Anyone with any experience of using those inner tube repair spray things?

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Brucey
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by Brucey »

if you use (cough, spit) Schrader valves on your bicycle, there is something to be said for aerosol gunge (rather than liquid sealant in a bottle like slime) as a standby puncture repair. I'd say you have about 3/4 chance that you will seal a puncture well enough to get home, so provided you can cope with the 1/4 chance that it won't, carrying a can of sealant, a mini pump, (plus tyre levers and a spare tube for when it doesn't work) will sort you out most of the time.

At home you can ditch the tube, or repair it having cleaned or replaced the valve core insert. I guess this would work almost equally well on a presta tube with a removable core, provided you used a presta to Schrader converter on the valve when using the aerosol gunge (which only fits Schrader).

Currently £2 buys a can of aerosol sealant in 'poundland'. The can is big enough to repair a car tyre so it isn't small, but it isn't too heavy either and will fit in a saddlebag. Smaller aerosol canisters are available -at considerably greater expense- meant for bicycle tyres; dunno if the contents are appreciably different or not.

cheers
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thirdcrank
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by thirdcrank »

Right, what I'm saying in my rather clumsy fashion is first, that the sealer/inflators now have a huge market for use in cars so they must work, although I've insisted on the dealer sourcing a spare for the two cars I've bought since spare wheels were dropped (to help get emissions down.)

This discussion has reminded me that the only one I bought for use on a pedal cycle had a schrader-fitting nozzle. My valves were presta so I had an adaptor. I cannot now remember if it came with the kit or if I sourced one to do the job. When I used it, I had to be quite deft to get the gunge in the valve - not helped by cold hands. I suspect that somebody who wasn't used to inflating presta tyres might have gunge all over. ie On the one I had, the nozzle was optimised for schrader valves.

Incidentally, I've only ever put the Slime in tyres with Schrader valves, which form a nice wide tube to pour it in. The grandchildren are now way past the pushchair stage so I cannot comment on how long Slime remains effective.
Greystoke
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by Greystoke »

How does not carrying a spare tyre keep emissions down?

If the answer is less weight that's total rubbish, modern cars are so heavy anyway.

Getting the breakdown service to come to you and trailer you to a garage must burn more fuel
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mjr
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by mjr »

thirdcrank wrote:This discussion has reminded me that the only one I bought for use on a pedal cycle had a schrader-fitting nozzle. My valves were presta so I had an adaptor. I cannot now remember if it came with the kit or if I sourced one to do the job.

Mine came with the kit, but were fairly soft plastic that would not withstand repeated use. For various reasons, I do carry brass adaptors with my pump anyway, but I would rather not cover them in gunk.

I've used Zefal sealant/inflator on cold winter days and would again. I've also used supermarket own brand ones but it was much messier due to poorer nozzle design. When the gunk gets on the rim (due to poor nozzle or failure to seal a big hole), then it is a swine to clean off and I can quite understand why car tyre shops do not like it.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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thirdcrank
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by thirdcrank »

Greystoke wrote:How does not carrying a spare tyre keep emissions down?

If the answer is less weight that's total rubbish, modern cars are so heavy anyway.

Getting the breakdown service to come to you and trailer you to a garage must burn more fuel


AIUI, it's the weight, whether that's rubbish is not my fault. It can't be to keep costs down because some marques won't sell you one as an extra. We seem to have an ongoing struggle between legislators trying to minimise emissions and manufacturers wangling and wrangling with every possible wheeze to get their figures down to avoid penalties. The Toyota IQ being available badged as a Porsche is an example and FWIW, they didn't come with aspare wheel either.
Greystoke
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by Greystoke »

It's laughable isn't it.
Mind you who knows how to change a wheel now anyway so I suppose carrying a spare is pointless.
De Sisti
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by De Sisti »

jezer wrote:Due to arthritis I have been unable to fit or remove tyres for several years now. I have used Vitoria Seal & Inflate on presta valves with excellent results, and it is permanent not just ‘get you home’. It’s not cheap, but then again you don’t need to replace the tube each time you get a puncture. It’s claimed that the sealant will automatically seal further punctures for a period of time. I now have tubeless on my main bike, which so far has also proved to be a good system.

Do you have to regularly add air, say, once every fortnight, to ensure the tyre/tube combination stays
at a high enough pressure?
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jezer
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by jezer »

De Sisti wrote:
jezer wrote:Due to arthritis I have been unable to fit or remove tyres for several years now. I have used Vitoria Seal & Inflate on presta valves with excellent results, and it is permanent not just ‘get you home’. It’s not cheap, but then again you don’t need to replace the tube each time you get a puncture. It’s claimed that the sealant will automatically seal further punctures for a period of time. I now have tubeless on my main bike, which so far has also proved to be a good system.

