Slime Tubes

Jiyang Chen said:

Anybody with experience with these tubes? I am wondering if these will truly prevent flats from
tiny punctures.

Slime-filled tubes are a joke. The Bell ones I had weren't worth [censored].

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I've tried them and they worked ok for small thorns, but did not work well with glass. I found the
slime liners (the hard strips that fit between the tube and tires) worked better for all conditions.

"Jiyang Chen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anybody with experience with these tubes? I am wondering if these will truly prevent flats from
tiny punctures. The weight penalty isn't all

that

Quoted message said:

severe, so it seems like a good investment. It probably wouldn't help blowouts or big slashes, but
most of the flats I receive are tiny ones

from

Quoted message said:

rough roads, metal items (very often), and the sharp weeds.

Thanks, Jiyang Chen

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Anybody with experience with these tubes? I am wondering if these will truly prevent flats from
tiny punctures. The weight penalty isn't all that severe, so it seems like a good investment. It
probably wouldn't help blowouts or big slashes, but most of the flats I receive are tiny ones from
rough roads, metal items (very often), and the sharp weeds.

Didn't help me, and made it a pain in the @$$ to pump up, because the slime came out the fill valve
if I let any air at all leak out.

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"Jiyang Chen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anybody with experience with these tubes? I am wondering if these will truly prevent flats from
tiny punctures. The weight penalty isn't all

that

Quoted message said:

severe, so it seems like a good investment. It probably wouldn't help blowouts or big slashes, but
most of the flats I receive are tiny ones

from

Quoted message said:

rough roads, metal items (very often), and the sharp weeds.

The weight penalty is not what it appears. I used a thorn-resistant slime tube for about two weeks
but took it off because it made the rear wheel feel heavy and "dead." It wasn't harsh like a solid
tire, but it wasn't as lively as an air-filled tire. It was just sort of .... well, dead. On the
plus side, I had no punctures those two weeks. On the negative side, I didn't have any punctures in
the replacement tube for two more years!

-Buck

Jiyang Chen said:

Anybody with experience with these tubes? I am wondering if these will truly prevent flats from
tiny punctures. The weight penalty isn't all that severe, so it seems like a good investment. It
probably wouldn't help blowouts or big slashes, but most of the flats I receive are tiny ones from
rough roads, metal items (very often), and the sharp weeds.

I've been using a light-weight slime tube for about 1500 miles with no flats. So far I like it. My
only complaint is the valve which can screw off with the cap if you're not careful.

--Bill Davidson
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Bill Davidson said:

Jiyang Chen said:

Anybody with experience with these tubes? I am wondering if these will truly prevent flats from
tiny punctures. The weight penalty isn't all that severe, so it seems like a good investment. It
probably wouldn't help blowouts or big slashes, but most of the flats I receive are tiny ones
from rough roads, metal items (very often), and the sharp weeds.

I've been using a light-weight slime tube for about 1500 miles with no flats. So far I like it. My
only complaint is the valve which can screw off with the cap if you're not careful.

There IS a down side to slime tubes that hasn't been mentioned (one that almost bit me a couple
weeks ago). I got a slow leak in my front tire (with a slime lite tube), and didn't notice it until
I hit a nasty seam that pinch-flatted the tire instantly (slime doesn't help there).

With most spontaneous front flats, the rim is riding on three layers of rubber (two layers of tube,
one of tire) that have enough inter-layer traction to control the bike.

However, with a slime tube, the interface between the top two layers are well lubricated, and your
rim will skate around on the tire - very disconcerting at best. I came REAL close to going down (it
didn't help that I almost immediately hit a bunch of loose sand... when it rains it pours).

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

In article <[email hidden]>, "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r

p . c o m said:

"Jiyang Chen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anybody with experience with these tubes? I am wondering if these will truly prevent flats from
tiny punctures. The weight penalty isn't all

that

Quoted message said:

severe, so it seems like a good investment. It probably wouldn't help blowouts or big slashes,
but most of the flats I receive are tiny ones

from

Quoted message said:

rough roads, metal items (very often), and the sharp weeds.

The weight penalty is not what it appears. I used a thorn-resistant slime tube for about two weeks
but took it off because it made the rear wheel feel heavy and "dead." It wasn't harsh like a solid
tire, but it wasn't as lively as an air-filled tire. It was just sort of .... well, dead. On the
plus side, I had no punctures those two weeks. On the negative side, I didn't have any punctures
in the replacement tube for two more years!

