So you’ve made the switch and embraced a tubeless setup on your road, ‘cross, gravel or mountain bike, but what next? Though tubeless setups are usually darn good, they’re not invincible, so you’ll need to be equipped with the tubeless repair tools – and know-how – to fix them should you get a dreaded puncture.
From the different types of problems that you may encounter with a tubeless puncture through to the most suitable tools and spares for getting you out of a pickle, let us walk you through what you need to know and share a selection of tubeless repair tools to help you tackle the task.
Best tubeless repair kits at a glance
- Restrap Tyre Boot Kit
- Weldtite Tubeless Repair Kit
- Muc-Off Puncture Plug Repair Kit
- Pro Bike Tools Tubeless Repair Kit
- Wolf Tooth EnCase System Chain and Tyre Plug Multi Tool
- Dynaplug Racer Pro Tubeless Tyre Plug
- Park Tool Tubeless Tyre Plug Tool TPT-1
- Topeak Mini PT30 Multitool
Related questions you can explore with Ask Cyclist, our new AI search engine.
Different types of tubeless repair
The type of tubeless repair required largely depends on the damage. In most cases, a tubeless puncture is caused by a small, sharp object, such as a thorn, sharp stone or shard of glass, that makes its way through the tyre.
The wonderful thing about tubeless is that sometimes you’ll get a puncture without even realising, as the hole is plugged by sealant without any noticeable loss in tyre pressure. The first you’ll know of it is when you come to switch or replace your tyres, finding little solid noodles of sealant on the reverse side of the tyre’s carcass indicating the scene of the crime. In some cases, you’ll find a thorn or shard of flint still embedded in your tyre, but completely sealed by the sealant.
At other times, it’s likely you will notice a tubeless puncture, usually from the sound of air escaping your tyre, a spaff of tubeless sealant (good luck washing that out) or loss of tyre pressure, but it is still possible to plug the hole using only sealant.
To give your sealant its best chance, spin and angle your wheel so that the hole is close to the ground, allowing gravity to help the sealant flow to the affected area. If it doesn’t seal, bubbling and hissing continuously, that’s when you might have to consider tubeless puncture repair.
Simple tubeless punctures
No matter how good your tubeless sealant is, sometimes it needs a little helping hand. Enter stage left, the tubeless plug. This can take several forms, including the popular and cost-effective rubber worm/bacon strip/anchovy (delete as appropriate), or more intricate designs such as the Stan's Dart or Dynaplug.
This is just the same sort of tech that you’ll find for repairing holes in motorcycle and car tyres, scaled down. Fear not if you find yourself on a high alpine pass without any supplies; a passing motorbike tourer may just be able to help you out!
Each type of plug kit will come with instructions on how to use them, but in short, you’ll need to stab into the tyre first to ream the hole, if a reamer is included. Then attach the plug to the tool, pushing into the tyre carefully; you neither want to damage your rim tape nor push the whole plug all the way through onto the inside of the tyre. Then remove the tool carefully, leaving the plug in situ, which you can then trim down carefully if you wish. (Trimming is recommended, as a trailing plug can do a surprising amount of damage to paintwork.
The dreaded sidewall slash
If you’re unlucky, you might slash a sidewall while riding, especially over rougher terrain featuring sharp rock such as flint. Unfortunately, no size of tubeless plug can help you here.
The go-to trailside fix for a slashed tyre is to insert a tyre boot to cover the affected area, and then insert an inner tube. The tyre boot can be made of all sorts of materials – a piece of old inner tube, part of a toothpaste tube, a railcard or fiver have all been known to work – or you can buy a dedicated boot from brands such as Park Tool or Restrap.
The boot sits on the inside of the tyre and essentially stops the inner tube from protruding out of the side of the tyre through the hole, though is very much a ‘get-you-home’ fix rather than anything more permanent. Unfortunately for you and your wallet, if you slash a sidewall, you’ll need to replace the tyre.
Pinch punctures, or snakebites
There’s one last type of tubeless puncture that you need to be aware of, and it’s one that may just surprise you. If you thought pinch punctures were only for inner tubes, think again! If you run tyre pressures on the softer side and tackle rockier, rougher trails, it is in fact possible to puncture through your tyre using the rim.
This kind of puncture is often referred to as a snakebite as you’ll end up with not just one, but a pair of punctures. More often than not, at least one of these holes will be really close to the bead of the tyre, which is almost always game over for the tyre. You may well be able to plug it, carefully, though it’s highly recommended that you then replace the tyre before your next ride.
Moral of the story is, there is such thing as too low tyre pressure when it comes to tubeless setups, and running pressures that are too low, for example after a puncture, can be equally risky.
What tools do you need for tubeless tyre repair?
Apart from the plugs themselves, you’ll need a dedicated tool to help install them. For most, this looks like a thick sewing needle with an open-ended ‘eye’. This allows you to insert the plug into the tyre and remove the tool without pulling the plug back out again.
