# Anyone got any experience of SLIME?



## Cubist (23 Dec 2008)

Young Cubester has suffered visitations from the P*n*t*r*e fairy on his last three outings. He rides a Cube Attention with the standard Schwalbe Racing Ralphs on (very light but no sidewall protection, and in any case all the holes have been in the tread section with nothing to show for it such as a thorn or glass) He's eleven, and although he is capable of fixing a flat on his own, I still wonder whether it's worth shelling out for the slime. All the searches I have done come back with mixed reviews. Anybody out there have a positive answer?


----------



## spandex (23 Dec 2008)

stands no tubes is the best


----------



## Capt. Jon (23 Dec 2008)

Get some thicker tyres (i.e. anything heavier). Slime will add weight anyway, and Racing Ralphs aren't very good in the winter anyway.


----------



## mickle (23 Dec 2008)

Stan's No Tubes. Wicked gear, designed to be used with tubeless tyres. Used _with_ tubes it renders them virtually puncture proof and they lose less air over time too for no great increase in weight.


----------



## Cubist (23 Dec 2008)

Thanks guys. Suppose you were expecting the next question.......where can I get hold of some Stan's No Tubes???

By the way, my bike has a Ralph. Cubester's has Smart Sams..getting a little muddled here! (they're still really thin though!)


----------



## Steve Austin (23 Dec 2008)

I bought my stans here

It really is the best stuff there is. No alternatives


----------



## Cubist (23 Dec 2008)

Wallet at the ready, thanks fellas!


----------



## Dave5N (24 Dec 2008)

Not had a puncture on any of our 'cross bikes since I put that slime green tape in.


----------



## RedBike (24 Dec 2008)

Another big thumbs up for Stans No tubes here. Although i've only tried it with tubeless tyres 

Have a look at this. 

View: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=C_BsT8D9JYY


I've never had any luck with those tubes with green slime in them or the 'plastic' bands designed to sit between your tyre and tube. In fact all the green slime seems to do is make it near impossible to get a patch to stick. 

You can relatively cheaply convert your sons tyres to tubeless. All you need is a bottle of the Stans fluid and a BMX bike inner tube. 

I think these videos show you how to do it. 

View: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WRM7gq1fcoQ


View: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PwON2VxZL0g&feature=related


Basically, cut the bmx tube down the middle and mount it to form an air tight rim strip, put loads of the Stans fluid in the tyre to seal everything up. Pump like mad the first time you inflate the tyre!


----------



## Dave5N (26 Dec 2008)

RedBike said:


> Another big thumbs up for Stans No tubes here. Although i've only tried it with tubeless tyres
> 
> Have a look at this.
> 
> ...




Why not? They're really effective.


----------



## RedBike (26 Dec 2008)

I found that if something was sharp enough to get through the kevlar belt of the tyre then it eventually found it's way through that belt aswell. 

It also did nothing to stop pinch flats, (The main cause of flat tyres for me while MTBing).


----------



## Dave5N (28 Dec 2008)

OK.

We haven't had any punctures since using it.


----------



## RedBike (28 Dec 2008)

> OK.
> 
> We haven't had any punctures since using it.



I am thinking of trying them on the road commuter bike. Most of the punctures I get on the road bike are from thorns (Aka hedge cuttings!!) or glass . I'm not sure about the glass but the thorns might be stopped by the belt.


----------



## Bodhbh (19 Jan 2009)

Having some trouble with punctures, the no stans in an inner tube sounds worth a punt. However, the bike I'd be using it on I like to swap back and forth to slicks for commuting etc. Using sealant in an innertube would make a mess after a puncture or all pretty self-contained and no problem?


----------



## globalfish (22 Jan 2009)

I've cycled using both Slime products on my Giant and had thorns penetrate the tube protector strip and my tyre lost all air due to a puncture that didn't seal on a recent ride. A leech patch stuck ok to it though.
BUT
in their defence, I've pulled a 1 inch thorn from the front tyre and it didn't need pumping up - just carried on riding. 
AND 
I complained to them about my woes and they rushed me out two new tubes and protector strips free of charge using first class mail from US to UK. At least they lived up to their guarantee & stood by their word. How many companies do that these days?


----------



## Cromcruaich (22 Jan 2009)

I found the slime belts problematic even though I took care fitting them, one in my rear tyre kept slowly slipping, got distorted and ended up giving me a puncture. Front tyre was fine. Oh well.


----------



## Yellow Fang (28 Jan 2009)

I am not a fan of slime. If you get a big puncture, for example after cycling over a nail or shard of glass, the slime doesn't help much. If you get a thorn or sharp stone stuck in your tyre, you keep re-puncturing your tyres until you run out of slime. It's better just to get more puncture resistant tyres IMO


----------



## Berger and Chips (28 Jan 2009)

My experience of slime is that it is shoot.
I once had a small puncture on a Marin hardtail whose normal inner tubes had been "enhanced" with Slime (the bottle type which you pump into normal inner tubes).
Well, I pulled the tube out - when it went flat with a minor/small hole - and pumped it up a little, whereupon both me and my brother gazed in dismay as the hole expanded in size as the Slime seemed to be melting it and making it bigger...

Inner tube went straight in bin, never touched Slime again.
I go for "puncture resistant" tyres with kevlar reinforcement and Panaracer's "Kevlar Flat Away" strips which you have to wind around the inside of your tyre.
Both I can assure you have been far, far better than any Slime product in my experience.


----------



## 1LegRikk (28 Jan 2009)

I had slime tubes on my mtb and never had a single puncture in 2 years of riding and we went over ANYTHING.
Come time to change tyres I'd 10-15 little green dots and loads of thorns in the tyre where it had sealed.
Obviously for anything bigger than nails/thorns it won't work, only thing to do is change tubes every 12-18 months as with the odd re-inflate the good solidifies a little.


----------

