Bicycle Mechanics - Flat Tire Prevention

Any faith in strips between the tube and tire or slime products in preventing flats?

Not if it is a road bike with high pressure tires.
Best flat protection is to fully inflate your tires before each ride.
Use Velox rim tape to protect the tube from the spoke holes.
Avoid whatever is causing the flats.
Keep out of grass and weeds at all times (road bikes).

Al

My preferred setup is Velox rim tape, Kevlar-belted tires, and Mister Tuffy liners. Actually, the Mister Tuffys alone have protected me from all manner of nuts and bolts, potholes, broken glass, etc. Oh, and ditto on the chap who said "fully inflate your tires before each ride"; my last couple flats were snake-bites from riding underinflated.

Any faith in strips between the tube and tire or slime products in preventing flats?


Strips- NO.

Slime- NO.


There is no flat prevention. Kevlar or Vectran belted tires surely reduce flats , but nothing prevents ..... other than a solid core tire that is!

Other than that . . .flats just happen. They are but one way the Universe reminds us we are not in control of this thing we call life. Believe it . . or not :lol:

mr tuffy definitely helps

mr tuffy definitely helps

Ditto- I cut my front tire on some glass once. I rode for 10 miles wondering what the thumping was coming from my front wheel. (It was a really nice road and I didn't want to stop.) When I stopped and looked, there was a 1/2 slice all the way through the tire and I had been riding on the Mr. Tuffy. The tire was toast, but I was able to ride it home without issues.

I get an occasional flat due to the Mr. Tuffy sawing through the tube. That happens once every 2 years or so- a small price to pay for all of the flat-less miles.

Lots of disinformation in 4 posts already.

While true nothing prevents flats (thread is more appropriately called flat mitigation), there are tyres that have significantly better flat protection than standard tires. And since people don't have comprehension skills on this forum anymore i'll spell it out.

Tyres like the Schwalbe Martahon Plus and the Specialized Armadillo have material in the tread that make them much more resilient to punctures over a standard $20 26x2.0 cheapy tyres, rubinos, pro race 2's - to name a few.

Tuffies are generally a waste of time, as with slime - although slime may be useful in areas where there are a lot of thorns.

And since people don't have comprehension skills on this forum anymore i'll spell it out.

The lack of respect and common courtesy is a much larger problem than the lack of comprehension.

Rolling on tires with a Kevlar layer.

I get an occasional flat due to the Mr. Tuffy sawing through the tube. That happens once every 2 years or so- a small price to pay for all of the flat-less miles.



Tuffies are generally a waste of time, as with slime - although slime may be useful in areas where there are a lot of thorns.

I always used liners until recently when a liner managed to puncture my tubes twice in one week. Not sure why: perhaps my poor installation. I've sworn off them since.

Have to agree that the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires are the answer, if you can put up with their weight and difficult installation.

Have to agree that the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires are the answer, if you can put up with their weight and difficult installation.

The weight really is the key issue in my opinion. Liners and reinforced tires add a lot of weight in the worst possible part of the bike and can make the bike feel sluggish. Whether or not to use these is up to the individual's priorities, more flat protection or more performance.

The best protection is to watch where you are riding. No matter what you do to the tires, if you ride thru glass, over nails, or hit chuck holes you will have flats.

The lack of respect and common courtesy is a much larger problem than the lack of comprehension.

I agree. I was going to say more but then I'd be displaying a lack of courtesy too.

The lack of respect and common courtesy is a much larger problem than the lack of comprehension.

I wasn't talking about you.

I prefer correct information rather than having it presented in a nice candy wrapper of bull****. Which seems to be too common here. Save your axe grinding for someone else.

Mr. Tuffy liners worked great for me on a commuter many years ago. People say there can be issues with them cutting tubes. Never happened to me though.
Marathon Plus tires also work from what people say, mainly because the rubber is very, very thick and it has a dense compound (much like Mr. Tuffy) embedded in the tread, which makes them very heavy and have high rolling resistance. They're over priced for what they are, IMO.
Kevlar is alright for large stuff, but for thin objects like staples, thorns, etc. it's pretty useless since they pass between the threads. I'm guessing they roll a bit better, and tend to be far lighter though.

If I was on a budget, and had tires I liked, I'd go with Mr. Tuffys. The plus being they can be used in your next set of tires. Not sure about the high PSI thing someone mentioned, I was running 60psi tires.

Mr. Tuffy liners work well, there can be issues with them cutting tubes sometimes though.
Marathon Plus tires also work from what people say, mainly because the rubber is very, very thick and it has a dense compound (much like Mr. Tuffy) embedded in the tread, which makes them very heavy and have high rolling resistance.

