new tire has a hole...advice?

I have a feeling that I already know the answer to this question but I will ask the experts at TWT for your experienced opinion. My brother-in-law just got a brand new bike and it has less than 200 miles on it. We were out yesterday for his first ride over 50 miles and all was going well. We pulled into Sonic to rest and when it was time to leave his tire was flat. It took us a while but we found a very tiny hole right between the tread like a tiny nail had inserted itself then vanished. So is it unsafe to patch or does he need to just bite the bullet and replace his 200 mile old tire with a new one?
thanks, Sean

I'd patch it and not worry. Others will disagree.

I'd replace it, but that's just me!

I think Cycle Gear may have a big 25% off sale this Saturday on tires, might be worth a look.

Patch and forget.

Well that's 2 "patch and forgets" and 1 "new tire." Has anyone who has patched and forget ever had it come back to haunt them?

Never had any problems with any of my patch jobs. For something this small on a new tire, I would patch and forget. An internal patch would be ideal as it would not inflict more damage on the tire. If the hole really is tiny, reaming it out for a string plug will cause a little more damage to the carcass. I have plugged tires and put several thousand miles on them with no problems. However, it is always a case by case evaluation of the tire, the severity of the original damage, the life left in the tire, etc,... The newer the tire, the more I am inclined to patch it, the older, the less. A simply puncture I patch, a tear I don't patch. Etc,... There are no guarantees. Some people think ANY risk is too much risk and they will replace the tire no matter what. It really boils down to personal preference. I like Honda Pro Polish, WD-40 and Mobil One

Adios,

aasports said:

Has anyone who has patched and forget ever had it come back to haunt them?

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There's this ghostly circular apparition I keep seeing at precisely 9:22 p.m. on every June 3rd... It was on that date two years ago that I did my first emergency road-side repair. I didn't replace the tire, since it seemed to be holding air just fine.... So I LEFT IT ON!!! It must have been shear torture for that poor Dunlop to soldier on like that...

O.K., now that I've got that out of my system, what kind of bike does your brother-in-law ride? How hard does he ride it? If both of those answers fall somewhere in the "moderate" range, I wouldn't worry about it too much either. I wouldn't want to run a plugged tire at triple-digit speeds, but then none of us ever rides that fast anyway, right? If you really want to, you can pull the tire off and do a visual inspection on the inside to see if there's any obvious damage showing to the cords.

Tourmeister said:

I like Honda Pro Polish, WD-40 and Mobil One

Adios,

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I prefer Motorex 622 chain lube to WD-40, but now I use 85-90wt gear lube for the shaft. +1 on Mobil 1 and Honda Polish. I use the Yamaha tire mounting lube over soapy water as well.

scratch said:

O.K., now that I've got that out of my system, what kind of bike does your brother-in-law ride? How hard does he ride it? If both of those answers fall somewhere in the "moderate" range, I wouldn't worry about it too much either. I wouldn't want to run a plugged tire at triple-digit speeds, but then none of us ever rides that fast anyway, right?

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Triple digits? Good point about riding style. If you like to mosey on down the road then a plug should be fine. But if you intend to follow Scott up and down 55 in the Hill Country you may want to consider the added security of a non repaired tire!

PPhhfftt!! I was only doing 70ish... That time

Adios,

Tourmeister said:

PPhhfftt!! I was only doing 70ish... That time

Adios,

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Wrong gauge Scott. That was 7,000 rpms.