-Buck

Sounds like when I tried Mr Tuffy tube protectors. Felt like I had my rear brake dragging the whole
time I was riding. Like you said...dead..

Dave in Minnesota

I obsess on avoiding flats, and tried slime tubes for a time but abandoned them becaus they do a
better job of retarding flates than preventing them. They are also difficult to refill on the
road as the slime gets in the valve and makes it difficult first to fill the tube, then to close
it tightly.

My current combination is to use a kevlar lined tire, a further liner and then a thorn resistent
(thick on the outside) tube. (A thin tube can be punctured by the liner.) It' practically wiped out
flats from punctures, but the tubes are susceptible to stem failures. The ride is also less smooth.
So nothing is perfect that I've yet found. Still after averaging a flat every 1000 miles or so, I've
had only two stem failures in my last 20,000 miles of riding.

"Dave Jackson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o

r p . c o m said:

"Jiyang Chen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anybody with experience with these tubes? I am wondering if these

will

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

truly prevent flats from tiny punctures. The weight penalty isn't all

that

Quoted message said:

severe, so it seems like a good investment. It probably wouldn't help blowouts or big slashes,
but most of the flats I receive are tiny ones

from

Quoted message said:

rough roads, metal items (very often), and the sharp weeds.

The weight penalty is not what it appears. I used a thorn-resistant

slime

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

tube for about two weeks but took it off because it made the rear wheel

feel

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

heavy and "dead." It wasn't harsh like a solid tire, but it wasn't as

lively

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

as an air-filled tire. It was just sort of .... well, dead. On the plus side, I had no punctures
those two weeks. On the negative side, I didn't have any punctures in the replacement tube for
two more years!

-Buck

Sounds like when I tried Mr Tuffy tube protectors. Felt like I had my rear brake dragging the
whole time I was riding. Like you said...dead..

Dave in Minnesota

In article said:

I obsess on avoiding flats, and tried slime tubes for a time but abandoned them becaus they do a
better job of retarding flates than preventing them. They are also difficult to refill on the road
as the slime gets in the valve and makes it difficult first to fill the tube, then to close it
tightly.

My current combination is to use a kevlar lined tire, a further liner and then a thorn resistent
(thick on the outside) tube. (A thin tube can be punctured by the liner.) It' practically wiped
out flats from punctures, but the tubes are susceptible to stem failures. The ride is also less
smooth. So nothing is perfect that I've yet found. Still after averaging a flat every 1000 miles
or so, I've had only two stem failures in my last 20,000 miles of riding.

I'm wondering if silk might make an effective puncture-resistant liner material.

From: edunetconnect.com700nea.htmlOpen ↗

"The Mongol army was based on lightly armoured horse archers. Under a quilted jacket or
water-proofed leather jerkin, Mongol warriors wore a silk shirt. Even if an arrow penetrated
their armour, unlike other cloth, the silk shirt would not tear but would wrap around the
arrow head. This made it easier to remove the arrow and reduced the chance of infection."

While we don't have to worry about inner tubes getting infections, maybe silk (of the right type,
whatever that might be) would effectively /blunt/ sharp, pointy things as it wraps around them, thus
reducing the likelihood of inner tubes getting punctured. Of course the silk would have to be
elastic enough to give, and tough enough to not tear.

And even if it's not 100% effective (I doubt it would be), I think it would be significantly lighter
than kevlar, and might tend toward a smoother ride, while still providing some degree of puncture
resistance.

Maybe there are even some modern synthetics with silk-like properties that would perform even better
than the natural fabric.

cheers, Tom

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Tom Keats said:

arrow penetrated their armour, unlike other cloth, the silk shirt would not tear but would
wrap around the arrow

maybe silk (of the right type, whatever that might be) would effectively /blunt/ sharp, pointy
things as it wraps around them, thus reducing the likelihood of inner tubes getting punctured.

I doubt it. Arrows sharpest point is larger than the weave of the silk. Thorns are likely smaller
than the weave of the silk, so will get between threads, spread them apart, and go right on through.

Good idea, though. Maybe something along this line...a plastic or something less pourous, but thin.

Quoted message said:

cheers, Tom

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