Park Tool GP-2 Super Patch Kit

Most Helpful Review

"Bought these as the traditional glue and patch set I carried was messy, bulky and the glue inevitably dried out once opened. These self adhesive patches are very small and fit easily in a corner of a bag, tool kit, etc. strapped to your bike.The patches are very easy to apply, just roughen the tube surface, peel the backing and apply. Applying centrally is easy as the patch is transparent. Once applied the patch seems to seal very well, allowing you to refit the tyre straight away. The mend I did to a pair of pinch punctures on my road bike tyre held for many months with 90+psi in the tube, no problem.BUT...I recently got another pinch puncture (damn pot holes!) and had to replace the whole inner tube as the split was too big for one of these patches to cover. I used the spare tube I carry which had previously been patched with one of these. After fitting I reinflated but soon heard a hissing. So I took it apart again to find that the patch had developed a gap between the tube and patch forming a channel for the air to leak from.As this was my only spare tube I pulled the old patch off (that was difficult, it does stick very well) and reapplied a new one after cleaning. Refitted and inflated without an issue, but at this point I realised the casing was split from the puncture beyond use (the inner tube was pushing through) and so had to get a new one delivered to the road side by my lad. Took it all apart again, replaced the casing and then refitted but this time as I inflated the air hissed out again. Took it all apart again to find that the new patch had come away from the tube, just like the old one, leaving a channel for the air to leak from.Now my conclusion to this is that, yes these patches work great, they stick really well, they hold, but only for one inflation cycle. If you every have to deflate to do another repair or work on the rim then when you reinflate the patch fails. It looks as if the patch is able to stretch with the inner tube when inflated and still hold securely but when it deflates it does not shrink back to the original size unlike the inner tube, so it stays stretched which means it is then shears from the tube which is now back to its original size. So maybe consider these as a repair at the roadside only with the puncture needing a proper traditional repair once you get back, otherwise you may have problems later if you ever need to deflate the tyre again. Shame :-("