self sealing inner tube

[heliphil]

Hi

After commuting 2 or 3 time a week (45mile round trip) for the last 15 years I have given in and bought a Dr Sludge self sealing inner tube. Will it work ??? well it was OK this morning and despite the extra weight did not seem to slow me down at all. If it really means no flats over the winter it will be £4.99 well spent.

 

[Theseus]

... and then when you go to make a proper job of a repair, you will find that you can't get anything to stick so you have to bin the tube and the inside of the tyre is a mess.

 

[Twenty Inch]

Or if you run high-pressure tyres, the sludge will spray out everywhere when you do puncture, leaving you just as flat and your bike covered in shite.

A mate of mine used to use these all the time, despite the fact that a) they didn't stop punctures, and they were really messy. I wouldn't bother, just get better at changing tubes.

 

[lazyfatgit]

... and then when you go to make a proper job of a repair, you will find that you can't get anything to stick so you have to bin the tube and the inside of the tyre is a mess.

and if its a big hole, you'll be cleaning crap off the rims and brakes. i've even seen presta valves refuse to seal with the stuff leaking out after reinflating a soft tyre.

 

[Davywalnuts]

Or if you run high-pressure tyres, the sludge will spray out everywhere when you do puncture, leaving you just as flat and your bike covered in shite.

A mate of mine used to use these all the time, despite the fact that a) they didn't stop punctures, and they were really messy. I wouldn't bother, just get better at changing tubes.

hahaha! That happened to me last week on my front tyre! I've been using sludge in my inners for a while and so far had been okay.. baring a screw pun****e... But yeh, when it start squirting and coupled with high speed, I got covered in the stuff... However, when I took the inner out later on, I couldnt find the "p" hole anywhere! So it seemed to work... and so maybe it has worked in the background without me noticing?

But... within a week of each other, both valves have now gone... and they are only half a year old..

With Halfrauds doing 3 for 2 on all inners, am tempted to try the slime and see how it goes..

 

[heliphil]

Problems already - I got a small split on the sidewall, so I need to repair the tyre, but of course the latex ouzes out when you try to deflate the tube.......

 

[Twenty Inch]

You were warned.

The reason the vast majority of cyclists only have air in their tubes is because slime doesn't work. They don't have many repeat customers (apart from my daft mate, who never learned), they just rely on a constant stream of people thinking "Hmm, no punctures eh? might give that a go".

 

[Bodhbh]

A friend of mine used slime and it more or less worked, however the tyre blebbed and bulged and make the wheel unbalanced - it looked a mess.

Not sure if I read it here someplace, but I have been using Stans sealant in my MTB inners the last couple of months and it seems to work okay. Just take the valve core otu and put several centilitres in. I changed the tyres recently and found a few punctures, all sealed and no mess.

http://stanstiresealant.com/

My commuting tyres are marathons with a kelvar belt or whatever it is although, which seems to have cut them down (last one was March from a large nail in the road).

 

[Catty]

I use the slime stuff and been happy with it.

I used to get thorn puntcures all the time, specially where i live, since i put the slime in, i've had no problems.

 

[heliphil]

24 hours with the valve at the top allowed me to release the air without the latex slime.... Tyre repaired and all back fitted on my bike - hopefully no repeats of that.

 

[Piemaster]

I've used them but wouldn't again. When I did eventually get a puncture I patched he tube - no problems doing it and the slime didn't make too much of a mess. Put tyre back on. Take it off again and fix the second flat - I'd missed a thorn through the carcass in a different place to the original flat, tube went back in in a slightly different place causing second flat. Put tyre back on. Take tyre back off to fix third flat - one that had obviously been sealed up by the slime until it had been disturbed. Ah, no, sod it. Fitted conventional tube.
So ok if they stay up, BUT if you get a flat there may well be more than one hole, just being hidden by the slime.
I then went out and bought a pair of M+. Not one unplanned stop yet. They are heavier but then so are slime tubes. I can put up with it for the extra confidence they give. Don't even carry a repair kit now, so saving some weight there too. The M+ are a pig to put on and not sure how practical it would be to repair at the roadside anyway.