Talk to me about slime tubes for commuting

After a puncture last night which I had to fix in the fog, on the moor, in the pitch dark etc, etc (why do I never get them in subarbia?) I’m thinking again about fitting slime tubes to my commuter. I have ‘puncture proof’ tyres fitted but the puncures I get are usually from bits of glass getting through the tyre.

Now I know slime tubes will add weight but with full gaurds and all the lights I currently have fitted that’s not really an issue.

So slime tube users are they any good, do the stop punctures from glass, any downsides apart from weight?

had some when I used to commute on road wheels. Useless IMHO in high pressure tyres; the slime just blew out of any small hole.

also, tended to get a bit spurting through the presta valve when loosenig before attaching a pump (unless you remember to leave wheel with the valve upwards for a time before doing it)

may well be better in mtb tyres

Have been using a pair for a few months and must say that i’m not that impressed. As above spurty valves which then have to be dismantled and cleaned before you can inflate the tire, plus only seem to seal small thorn type holes so guess there not going to seal a hole made by glass unless it is wafer thin.

Oh in mtb tyres

As above, I think it’s more of a pain than a help.

You can get a thin plastic that goes into the tyre as a kind of armour that works quite well. I guess it’s the opposite of rim tape really, in that is sits between the tyre and tube rather than tube and rim.
I’d have thought Halfords would sell it – the stuff i have seen is like a transluscent green.

What about the latex used in tubeless…doesn’t that do the same job…?

what about running tubeless tyres – has anyone tried that? i’ve got some tubeless semislicks at home, and thought about using them. havent so far as i don’t have UST rims but could use that 20″ bmx tube conversion method.

slime tubes are rubbish. and, they weigh the same as most tyres!

I should have mentioned that it’s on a cx bike and the commute is all on road. I might buy one and give it a go on on the rear wheel as thats where I get the punctures. Very seldom get them on the front – more weight over the back to help the glass stick into the tyre. Punctures in summer don’t bother me but piss me off when its cold, wet, dark, etc.

Whats your experience of them pinches? Weight isn’t an issue but they’re not that heavy.

I’ve used the pre-filled ones for MTBing and they were very good. Never failed to seal a puncture and didn’t have any problems with the goop coming our of the valve (try rotating the wheel so the valve is at the top, the slime should run to the bottom and not escape). Eventually the valves ripped out and I didn’t bother to get any more, but for riding in thorny terrain (like Southern Spain) they were great.

The weight was noticeable however, and I don’t know what they’re like at sealing high pressure tubes. Oh and the stuff you add yourself is invariably rubbish.

i tried them in high pressure tyres (700 * 32) – just sprayed out green stuff everywhere until the tyre was flat.

mine used to just generally be shit, they spewed slime out of the valve regularly and i weighed the one in my front wheel on my scales at circa 400g! for an innertube!

they didn’t help me much when the hedges are cut back. 4 punctures in 2 weeks meant alot of late arrivals at work 🙁

I’ve had the slime you put into your own tube in my back wheel for 2 years. MTB tyre, used on and off road. Either I’ve never had a puncture, or the slime has a 100% success rate.

in fairness, i got a puncture for the first time in 2 yrs last week. in the rear tyre which i never ran a slime tube in anyway!

I use them all the time – only thing they won’t seal is snakebites which I seem to be very prone to (I tend to run too low pressure). They’re really not that heavy (although folk have been known to wince when picking my bike up :wink:)

I use them over winter. The weight is fairly irrelevant when you consider how much mud is stuck to your bike anyway. The last time I took one off I had 14 puncture holes & not once did the tyre lose enough air to stop me riding, so for my money, yep I would recommend them.

I’ve got the Dr Sludge tubes in and some kevlar inner tape on my Tioga Mud’s – I so far in two years have never had a flat! – only riding 1 or 2 times per week as I’m normmaly a namby pampy roadie!

Weight is an issue but just imagine the fitness benifits from when the earth starts to go skyward!

Get some tubes with a removable valve core, put some Stans sealant in there – job done. Stans is a much better sealer.

Used to get punctures all the time from glass (broken car window glass) on my old commute, like 3 or 4 a week. I started running conti sport contacts and never got a single puncture in the remaining 3 months I did the commute. I find sealants do nothing on anything other than a thorn puncture, snake bites, glass – all just cut a hole that cant be sealed before the tyre goes flat.

As above I’ve put some stans sealant in the tubes on my commuter.

No flats yet but then I’ve no idea if I would’ve had any without the sealant…