If I was on a budget, and had tires I liked, I'd go with Mr. Tuffys. The plus being they can be used in your next set of tires. Not sure about the high PSI thing someone mentioned, I was running 60psi tires.

The compound insert in the martahon plus is nowhere near the density of the Tuffy. The tuffy is equivilanet to a thick sheet of paper. The marathon plus insert is almost 7-10mm thick.

The reason why Tuffies cut tubes is due to two reasons

1) Incorrectly cut end piece that leaves sharp corners
2) Underinflated tyres that allow the strip itself to move WRT the tyre - eventually causing a flat from abrasion

The compound insert in the martahon plus is nowhere near the density of the Tuffy. The tuffy is equivilanet to a thick sheet of paper. The marathon plus insert is almost 7-10mm thick.

The reason why Tuffies cut tubes is due to two reasons

1) Incorrectly cut end piece that leaves sharp corners
2) Underinflated tyres that allow the strip itself to move WRT the tyre - eventually causing a flat from abrasion

Fair enough about the compound deal. I've never owned a Marathon Plus, so I just know the description on their website.

Makes sense, I do recall cutting the ends of the Mr. Tuffys to a nice round profile as the instructions said.
So it's all user error causing the flats from them then, explains why I never had that problem.

Fair enough about the compound deal. I've never owned a Marathon Plus, so I just know the description on their website.

Makes sense, I do recall cutting the ends of the Mr. Tuffys to a nice round profile as the instructions said.
So it's all user error causing the flats from them then, explains why I never had that problem.

I think they'd work just fine if you know what you were doing. The efficacy is... debatable imho

I wasn't talking about you.

I prefer correct information rather than having it presented in a nice candy wrapper of bull****. Which seems to be too common here. Save your axe grinding for someone else.

Correct information does not excuse being deliberately offensive.

Correct information does not excuse being deliberately offensive.

You must be new here.

mr tuffy works fine.

try em out for like 14 bucks.

dont let a cycling information nazi command you.

just try it out...

Panaracer Pasela Tourgaurds can be found for around $50 a pair and ride very well. They are a lower cost alternative to more expensive flat resistant tires like the Armadillo. Their tan, pseudo gum-wall look is not for everybody, but they look very appropriate on vintage road bikes. My flat problems ended when I started using them and similar kevlar-belted tires.

Kevlar belted tires is mostly bunch of hooey! Most flats are caused by thistles and thorns, or bits of steel wire from shredding steel belted car tires, or pointy bits of glass. Well guess what? That kind of stuff penetrates kevlar with no problem, just as a kevlar bullet proof vest won't stop or even slow down an arrow! The pointy stuff just separates the fibers and in it goes.

Slime in tubes won't seal even the smallest of leaks once the psi in the tire exceeds about 65psi, but the stuff works great in mtb tires; and their presta valves are very cheap.

So what does work you scream? Mr Tuffys work pretty good. But your first line of defense against flats needs to be your tires and best I've ever found at that is the Specialize Armadillo All Condition Pro. Their not flat proof but they are the best your going to find in that direction.

And not riding in grass and weeds is just a bunch of crap, I do that whenever necessary on a road bike and I don't encounter any more flats by doing that, in fact I've had none in over 40 years of riding! All my flats come from debris picked up off the road.

And to try to avoid whatever is causing flats is an impossible task. Sure you can avoid the big stuff, but how are you going to see a throne, or small piece of steel wire? You think you can just stare at the space 5 feet in front of your tire while riding and see this stuff? Your wrong, not only that but by just staring in front of your tire your not seeing the road ahead for the car that's about to pull out in front of you; plus if you do see something and you swerve to avoid it that action may put you into a path of a car, but your rear tire will hit it the object anyways!!

I just ride my bike and not worry too much about flats because their going to happen. Some tires are more susceptable then others due to being ultra thin like light racing tires vs the heavy armored tires like the Armardillo, or you can compromise and go with a mid wieght tire like the Conti 4000 with the new Vectron belt. If you live in an area littered with thorns and thistles then go with the Armadillo (like where I use to live in the upper desert area of California), if not then the Conti is a good tire. I would go with the tire that best suits the conditions you ride in without the Mr Tuffy and if your still having too many flats then add the Mr Tuffy especially on the rear tire since that's where most flats occur.

the best prevention of flats is to ride where cars drive. let them pick up the road debris for you. absolutely stay out of the gutter.

and pump up your tires every week.

the best prevention of flats is to ride where cars drive. let them pick up the road debris for you. absolutely stay out of the gutter.

and pump up your tires every week.

This won't matter a bit! In fact could make things worse. If a car rolls over a piece of glass, does that glass remain imbedded in the tire(s)? NO, the tire simply grinds the glass into smaller bits where they remain on the road for you to pick up in your bike tire. Staying away from the gutter is a good idea because a lot of crap gets pushed to the gutter especially after a rain.

