Recently, the rear tyre of my Indian Roadster bicycle had a tear and the inflated tube was seen bulging out.
The tyre had seen its life span and was due for replacement. However, I didn’t get the time to go to the shop and buy a new one.
As luck would have it, this tear caused a rupture in the inner tube while I was riding my bicycle.
Tear in my bicycle tyre - Note the bulge.
I could have avoided this puncture if I had taken a simple precaution namely use of a tyre boot.
What is a tyre boot ?
A tyre boot is essentially a patch to use on the inside of your tyre should a hole appear that big enough for your inner-tube to poke through.
You can create a patch for a tyre boot simply by using an old empty toothpaste tube.
Toothpaste tubes are tubes are actually durable enough to be up to the job of protecting your tyre and tube, at least enough to get you home without walking. Just cut them up to create several patches of simply one big patch. And store them with your other bicycle paraphernalia.
To create a tyre boot, insert this tootpaste tube patch inside your tyre in between the tube and the tear.
For an illustrative guide in creating and using a tyre boot, read this blog post.
