Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Quotation marks aren't always used as "scare quotes". They can be used to show common usages as well. In this context, the sealant is made of a heterogeneous mixture of latex particles and a solvent system. The solvent system is a glycol and, perhaps, water. I used the "liquid" in quotes not to frighten you but to say that it isn't water and to differentiate the liquid from the solid latex in suspension.
I was using the vernacular "coral" for the agglomerated latex and put quotes around it to differentiate it from coral that is derived from the skeletons of marine organisms. The agglomerated latex isn't actually that kind of coral.
You are assuming that because the sealant is still liquid that it is still serving the same function as it has in the past. A year is far longer than most people report for the longevity of tubeless tire sealant. Without inspecting it, it could still have a...and here come those scary quotes..."liquid" nature but it may no longer be a latex suspension. Just because it is sloshing around in the tire doesn't mean it is still the same material you put in there a year ago. If the latex has crashed out and is no longer in suspension, you just have a liquid filled tube.
Finally, neither Slime is more like Fix-a-Flat but only marginally. Both Fix-a-Flat and Slime contain cellulose and glycerol. But Fix-a-Flat doesn't appear to contain latex. A tubeless sealant like Stan's doesn't contain cellulose but contains latex. Stan's also uses a different solvent. The cellulose in the Slime serves to fill the hole and serve as a platform for the latex to agglomerate on. Stan's just uses more latex.
Most people call them
boogers. Whether you get them depends on the sealant and the tire. I am assuming nothing about the condition of the sealant I mentioned in my tandem. Some sealant leaked out of the valve because I forgot it was there and pumped it up valve down, and it behaved just like it did when I put it in. It lasted because it was left alone inside a tube. The same stuff in my MTB tires, used regularly, has lasted as short as expected. You sometimes hang on really hard to your theories how things should work without paying attention to actual experiences of the people who are doing it. But anyhow it's not important, he's probably going to put in the Tuffy's because it's easier and they work fine on goatheads. My tweenage 24" MTB experience with them 30 years ago was that if you don't keep your tire pumped up hard they let it squirm and shear off the valve, which probably won't be a problem for a boring responsible adult.
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Genesis 49:16-17
"Well, well!" said Holmes, impatiently. "A good cyclist does not need a high road. The moor is intersected with paths and the moon is at the full."