Slime Tubes
 

I bought two Slime tubes and one new tire. I couldn't get the exact tires I wanted. They were either out of stock or didn't have my size. So I compromised and got a reguar Elecony mountain bike tire with 600 TPI vs 300 TPI (threads per inch) for $27. I had one tire worn pretty smooth, and I got 5 flats in one week so something had to give. I've only had this configuration a short time now, but so far no flats.

I've looked at tire inserts, tubes, liners, tires you name it. My neighbor told me he used to cut up old tubes and line his tires with those. Said it worked OK.

I'd be interested in hearing from anybody else who has any experience with these kinds of products, especially the Slime Tubes. They were only $7 apiece on Amazon.

My experience with Slime Tubes is that they did very little to seal punctures but once in a while they worked. Trying to patch a leaking Slime filled tube on the road was nearly impossible as well as the slime prevented any vulcanizing fluid from bonding properly. Could be done at home with some good cleaning and careful handling of the tube to prevent the Slime from coming out but can be done. Using old tubes as tire protection seems to have only minor success as well and dedicated plastic tire strips are a little better. The best way to prevent flats is to have a good tire with a thick carcass and some puncture resistant belts molded into the tire. This of course can make a heavier and less supple ride if that matters but at least you keep rolling.

Are you determining why every flat happened? If you don't verify that every flat was an actual tread punctures from road debris, then you might be just chasing for puncture resistant tires and tubes that won't be much help at all.

Slime tubes suck !
Just had to replace one in the shop...freakin' green goo all over the inside of the tire and of course I had to clean it out to do the repair/replacement correctly...ick what a mess.

95% of my flats come from thorns.

If thorns then I'll leave the suggestions to others. I don't live where thorns are an issue and all my riding is on paved roads. So maybe someone with some Mtn bike experience will no more about those other products you ask about. Have you considered tubeless?

However when my tires go thin and are showing threads or very close to that, then flats are expected. Once I get the first flat at that point in the tires life I replace it.

Do you have Goat Heads?

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...60d76b6763.jpg

They're just nasty.

I'm not sure if there is any single solution to them. Certainly picking them out of the tires every once in a while helps. Get the stickers out too. If you've gotten several flats in a week, it is possible you missed some thorns.

There are a couple of solutions that people have tried. One option is to use tires with a thick absorption layer, so it is less likely a thorn will stick all the way into the tire.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus
Michelin Protek Cross Max

https://www.abx.ie/web/image/product...e/332414/image

Tire liners may also help.

I only ride on paved roads, but these goat head thorns and Acacia Tree thorns can blow in from the undeveloped areas, or wherever they plant the Acacia Trees. There is a stand of them right by my house. The Acacia Tree thorns can range from 1/8 inch to 2 inches long. Check out these photos.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5a2738f580.png
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3be04e5b5a.png

No slime tubes and certainly no whatever no-name tires those are, that is not a brand I have heard of or would use. Schwalbe tires level 5 or 6 and standard butyl tubes also from Schwalbe, Continental, Specialized....(good quality) would be my go to with a fresh rim strip and burr free rim and proper pressure. If I needed more protection I would use Tannus Armour liners which are a lovely foam insert for the tire which will likely prevent little thorns and goat heads from getting to the tubes.

I don't want goo in my tubes they are messy and don't work and any mechanic is going to hate you for it. Tubeless isn't so bad, it is still messy but no more pinch flats and likelihood of fewer issues of punctures as hopefully the sealant will do its job and seal the little hole.

Continental Super Sport Plus are of similar design to the Schwalbes with the puncture belt listed above, but I think they use a denser, thinner belt. They're somewhat less usually than Gatorskins, IMO at leas as puncture resistant, and quite long wearing.

I live in an area where there tends to be a fair amount of small (and generally not visible) bits of road debris that often punctures tires - e.g., wire bits from tire blow-outs, staples, small (and not so small sometimes) nails, etc . . . . Before I started using the Super Sport Plus, I'd get punctures regularly - sometimes more than once weekly. With the Super Sport Plus, very rarely. I can think of 2, and both of those were from oldish nails that visually blended into the road surface that might have caused a flat (or at least a slow leak) on a car tire.

Best I can recall, the Super Sport Plus is available in both Kevlar- and wire-bead versions. The latter can be tough to install - but I've had folding bead tires (Conti Ultra Sports) that were as hard if not harder. They're available in 700c-23, -25, and -28, but the last can be hard to find.

I've also used tire liners when I didn't have a Gatorskin or Super Sport Plus handy. Those seem to work about the same.

Neither solution is low-rolling-resistance, so you'll give up a bit there. But I don't do tubeless - and I'd have a bit lower average speed than spend 20 min on the side of the road changing a flat.

