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Is it worth patching a tube on a mountain bike, or just replace it with a new one?
There are a lot of 1/2" - 3/4" thorns here in Texas, and I use 26 x 1.95 tubes.
Any particular patch type/brand is better? Can you recommend any methods to cut down on punctures?
I generally carry 2-3 spare tubes and (back when I used to get flats, before Kevlar tires) I would swap out the tube, then repair the punctured one later, at my leisure. A simple puncture, on the tread side and not too close to the valve (or another patch), is no reason to discard a perfectly good tube.
I prefer to use a kit about like this one: http://www.rei.com/product/747197/novara-patch-kit -- with a tube of glue and rounded, feathered edge patches. The glue is a PITA if you try to put the tube immediately back in the tire (unless you carry talc), but when you do it later and the glue has plenty of time to dry it works fine. (Though place a bit of tissue over the glued area before folding up the tire for re-stowage.)
(But as I indicated, the real solution is Kevlar-belted tires.)
I think that it is definitely worthwhile to patch a tube for many reasons:
Despite my own advice, in practice I carry a spare tube in my pocket if one is handy.
On a side note, if you have neither a tube nor a patch kit you can
I carry a patch-kit while riding, but my first choice is always to replace the tube. On a longer ride, running out of spare tube(s) may leave you stranded really far from help. A patch kit can get you out of that situation without a lot of extra storage space or weight.
However, if I get a flat and can fix it when I get home, I always replace the tube. The only reason why I've patched a tube at home is to make sure I know how to use the patch kit.
Personally, I find that my time is worth far more to me than the cost of an extra tube. And it takes me longer to patch a tube than to simply replace it.
To prevent flats, I use Kevlar liners. I've found for mountain biking, they are worth the weight/cost and have reduced my flats to the point where I don't worry about it anymore.
I would say that yes, patching a simple tube puncture is a good idea. It takes at most 15 minutes, costs 15 cents, and saves you from buying a brand new tube.
I currently have the Park Tool patch kit. However, basically, the patch kits are the same. You get a small tube of rubber cement, an assortment of patches, and a tiny bit of sandpaper; all of which fits in less than the palm of your hand.
The extra tube or tubes is a good idea, but still, you can't go wrong with the patch kit.
Although some may disagree, it's generally not worth patching a tube unless you don't have a spare tube handy. However, patch kits are so small and light that there's no reason not to carry one unless you're counting grams. It'll come in handy the day you carry a spare tube and have two flats.
I can't recommend any brands of patch kits, since I've never even used mine. However, I suggest avoiding the very cheapest tubes, such as Forte (Performance house brand), for example. Most flats I've had have been with cheap tubes.
In my experience, keeping your tires properly inflated won't help much with these kinds of punctures. (See the comments for another take on that, though.) I suggest you look into puncture-resistant tires. These are heavier and may slow you down a touch, but not as much as changing a flat will! (These tires still get punctures, but not nearly as often.) I'd also like to mention that I've almost never gotten a flat with tires that have full-knobby tread.
Are you riding on- or off-road?
Tired of patching/replacing tubes I finally decided to convert my wheels to tubeless using this kit: http://www.sincamaras.com/INGLES/indexenglish.HTM. I know there are several other on the market (e.g.: DT-Swiss has a tubeless kit as well) but my local bike shop recommended me this one. I decided to install it because in my area, this winter, a lot of vegetation has been cut around the trails and everyone is having lots of flats due to the spikes on the ground. I haven't had a flat since I installed the tubeless kit. I had almost one (sometimes 2) per ride before! Another advantage of removing the tubes is making the wheels lighter.
If I flat during a ride I replace the tube but try to take it with me. No sense in littering, and I can patch it at home later. Only patch a tube during a ride as last resort (no fresh tube left). Except for racing or long event rides I have no prob riding a patched tube. Well-done glue type patch is usu stronger than the tube area surrounding it. Why bother patching simple punctured tubes? It's cheap, quick (perhaps 2 min), and environmentally friendly (recycling). And +1 on the Park 'glueless' patch. In many years of riding it's still the only stick-on patch I trust.
As everyone knows, Schwalbe Marathon series are the bullet-proof-most tyres known to cyclistkind, seems they do have some variants in the 2.00 uber-width:
http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/c2-1254-marathon-plus-tour.html
These should look good on your bike, once fitted your question should be academic - no punctures for ages (well, until the tyres wear out.)
As for tubes and patches, the correct answer is to swap with a tube but carry the patches too, the stick on ones because they are so much easier in cold, dark and wet conditions.
...and the small detail of tyre inflation. Yes, high tyre pressure prevents punctures. Some people here will be needing sources beyond anecdote for that, maybe the question has to be posed...
Is it worth patching a tube on a mountain bike, or just replace it with a new one?
If you get a flat on the trail, and you have a spare tube, replace the tube and keep riding. But fix the tube when you get home, and use it to replace the spare you just used.
There are a lot of 1/2" - 3/4" thorns here in Texas, and I use 26 x 1.95 tubes. Any particular patch type/brand is better? Can you recommend any methods to cut down on punctures?
I think there are some tubes that are more "heavy duty" than others. But most of the protection is in the tires as others have noted.
Talk to your local bike shop about the tire options they recommend for your thorny trails.
The Schwinn dry type of patch is a total waste of time and money. About $4 at Meijer, and the patches have so little adhesive that they have trouble staying on the tube (much less sealing a leak). So if a big box store with only Schwinn products is your only alternative, just buy the cheap tube.
Well it probably depends on how much you value your time and how fast you can do it.
You can patch a tube but you can buy them new for like $3-4.
It'll probably take me 10 minutes more extra to patch it then to just use a new tube. So you're effectively working at about $18 to $24 an hour... given I think most ppl will get paid more than that per hour and given that you'll be doing this in your leisure time where your rate of pay is worth much more than your work time, I would say you're better off just buying the inner tubes in bulk to save on costs.
