stokell

I just bought a Giant Cypress comfort bike for my year around commute. This is my second Giant; the first is now fastened to a fence near the subway in case I can't make the full 23km one-way commute.

This bike has tires that has signage that reads:
Self Healing SLIME Protection System

It suggests that somehow the tires are protected from flats. Is this true? Can I get some for my touring bike?

Everest

Wait let me get this strait you have left a bike locked up outside, for an indefinate period of time outside a subway? That seems to be inviting theft. Even if you dont have trouble with theives you police department might not see eye to eye with you on the backup, veiw it as abandoned and cart it away. Plus your leaving your trusty steed outside unprotected from the elements. Sorry, I dont mean to critisize your choice, but I dont like to see a bike left out venurable to so many things.

the homealien

Slime is the trade name for a glue that they put on the inside of the tubes. Theory is that it will start to ooze out through any puncture and quickly reseal the wound. My friend swears by it for mountain biking through the cactus needles in Arizona. He says if you get a flat you just pull the sharp thing out, spin the wheel to fling the slime to the outside of the tube, and pump it back up. That said, it makes the inside of the tire pretty nasty through repeated punctures, and I've seen them blow out and cover my friend in, well, slime. Some people love 'em, some people hate 'em.

Shifty

Yep, I'm a lover not a flat changer. I use these tubes in all my bikes, even my roadie 700c - 23 tires. They work, sometimes I see a bit of the bright green stuff on the tire tread, indicating a puncture, but no significant air loss. You have to keep the valve clean though, if the green slime leaks out the valve while adding air, you need to wipe it off well, or it will glue the valve.

bbwolfy

I have a giant cypress with slime tubes like I mentioned in another thread all they ever did was ruin a good pressure guage. they did not hold pressure very well either and when pumping them up,on several occasions I got a faceful of slime. I ride rail trails and pavement mostly and just keep a spare tube and pump on hand .Like the homealien says some like them some hate em, I don,t care for them.

stokell

I've never had one of these 'beater' bikes stolen. That said, they don't look like much and have two high quality locks on them. In Toronto there are a number of bike commuters who do this. In the City, the police have other things to do than try to pry bikes from fences.

EmmCeeBee

I've been around long enough to try just about everything.... and green Slime is one of them. Like Mr. Tuffy tire liners, these things hold a lot of promise for commuters until you actually get around to using them.

The problem is that Slime (and tire liners) work fine about 90% of the time. But the other 10%, they actually contribute to failure. As Shifty says, try to keep it out of the valve or you won't be able to pump up anymore. The real problem is that Slime can't seal all punctures (larger ones, or snake bites, for example). Then the tube can't be patched 'cuz patches don't stick to Slime. And you get a tire full of puke.

If the bike came with Slime installed, no reason to swap out the tubes until they're beyond saving. But I wouldn't put in Slime in a "dry" tube -- and never on tour. I admit that when commuting, the idea of stopping to patch a flat kinda ruins the day; but on tour, it's just part of life (luckily only one every two weeks, on average).

If you have Slimed tires, carry a pump and extra tube, if you get a nail or snake bite flat you'll need 'em.

-- Mark

stokell

Snakebite? Where do you commute to? (or is 'snakebite' an idiom for something else?)

Thrifty1

Bad experience with "slime" has caused me to join the "hate em" group. The slime get into the floor pump and requires comple disassembly of the pump and head to clean the green fibers out. It completely ruined my Carbon frame pump due to due green goo plugging the inaccessable valve. It makes a horrible mess inside the tire, spoke nipples, and rim tape. Spare tube, patch kit, good tire levers, and pump are the realistic approach to flats........

EmmCeeBee

Haven't seen more than a garter snake around here (do they even have teeth??). Nope, not that kind of snake bite.

"Snake bite" refers to the flat you get when you bottom out your rim, and the tube gets pinched so hard it leaves two holes (hence looks like a snake bite). Some people call 'em "pinch flats". It can happen if you hit a curb or ledge (such as at the bottom of a driveway). That kind is easy to avoid. More often they happen when you hit a rock or something in the road. Luckily I only get one every 10 years or so.

Still sounds like a snake, though: sssssssssssss .

-- Mark

Ihaul

What's the negatives with tire liners?

EmmCeeBee

Tire liners creep. They're not fixed inside the tire, and with each revolution they creep forward a fraction of a mm. Over a couple hundred miles the darn things have probably rotated once or twice around inside the tire. Eventually they end up pinching the tube, inevitably at the leading edge of the liner.

I first realized this when I noticed a flat was caused by the liner cutting the tube. After cursing the design of the things, I rounded the corners of the liner and feathered the edges, then made sure I installed it back in with "forward" overlap. Still didn't help. Some time later, I got another flat caused by the liners. This was a long time ago, but I remember that the liner would always bunch up when it tried to creep past an existing patch, and re-cut the tube in the same place.

If they could be made in one continuous piece, I think this problem wouldn't exist. But then, you'd have another problem of trying to install 'em. I do remember riding nonchalantly over glass and crud and not worrying about punctures. However, it doesn't take much brains to figure out that if you avoid that stuff, you avoid flats. In the end, that method eliminates all but 3 or 4 flats a year -- which is what you get, either way.

-- Mark

TRUMPHENT

I've tried to avoid glass only to steer into more of it. Slime, love it and hate it. I have it my front tire and it seems to retain air near perfectly. The rear tire has no Slime and needs the pump far more often, at least once a week. I air up on Monday morning before the weekly commute.