what arcane nonsense is this - burning an area of tube?

[HappyHumber]

Forgive me if I have missed something in ancient cycling repair lore but surfing around recently I stumbled across an interesting photo. It shows some trendy young chap presumably repairing a tube by burning a patch of the tube with his cigarette lighter. See for yourself - check page 5 (the contents page) of the first issue of "Fixed Mag" here (warning : 11mb PDF download)

I am only guessing that this some sort of prep routine prior to apply the patch?

Has he spread something on only to quickly burn off some unwanted residue?

I have grown up on the heady whiff of "double happiness" or "thumbs up" brand rubber cement for performing this task. Can anyone enlighten me so I, as a non-smoker, can have an excuse to carry around a Zippo and maybe spontaneously be caught off guard by a photographer and appear in one of these mags?

[rustychisel]

I expect it's vulcanising of the tube.

Back in the day, tube repairs were affected by vulcanising a patch into place - ie actually fusing a patch onto the existing rubber by melting the two together. Of course, they actually had to be rubber tubes and patches. The repair patches had a combustible backing and a 'striker' area (much like a redhead match) so that you ignited the patch and vulcanised the repair. They look like little pie plates, and come with a spring loaded clamp to hold the hot things in place...

eh, voila.

[HappyHumber]

mmm.. interesting.

I have heard of people using scraps of old tubes as patches for whole tubes. - But, yeah.. some vulcanising agent was required to allow the two to bond.

I was keen to try this myself - but I don't think the nowadays garden variety "rubber cement" I mentioned isn't quite the same. Unless you apply it to both surfaces ???

[Streetsweeper]

Looks to me like a dodgy way to flash off the solvents from the adhesive, rather than waiting for it to dry naturally.

I'd be worried about the tube rubber becoming brittle and cracking when inflated. Can't imagine the adhesive would work as well either.

[kukamunga]

I've still got a special clamp for holding vulcanising patches for car tyre tubes in my shed. Don't know whether this type of patch still exists, what with tubeless tyres and all..... Can't say I've seen em around for probably twenty years now

[LuckyPierre]

I remember vulcanising patches from my school days (before most of you were born). If you can see a nifty little clamp then that's what it is likely to be, otherwise I expect that it's the "hurry up and dry" option.

[il padrone]

I remember vulcanising patches from my school days (before most of you were born). If you can see a nifty little clamp then that's what it is likely to be, otherwise I expect that it's the "hurry up and dry" option.

No sign of a clamp, but flames from a patch site

I think it's the "look mum, patch glue does burn" option!

[DaveW]

I remember vulcanising patches from my school days (before most of you were born).

Yep, I've used them too - I am hoping I am not THAT old though

(Although I suspect there is a certain amount of denial there somewhere..... )

[Mulger bill]

I remember vulcanising patches from my school days (before most of you were born).

Yep, I've used them too - I am hoping I am not THAT old though

(Although I suspect there is a certain amount of denial there somewhere..... )

+2

Mebbe burning the glue sends him to a better, happier place.

Shaun

[kukamunga]

Mebbe burning the glue sends him to a better, happier place

What.... Sunbury?

[biftek]

i remember picking one of there up form the servo when i was younger , hooning around on rays bike city chrome bmx , i think the patch was around $1 or something , don't think i ever got the thing to work

[stryker84]

Heh, I remember them patches from my childhood days as well. Admittedly I'm not that old, only early 20s, but when you grow up in a developing country, you get plenty of old tech.

[rustguard]

I was talking to a guy in the lbs a couple of weeks ago about glue brands, and he told me the old vucanising patches were great but he said they are now banned. He wasnt able to qualify why, probly dont want people making weapons of mass destruction or something

[ausdb]

I was talking to a guy in the lbs a couple of weeks ago about glue brands, and he told me the old vucanising patches were great but he said they are now banned. He wasnt able to qualify why, probly dont want people making weapons of mass destruction or something

I have always wondered why they disappeared, maybe its nostalgia creeping in but I think they were better and quicker than waiting for glue to dry and hoping you have roughed the tube up enough.