"slime" tubes.

[esoxlucius]

Went to Halfords for a couple of tubes yesterday. I was in a bit of a rush and left my glasses in the car.

I picked a couple of boxes up where I could just make out the 700C 25-34mm, which is the size I need.

I got home and realised that I'd picked up some self-sealing tubes. Apparently they're full of green slime which, due to tyre pressure, seeps out of the puncture and seals the hole.

I did a bit of research and apparently they're not that good. I've still got the receipt, do I take them back or have you guys got any better reviews on them?

 

[cyberknight]

depends on the tyre pressure , when i tried them in the past on road bike tyre pressures in the day of 80 psi + i found the slime was blown out of the hole before it could seal .

 

[Drago]

I've used them on my commuter with good results, 25 and 28C road tyres.

I once ran through a patch of hedge clippings, dozens of punctures and it stayed up. When I got the tyre off I had to use a bit of force to peel the tube off the inside of the tyre as the thorns were gripping it like loads of little tacks, but nit had held, got me to work and then back home again 10 hours later.

The downside is they do deaden the ride and feel of the bike as they put weight just were youmleast want it. I dont use them now, but when I absolutely couldn't be late for work they saved me from many a chewing out from the Inspector, but nowmthat requirement is no more important my bikes without them.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

If they are for commuting keep them. Anything else, take them back.

 

[oxoman]

Just fitted them to my grandson's bike as the extra weight is worth not having to keep repairing punctures when we're out together. I suspect the slime they use is pretty smooth unlike the tubeless sealant I use that has bits in it.

 

[esoxlucius]

I think I'll take them back. It's quite rare I get punctures anyway so it could be a while before I need to change them again once they're in. I don't like the idea that these heavier tubes can alter the ride quality.

Note to self: don't leave glasses in the car when shopping for bike stuff!

 

[Drago]

Just fitted them to my grandson's bike as the extra weight is worth not having to keep repairing punctures when we're out together. I suspect the slime they use is pretty smooth unlike the tubeless sealant I use that has bits in it.

Its has croutons in it, tiny fragments of rubber I believe.

 

[wakemalcolm]

I commuted for 3 years without a single puncture with mine. My commuter at the time had hub gears hub brakes and a solid rear axle so I followed the advice of the Halfords manager and upgraded to them when I bought the bike.

The nexus hub gear, however, became an annual service item, which after 3 years Halfords decided they'd had enough sponsoring, and I'd had enough of riding it.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Its has croutons in it, tiny fragments of rubber I believe.

Indeed, served up as mushroom soup with croutons in cycling cafes

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

Do modern slime tubes still behave effectively like very heavy tubeless, that also massively increase rolling resistance and don't so reliably seal punctures?

 

[annedonnelly]

I add the slime myself to the tubes on my Brompton. In the past they've given me an extra 20 miles after a puncture. Other times they've not made much difference.

At the moment the slime has got into the valve so I can't pump it up so I'm just running it and letting it get softer and softer - I only use it to go to the village and back.

 

[oxoman]

Do modern slime tubes still behave effectively like very heavy tubeless, that also massively increase rolling resistance and don't so reliably seal punctures?

They just give a slight imbalance until the sealant is equally distributed with slime tubes, as to tubeless tyres can't say i've really noticed on mine.

 

[oxoman]

I add the slime myself to the tubes on my Brompton. In the past they've given me an extra 20 miles after a puncture. Other times they've not made much difference.

At the moment the slime has got into the valve so I can't pump it up so I'm just running it and letting it get softer and softer - I only use it to go to the village and back.

I treat the valve cores as consumables and replace mine as soon as they start to cause problems. I actually carry a spare core on all my bikes as part of my repair kit.

 

[mickle]

All puncture repair goo is based on the same principle, millions of microfibres suspended in a rubber friendly liquid which clump together when squeezed together under pressure, such as the environment immediately inside a punctured tube. The platelets in our blood work in the same way..Slime was the first brand to get traction in the UK market in the late eighties. Tubeless tyre sealant is exactly the same gunk. I use Stan's No-Tubes in all of my family's commuter bikes. In combination with decent puncture resistant tyres, no-one's had a visit from the P Faery for a decade or more. It has the added bonus of reducing air leakage from porous tubes, so tyres stay up longer.

I challenge anyone to feel the difference in performance between a tyre with 2oz sealant in it and one without.

Downside: can't be retro fitted to a presta valve tube. Schrader and Woods valves have removable valve cores. Presta valves, even with the core removed are too narrow and the sealant clogs up the hole.

Unless - you cut a hole in the rubber, squirt the sealant in and patch the hole. But that gives me the ick. So no.

 

[Mike_P]

Definitely work in my experience but when you need to replace I discovered the tube had welded itself to the tyre so it wasn't just a new tube but a tyre as well that was needed.