We don’t write much about bicycle tyres, but in this era of sustainability, maybe we should. Tyre repair specialists have put out a video encouraging us all to repair our inner tubes to keep us going on two wheels.
Their argument is that, with about one billion bicycles in the world, repairing tubes can make a major contribution to protecting the environment. About 75 per cent of the damage that occurs on a bike is located on the tyre or tube. The environmental benefit of repairing bicycle tubes rather than throwing them away is therefore enormous.
Furthermore, every bicycle tube that does not end up in the waste helps to protect the environment. By repairing with high-quality repair products, the service life of a tube can be extended almost indefinitely, if it does not reach its limits due to aging of the material or other influences and therefore needs to be replaced.
Repairing is also significantly cheaper than buying new. A new bicycle tube costs three up to more than 20 euros, depending on the specific type. A repair with a repair kit from Rema Tip Top with seven repair patches, on the other hand, costs only about 50 cents.
