Puncture prevention liquids
 

Having just finished fixing yet another puncture in my trail bike (after 1 x 10mile ride from renewing all the tyres / tubes etc) I was wondering if anyone has any experience / thoughts / comments about puncture sealant liquids. Do they work is my primary question. I know they get a bit of a mixed response at motorcycle level but wheel balance etc isn't going to be an issue at my pedestrian bicycle peddling rate.

I fitted a pair of Slime filled tubes to my bicycle during a trip down the Oxford canal where they had just cut back the hedges causing endless punctures, when I removed those tubes a few years later I found 9 holes in one and 15 in the other all of which had been sealed by the Slime. The pressure needed topping up occasionally during the ride and I have no idea how well this works in motorcycle tyres but in bicycles I always use it.

I use Slime (tm) and similar products in tubeless mountain bike tires. They work astonishingly well, but one reason I know this is because after a year or so they stop working so well, as evidenced by punctures plus air which actually oozes through the tread around the knobs--visible after spraying with soapy water. Pry off a section of bead, pour in a couple of ounces of Slime, reinflate, then bounce the tire around a bit on the floor; the leaks stop, and the tire is ready to go another year.

The need for refreshing sealant might not apply if you ride enough to wear tires out quickly, but there's still the issue of punctures. There are a bunch of different formulations for these sealants--some have visible fibers, others rely on some sort of magical latex compound.

I've never used sealant in tubed tires. I can see how they'd easily plug up a pinhole leak, like from a thorn or (maybe) a small nail. I don't imagine they'd work well on anything larger in a tube, whereas they'll handle a hole as large as a quarter inch/6-7mm in a tubeless tire. One distinct disadvantage: they make a genuine mess, and cleaning dried remnants is a real issue--like when you bust a spoke and have to replace rim tape, again in tubeless tires only.

I'm curious to hear about any experiences with motorcycle tires and/or tubes.

Mark

It's my modest trail bicycle that giving me all the trouble ('modest' meaning it's using tubed tyres). It seems like every time I come to use it the tyres are flat and while it's not a big deal to fix a puncture it does get a bit wearying.

It tends to get used on bridleways / tracks etc (I'm not a great fan of road riding on a bicycle) and most of the punctures are thorn style pinholes. It was while getting covered in cr*p from the chain while fixing yet another pinhole puncture yesterday that I started wondering whether there was a better way. If Slime seems to do the job I'll think I'll order some. It's got to be worth a try. Are there any downsides to it (other than cost). Does leaving the thorns in there cause bigger issues down the road? Is Slime the go-to product or is something else the one to buy?

Stepping up one level to 'motorised bicycles', punctures are less common but more time consuming to deal with. On my 125 (and just about on my 250 Yamaha as well) - both of which run tubed tyres - it's a side of the road annoyance (probably an hour to fix a simple pinhole puncture) but it's something I'd prefer not to have to do if I can avoid it. Whether it's worth trying something like motorcycle grade Slime in them is something I've been pondering, particularly as I'm planning a 4-5000 mile trip on the 250 this summer. Using it does seem to attract Marmite grade feedback from people though - they either swear by it or swear at it. My only experience has been using the 'after you get a puncture' quick fix aerosol type stuff and the few times I've used them have never ended well. One full can even exploded in a pannier.

There are apparently real differences between brands. I say apparently because I tend to run out, then grab whatever the local shop has on hand. With three pushbikes, each with a pair of tires of different ages and brands, I lose track of what I used where.

There are some fascinating text videos on Youtube if you want to start comparing. I liked one in which bike mechanics rudely puncture various tires with ice picks and screwdrivers, then measure how long it takes the sealant to stop all leakage. It's pretty impressive if you've been shut down by a little thorn or drywall screw.

Again, I've used sealants only in tubeless applications, but I'd say the main drawbacks involve weight--that's unsprung, rotating weight, which definitely matters when my weary legs are the source of power--and mess inside the tire when it needs attention. Plus expense, of course, but I rationalize that away glibly.

I have used " stans " slime in my mountain bike for the last 6 months and done 1,700 miles without a puncture !

And use " ultra seal " in my motorbikes without any problem . it is still posable
to repair a tube still . but i do put a bit of extra water in the tyre when i travel to a hot country ( as the fluid tends to evaporate ! ) :scooter::scooter::scooter::scooter:

I always use Schwalbe tyres, usually Marathons with a high level of puncture protection and a good life expectancy, a pair on my alround on/off road touring bike did 8,000 miles of mixed riding usually loaded.

I suspect that's the truth of it, that you use whatever is easiest to find - either in the local bike shop or whoever has the biggest advertising budget online. It's too cold at the moment to do anything with the bike (plus, my latest repair seems to have held up) but I'll have to pick this up again when the weather improves. It must be just the roads / tracks we ride that are causing this. My son was at university in Amsterdam and if the cyclists there were getting the same frequency of punctures we've been getting recently the canals would be full to the top with dumped bikes.

I second Schwalbe Marathons bicycle tyres.
I also had good results with Dutch Perfect No-flats, but I haven't seen them for 20 years.
I'm guessing they are both some sort of Kevlar reinforced carcase.

And as regards aerosol foam repair products, there was one, once, called Finilec.
When a can of Finilec exploded in my buddy's top case on a hot day, it was forever after called Fini-fu##ing-lec.

Hi all,

I own and run my own bicycle shop for a living and although there is no utopian solution (no pun intended) to the use of sealant; below in no particular order are my thoughts for bicycles:-

1) Tyres and wheels have to be designed for tubeless applications.
2) We have seen a lot of home set-ups using gaffer tape / duct tape as the tubeless tape as it "is a lot cheaper" than tubeless specific rim tape. In our seperience and that of our customers using this brings some real downfalls: although it seems to work fine initially, a lot of sealants react chemically with the adhesive on duct tape, leading to a sudden and catastrophic failures of the tapes ability to hold sealant/air = a bad day!
3) always seal new tubeless tyres/wheels with a higher air pressure for a short while, then reduce to actual riding pressure to use. This allows the bead to "pop" onto the rims fully.
4) a lot of sealants have different amounts of ammonia / particles to aid sealing of holes as they occur. For instance tubular tyre specific sealant does not contain ammonia at all and can be used safely. Although using "regular" sealant in a tubular tyre is not advised as it reacts with the latex inner tubes used in most tubeless tyres. However, this will not be relevant for overloading bicycles.
5) our tubeless sealant of choice is always Orange Seal. Simply put it lasts a reasonable amount of time (approx 24 months) and has sealed the largest of holes that we have encountered in MTB / road wheels of any sealant.

As I say, just my 4-penneth. There are no rigid rules for tubeless bicycle set-ups; just whatever works for you snd your usage / budget.

Chris.