Bill1227

Thanks

Gresp15C

They eliminated punctures for me, but eventually the friction between the tire liner and the tube wore a hole in the tube and caused a flat. Some folks have mentioned feathering the ends of the liners, to prevent this, but I never tried it. When those tires wore out, I switched to puncture-proof and ditched the liners.

Edit: Mine were some no-name cheap things. I was previously getting 3 or 4 flats a year, typically from bottle glass and little metal bits along the MUP. But since switching to puncture-proof, my flats have been limited to me doing stupid things myself, like pulling the stem off a tube, trying to get the pump head off.

Darth Lefty 

I used them a way long time ago in my desert-riding teenagehood, in defense against goatheads. I recall they contributed to the tube shifting around and tearing at the stem. But my tires might have been underinflated.

old's'cool

My experience is they created more punctures than they prevented, so I ditched them when that became clear.
For me, the formula is:
- tubes contain air (or other gas of your choice), until they get punctured.
- tires prevent tubes from being punctured by road hazards, or don't, depending on the outcome of the "arms race" between the particular tire and the particular road hazard.

DrIsotope

I put Rhinodillos in the wife's bike, she's put about 2,000 miles in the goathead and bottle glass capital of the world without a single flat. Same pair of tubes. Unlike Mr. Tuffy, the Rhinodillos have a little special soft bit at the end of the liner that prevents it from wearing the tube. Prior to installing them, she was averaging two flats a month-- and she only rides weekends.

Reynolds 

I used Mr. Tuffys years ago but they wore the tubes as said above, and weren't totally puncture proof, so I don't use them anymore. Maybe new ones are improved.

zacster

Never used them, never felt I needed them. Inflate your tires properly before each ride, replace tires before they wear thin, and watch for potholes.

Gatorskins help too, but I only use them on my commuter.

DrIsotope

That philosophy would not last you the spring over here. One of my regular routes is bordered on both sides by swaths of goatheads growing 20 feet wide. It's rare not to see someone fixing a flat on the river trail. Where there isn't a sea of goatheads, there's bottle glass. My tires are regularly cut to ribbons long before the tread actually wears out. So it's either tubeless, liners, or Gator Hardshells-- in that order of preference.

The potholes are easy to dodge-- they're where the chunks of 50+ year old asphalt broke free, so they're usually enormous and easy to spot. But the roads are so bad in many places that cobblestone would be a welcome change.

BobbyG

All three bikes have Mr. Tuffys. On the26x1.75 MTB based commuter I didn't have many flats. When I acquired an old 700x23 roadbike I had flats every coupla weeks. Mostly goathead thorns. Tire liners solved this. Later switched to 700x32s and kept the tire liners. Put them in the MTB commuter for good measure and no more flats except a 4-inch roof nail through the sidewall. On the "new" bike, also 700x32 I went 6 months without tire liners and had a flat every 2-three weeks. Finally put in liners. No flats except that sheet screw last month. I have had no tube problems from the tire liners.

RidingMatthew

I had a tire liner in my mountain bike after repeated flats I think I removed when I finally replaced the tires and had no real problems with them. I have a friend who put them in his commuting bike tires but he also likes riding around on basically bald tires instead of getting new ones.

I don't have them on any bike now. I think they would add to the rotational weight

corwin1968

Back in the 90's when I bought my first bike, it seemed like every time I wanted to go for a ride, I had a flat tire (an exaggeration of course...but's that's my memory of it). So, I bought some heavy tire liners and if I ever had another flat, it was extremely rare. This was before the internet and with my current level of knowledge on tires and suppleness, etc..., I wouldn't dream of using tire liners. I guess Ignorance is Bliss.

But its me 

I used to run them 20 years ago, with no issues. Seemed to help with my trail rides, but I lived in the East and did not have to deal with the fun stuff out west. My road bikes I never used them. Since taking up urban commuting and getting multiple flats from road debris, I decided to skip all the liner nonsense and went straight to Marathon Plus tires with no flats in six months.

fietsbob

They can cause Flats , themselves .

Double posted all over the place Here?

rmfnla

I won't use them.

I installed lots of them back when I wrenched but I just can't see adding weight in the absolute worst place to do so.