I've never changed a flat on the road. How do you find the leak?

Finding the leak in the old tube is usually easy - just remove the old tube and inflate it somewhat with your frame pump, then look/feel to see where it's leaking. I've always been able to find such a puncture without having to immerse the tire. I also mount tires with the label diametrically opposite to the valve hole. That plus the location of the puncture tells me where to focus the search for embedded debris in the tire. But I generally check the entire inside of the tire, just to be sure.

I carry a spare tube in a small seat bag when I ride. After checking the interior of the tire with a finger (very carefully) to find whatever punctured the tube if it's still embedded in the tire, I then remove anything embedded in the tire and put in the new tube.

Often the location of embedded debris is visually obvious. But if it's not, careful and gentle rubbing with a finger will usually find whatever it was that caused the puncture if it's still embedded. (It can also provide a small blood sacrifice to the tire "gods" if you're careless or work too fast because you're impatient. :))

I then carry the dead tube home and make a "patch or pitch" decision. I get puncture flats so infrequently these days it's almost always "pitch".

Five weeks so far and no flats. That's a record for me.

I find that slime works very well for small punctures with one caveat. Thorns like those from goat heads with usually break off and remain imbedded in the tire. To use slime properly where goat heads are common you need to remove the tire from the wheel and pull out all of the thorns from the inside, nearly as much work as patching an inner tube. You can buy purpose made “thorn guards” a liner made of something like Kevlar that fits between the tube and tire under the tread or use “puncture resistant” tires as mentioned earlier that have puncture resistant fabric embedded in the tire carcass.

I've never been a fan of or used Slime filled tubes.

My philosophy is to never let the offending object even touch the tube! The first line of defense is a robust tire, with a puncture resistant belt. I've picked out many goat heads and thorns from the tread without damage to the tube. So I do spend a bit more on endurance type road tires, focusing on puncture resistant belts and high mileage tread, instead of light-weight, supple race tires. I'd rather ride than fix flats on the side of the road.

I've used tire liners in the past too. They're a bit of a pain to install and align, but it is one more belt of protection for the tube.

17 weeks and only one flat tire-kinda. I was out on a ride and something wasn't right. I got off and noticed the tire was low-not flat. Then I found a thorn right in the middle of the tire. When I pulled it out it made a hissing noise, and then my fingers got wet. That was the Slime doing it's thing. I had enough air in the tire to get the last two miles home-filled it up-that was five weeks ago and I'm still riding.

I guess you could say I'm sold.

Slime considers the VALVE to be a leak. Once that junk oozes out thru the valve it WILL plug the valve. You have been warned.

I throw away slime tubes when i extract them from a donated bike's tires.

i remove Tire liners, have never installed a single one.

Both add weight, cause out-of-balance, and make bikes feel heavy and sluggish, IMO.

When (not "if") this happens, remove the valve core from the stem and soak it in a household ammonia solution. This will dissolve the latex in the slime and allow you to brush or blow off any residue and sealant fibers. Rinse, dry, and replace the core in the stem, and Bob's yer uncle.

N.B. you can expedite this by have a replacement valve core or two on hand. Pull out the clogged core to soak, put in a clean core, pump up the tire and ride on. Replacement cores can be purchased separately or salvaged from discarded inner tubes.

I also wanted to try slime tubes but really hated them. They are filled with liquid which adds weight, drag and unpleasant water shedding sound if you listen carefully. I doubt if they will be successful preventing a major leak, but if they do, they will most likely create a mess inside the outer tire. I would much rather carry a spare tube. If you need extra protection, I would be aligned to use tires with built into 1mm, 3mm, or even 5 mm protective belt, depending on your protection needed.

Slime tubes worked great for me when mountain biking. Think I pinch-flatted once, though, and that was a mess on the trails.

I think if it's a high volume/low pressure application then slime (or any other sealant) inside inner tubes could work well. I am skeptical about skinny tire/high pressure use cases, though.

I've had ok success with tire liners on commuter and road bikes, but did manage to get a puncture once as well. Eventually, I decided that the extra weight and hassle of installing them properly led me to give up on them. I'm a low mileage guy who mostly ride on smooth roads now, and my gravel bike is set up tubeless so I haven't had punctures in a while. If I really wanted to guarantee flat-free riding on roads with a lot of urban debris, I'd probably go with a tubeless setup or tire liners with inner tubes.

I've ordered some Muc-Off inner tube sealant to try out.They seem to think it's suitable for road tyres so I look forward to trying it with interest. You ideally have to have inner tubes with removable valve cores which, as it happens, I do.

I tried slime (or similar, can't remember exactly) inner tubes on a mountain bike after a spate of punctures and it seemed to work ok - at least, I didn't have another puncture for a good while. It does dry out eventually, of course.