no more flats... ?
 

so we all know the great "slime debate" rolls on, or should i say ooze on. three of my cruiser bikes with fat 26x2.125 tires have them in both tires and with the huge goathead problem out here in yreka, ca , i gotta do something. i buy this stuff, put it in my tubes then see all the posts about how a good lot of you don't care for the stuff. i've almost resorted to "creating" my own homemade tire liner using scrap aluminum cans, cutting them into thin strips that will fit in the tires and using ducktape to wrap them, protecting the tube fom them and creating a "aluminum belt" to fit into my tires. but im not there yet.

today, i purchased (2) 26" bell platnum series flatblocker max self sealing inner tubes that are guarenteed to never get a flat (so they say). self sealing? is that like slime in my tubes or better? the tube doesnt glug around like a slime treated tube. this is not a new tread for slime! i'm just curious that if we don't use slime (i do and it works so far with fat cruiser tires and goatheads), what else is out there? anyone ever heard of my flatblocker max, extra thick tubes? do they work?

I like Mr. Tuffys or Stop Flats

I used to run slime back in the late 80s, 'til I heard about Mr. Tuffys. Even rolled with slime and Mr. Tuffys during a transition period.

What a waste of time.

Get an actual puncture resistant tire like the marathon plus and you'll see why any gizmo you try putting in between the tire/tube or the tube itself is an idiotic exercise. This includes all variations of slime tubes, Mr tuffies etc.

problem is is that i can't find any puncture resistant whitewalls or cruiser tires.

Years ago, I spent a lot of time fixing truck flats. One of the great inventions of the day was goo to put in the tires to never have another flat. Didn't work. It's actually hard to tell how well it works, but it seems like it may delay a flat but won't prevent it. Anyway, because of that, I've not been too eager to put slime in my bike tires.

One problem I see is telling how effective it is. I can go 6 months without a flat, then get 3 flats in two weeks. Depending on when in that interval I put the slime in, I'd be cursing it as pointless or praising it as the new miracle.

I suppose this is nice if you're really that uptight about flats. But the bigger question to my mind is what are these things like to ride on? Do they roll efficiently or do they suck down to a stop like riding through sand?

It's been my experience that the thicker the tire and tube the less efficiently they roll. I, for one, would much rather deal with the odd flat (I've had lots of practice :D) than to deal with tires and tubes that are like black holes to my riding energy and make me feel like I'm pedalling uphill on the flats.

Even the flat resistant kevlar or other belted tires suffer a little in this regard but at least they are a decent payback for the effort since their energy loss is relatively minimal compared to equivalent non flat resistant tires.

Not saying your flat proof tubes are as bad as this but if they are then I sure won't be buying them any time soon.... as in never....

i have used the slime in the tubes and i can't even feel a difference. its probably my choice of bikes that i ride. i have riden mountain bikes, all ridgid, hardtail all softtail, road bikes and everything in between, but i have settled on fat tired cruisers. don't know why i like a fat tired single speed or multispeed except they are really comfortable and i dig the retro thing.

wher i live is very dry and everywhere (along side roads, in fields, bike paths and everywhere else) there are these goathead thorns. i try to avoid them as i ride, but they are everywhere. yreka california is hell for bike tires, but we got endless trails to go mountain biking on, and they are litterally right across the road from where i live, in the sticks. i also commute to work everyday at 4am in places with posted mountain lion watch signs as rural as it can get, so a flat on my way to work is a nightmare to say the least.

as far as my idea of a homemade "aluminum belt" for bike tires, im leaving it as a half baked idea and havent actually done it. im not that desperate yet.

I'm not uptight about flats because they're not that common for me. But if I was having one every other ride or something, I'd be looking for some titanium to put in my tires or something, too.

Slime will help against goatheads. It isn't worth a darn in high pressure road tires, but should be good in your cruiser tires. My local moutain bike trail is covered in broken glass and goatheads, so Slime, Stans sealant, Armadillo's, tire liners, or some combination of the above is required. If your tubes have a removable valve core, Stan's sealant is rumored to work better than slime in tubes.

Mountain lions and goat heads trumps any sort of small speed improvement at any time.... :D I don't blame you for wanting a bonified no flat setup given your riding conditions.

If I had a mountain lion chasing me I think I'd want to be on the latest carbon no-weight bike with Lance Armstrong's legs... mind you the adrenaline would likely give me that for a while at least..... :lol:

Solid rubber tires are available. Lousy ride, but NO flats.