I have a rear tire w/ less than 1000m on it that had a nail stuck in it. I have heard that the tire can be vulcanized and good as new. I‘ve also heard both opinions on plugging and patching them. Does anyone have any thoughts or opinons on this?
If it was my own butt riding around on the bike, I would just plug it myself and forget about it. As long as it's a nail hole and its in the meat of the tread, and it isn't going on any track days soon, I wouldn't think twice about it. I have done it before and I would do it again. In fact, I have never heard of anyone who had a problem with a plugged tire. I have heard lots of warnings, but no actual issues. You can also tube it if you want to, but that brings on a whole host of other potential problems, and it involved a dismount and rebalance. I have done that too with no issues at all. If it was my daughters bike, I would just replace it though. I will accept personal risk, but I won't accept it for anybody else. Does that make sense?
You may have also broken the linkages. That happened to me before, and you could hear the motor spinning but nothing was happening. I had to take it to a dealership to get it fixed because they were a pain to get to and it was in the middle of winter.
If the nail is in the center and the carcass is not damaged, you can have a plug pulled through from the inside. At the bottom of the plug there is what looks like a regular tire patch that glues to the inside of the tire. I've seen them work on heavy cruisers for thousands of miles. I had one in my last rear tire and only replaced the tire after it was holed a second time. Its also possible that you can find a tube that will fit. Don't use regular automotive plug guns or rope plugs
If the tire has a tube in it, then all you need to do is replace the tube. If the tire is tubeless, then you will need to patch and/or plug it. If the nail is straight in the tire (that means not entering on an angle or from the sidewall), then you can use a plug/patch combo. This is simply a patch with a plug in the center, which you repair from the inside of the tire. If the nail in angled, then you can only use a patch. Plugs don't work very well when the hole is on the sidewall, but you may still use a separate plug and separate patch on the inside. Purchase a good patch repair kit from you local dealer or auto store and follow the instructions to a tee. Then it'll most likely hold up for the rest of the life of the tire.
