Cycle Repairing and Adjusting
With a Chapter on building a Bicycle from a Set of Parts

TYRE COVER REPAIRING 45 of repairing which otherwise would be unnecessary. It should be noted that a high-class cycle tyre tube should be light in weight compared with a common quality of same size and thickness of sheet. The better the quality, the lighter the rubber and the more elastic and tenacious it should be, whereas a common, much-adulterated rubber will be heavy and non-elastic, more or less. A “ floating ” rubber will float in water, and only the best rubber will do this (solid bulk, not a hollow piece). If a small piece, of the rubber is scratched up with the finger-nail, the elasticity can be very fairly tested by a person who is used to it. Surface Cuts in Covers.—Surface cuts in the tread of the cover are the beginning of nearly all tyre cover troubles, and should be looked for and attended to at once. When the rubber tread gets cut the wet is let into the fabric, which quickly rots, and causes unsightly bulges. With continued neglect, a burst is inevitable. Where the cut has not damaged the inner fabric of the cover it may be treated from the outside only. Thoroughly clean the cover where to be repaired, by brushing with a stiff brush, get all grit out from the cut, and finally clean it out well with a rag moistened with petrol, benzolene or naphtha, not paraffin. (The last-named soon deteriorates the quality of rubber.) Give the edges of the cut a coat of solution, working it well into the cut ; allow to dry, and give another coat. The cut should then be filled up with a little tyre stopping, which may be purchased at any cycle shop. Press this well into the cut, and allow to stand for at least twenty-four hours before using the machine