This won't matter a bit! In fact could make things worse. If a car rolls over a piece of glass, does that glass remain imbedded in the tire(s)? NO, the tire simply grinds the glass into smaller bits where they remain on the road for you to pick up in your bike tire. Staying away from the gutter is a good idea because a lot of crap gets pushed to the gutter especially after a rain.

the tire tracks are the cleanest spot on paved road because all the debris get kicked out by the tire.
Your example is short term, if enough wheels go over that spot, all the glass will be kicked out from there.
unfortunately they're also the most likely spots for potholes.


There's plenty of proof of this on highways. The tire tracks are smoothest, until you hit a pothole and all the road debris are on the shoulder or between lanes.

Any faith in strips between the tube and tire or slime products in preventing flats?

I'd start with determining if your frequency of flats is greater than normal then work back to a solution before starting with a product and working forward to your needs.

My $.02 is that strips met a market need before the prevalence of tires with various puncture resistant layers under the tread and heavy sidewalls. Slime is just another way to waste tubes.

Some of the motivation for using these products is fear of changing tubes in awkward territory than actual frequency of flats.

the tire tracks are the cleanest spot on paved road because all the debris get kicked out by the tire.
Your example is short term, if enough wheels go over that spot, all the glass will be kicked out from there.
unfortunately they're also the most likely spots for potholes.


There's plenty of proof of this on highways. The tire tracks are smoothest, until you hit a pothole and all the road debris are on the shoulder or between lanes.

Technically your correct, but it's impractical for cyclists to be riding down the "tire track" area on a road most of the time. We most of the time ride on or near the shoulder which is where the debris the tires from cars picked up and flung them to.

Continental Gatorskins. They feel like you stole the tires off a logging truck, but they got me through my ride today. Out a highway today. It must have been cold last night because the tarantulas were on the road sunning them selves by the dozens. Four piles of coyote poop. Weeds growing up through all the cracks, and enough sand and gravel to supply one river bottom. I swear that route would make a great cyclocross race. I made it back with no flats.

There are different causes of flats and there's no magic silver-bullet solution that'll prevent ALL types of flats. You have to determine the type of flats you're getting and pick the strategy that minimizes them.

For most beginners, pinched-flats from under-inflation and hitting objects are the most common. Once they learn to pump up their tyres before every ride and to keep their eyes on the road (instead of looking up at the trees or the horizon), the rates of flats goes down tremendously.

Kevlar casings and liners work on larger abrasion-type debris like metal scraps and large pieces of glass. These typically cause cuts in weaker casings. But they don't work well against puncture from thin sharp objects like thorns and smaller sharper pieces of glass.

To avoid those, you need penetration resistance. That means you want to build as thick of layer between the road and the inner air-pocket of the tube as possible. So you'll want thick tread on the tyre, a thick liner material of some sort, and thick Tuffy liner along with a thorn-resistant tube (has 3-4mm thicker rubber on the tread side of tube). All combined, you end up with about 6-8mm of material that must be penetrated before your tube is compromised.

And lastly, one of the most important flat-resistant techniques is to brush your tyres off with your gloved hand immediately after you run over something like thorns or glass. There's tell-tale >tick< sound of running over glass or >thunk< of thorns that you recognize. These things don't immediately puncture your tyre, but takes many revolutions of being pounded over and over by your weight as they go under again and again before making it all the way through. If you rub your tyres quickly after running one over, you can prevent pretty much all flats from this kind of debris.

There are different causes of flats and there's no magic silver-bullet solution that'll prevent ALL types of flats. You have to determine the type of flats you're getting and pick the strategy that minimizes them.

For most beginners, pinched-flats from under-inflation and hitting objects are the most common. Once they learn to pump up their tyres before every ride and to keep their eyes on the road (instead of looking up at the trees or the horizon), the rates of flats goes down tremendously.

To avoid those, you need penetration resistance. That means you want to build as thick of layer between the road and the inner air-pocket of the tube as possible. So you'll want thick tread on the tyre, a thick liner material of some sort, and thick Tuffy liner along with a thorn-resistant tube.

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There obviously no silver bullet in flat protection, but you don't need to sort through the various types of tires to find the one that will work with your particular area of problems. Sure an area where thorns and thistles abound or cities with trashy streets will require a tough tire, that's why I use to use the Armadillos, but those tires defended against all the various reasons for flats, so it was indeed a bronze bullet...not silver because it stopped 99% of my flats. Now that I live in an area where those don't exist I went with a lighter more suptle tire the Conti 4000 with the Vectron belt-so far so good.