There are variations on this design of course, with different tools for more specialist systems. Some also have a separate or integrated reaming or rasp tool, to help prepare the tyre’s hole for the plug. Some tyre repair kits also include a small blade, allowing you to trim down the excess external part of the inserted plug.
As these tools tend to be rather pointy, you’ll usually find them supplied in a metal capsule, pouch or plastic kit to limit potential damage should the worst happen and you find yourself getting a little overfamiliar with the road or trail.
With tubeless tyre setups becoming more common, some brands such as Topeak and Crankbrothers have designed multitools to include these tools, which means one less thing to carry if you’ve got limited pocket or bag real estate.
Do I still need to carry an inner tube?
Alas yes, there are still times when even the best tubeless repair tools can’t quite seal a nasty puncture. It’s wise to carry a tube (of the right size, of course) with you, plus a mini pump and tyre levers, as a last resort. There are some great lightweight and small inner tubes such as Tubolito on the market if you’re short on space. Hopefully you won’t need it!
Why you can trust Cyclist's advice
We were early adopters of tubeless tech for road bikes here at Cyclist and have been testing the technology and following it closely as it has matured. While 'stick a tube in' was the mantra for a long time, the proliferation of tubeless repair tools has provided new options to keep your tubeless tyre rolling out on the road if you do suffer a puncture.
The advent of gravel bikes has made on-the-go tubeless repair even more handy, as there's even more to pierce your rubber once you head off-road. Our review team, led by tech editor Sam Challis rides and abuses a wide range of road and gravel bikes, so the ability to fix a flat and keep rolling means that we carry and use tubeless repair tools regularly, so we know the best options to keep us riding.
Best tubeless repair kits reviewed by Cyclist
Restrap Tyre Boot Kit
£9.99 | View offer
- Black or orange colourways
- 8 rubberised fabric patches per kit
- Glue and storage strap also included
- 18g per kit
While there are plenty of ways you can bodge a tyre boot, sometimes it just pays off to have a dedicated patch tucked away in your repair kit. You never know when you, or a riding pal, might need it.
Restrap’s tyre boot kit includes four different boot shapes and sizes, with two of each included. There’s also a little tube of super glue for securing them in place and a small velcro strap to keep the sheet rolled up and stashed neatly.
The boots are made of a durable rubberised fabric, laser cut around the perimeter so you just need to tear them from the sheet when you’re ready to use one. Alternatively, if you’re short on pocket space, you could always detach a couple and pack them in a saddlebag with the rest of your spares.
Weldtite Tubeless Repair Kit
£9.24 | View offer
- Compact tool set including plug insertion tool, rasp tool, crayon and knife
- 5 tubeless repair plugs and rubber glue included
- Housed in low profile plastic case
- 67g
One of the cheapest on the market, Weldtite offers a basic but comprehensive tubeless repair kit. There are two handheld tools, one for reaming and one for plug insertion, as well as five thick plugs that are twice the length of plugs from most other kits.
The kit also includes a small yellow crayon, which seems largely redundant, as well as a tube of glue. The instructions suggest applying the glue to the rasp when preparing the puncture before plug insertion. A small blade, housed in its own case, can be used to cut down the length of the plug externally after insertion.
The tools and spares are housed in a clear plastic case much like an inner tube repair kit, which is a little larger than a mackerel tin, though slimmer in profile. You could easily cut the tubeless plugs in two as they are remarkably long, though it’s wise to add some thinner plug spares if you use a tubeless setup for your road bike.
Weldtite also offers a Tubeless Repair Capsule for £19.99, which houses five thick plugs and an insertion tool with an integrated reamer as well as safety knife for trimming down excess plug ends.
Muc-Off Puncture Plug Repair Kit
£15 | View offer
- Handheld plug insertion tool with integrated reamer
- 15 tubeless plugs and fabric pouch included
- 32g including case and plugs
Simple but effective, Muc-Off’s Puncture Plug Repair Kit offers all you need for straightforward tubeless repairs. The tool features a large, pink handle which is larger than many, giving the user a more solid grip which can be useful for thicker, more stubborn tyres. The tool also includes a reamer for surface preparation before you insert the plug. A rubber cap protects you from the sharp end of the insertion tool when stowed in the pouch.
There are three different sizes of plugs included, with five of each, suitable for punctures of varying magnitudes from road to mountain bike tyres. There’s also extra space in the pouch, so you can add your own tyre boot and quicklink for safe storage. At £15, it won’t leave you out of pocket either.
Muc-Off also offers the 64g Stealth Tubeless Puncture Plug for £45, including two tools which double up as handlebar ends. Stowed away out of sight, and they also come in a glorious range of 12 anodised rainbow colours. Quickly accessed using a 4mm allen key, one bar end hosts the plug tool while the other holds a small blade.