Do you have to regularly add air, say, once every fortnight, to ensure the tyre/tube combination stays
at a high enough pressure?

I’ve never noticed this to be necessary, although I find tubeless tyres do loose a fair amount of pressure.
Power to the pedals
ANTONISH
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by ANTONISH »

I've used Zefal spray twice - first time was with a tubular - worked OK

Second on a 200k audax and I used it to inflate an innertube. Lasted a few miles and the went flat. On removing the tyre I found that the sealant had removed two patches. Tyre full of sealant so a bit of a mess.
I think it's Ok with a tube that hsn't been previously punctured.
Brucey
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by Brucey »

car sealant aerosols appear to be based on a foaming latex/alkaline chemistry. They typically whiff of ammonia; I don't know if that tends to take patches off or not.

I have not used the zefal stuff either, is there a smelly hint as to the chemistry involved?

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gazza_d
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by gazza_d »

I've used inner tubes prefilled with sealant and the cans that inject sealant and reinflate tyre after a flat.

To be fair I tried both whilst running marathons plus tyres which possibly gave them an unfair challenge.

For the prefilled tubes I never noticed any punctures, but what did happen was that occasionally when topping up the air in the tyre, sealant would dribble or spurt out of valve (Schrader) and then prevent it from sealing rendering the tube useless.

For the can I only tried a couple of times. Both times it failed to seal the whole properly. Possibly because I run M+ as I said earlier and anything tough enough to get through is probably going to leave too large a hole to seal. Also some sealant came back though the valve. Also the tube wasn't inflated fully or even close to what a pump would. And one occasion the sealant leaked out if the hole and just caused a mess in the tyre.

I've given up on stuff like this and just run decent tyres and tubes checked at regular intervals for pressure. These "make life easy" solutions have ended up costing me more time than just changing the tube on the road and using a reasonable pump.
ALANWEAV
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by ALANWEAV »

I have only just joined the forum and am not yet able to post a new topic so I would be grateful if you would let me piggy back on this one.
After retiring from work I have recently taken up cycling and try to cycle at least once a day, weather permitting for one or two hours. I am getting dispirited and frustrated by persistent punctures/flat tyre in my back wheel happening once every two or three trips. These almost invariably appear to be caused by leakages at the base of the presta valve. I assume that the most likely explanation is a sharp edge around the hole in the wheel where the inner tube valve inserts - although I can’t feel or see anything.
What is the most cost effective way of dealing with this?
Should I get the bicycle serviced and ask them for a detailed inspection of the tyre and wheel?
Should I purchase a puncture proof tyre/inner tube/ sealant etc.?
Should I purchase a new back wheel?

I have a Carrera Crossfire with 700 x 42 cm (28 x 1 5/8 in) wheel/tyres.

I am a complete novice about these issues.

Thanks for any help/advice !
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mjr
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by mjr »

ALANWEAV wrote:I am getting dispirited and frustrated by persistent punctures/flat tyre in my back wheel happening once every two or three trips. These almost invariably appear to be caused by leakages at the base of the presta valve. I assume that the most likely explanation is a sharp edge around the hole in the wheel where the inner tube valve inserts - although I can’t feel or see anything.
What is the most cost effective way of dealing with this?
Should I get the bicycle serviced and ask them for a detailed inspection of the tyre and wheel?

If it's still under warranty (you say you're new), take it back and report the fault and let Half-odds sort it. They'll probably only either swap the wheel or use a round file on the hole, but better they pay for any breakages than you!

Should I purchase a puncture proof tyre/inner tube/ sealant etc.?

If your suspicion is correct then the tyre is irrelevant and using a tube or sealant will just be messy because it'll keep cutting it open anew.

Should I purchase a new back wheel?

That should work but would be relatively expensive. Last resort IMO, if you try to file the hole smooth yourself and ruin the wheel.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
Jdsk
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by Jdsk »

Welcome.

Sorry to hear that. It is soluble.

Could you remove the tyre and tube and post photos of the the wheel including the hole for the valve and one with the valve poking through.

Jonathan

PS: Let us know if you need help posting the photos.
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bikes4two
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Re: Tyre sealer/inflaters - do any of them work?

Post by bikes4two »

I see that Decathlon also do a product which they claim seals and re-inflates a tyre - price £3.99 - it's called "BTWIN BIKE PRESTA/SCHRADER PUNCTURE REPAIR SPRAY" and the hyper link at the time of posting is https://www.decathlon.co.uk/puncture-re ... 73381.html

I'm informed that Halfords do something similar too - obviously a product with growing appeal and maybe spurred on by the eBike community for whom changing a motorised wheel is that more complicated?

I've no idea how good or otherwise they are as since carrying one, I've not had a visit .....!
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