Had an unfortunate hole in the sidewall of my Panaracer SK r-line 45mm a couple weeks ago; 2 narrow bacon strips failed, a fat boy strip and 40mm extra sealant at home failed to hold air.
The photo shows the damage with a fat boy strip, top arrow shows the top of the damage where the block is flapping and the bottom arrow shows the grove cut into but not through the sidewall.
With the location of the holes and the extra damage would you try and patch it (Park Tools VP-1?) or go for a new tyre? It’s prob only had a 1000km on it but it was a lightweight sidewall version.
Extra credit question!
If going for anew tyre stick with 45mm when I tend to use it 70/30 on road and have a 200km audax in month (god knows why I’ve entered after only having a couple 100km this year but I digress) or drop to 35mm or even the semi slick version. - might also discus this in the audax thread.
Just ride it until you wreck or have to walk 20 miles.
Just kidding, sort of. There is no question here, cough up the cash for a new tire (this is why you keep an old tire around, if there’s any tread left on it, and it doesn’t have holes in it).
I’d stick a tube patch (or two) on from the inside. Let it dry overnight, then re-seat the tyre. If the cut is larger, you could also try to sew it first.
Holes close to the rim can be unfixable in my experience, but I’d try it first.
Back when using tubes, I’d take a dollar bill, fold it up, and place it between the tube and cut in the tire. You can use a dollar bill with a tubeless too, although the process is different. You take many of them to the bike shop and trade them for a new tire.
