u235

I read about protective tire liners causing their own tube wear but tried a set of Rhinodillos anyway. After roughly 500 miles on new tubes, tires, and liners, I got what looks like a pinch hole in my tube without a matching mark on the liner itself and nothing on or in the tire so no doubt it is from the liner rubbing. It was near the tapered strip at the end of the liner. I have SpeedRide tires which are pretty thin. I ride a lot on the road edge and trails and hit a lot of random crap. I've pulled small wires from my tires twice already a few hundred miles ago so I know the liner has saved me too. I also noticed a lot of rubber powder and the tire surface itself rubbed. Maybe this was a fluke or I'll make a tube swap routine every couple months or just take the liners out and roll the dice.

maddog34

i take them out of bikes i prep for sale... ran into the same thing you have, and they make the bike sluggish, too.

i have a bike here right now with Bell "FlatBlocker" tires on it... they must weigh about two lbs. each..... yuck.... stiff riding, and HEAVY... it has Slime tubes, too... yuck, squared... one valve was so plugged, i had to replace it to air the tire up in a reasonable fashion... i bet the tires went down over a long time period, then the owner went and bought these lead weights for his bike.. funny thing is... both tires were nearly flat when the bike came in......

sweeks

I've had good luck with "Mr. Tuffy" tire liners on my "winter" bike. I've been using studded tires for many years, and had several flats on these tires after a season or two because the studs had worn through the tire's carcass and punctured the tube. Being somewhat "frugal" by nature, I wanted to squeeze a little more time out of the tires.
I didn't notice any degradation in ride quality (recall: *studded* tires!), and I haven't had a single flat. I replace the inner tubes every year in preparation for the winter, but I've seen no evidence of wear on the tubes from the liners.
I don't use liners in the tires I use in the non-winter months because those tires (Schwalbe Marathon Plus) basically never get flats.
Steve

canklecat

Conti Speed Rides are too nice as-is to bog down with liners. I had a few flats last autumn, two from glass hidden in roadside debris, a couple more from goatheads after riding off road. None since in about 1,600 miles of riding this year, a combination of smooth and rough pavement, rural chipseal and gravel. I'm more conscious now about avoiding piles of sandy debris that accumulates at intersections, since that's where the glass and sharp pokey stuff hides.

If you really need puncture resistant tires try some Michelin Proteks -- Urban, regular Protek, Cross or Max. The Protek Cross Max have the thickest tread and thickest puncture shield, 5mm. I've been riding a pair of Protek Cross Max 700x40 for almost two years without a puncture flat. At 1,100g they sound heavy but actually roll very nicely. They don't feel sluggish. Seems logical that a fully integrated puncture resistant tire would roll better than a makeshift solution of a lighter weight tire with liners, thicker tubes, etc.

hokiefyd 

I probably would suggest a different tire rather than doing liners. I have the Speed Rides myself on my Trek 750, and they're sublime when aired down (I run 25/50 psi front/rear). The ride is super supple and they soak up the gravel that I ride on well, without pinch-flatting (though I am careful with it). With liners, I would be cancelling some of their benefit. If you like Conti, the Tour Ride tires have a much thicker puncture protection layer (and they're much heavier as well). There are also choices from Michelin, Schwalbe, etc.

fietsbob

Id use the bench grinder on the ends of the Mr Tuffys when a customer ,in the bike shop, wanted them and taper the cut end..

use lots of talc, and expect the plastic will harden , so replace them, in a few years.

u235

I have 1.75/26 Marathons on my hybrid. Protection and durability is tops. On road they roll great but as soon as you hit gravel or a softer surface, it feels like you hit fly paper, at least compared to how they roll on hard. Maybe it's relative. My guess is because of the pointed shape and relatively hard protection layer acts as a wedge and just sinks in. They are not supple enough for me to use long term on a drop bar gravel bike either. The Marathon greengaurd is the only protection type tire I have experience with, maybe other aren't as bad on soft. Yes, all tires are a balance of features and compromise in some way.

canklecat

BTW, another advantage to the Michelin Protek Cross Max -- you can roll the bike on flat tires. The sidewalls are really thick and rigid. They'll support the bike and not roll off most rims.

That probably sounds horrible, the opposite of supple and all that other stuff we're told is necessary to enjoy riding. But these things are really nice riding for such big ol' shoes. A few times I've gotten curious about trying other tires on the errand bike, but I always go back to the Michelins within a few rides because they're so sure-footed on wet roads, nice riding and puncture resistant.

I hadn't used my cycling apps with the Globe errand bike and Michelins for awhile, probably not since last year. I mostly ride my hybridized 1992 mountain bike and road bike now for longer rides. Just out of curiosity I took the Globe errand bike for a longer nighttime ride a few nights ago, just a very casual pace without putting any effort into it. Still averaged better than 12 mph without trying on a ride that included several 1/2 mile 2% grades. Checking the app data later I wasn't slowing down on the hills and didn't feel like I was pedaling through mush.

Anyway, good tires. Very different from the SpeedRides, but good in their own right for puncture free errands and commuting. No need for liners, etc.

BTW, I did add Slime to the tubes on my hybridized mountain bike with the Speed Rides. Can't feel any difference and I'm not slower. If anything I'm faster now than I was back in the winter when I Slimed the tubes. But that's also because I'm in better shape.