Better to buy good tires and don't ride over bad stuff...

volvostephen

Bought them for my winter tires as the studs from the winter tires caused rubbing on the tire which rubbed on the tube wearing holes. Once installed - the studs didn't cause flats, but the My Tuffy did. Will never use them again.

tyrion

I prefer puncture resistant tires (various Schwalbe Marathons). It just seems a simpler way to minimize flats. With thousands of miles on those tires (green guard Marathons, Supremes, and Mondials) I've never had a puncture on the tire side (I've gotten holes on the rim side, not sure why).

skibender

Worked well for me on my MTB. Would normally run over something on the trail which would cause my tire to flat. Installed liners and no issues since.

wphamilton

I can't see the attraction. I'd rather have a tire with a built in layer, and I used to be a fan of kevlar belted tires but nowadays even that is too much. I'd much rather have a nice rolling tire with supple sidewalls. Life is too short to ride on sluggish tires. Liners would make a bad situation worse IMO.

AngeloDolce

I used Mr. Tuffy liners when I was commuting and getting regular flats from debris on the road (seemed to happen regardless of lane position). I feathered the ends. Even so, after 4-5 years the liners would become brittle and cause flats. Overall, a flat every few years (10-20,000 miles) was better than every 1,000-2,000 miles. I never saw weight as an issue on 35lb commuting bicycles from the 60's and 70's (English 3 speeds, single speed Schwinn Racer).

Since then I bought some Marathon tires (not perfect, but much better than earlier tires).

I still have the tire liners on some bikes, but availability of tires (internet) and road surfaces seem to have improved over the last 20 years so I don't use them as much.

PaulH

The combination of Mr.Tuffys (with feathered edges) and Schwalbe Marathon plus works quite well. I put the same annual mileage on my bike and car and have the same flat tire rate.

rmfnla

I guess it all depends on your riding conditions.

I'm on my second set of folding Specialized Turbo Pro slicks (I wore the first ones out) and I haven't had a flat in ages...

DrIsotope

It really does come down to conditions-- and those should be expressed in miles, never in days, weeks, or months. The popular tactic of many of the BF faithful is to claim, "Oh, i have/haven't had this happen in XXX <time frame here>," which is effectively meaningless. I ride a decent amount-- averaging 900 miles a month. My wife gets in between 240-300 a month, depending on weather and work schedule. So her getting ~2 flats per month without liners is inconvenient and annoying. That flatting rate for me would spell an end to cycling for me.

Since installing the Rhinodillos in her tires (Clement Strada LGGs) she hasn't had a flat in over 1800 miles. And I personally think this is a significantly better choice than HD "urban" tires. She's running 120tpi Stradas which are ~240g each, Rhinodillos are ~60g each, so the combo is ~300g-- compare this to say a Marathon Plus, at 595g for a 700x25. So while liners may remain an imperfect solution, a pair of good high thread-count tires + liners weighs about as much as just one touring tire.

rekmeyata

Panaracer makes a great tire liner called the FlatAway liner, it's made of kevlar cloth, it's about 5th the weight of a Mr Tuffy and it's tougher than a Mr Tuffy but it's a one tire use liner and it cost more. Depending on the circumstances it may be better to simply buy a more flat resistant tire, tires like the Specialized Armadillo will prevent most flats and even protect against Goatheads (i know because I used them in the Mojave Desert of California). A heavy plastic style liner is just plain nuts, you could easily between the combined weight of a tire plus the plastic liner exceed the weight of a tire like the Armadillo.

kickstart

I found that tire liners work great in preventing flats.......until they cause a flat.

As others have mentioned, the short way around the barn is to just use tires with flat protection. My preference is Schwalbe Marathon, and Marathon plus tires.

DrIsotope

Reading is fundamental. Combine a lighter 700x25 tire 200-250g, with a 700x25 Rhinodillo at 60g, and you're 260-310g. Even the Armadillo, which is lighter than most flat resistant tires, is 395g. An S-Works Turbo paired with a liner is 270g... same as a Gator Hardshell. Which rolls like a Lego brick.

I don't see how a heavier, slower rolling puncture resistant tire is somehow superior to a fast tire with a liner. And this comes from a guy that put 4,500 miles on Gator Hardshells. Doing it again, I would opt for fast light tires with liners (tubeless for now.)