.

It's a never ending argument with differing opinions.....

I used to be in the NO patching camp , until I was at the tyre shop one day & the police had a highway patrol bike in there getting a new set of rubber & his front tyre had 7 plugs in it !!!! I asked the tyre fitter if that was advisable & safe & he told me without hesitation that it was perfectly fine & he even plugged his person tyres :thumbup:

Now I would have no drama at all in plugging a tyre :)
 
With the cost of new rubber being quite high, I always plug tyres unless the tyre wall is damaged. This is just what I do and appreciate that other riders will disagree.
Nelly

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Hole is in the recessed part of the tread.. a good thing, if you're going to use one of the non-glue DIY kits.

I'd plug it and take it easy on the first ride. Would also check the pressure every day to make sure it's holding air.
 
I carry "Dyna plugs" for on the road repair (this is a newer kit shown). It fits under the seat nicely:

http://www.dynaplug.com/



For a permanent repair, I prefer a combo plug / patch "Steelman". You would have to remove the tire, scruff smooth the inside and it literally pulls thru and act both as a plug and a patch. There's no way it can spit out. As long as you have good adhesion when installing it, its permanent...

Steelman 1/4" Patch/Plug Combo Kit - STL-JSG382 - STANDARD

That small a hole and its location, I'd do either and wouldn't think twice about it.
 
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I am in the same boat, I picked up a screw yesterday :spank:

I was just going to unmount it and put a patch and be done....
 
I had a large staple or 2 small finishing nails in a rear tire w/ 1k on it too. I used a bottle of Slime and rode it for another 11k miles. It may not have been the best choice, but it was all I had at the time. The following day we had a NJ/PA group ride planned and I was not going to miss that!
 
Keep in mind, if you are replacing and would have a shop doing the tire change, you can always keep the old tire, inside patch it when you get around to it. Then, when your new tire needs replacing, you already have a just-as-good-as-new tire to replace it. BTW, I would rather have to plug the tire where the rubber is thickest (more meat for plug to meld with). I've ridden on a plugged rear tire.
 
Stop n Go is what I use too: Pocket Tire Plugger - For All Tubeless Tires - Stop & Go International Inc Store

Works great on small holes. Plug looks like a mushroom with the head ending up inside the tire. No way for it to come out, but it CAN be pushed back in, which is why it may work better in recessed part of tread (just speculating).

I had a "Stop and Go" kit YEARS ago and some issues with it not stayng or leaking, I don't remember.

I do remember giving it away, as I wasn't thrilled about the product. Just my experiance.. ;)
 
I carry a plug kit on the bike now. Used it to get home. PS a bicycle tire pump fits under the seat. The downside is a takes 3005 strokes to inflate a flat 180/55 tire!

Plug it and ride it unless you rode it flat. That compromises the sidewall making the tire unfit for use. Plus its squirrelly as HELL!

EDIT: the plug hole reamer tool may be more abusive than the incident itself. At least mine was...
 
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EDIT: the plug hole reamer tool may be more abusive than the incident itself. At least mine was...

Yes it can be,
I try and not ream the hole out very aggressively, I have only used the Stop and go kit a few times and the first time I went at the hole with the reamer and the plug leaked. Now if I can get the plug insertion tool in I won’t ream it at all, and only consider it a temporary fix till I can get back to the garage and break down the tire and use a combo patch.
 
^^ JMO
Any plug applied leaves an un-patchable mountain of deformation so I don't see the logic in attempting to do both. Especially if you have to grind the area flat. The patch is certainly NOT adding to the integrity of the carcass - if its going to come apart, a spot of glue on blob of thin rubber is not going to stop it.

My conclusion is we are patching because the integrity of the tire has NOT been compromised (as if we know??), so its about stopping the air loss. Recently I shoved that plug in dry but you can bet cramming it in with tire patch glue will seal it (Plus it goes in easier than a spit blob
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). I don't see the point in the extra labor personally.
 
Just my preference to use a combo patch, I also get a good look at the damage from the inside.

I never had an issue with a combo, probably never would happen again but once I had a plug get pushed in most likely due to catching a rock of something just right.
 
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