If anyone cares, some bicycle shops will not work on airless tires. This could be a problem if you need a spoke replaced and a wheel trued, for instance.

In central Washington, there is an area infested with what's commonly called "tackweed," and i've seen tires come from that area with literally hundreds upon hundreds of thorns in them (particularly off-road tires). The usual solution is to combine Slime tire sealant with one of the following measures:

• Mr Tuffy tire liners or other equivalent brands
• Thick, thorn-resistant tubes (also an excellent way to practically eliminate pinch flats)

Combining all three of these measures is possible too, if there is adequate cause.

If you do run airless tires, keep an eye on your spoke tension, particularly in the rear wheel if it's a dished wheel. In a conventional pneumatic tire/wheel combo, the wheel isn't supported from the bottom. It hangs suspended by the bead all the way around the wheel, unless you hit something big enough that the rim bottoms out. The spokes in the bottom half of the wheel have less tension, but there's no focused zone of low tension.

With an airless tire, the tire's contact patch is the focus of a zone of low spoke tension because the tire is full of foam which is being compressed between rim and road in the contact-patch area. The spokes' tension goes up and down more, increasing the stress cycling on them (the primary cause of breakage) and possibly encouraging them to loosen as well.

No disrespect meant to the happy owners of airless tires. If they're working out for you, great!