The advice about watching the road and not the horizon means what? stare at the road 5 feet in front of you? This may not be a good idea, because like I said before if your just staring in front of your wheel to spot debris your going to miss the car turning in front of you, and the longer you stare in one area the more your vision begans to tunnel thus taking in less area of view. Do you need to watch the road for pot holes and debris? Yes, but not trying to spot every little thing because your not going to see them all anyway. But when you look further down the road and keep your eyes moving you will see the a lot of stuff on the road. They use to teach in public schools driver education classes something called the Smith principles, and basically you need to keep your eyes moving all the time an look down range to spot potential problems, and look past the car directly in front of you. Maybe this Smith thing I practiced all these years is why I've only had 5 accidents in 40 years of riding and no auto accidents?

And this thick layer business is not entirely correct area unless you very paranoid about flats. All I used after many flats and destroyed many different tires including Gatorskins with Mr Tuffys, was the Armadillo and an ultralight racing tube...no Mr Tuffy, no Slime, no thick throne tubes, and they worked great.

The advice about watching the road and not the horizon means what? stare at the road 5 feet in front of you? This may not be a good idea, because like I said before if your just staring in front of your wheel to spot debris your going to miss the car turning in front of you, and the longer you stare in one area the more your vision begans to tunnel thus taking in less area of view. Do you need to watch the road for pot holes and debris? Yes, but not trying to spot every little thing because your not going to see them all anyway. But when you look further down the road and keep your eyes moving you will see the a lot of stuff on the road. They use to teach in public schools driver education classes something called the Smith principles, and basically you need to keep your eyes moving all the time an look down range to spot potential problems, and look past the car directly in front of you. Maybe this Smith thing I practiced all these years is why I've only had 5 accidents in 40 years of riding and no auto accidents? yes, you need to cover as much area as possible. The problem with a lot of beginners is they don't scan and they don't cover enough area. The area 50-75ft ahead is the most important and should have most of your concentration. There's absolutely zero reason you should be running over potholes that are large and sharp enough to cause flats, or rocks the size of golf-balls or larger. You can spot debris from that distance easily and have enough time to stop if cars pull out. It should actually be time-based, 1.5-2 seconds ahead. At 20mph, you'll hit a car pulling out of a driveway 40ft ahead in 1.5 seconds, not really enough time or distance to stop in time unless you've got fast reflexes. Looking 2-second ahead will give you 60ft, or just about enough.

Again, I'm not saying to stare at the ground 5-ft ahead, just don't focus 100% of your attention at the horizon. Spend most of your time looking at 50-100ft ahead and you'll get a lot less flats from rocks and potholes. Your ears will tell you about the small stuff that you can't see. A slight flick of the eyeball's all that's needed to see the horizon and enjoy the views.

I have used thick inner tubes and Mr. Tuffy tire liners for years (with lots of everyday riding) and only got ONE flat tire. This was because I was riding my bicycle in a wrecking yard with a 100 pound differential in the front basket and I ran over a nail. There was so much weight on the front wheel that it did force it into the tire liner and put a hole in the tube. I have found the combination of tire liners and thick tubes have prevented glass, thorns, and other sharp objects from causing flats at all times except for the previously mentioned. I run 26" X 2.125" tires on a Schwinn cruiser with cargo baskets.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that if you overlap the tire liners the wrong way it will cut through the tube. I can't remember which way you do it, but it has something to do with the way the wheel rolls. If you overlap it the wrong way the pressure will force the end of the liner against the tube.

I always bevel the ends of Tuffy liners with an Xacto knife so that the ends don't have a 90-degree edge. Same with the corners. Then lay them down with the flat side towards the tyre and the beveled edge towards the tube.

yes, you need to cover as much area as possible. The problem with a lot of beginners is they don't scan and they don't cover enough area. The area 50-75ft ahead is the most important and should have most of your concentration. There's absolutely zero reason you should be running over potholes that are large and sharp enough to cause flats, or rocks the size of golf-balls or larger. You can spot debris from that distance easily and have enough time to stop if cars pull out. It should actually be time-based, 1.5-2 seconds ahead. At 20mph, you'll hit a car pulling out of a driveway 40ft ahead in 1.5 seconds, not really enough time or distance to stop in time unless you've got fast reflexes. Looking 2-second ahead will give you 60ft, or just about enough.

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Your premises is correct but still in error. You need to be looking at least 1/10th of mile ahead of you and you can still spot those potholes that are large and sharp enough to cause flats, or rocks the size of golf-balls or larger.

The reason I like the longer lead time and why your premise is in error is because cars will approach you at a much higher relative speed. If a car is heading towards you at 35mph and decides to make a quick left in front of you then the car approaches you at 65mph (35+30-your speed), which is more than twice as fast! Since they're approaching you faster, both you and the driver have lots less time to react.

I like I said before, the way I take in the area of view is probably why my accidents are very low.