If only we had a penny for every time we found a nail lodged in the tire of a test unit. More often than not, the nail, screw or equally destructive object attempting to ruin our day is discovered at the most inopportune time too—either just as we prepare to saddle up, or even better, on the freeway. In cases such as this, a quick and easy puncture repair kit is the best hope of getting back on the road and—if stuck on the freeway—out of harm’s way.
Quick and easy are perhaps the two best words to describe the Cargol Turn and Go emergency repair kit by Gryyp, too. The third would be handy. The kit is well-thought-out; it offers everything you could possibly need during an impromptu tire fix, including pliers for removing the object that caused the puncture, chalk to mark the affected area, four cargols, four 16-gram C02 cartridges, adapter to fit the CO2 cartridge to the wheel and spare valve stem caps. Upon opening the package, we threw all the goodies in the kit’s carrying bag (which is no bigger than your bike’s tool kit and fits in most bikes’ storage compartments) and waited, knowing the day would soon come when it would be needed.
Fortunately for us, when our R1 test unit did finally attract a rather sharp, one-inch-long finishing nail, we were already close to the office. In fact, it wasn’t until we were in the parking lot, removing our helmet that we heard the unpleasant sound of air seeping through the puncture.
After wheeling the R1 into the garage, we accessed the Gryyp kit from our tail section’s storage and set out to repair the leaking tire. While some may consider it excessive, we marked the affected area of the tire with the piece of chalk provided in the kit, which allows you to easily spot the puncture area after turning your head away from the tire to grab more goodies from the kit. Our puncture was leaking air profusely, making it easy to find, but that may not be the case for everyone. Next to be utilized was the needle-nose pliers that come standard in the Turn and Go kit. Wedged well into the tire’s carcass, the intruding finishing nail admittedly put up an honorable fight, but eventually surrendered, coming out easily once we were able to get the pliers to bite on it.
In an attempt to prevent as little air loss as possible, we hurriedly began screwing in one of the kit’s cargols into the tire’s reasonably sized puncture. Designed with an insertion point, toric spiral and thumb screw head, the cargols (made of nylon and fiber) are designed to screw into the tire with ease, as demonstrated by how easily our test kit’s unit screwed into the tire’s carcass.
With the puncture adequately sealed by the cargol, the next step was to simply break off the head of the cargol, which proved to be painless. Just like that, we were plugged. All we needed now was to get the tire pressure back to its recommended setting. With the kit’s included connector pipe screwed onto the bike’s valve cap, we accessed one of the Turn and Go’s four 16-gram CO2 cartridges and began inflating. In total five psi was added to the rear tire via the one cartridge, bringing us back to the recommended setting. Valve stem cap back on, we were ready to hit the road and see if the cargol would hold.
Important to note is that emergency puncture repair kits are for just that—emergencies. That said, it is recommended you seek a more permanent fix relatively quickly and keep speeds reduced, as Gryyp suggests. After riding nearly 30 miles with the cargol installed, our R1 test unit’s rear tire lost no air, proving the repair kit provided a good seal. Should we have been on the road, the plug would have easily got us to a shop where a more permanent fix or tire swap could have been made.
Considering it took just five minutes to repair the puncture, there is no reason to not keep this well-thought-out $48 kit handy. sr
Details
Gryyp Cargol Turn & Go Emergency Repair Kit
Retail: $48.00
Gryyp
ventura-mca.com