Walking home because of a minor ailment with your bicycle is akin to pushing your car home because the battery is flat. There are solutions around both these problems. In the latter case it is a set of jumper cables and in the former, a mere piece of duct tape and some roadside rubbish.

The Scenario:

You are out on your road or mountain bike and something cuts your tyre. After repairing the tube, you notice that the cut is too big to contain the tube that now, after a few strokes of the pump, wants to pop out like your grandfather’s hernia. What now?

The Solution:

Rule number one: Be prepared!
Always keep a length of duct tape somewhere on your bicycle. This is the same stuff of McGyver legend and can repair just about anything if applied correctly. You can even stick it on a wound in an emergency or, if your partner is too talkative for your liking….nevermind.

Note this is called duct tape, not duck tape, although there is a brand of duct tape called Duck Tape on the market, if that makes sense. Nowadays this magic tape is available in many colours, so you can even match it to your bicycle’s colour to make it less conspicuous. I wrap a length of it around my bicycle’s seatpost, where it is more or less out of harm’s way.

Rule number two: Always carry a multi-tool. And preferably one with a knife-blade. If your multi-tool doesn’t have a knife, keep a single Stanley Knife blade in your repair kit – a blade is always useful.

Step 1:

Find a suitable piece of roadside rubbish like a plastic bottle or a wax paper mageu carton (hold your nose). Trust me, you won’t have to look far. Cut an elliptical piece from your chosen material about ten millimetres bigger than the circle of the cut in the tire. This is what is known as a “boot.”

Step 2:

Unravel your piece of duct tape from your seatpost or wherever else you keep it. Place the piece of boot in the centre of a piece of tape, on the sticky side.

Step 3

Now stick the tape on the inside of the tyre so that the boot neatly covers the rip in the tyre. Press it down nicely and cut off any excess tape.

Step 4:

Now fit the tyre, replace the (patched) tube) and bring the tyre up to pressure, al the time keeping an eye on the cut. Should the boot bulge out and threaten to push through, reduce the pressure or find a sturdier piece of material for a stronger boot.

Step 5:

Ride home and don’t forget to replace the tyre before your next ride.