Last night, my bike’s rear wheel suddenly (in a loud hissing sound) lost air. At first I thought it was my wife spraying Lysol in the kitchen, until she told me my bike was flat. I checked the wheel the following morning and found the cause of the problem.

A gaping tear near the valve. After giving it some thought, I went on and patched the hole thinking that it would solve my tire issue. After the glue has dried, I inflated the tube a little and the leak was gone. But when I inflated the tire to its recommended pressure, there was a bulge in the sidewall. The bulge was caused by the patch. Since it (patch) is a tougher kind of rubber than the inner tube, it was pushing unevenly on the inside of my tire. Took of the old inner tube and replaced it with a spare (new) tube.

Lesson of the story is, sometimes, it is better to replace than repair.