Experiences with Slime sealant

[oldgroaner]

Years ago I tried slime and in one of my Brompton wheels found when it finally went down there were fourteen places where it had been punctured at some time or other.
This encouraged me to inject some in the tyres of my Ebike, which had Kenda Tyres.
Before too long the front tyre went off with a loud bang and sprayed sealant all over the mudguard, rim and spokes, so I headed round to the local Halfords and the only tyre they had of the correct size was a BMX one made in Sri Lanka, so I bought it and a cheap inner tube.
Since I had half a bottle of Slime left I fitted the new inner tube as well and gave it the correct amount of slime.
This was about a month ago.
This morning as I was wheeling to bike out there was a loud "pop" and and escape of slime about an inch across on the outside of the tyre, but at least it didn't go down.
I went out and bought a Schwalbe Marathon plus and new inner tube and fitted them (no slime this time) to see how that fares.
I was surprised when examining the punctured inner tube that it was still airtight, heres a photo. The slime seems to have worked pretty well and I did do about five miles before changing the tyre and tube, so to be fair it looks as if providing the puncture isn't too big, it will get you home.
I am in two minds as to whether to add some to the new inner tube, having had such mixed results.

 

[cosybike]

I have only ever managed to get snakebite punctures downhilling in the alps and the odd Hawthorn thorn when I was a kid. Never had an on road puncture yet. Bet I get one now though.

 

[Gringo]

6 Slime patches & a spare tube in my saddlebag
I don't want to have to rely on something that works "most of the time" when I'm 20+ miles from home.
Tried & tested tube & patches haven't let me down ( yet ) 4 flats in 2,000 miles on my cube & 3 of those were on a one mile stretch of towpath
It only takes a few minuets to swap a tube or slap on a patch.

 

[oldgroaner]

6 Slime patches & a spare tube in my saddlebag
I don't want to have to rely on something that works "most of the time" when I'm 20+ miles from home.
Tried & tested tube & patches haven't let me down ( yet ) 4 flats in 2,000 miles on my cube & 3 of those were on a one mile stretch of towpath
It only takes a few minuets to swap a tube or slap on a patch.

I carry a spare inner tube as well, and my feeling now is I may as well have slime in the one on the bike and if that fails to get me home swop the inner for the new one, as i can't see any reason to bother with applying a patch rather than swopping the tube and dumping the old one unpatched.

 

[Gringo]

can't see any reason to bother with applying a patch rather than swopping the tube and dumping the old one unpatched.

So what do you do for your second puncher ? or even a third (as I said above, I've been there) and another thing, your a litter bug, take your rubish home.

 

[oldgroaner]

Very amusing proper disposal of the used tube was assumed! and the point really is that if the Slime works, you don't have to change or repair the tube, do you? remember in my first post the Brompton tyre that had been punctured in 14 separate places and not gone down.
How much time and effort had I saved by not having to do thirteen dismantle and patch jobs?

 

[Gringo]

New Very amusing proper disposal of the used tube was assumed! and the point really is that if the Slime works, you don't have to change or repair the tube, do you? remember in my first post the Brompton tyre that had been punctured in 14 separate places and not gone down.
How much time and effort had I saved by not having to do thirteen dismantle and patch jobs?

All valid points and no offence ment.
I have seen old tubes hanging in bushes along the trails, so it's all to easy to assume someone just dumped it
I'd love to have full confidence in a automatic tyre sealing product And I've read of many with similar experiences to yours. I've also read of cases where the sealant just fills the inside of the tyre with a sticky mess or one product dried up and formed small beads that rolled around inside the tube.
I'm just a fan of old school technology.

Talking of old tech
Not to long ago I had a custom OS map printed that covered my riding area (you tell them the centre point and they'll print it for you)
Anywho, last summer I was out on a trail and came across a lost rider suffering from sat nav failure, using my map I showed them where they were and where they wanted to be, as I moved my finger over the map I looked up to see a glazed expression, I might as well be stiring soup.
I ended up leading them a few miles untill we came to somewhere they recognised and I sent them on there way.

Old skool rules

 

[Nealh]

I'm a bit old skool as well have thought about slime but continue with 2 spare tubes on my rides and a P- kit as a reserve, P's are repaired back at home. Always have a map or 3 and a compass with me for when the sat nav batt runs out. My off road ride last week ended with 2 P's fr & rear, front one was about 30 miles in to a 54 mile ride and the 2nd a very slow P on the route home along a bridleway which had the hedges butchered by a farmer and his hedge trimmer. I didn't realise I had the 2nd until yesterday when I saw the tyre had gone down.

