By Nick Lavars, GizMag

For something that can happen so easily, a flat tire is responsible for a disproportionate amount of anguish. Even if your wheels spin on the quickest of quick-release axles, patching up a tube or replacing it all together can be as frustrating as it is time consuming. The team behind “patchnride” has developed a device claimed to quickly repair a punctured inner tube with no greased-covered hands or fidgety levers required.

As the name suggests, patchnride is designed to provide a quick-fix for a punctured tire, without having to remove the wheel. Unlike the SLiME Smart Tubes and Michelin Protek Max inner tube, which offer a self-contained solution, the patchnride is a separate tool that is small enough to keep in your pocket.

As with conventional patching jobs, the first step is to locate the leak. The patchnride kit includes a leak detector, which is essentially a liquid solution and a cloth. Rubbing the solution over the tire reacts with the air that is being released and causes bubbles to form at the site of the leak.

After pinching the tube, the tool’s pointed tip is inserted into the puncture with a twisting motion. Using a thumb slider, patchnride injects a patch and adhesive from a single use cartridge (called a “patch pod”) into the puncture. Pumping the tube full of air then causes it to press the patch against the underside of the tire and lock it in place, leaving the hole sealed tight and you with enough pressure to continue the ride. According to the developers, the process takes less than 60 seconds and requires little technical know-how.

The company says the tool will fix punctures up to 3 mm (0.12 in) in size and work with just about any bicycle, be it cruisers, mountain or road bikes, as long as its wheels run on inner tubes. The kits that include the patchnride tool, two patch pods and two leak detectors can be pre-ordered through the company’s website and is priced at US$30, with shipping planned for September 2014. Additional patch pods will be priced at $12.

See the patchnride demonstrated in the video here.