10.09.2007

Slime Tubes II

Well, so much for the magic of the Slime tubes. I hadn't even put 10 miles on the new Slime Tube when I was suddenly fishtailing during a sprint and realized I had a rear flat. I leaned my bike against a fence, inspected the tire, and saw neon green goo splashing out of the bead onto the tire. I found the source of the problem too; it was a small industrial staple. Okay, I thought. I'll simply remove the staple, the goo will patch the tube, I'll pump it up, and go. So I removed it and started to pump. It leaked. Rotated the tire and tried again. Nothing. Tried it again, and the valve-stem popped off and lodged itself inside my pump head. I've probably inflated tires at least 120 times with this pump, and never had this problem. So, the lesson learned is the people at the shop were right, Slime tubes suck, the end. My next purchase is definitely going to be kevlar tires.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

In all fairness to Slime tubes, they aren't advertised as being foolproof. Staples, and glass, tend to cut the tube, rather than cleanly puncturing it. The sealant in the tube can't fill a slit like it fills a round hole, so that sort of flat will defeat the tube.

I have, in the past two weeks, had three different occasions where I have picked up a large goathead thorn, unknowingly, and parked my bike with the hole on the upper half of the tire. When I have returned to the bike, the tire has been flat, each time. However, I have been able to simply reinflate the tire and ride away. The last time was 4 days ago, and the tire is still inflated.

As always, your mileage may vary.

Jon G
Denver, CO