Categories: Accessories and GearReverence

Reverence: Park Tool Super Patch

Tire patches? Try frame protectors.

The first tire patch kit I ever owned came in a big green box, had several patches of various sizes which were possibly made of old truck tires. It also came with a sheet of 60 grit sandpaper. The mild high offered from sniffing the glue while applying the patch almost made you stop caring you’d gotten a flat in the first place. Stoned on glue and hypoxic from the V is no way to mend a tire, and most times the patch would start to come off even before I pumped it up and I’d have to start over. Don’t even start me on peeling the clear cellophane off the patch.

The telephone capability of my iPhone is the least-used feature on the device; I email, schedule, text, voxer, browse, twitface, photograph, drop, forget, lose, and find my phone much more than I ever use it to place a call. It has replaced my wristwatch, alarm clock, and flashlight. For some of you, it has even replaced the cyclometer. All this is to say that in today’s view of the world, the value of a product is directly proportional to how useless its original function is.

By that measure, the Park Super Patch kit earns its place in the pantheon of the Reverence series by being more useful as a frame protector than it is as a inner tube patch. They are phenomenal tire patches – much better than the old orange-trimmed slabs of tire I used growing up, but who wants to use a tire patch, much less love one? Therein lies the answer; even as the world of Cycling irrevocably makes its departure from the tire and tube with one faction moving back to the tubular tire and another to the tubeless tire, these patches will continue to feature on frames around the world, dutifully keeping cables from scuffing paint.

[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Tire Patches/”/]

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

roger says:

Nov 3 2013 at 5:47 pm

@eightzero Those tube tops don't do much, if anything. The problem with cable rub is grit and debris trapped between cable housing and frame. All you've done by adding the tube top is change where the crud gets stuck to.
freddy says:

Nov 3 2013 at 5:52 pm

I'm with the patina guys as my bikes are well worn in from several years on the road (and trail). The PT clear patch idea would be good for the n+1 I'm GASing for though.

I'm Dutch and Canadian so yes, I have a bucket-o-tubes in the basement and every intention of patching them them at some point this winter. Had Michelin Pro4 SC. Nice, but lots of flats. Switched to GP 4000s. Nice. One flat so far after 6 months.

(An iPhone can receive telephone calls? What will they think of next?)
eightzero says:

Nov 3 2013 at 6:49 pm

@roger

@eightzero Those tube tops don't do much, if anything. The problem with cable rub is grit and debris trapped between cable housing and frame. All you've done by adding the tube top is change where the crud gets stuck to.

Crud? You ride where crud can contaminate a bike? I have a more elegant solution.
Barracuda says:

Nov 3 2013 at 7:10 pm

@frank

@Bigthumpa

@Bigthumpa

Two words: Internal routing.

Did you look at the photo(s)?

@frank

Ah...

My theory is that for the first 30 minutes that an article is up, people read it. After that, 50% of the people glance at the lead photo, skip the article, and jump to the posts. 50% don't even look at the photo.

It's hard to track the analytics on this, so I have to rely on people doing things like that to gather the data. So really you're just helping to support the theory.

Which is all to say that the quality of our writing is irrelevant to the experience of the Community. From this perspective, it amazes me that the book is selling.

Wrong ! This little black duck is hooked by the title, looks at the picture, reads article then goes to page 1 of the posts and reads.

How else can I get a feeling of what someone has bothered to write?

To do it any other way would be "Un-Australian"
Giles says:

Nov 3 2013 at 8:08 pm

@frank Wrong. I think most of us read all the articles. And what's more I think everyone who has picked up the book at my house has chuckled and gone home to check out the web-site and maybe even signed up. You're doing soemthing right.

And I think the tube chucking cyclist must be real, but like the yeti/bigfoot/mermaids only his tracks are seen (i.e. dead tubes at the roadside), never the creature himself. I like to think that is because, if this behaviour was actually witnessed it would be followed someone jamming an inflating device firmly where the sun doesn't shine, preferably sideways.

@Barracuda exactly.
Mikael Liddy says:

Nov 3 2013 at 8:37 pm

@Barracuda

@frank

@Bigthumpa

@Bigthumpa

Two words: Internal routing.

Did you look at the photo(s)?

@frank

Ah...

My theory is that for the first 30 minutes that an article is up, people read it. After that, 50% of the people glance at the lead photo, skip the article, and jump to the posts. 50% don't even look at the photo.

It's hard to track the analytics on this, so I have to rely on people doing things like that to gather the data. So really you're just helping to support the theory.

Which is all to say that the quality of our writing is irrelevant to the experience of the Community. From this perspective, it amazes me that the book is selling.

Wrong ! This little black duck is hooked by the title, looks at the picture, reads article then goes to page 1 of the posts and reads.

How else can I get a feeling of what someone has bothered to write?

To do it any other way would be "Un-Australian"

yeah but that's mainly because we'll do anything to avoid actually doing work while in the office...
frank says:

Nov 3 2013 at 10:25 pm

@freddy

I'm with the patina guys as my bikes are well worn in from several years on the road (and trail). The PT clear patch idea would be good for the n+1 I'm GASing for though.

I'm Dutch and Canadian so yes, I have a bucket-o-tubes in the basement and every intention of patching them them at some point this winter. Had Michelin Pro4 SC. Nice, but lots of flats. Switched to GP 4000s. Nice. One flat so far after 6 months.

(An iPhone can receive telephone calls? What will they think of next?)

I hear that with iOS8, it will be able to receive a fax, too. Its gonna be bodacious.

@eightzero

@roger

@eightzero Those tube tops don't do much, if anything. The problem with cable rub is grit and debris trapped between cable housing and frame. All you've done by adding the tube top is change where the crud gets stuck to.

Crud? You ride where crud can contaminate a bike? I have a more elegant solution.

Just so I know we're on the same page, you mean "not riding", right?
Trull says:

Nov 4 2013 at 4:30 am

@Frank You are a very naughty man - for one minute you made me squint at the photo as I could not decide if the front wheel belonged to the "patched" frame, and if so surely the tyre was on back to front.
revchuck says:

Nov 4 2013 at 4:57 am

@eightzero

@frank

@eightzero

But...to the point of the article, I also like purposed tech, like the Jagwire Tube Tops:

Have used those as well; however, if you ride cobbles or gravel, you will find them at the end of your cables where do do little good.

What is this "cobbles or gravel" you speak of?

But they're great for people like you whose bike sit in the house all winter rather than getting ridden.

*ducks and runs*

When as old as am I you reach, look as good you will not.

Dammit, you stole my line!
razmaspaz says:

Nov 4 2013 at 6:02 am

@frank

Which is all to say that the quality of our writing is irrelevant to the experience of the Community. From this perspective, it amazes me that the book is selling.

For a long time I was just reading the articles, not actually reading the comments. Which is all to say that the quality of the writing, while irrelevant, is superb.