flat repair is usally free :D when under warrenty

[SargeMonkey]

My dad, mom, and me have never had a flat, on a car, but our trailer has four. I don't know why but its never happened, we have had those realy slow leaks but not a real flat, and we are rouck hounds.

[Lebowski]

I seem to have really bad luck whenever I get a flat, in that it's usually not fixable.  It's either a slash in the sidewall, or a rip in the treat that is too big to be patched.  My last flat was due to a set of keys in the road, and they put several relatively large wholes in my tread.  Fortunately for me, my recently purchased wheels/tires came with a defective wheel, so I had an old tire on while I awaited my new (free) wheel to be shipped to me.