Originally Posted by
bassogap
Does anyone have a definitive opinion on the tire liners? They seem to be a bit on the "Fred" side; I've never tried them....although I've installed them on hundreds of bikes whilst working in bike shops...They don't seem to weigh much. I was intrigued by the poster who felt they can rub small holes in the tubes...
I have seen a set of tire liners wear a hole in a tube. Don't remember the brand, there are three or four types that look like tuffies.
Some have a squared off cut on each end, this can wear a hole in a tube. Some have beveled rounded ends to help with this problem.
I have used Spinskins, they are lighter and are Kevlar. They really wear the inside of the tire. Also a big pointed rock pierced the side of an MTB tire even though I had Spinskins protecting the tread. Nothing is perfect. Old school is cut the bead off another smaller tire and put it in the other tire like a liner. Accordin to a team rider from the "Postal" days, they could only use a certain brand of tire, so that is what they did. He says the protection is incredible , but you lose about 1 mph. That's about what I found. I use tires with a built in Kevlar belt if possible. If not, I use tuffies. I'm in New England, I know nothing about goatheads.