 

[oldgroaner]

The main reason I have for wanting a get you home solution is that I am just a month short of 72 years of age and fixing a puncture out in the wind and most likely rain is pretty low on my list of fun pastimes, as taking tyres on and off rims isn't as easy as it once was.
It is much easier to do in the warm of a garage with a fan heater going where the old hands work rather better!
The days of my youth when inner tubes were hard to come by and ended their days being cut up to make puncture patches are long gone, as a new inner for my Ebike is only £3.99 and past experiences with slime when used inside Reasonably puncture resistant tyres give me a level of confidence in getting home and not even being aware of having a puncture.
Naturally I also carry a spare inner and the tools to change it is the case of suffering a blowout.
In the hope it will not prove necessary.
My usual way of dealing with the tyres is to check the tread and pressure every Monday, and if the pressure has dropped more than 5 PSI check again for any tell tale signs of damage, which has served me pretty well.
No doubt my early experiences with the reliability of patches cut from old inner tubes is why I regard patched tubes with distrust.
It was not uncommon to come home with tyres stuffed with grass, and even one occasion in a storm on a bare metal rim.
But that was of course way back in the late 1950's, when most kids bikes had been rescued from the open drainage ditches around Hull where I live.
We got our spares such as spokes, brake blocks, chains and saddles etc., the same way.
Happy Days.

 

[oldgroaner]

I'm a bit old skool as well have thought about slime but continue with 2 spare tubes on my rides and a P- kit as a reserve, P's are repaired back at home. Always have a map or 3 and a compass with me for when the sat nav batt runs out. My off road ride last week ended with 2 P's fr & rear, front one was about 30 miles in to a 54 mile ride and the 2nd a very slow P on the route home along a bridleway which had the hedges butchered by a farmer and his hedge trimmer. I didn't realise I had the 2nd until yesterday when I saw the tyre had gone down.

Punctures of the kind you mentioned (sharp points) sound very much like the latest one I had and Slime cured that with only a 5psi drop in pressure so you might find it would have got you home without having to stop and do repairs.

 

[oldgroaner]

All valid points and no offence ment.
I have seen old tubes hanging in bushes along the trails, so it's all to easy to assume someone just dumped it
I'd love to have full confidence in a automatic tyre sealing product And I've read of many with similar experiences to yours. I've also read of cases where the sealant just fills the inside of the tyre with a sticky mess or one product dried up and formed small beads that rolled around inside the tube.
I'm just a fan of old school technology.

Talking of old tech
Not to long ago I had a custom OS map printed that covered my riding area (you tell them the centre point and they'll print it for you)
Anywho, last summer I was out on a trail and came across a lost rider suffering from sat nav failure, using my map I showed them where they were and where they wanted to be, as I moved my finger over the map I looked up to see a glazed expression, I might as well be stiring soup.
I ended up leading them a few miles untill we came to somewhere they recognised and I sent them on there way.

Old skool rules

I don't actually have "Full" confidence in the sealant, but I do feel that it can work in enough cases to be worth using to get you home without doing a road or track side repair, and at my age that's a big plus.
Slime claim it will work for two years, but I would sooner change the inner after just one year considering how cheap they are.
It's amazing the map reading could seem hard to anyone, I'll bet you were surprised!

 

[awol]

My front has Slime in it. I'd done about 8000 miles before the first puncture the other week due to a large thorn still stuck in the tyre. Since it was pitch black I changed the tube for a new one which has been in the saddlebag for the last 2 years only to find it has split on a folded seam so walked a couple miles home. When I went to fix the puncture I found 4 in total so goes to prove it works.

 

[Gringo]

It's amazing the map reading could seem hard to anyone, I'll bet you were surprised!

No I'm never surprised by the younger generation and there inability to function without a good internet connection, just disappointed,

 

[oldgroaner]

My front has Slime in it. I'd done about 8000 miles before the first puncture the other week due to a large thorn still stuck in the tyre. Since it was pitch black I changed the tube for a new one which has been in the saddlebag for the last 2 years only to find it has split on a folded seam so walked a couple miles home. When I went to fix the puncture I found 4 in total so goes to prove it works.

It was obviously worth putting it, are you using it again when you next have a new tube?

 

[awol]

It was obviously worth putting it, are you using it again when you next have a new tube?

Yes I am, my idea on the front is to use slime in a tyre with maybe a softer compound and more grip on the front than say a marathonplus and use the harder compound puncture proof marathonplus on the rear motor wheel. Seems to have been a good combination for general road commuting for me and no puntures for nearly 2 years.