Pro Bike Tool Tubeless Repair Kit
£14.97 | View offer
- Red anodised alloy capsule case doubles up as handle
- Five 3.5mm plugs and five 1.5mm plugs included
- 49g including plugs
A neat little package for storing in a pocket or bike bag, the Pro Bike Tool capsule hosts two different sizes of tubeless plugs and the tool in a CNC machined red anodised alloy capsule.
With both narrow ‘bacon strips’ more suitable for smaller punctures and road tyres as well as thicker plugs, which come in handy for larger punctures, gravel and mountain bike tyres, the Pro Bike Tool repair kit should keep you covered in most instances.
Cleverly, the base can be unscrewed to reveal the plug insertion tool, then flipped 180 degrees and reattached to the capsule, turning the case into a larger handle. The insertion tool is more basic than some, with no reaming section included.
Pro Bike Tool's offering may not be perfect, but it certainly is both compact and good value.
Wolf Tooth EnCase System Chain and Tyre Plug Multi Tool
£38.90 | View offer
- Two alloy handlebar end caps with rubber storage sleeves
- 2-in-1 tubeless repair kit and chain tool
- Wrench tool with 14 functions and five thin tubeless plugs included
- 134g
If pocket space is a valuable commodity, or get a lot of satisfaction from having tools stashed seamlessly all over your bike, you’ll like Wolf Tooth’s EnCase system. Fitting into most drop handlebars and all flat bars, the alloy end caps can be pulled out to reveal a rubber storage sleeve, in which you can fit two different tools.
The first features a tubeless plug insertion tool, five thin tubeless plugs and a chain tool. In the other bar end package you’ll find a swivel head wrench, featuring Allen, Torx, flat head and Phillips bits, a valve core remover and spoke key.
Both tools have ends that pivot, which also mean that they can fit into the curve of drop handlebars.
You won’t find a reamer tool or blade included, and it’d be wise to buy some thicker plugs in addition to the thin ones supplied, especially for gravel riding or mountain biking.
Dynaplug Racer Pro Tubeless Tyre Plug
£57.86 | View offer
- Pre-loaded one piece inserter/plugs
- 3 standard and 1 megaplug stainless steel tubeless plugs included
- 26g including plugs
Both lightweight and very compact, at around two thirds of the length of a pen with a similar diameter, the Dynaplug Racer Pro is a premium tubeless repair kit with a difference.
The main body of the kit is both a case and an insertion tool. Both of the ends of the machined aluminium tool can be removed to reveal four tubeless plugs; three standard and one thicker ‘megaplug’ for larger punctures, all housed in stainless steel shafts that screw into the tool.
Unlike other tubeless plugs, these feature pointed brass or aluminium bullet tips, which help to pierce through the tyre at the site of puncture without having to prepare with a reaming tool first.
As the plugs are pre-loaded into the tool, this also means that you don’t need to prepare a plug with a pronged insertion tool before acting on the tyre either. Simply remove the end cap, stab into the tyre and pull the tool back as the plug is left in place to seal the hole. Not only does this simplify proceedings, but it can also help you to seal the puncture quicker, meaning less time at the side of the road pumping back up to the right tyre pressure.
You’ll need to buy replacement plug packs from Dynaplug, with a set of five standard plugs costing £8.99, or £9.99 for three of the larger plugs.
- Read our full Dynaplug Racer Tubeless Tyre Plug review
Park Tool Tubeless Tyre Plug Tool TPT-1
£44.99 | View offer
- Alloy tubeless plug insertion tool in plastic storage case
- Five thick plugs included
- 79g including plugs
Park Tool’s TPT-1 tubeless tyre plug tool features an ergonomic anodised alloy handle on the insertion tool. The needle itself features a reaming tool, as well as a clever composite sliding plug retainer which is designed to stop the inserted plug from coming back out as you remove the insertion tool.
The tool is stored in a thick plastic case, with room for the five thick plugs supplied, and can be stowed in a bike bag or jersey pocket.
While the tool feels well-made and pretty heavy duty, the thick plugs supplied may be overkill for smaller punctures and road tyres, and it’s certainly at the pricer end of tubeless repair kits.
Topeak Mini PT30
£35.99 | View offer
- 30 function multitool
- Includes plug insertion tool, small blade and chain tool in neoprene case
- 178g including case
The Topeak Mini PT30 is an incredibly compact multitool with no less than 30 functions condensed into a single package that’s not much bigger than a matchbox.
This multitool allows you to combine tubeless repair functionality with almost all the other tools you’ll need for everyday riding. There is a plug insertion tool, rasp tool, and a small saw.
Besides those, and standard allen and Torx keys, you’ll also find a number of different spoke keys, a chain tool, disc spacer and even a storage compartment for a quick link.
If you already need to buy or replace a multitool, you can easily reduce the number of different items you need to carry with these integrated tubeless tools. However, you will need to buy some tubeless repair plugs separately.
Watch our step-by-step video on how to repair a tubeless tyre with a plug.
