What Puncture Sealant for Inner Tubes

myopic

I've now started riding a route where I am picking up a ridiculous amount of punctures due to little thorns. Recent average is a puncture every second ride - from 10 rides. Not using it isn't an option!

Don't want to go with the faff of tubeless (wheels and tyres are not directly compatible) on this occasion, but I belive you can get sealant which is suitable for injection to inner tubes without removing the valve cores? I know that Stans etc can be used with presta if you remove the core, but I don't think my cores are removable. I read about some stuff that was good for valves like this (ie presta where you can't remove the core) - anyone help by telling me what it is?

5xcr

Hi, as far as i`m aware all valve cores are removable, simply done .

I put slime(around £9 from halfords bikehut) in my tubes and also use slime liners.(also from halfords) they sit between the tube and tyre.

And before anyone else tells you otherwise they are light , and work fine, No punctures for me in over two years of riding everyday on all surfaces. the liners do prevent thorns, glass e.t.c getting thru to the tube . but i use the liquid as well as double protection.

OH, and you get a valve core remover with the slime liquid.

5xcr

chedabob

myopic wrote:

I know that Stans etc can be used with presta if you remove the core, but I don't think my cores are removable. I read about some stuff that was good for valves like this (ie presta where you can't remove the core) - anyone help by telling me what it is?

https://secure.techxpress.net/slime.com ... TA_doc.pdf

That's how you remove the core on a Presta. I just tried it on an old tube and it was dead easy. Gonna order some slime now

myopic

That's interesting Bob - I always thought the valve would come out the front, not into the tube!

Bar Shaker

I just buy Slime Presta tubes.

I also use Protection Contis. No punctures in years, where as I was getting as many as the OP.

myopic

Hmmm, don't want to get new tyres, or inner tubes for that matter - got a drawer full of them after an ordering cock-up (which worked out in my favour for once). Slime seems to be popular, but you seem to need a lot of it - the instructions suggested about half a bottle per tube?

chedabob

myopic wrote:

Hmmm, don't want to get new tyres, or inner tubes for that matter - got a drawer full of them after an ordering fool-up (which worked out in my favour for once). Slime seems to be popular, but you seem to need a lot of it - the instructions suggested about half a bottle per tube?

Yeah, you get enough for two tubes in a bottle.

I just did mine now and it was a right faff. I've got long-valve Presta tubes and the core wouldn't come back out. I ended up piercing a whole with a BBQ skewer and forcing it out. The good news is that it seemed to seal the hole up

The 2nd tube had a shorter valve but still wouldn't come out. I found that pumping air into the tube until it's very firm creates enough air pressure to force the core out once you remove the pump.

DodgeT

Stans can be put into presta tubes quite easily without removing the core - I did it last week..
Loosen the screw, as if you were going to put air into the tube, (tube needs to have no pressure in it) then push a piece of tight fitting hose over the valve. Squirt/pour the stans slowly into the hose and watch it slowly dissappear into the tube. Pump up then as normal.
Would be quicker removing the core, but i dont want to bu66er about and lose it inside the tube.

Think slime would be too thick for this method.

cooldad

Slime and slime tubes are rubbish.
My 2c worth.

chedabob

DodgeT wrote:

Think slime would be too thick for this method.

Yeah. It just leaked out of the bottom of the hose. I think it was going in, but incredibly slowly.

@cooldad It might be, but I only paid £4 for the bottle so I'll see how it goes. I'll probably have changed my tune once I get a pinch flat and it burps out all over the inside of the tyre :P

Rich Hcp

Put most of the tubes you have on ebay and buy a pair of Slime or Dr Sludge Tubes.

hal18ut

cooldad wrote:

Slime and slime tubes are rubbish.
My 2c worth.

Any chance you could expand on why? I've been thinking about sliming my tubes, too.

Rich Hcp

hal18ut wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Slime and slime tubes are rubbish.
My 2c worth.

Any chance you could expand on why? I've been thinking about sliming my tubes, too.

I was wondering that too, I've run with Slimes/Dr Sludge for years, I change them when I cahnge the tyres when they have worn out. There are always several self repairs that I haven't even known about

Not had any probs at all

*AL*

cooldad wrote:

Slime and slime tubes are rubbish.
My 2c worth.

Heavy and ineffective.

My 2c worth.

Rich Hcp

Rider or tubes?

Explain...

I don't use slime on my roadie but I have found the slime/Dr Sludge prefilled tubes on my MTB effective and they're not heavy enough to make any significant difference.

They won't stop pinch flats, but if you run the tyres at the manufacturer's recommended pressures then, in my experiance, you will stop most flats.

cooldad

*AL* wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Slime and slime tubes are rubbish.
My 2c worth.

Heavy and ineffective.

My 2c worth.

This.
The slime sits in the bottom and doesn't spread very well, too thick.

hal18ut

*AL*, Cooldad,

Is it just slime you don't rate or tube sealants in general? If it's just slime, what do you prefer?

cooldad

Only had one puncture in the last two years, a pinch flat that sealant wouldn't have helped anyway, so I don't worry about it much. Correct pressures seem to make the difference.
Tried them once but made the wheel feel unbalanced, and it is heavy.

markp2

Use Schwalbe tubes (they seem to have removable valve cores) and Stans liquid. I squirt about 50-60ml in with an old disposable syringe and a bit of plastic tube. Seems to work well.

123oldman

Swapped tyres to Nevegals and inserted Slime tubes at the same time.
Not had a puncture since using the Slime tubes, Ride in and through all manor of various trails, I've had to pull out thorns and other sharp prickly nasties and still the tyres remain inflated.

Maybe luck, but I've got nothing but good things to say about the Slime tubes from my experiences.

PXR5

Before I saw the light and went tubeless ...

***** Runs for cover *******

Tried several ways of reducing the number of punctures, Slime Inner tubes seemed to work well, though had a few problems with the valve becoming gunked up with the stuff making it nigh on impossible to top up the pressure.

What definately did not work are those tapes that are supposed to fit between the standard inner tube and the tyre, biggest waste of time ever IMHO, whatever i did they just seemed to move about, meaning they never stayed where you wanted them, they even caused one slow punchture by rubbing away at the inner tube where the bl00dy things had gone all skew wiff again...just don't do it....

uk_stretch

I had very mixed results with Slime. One minute it worked great on thorns- next it just leaked out on a tiny hole. I also found that after a while it gunked the valves which is a pain.

Now been using Rapid Racer Punctureguard XC and it's been ver effective. Doesn't gunk the valves, doesn't dry out. I use it in conti light tubes with light Schwalbe tires (Nic, Ralph & FF) and it feels fine.

However I've not come across a non-latex sealant that seals a glass puncture. So if you ride where there is glass you need something else (double defense tyres, zefal liners, panaracer liners etc)