Tyre tube puncture sealent,
Can any body advise please regards the
Quality of products like slime etc to lower the chance of punctures on my electric bike tubes
Regards
Tom
Tyre tubes
Re: Tyre tubes
Never used slime but if you don't have Kevlar tyres I'd get some...
Re: Tyre tubes
My first outing on my newly-hatched Electric Cow came to a sticky end thanks to a pinch flat at 6 km, Slime tube notwithstanding: Slime tubes aren't immune to pinch flats. I was running it on 7 bars in a 25mm tyre. I'm now running it on 8 bars and my bum gets a larruping.
Cleaning out the tyre wasn't all that hard. The tube went straight into the bin: it had two pairs of slits in it. I despaired of patching it because of all the gunge surrounding the holes.
Cleaning out the tyre wasn't all that hard. The tube went straight into the bin: it had two pairs of slits in it. I despaired of patching it because of all the gunge surrounding the holes.
Have we got time for another cuppa?
Re: Tyre tubes
My view is that tubes are too thin and flexible for slim to work.
I tried slime in mtb tubes and had two punctures from blackthorn's both failed to hold up and the mess out on a run was total mess to clean up, I had spare clean unfilled tubes and fitted them. Never again.
I tried slime in mtb tubes and had two punctures from blackthorn's both failed to hold up and the mess out on a run was total mess to clean up, I had spare clean unfilled tubes and fitted them. Never again.
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deeferdonk
- Posts: 313
- Joined: 11 May 2019, 2:50pm
Re: Tyre tubes
Not a sealant but i've just started to give some tannus armour inserts a go. i've only been on one ride though since fitting so i haven't made my mind up yet on them.
https://road.cc/content/review/271465-t ... ert-armour
https://road.cc/content/review/271465-t ... ert-armour
Re: Tyre tubes
If you want to try sealant in a tyre, you've the best chance of it working if the tube is on the large side for the tyre - eg a 700x32-40 tube in a 28 tyre.
That way the tube won't be stretched much when it's in the tyre, and the sealant has the most chance of working. Take care not to catch the tube under the tyre bead when fitting it (happend more easily with larger tubes).
Pre-filled tubes like Slime tend not to come in a wide range of sizes, so that may not be easy, and adding your own sealant to a standard tube requires that the valve has a removable core, which would also require hunting for.
That way the tube won't be stretched much when it's in the tyre, and the sealant has the most chance of working. Take care not to catch the tube under the tyre bead when fitting it (happend more easily with larger tubes).
Pre-filled tubes like Slime tend not to come in a wide range of sizes, so that may not be easy, and adding your own sealant to a standard tube requires that the valve has a removable core, which would also require hunting for.
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kylecycler
- Posts: 1405
- Joined: 12 Aug 2013, 4:09pm
- Location: Kyle, Ayrshire
Re: Tyre tubes
Notwithstanding the excellent advice and suggestions so far, just a general point...
If your bike is still on its original tyres, bear in mind that it's all part of a manufacturer's/brand's accounting strategy for the tyres to be 'good enough' but far from the best in terms of puncture/rolling resistance. It's not a rule - sometimes the original tyres are ok, but you can almost always do better.
To put it another way, if inevitably more costly tyres with proper puncture protection and low rolling resistance were fitted, the profit per bike would be lower and they probably wouldn't sell many more bikes so they'd lose out. So you often just have to bite the bullet and upgrade. Alternatively just accept that they puncture easier and get good at mending punctures (seriously)! Or you could even just try slime / tyre inserts and see how you get on. Then buy better tyres when the originals wear out.
As an example, the bike I use for club rides and touring came with Kenda tyres that were actually surprisingly good for original tyres - rode and rolled well - but punctured too easily. It now has the other extreme - Schwalbe Almotion tyres that I got at a discount from SJS but were still expensive - but they roll exceptionally well and I've had a lot fewer punctures.
Concerning Schwalbe tyres, btw, if you go for them I'd steer clear of the ones with K-Guard - they're cheaper but I found it was false economy. K stands for Kevlar which suggests they should be good, but the 55mm Big Apples I got with K-Guard punctured at least as often as the original tyres. Go for those with RaceGuard - they're more expensive but worth it.
If your bike is still on its original tyres, bear in mind that it's all part of a manufacturer's/brand's accounting strategy for the tyres to be 'good enough' but far from the best in terms of puncture/rolling resistance. It's not a rule - sometimes the original tyres are ok, but you can almost always do better.
To put it another way, if inevitably more costly tyres with proper puncture protection and low rolling resistance were fitted, the profit per bike would be lower and they probably wouldn't sell many more bikes so they'd lose out. So you often just have to bite the bullet and upgrade. Alternatively just accept that they puncture easier and get good at mending punctures (seriously)! Or you could even just try slime / tyre inserts and see how you get on. Then buy better tyres when the originals wear out.
As an example, the bike I use for club rides and touring came with Kenda tyres that were actually surprisingly good for original tyres - rode and rolled well - but punctured too easily. It now has the other extreme - Schwalbe Almotion tyres that I got at a discount from SJS but were still expensive - but they roll exceptionally well and I've had a lot fewer punctures.
Concerning Schwalbe tyres, btw, if you go for them I'd steer clear of the ones with K-Guard - they're cheaper but I found it was false economy. K stands for Kevlar which suggests they should be good, but the 55mm Big Apples I got with K-Guard punctured at least as often as the original tyres. Go for those with RaceGuard - they're more expensive but worth it.