Can’t you plug tube-type flats?

Question

TIRE PLUGS

OK, I know it doesn't work, but WHY can't you plug tube-type flats? Intuitively, it seems like the plug would simply stop-up both the tube and the tire. The tube can't be moving around that much, can it? Maybe only a mushroom-head plug would work?

Does anybody know exactly why it can't be used? At least for a few miles, to get to a shop or home.

3 years 0 Answers 1862 views 0

Answers ( No )

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    I think the tube would just get pushed out of the way and not be plugged at all.

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    Not all but most tube style rims use spokes – even if you plugged the tire the air would escape rapidly through the spokes

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    a tube doesn’t have the strength to hold a plug. The hole would just expand where the plug is and leak out the air.

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    The rims are not rated to hold air and the same goes for the tire rim seal. The valve stem hole would probably also leak. It may hold. I always plug the tire after I patch the tube.

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    Small punctures You can use fix a flat in a tube to get a short distance.
    Patch the tire and replace the tube.
    The plug will not fuse the tube to to tire for an air tight seal

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    You’ll probably just add an additional hole in the tube or certainly make it worse. Just keep an extra front tube for emergency repairs. Or you could patch…

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    Doesn’t work that way. The tube stretches a lot.

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    It simply will not work

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    Yep. No way. Your only chance is slime, and that’s sketchy at best.

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    Just change the tube, its not that hard. I carry extra tubes with me .

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    Every tube puncture I’ve seen has uneven edges and tears in the Tube.

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    Tubes do move inside the tire, so if you were to use a plug it would tear the tube.

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    It doesn’t work, better buy a cheap tube as a buck up.

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    I tried it on a rear tubless motercycle and i only made it 20 miles but needed 25 miles so had to have it toqed to the harley shop in salem

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    Looks like some people never rode bicycles when they were kids. The odds of you accidentally managing to fix the tube with a plug in the tire are fantastical.

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    Just so y’all understand — When I was a pup, I’d just patch it or change the tube, as many suggest. Now at 73, my hands and knees don’t work as well. In the shop, I can (just barely) change a tire, with lots of tools and time. On the road or trail, I think I’d have some serious issues. So I’m trying to be proactive…

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    Try it and you’ll know why!

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    They made and remade an appropriately titled movie for that concept – it was called "death wish".

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    Tubes are NOT like balloons, or they’d pop with a simple nail. Any puncture that will hold pressure (for a short time) could be plugged with the same technique used for tubeless. The pressure in the tube would allow the insertion of a plug. I think the problem occurs AFTER plugging. But I’m not convinced that the tube moves around, since it obviously doesn’t at the valve stem. Yes, some punctures will be ragged holes, but a nail or a screw will often make a simple "puncture" — not a cut.
    Thanks for all the responses, keep thinking….

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    If this was something that would work it would have been done and been used for years. You don’t plug a tube type tire and don’t put slime in a tube type tire. When I fixed tube tires I put a patch in on the tire and the tube.

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    It could work Depending on how the rest of the tire is sealed. The inner tube stretches and moves as it is filled, the chances of lining up the tube and tire with the plug is pretty small. But if you only need a couple miles and you plug the tire it might hold enough air to get you to a shop. All depends on how well the tire is seated on the rim if you have more leaks

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    You can use them. Just don’t ride on them thinking you’ve fixed your problem. Nothing wrong with a plug to get you out of a jam and get going. DynaPlug is all that I would use for a brand.

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    Tubes are very stretchy and they slightest pull on the plug could let the plug slip out. Tires are much harder rubber and a plug will hold in them. In other words the tube will stretch and leak around the plug.

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    No. A plug will not plug a tube.

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    Can’t believe plugging a tube would even be considered! Maybe a patch, but a plug…gees.

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    Sure you can plug a tube tire, but you must first remove the tube. Then plug the tire, cut off the plug on the inside and cover with a tube patch and cement, then replace the tube and fill it. Needless to say, there are easier ways.

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    If you’re tired of flat tires on your dual sport bike go tubeless on the spoked rims with Shoe Goo. Then you can plug punctures and eliminate 90u0025 of tube flats. You still have to carry a tube for rim dings.

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    Because

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    Picture threading two needles with the same piece of thread at night. The first one you have the lights on, but the second one is with the lights off.

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    As you can tell your question has been responded to with frustration, anger and disbelief. The tube cannot be sealed with a plug.
    To prove the point: buy a bicycle tube and then poke a hole in it. Now try and seal that hole with a plug. And remember that tube will be inside of a tire!
    Please let the group know how that went! Extremely curious how it works out for you!

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    ive tried it before. because i wasn’t paying attention that the tire hade a tube in it. but it comes down to thickness. the tire is much thicker and stiffer than the tube. also the tube moves a lot while driving about 1/16 of an inch side to side just enough to keep plug from sealing. fix-a-flat rareley works in tubes because they just move to much. like trying to nail down jello.

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    And in the unlikely event you manage to get a seal in the deflated tube through the tire, what happens when you inflate it to 3 bars or so? This is impossible to do. Your best bet is to seal the rim and ride tubeless when you leave home. That way you can plug the tire and it will hold pressure.

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    You’re welcome to try. But the tube is made of much thinner material, so the plug has nothing to grip.

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    Tubes move around inside the tire. All those grid squares you see molded on the outside of tubes? Those are wear indicators. Also, unless you stop the bike THE INSTANT you have your flat, there’s no way the tube puncture will still be lined up with the tire puncture….and all the other reasons listed above.

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    Beer

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    Slime worked great on my dirtbike tires but they have rim locks that keep the tube from moving too much. Not sure I would trust the tire for long on a street bike. But if I had to and it got me to where I could perform a proper repair then maybe.

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    Better question still, why can’t we have puncture proof tyres?

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    And now to the Weather……..

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    When I used to have a tube tire on the front (spokes) I would carry a bottle of slime as well as a plug kit. I’ve never had a flat on the front so I never tested it out.. but I was going to try it if it ever happened. Figured it was worth a shot

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    Might get you home, try it

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    The tube is not static inside the tire they move even when inflated thus trying to plug a tubed tire without disassembly it futile

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    FYI to all, natural rubber will not hold air. That’s what tires are mostly made of. The ‘tubeless’ tire has a synthetic membrane called butyl. It holds air and replaces the tube. It’s made into the tire. Btw I do make tires for a living. Hope it clears up difference between tubeless and tube required.

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    8100 miles. But I’m the guy who plugged it.

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    Bring spare tube

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    It is too h ard to get the plug into the hole of the tube. You would have to be inflating the tube the whole time you were fishing for the hole.

    I watched a you tube video of a guy who sealed a big hole in a car tire with tire slime. He drilled a hole and the tire slime sealed it!

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    If you know, why bother asking

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