Hey at least they're not sitting in a land fill somewhere. Because they stretch, they're good for all sorts of around the house projects. They make nice coverings for chains, instant bungee when riding the car-ferry that has no bike rack etc.

I think Pedro's takes tube donations to make bicycle seat bags.

I went about 2,000 miles without any flats then all at once I got three in the stretch of two weeks. I Slimed my tires and that seemed to solve the problem. The Slime worked really well for me and I have several instances of finding a little green streak on my frame after arriving home from a ride that indicated that the Slime had saved me some grief and aggravation without me evening realizing it. Eventually I came to realize that the root of my initial problem was my tires had worn down and needed to be replaced. I now roll Hemisphere Armadillo's with my Slime'd tubes. They are monsterously heavy at 760gms but I now have the equivalent of a sherman tank in terms of flat resistance - I ride over pretty much anything with no worries.

In retorspect if I had to do it again I might go with the Armadillo Nimbus since they are signafigantly lighter. However, I am very happy with the Hemi's and I plan to ride them into the ground and at 235lbs saving 2-3 pounds on tires is not such a huge concern for me. Oh yeah and the Hemi's run at 80psi which offsets there weight somewhat.

Well I had many more than 1500. In fact I had 4500 with only one flat. Should have knocked on wood. 2 flats in one week. Found the staple in the tire, removed and put in a new tube. Next day the new tire seemed to hold air so at lunch I pumped up to 65psi(conti T&C). I then patched the tube and found a second hole. Began to worry...Biked to the train and within 2 blocks of work, she was flat. Had to replaced the tube in the pouring rain quickly and haul ass to the train. The train was there when I rolled up and waited as I locked up the bike and removed the blinkies. Very nice of them. So I ain't reading anymore flat threads...bad karma Charlie

I get a flat about every other year. The trouble with patch kits is that they are only good for one use for me. Two years later the cement has dried up. I gave up patching in favor of tubes years ago. Most flats are on the way to work and speed and reliability are more important than pennies. When I am on a long tour then I carry patches. I

Did a supported weekend ride once, had six flats by noon Sunday (I don't get flats around home), the support crew felt sorry for me and gave me a spare bike. I finished the rest of the ride, and while we were gathered for the group photo a tire blows on the loaner with nobody around it! That was 2001, and have only had one flat since (out on a tour, I told you that I don't get them around home).

What were you running for tires? Tubes? Thanks.

p.s. did you ever have trouble with the nightrider tailight shutting itself off ?

Some more BS here. Sorry to be so rude but that is pure BS. Your still living in the past...which is ok!! So what the heck am I saying? I'm saying is that back in the 60's I remember as a kid having to repair my tubes by fire! When glue first came out all the naysayers said that doesn't work, it's only a temp fix, it ruins the tubes blah blah blah and this debate raged for about 10 years. Well the glue survived and now of course no one vulcanizes by fire any more. Then about5 years ago glueless patches were introduced by 3M and I bought my first glueless patches about 4 years ago and will never look back to glueing again. These patches are permenant and are fast to put on. I have a tube now that is 3 years old with 3 glueless patches on it and it still holds air just fine in my road bike. I once did an experiment with my MTB due to a debate on one of these forums; I purposely put a 1/8th inch hole in the tube, patched with a glueless patch, then with a long extension (in case the rim exploded and I was behind a wall) I used my compressor to pump the tire to 200psi! I held that pressure for 1 week, then removed the tube and put air into so the tube swelled to about 3 inches in diameter and checked by dunking in water to see if the patch was leaking and no problem. That tube and patch is still on the MTB and this test was done I think 2 years ago.

It doesn't matter if the patch is glue or glueless type, if you don't prepare the tube properly or it gets dirty or wet the patch is not going to stick. Most people fail to buff the tube right then cry because the patch won't stick, this can happen to glueless or glue on patches. You have to buff the area of tube where the hole is larger then the patch is, and if you use glue you have to apply the glue to an area larger then the patch. With the glueless patch you do have press on the patch (the same with glue on type) and press hard for about 1 minute. The beauty with the glueless patches is the time savings and you no longer have to worry about finding a dry glue tube.

Park makes probably the best glueless patches, although I did try an LBS brand (no name brand just had the LBS name on it) and they worked fine too, but no telling if Park made it or not.

I go thousands of miles without flats.

Secret: Ride where cars sweep debris off the pavement.

If you ride in bike lanes, shoulders, or near the curb where cars don't sweep you will get flats much more often.

Radical reductions in flats is just a side benefit of riding where all vehicles are driven in the "vehicular manner". The real benefits are safety and efficiency. The roads and laws are designed for vehicular operation. So, if you ride your bike vehicularly, the roads and laws are designed for YOU!.

Ride your bike visibly and predictably: ride vehicularly.

Serge

Sorry if I sound silly, but this is one of the most important things I have read so far on any forum and it's clearly stated. I try to say this but it does not come out so well. Bravo!

Bicycles are traffic! Act like traffic !

I'm getting similar results, more reliable transport. Not having to deal with flats every 200miles has really raised my enjoyment level for commuting.

Befour the Mr. Tuffys I would a flat every week, about 100 to 200 miles, then with Mr. Tuffys about 4000 miles no flat (over two bikes) 2000 miles flat free on a EZ-3 USX, 2000 miles flat free on Marin Novato.

Word.

L.A. 2000+ miles since June. Zero flats.

I pump my tires before each road ride.

Ok...I'm statistically odd! I get at least one flat every 100 miles or so. Either they're the dreaded goathead thorn or glass or...

Usually it's the rear tire although I've had three flats this year already and they were all front.

I usually patch the tube on the spot unless it's dark or if I'm in a hurry. If I bring the punctured tubes home the pile will get huge and I'll never get to it. I'll keep patching a tube until patches overlap or until it leaks around the stem.

Do you have Kevlar belted tires for flat protection? Have you seen Spinskins? They are the lightest, strongest, most expensive Kevlar tire liners. I think the low number of flat riders, are using Kevlar belted tires..

I got sick of flats and installed the Performance Bike bike shop thorn proofs inside the armadillo tires. That worked great for 2500 miles or so until the stem broke on the front.

Major surprise when taking the tube apart. Unlike regular tires, the armadillos kept the tubes very clean. No sand, glass shards anywhere. So Just put a regular tube in and still have not had any puncture or pinch flats (knock on wood).

I used to use Slime tubes, but gave them up for the usual reasons. This winter, though, I discovered a new problem in an old Slime tube that was still being used -- the Slime froze at about 20F, creating an unusual and disturbing noise from the front tire. I thought I had water ice in the bearings.

This was not a new tube -- probably over 5 years old -- so it is possible that the Slime had just decomposed with age.

Yes although I've not noticed much difference. On the old wheelset (on my current commuter) I ran Kevlar belted tires and Mr. Tuffys and had three occasions where a nail went through tire, liner, tube and out the top of the rim. The nail problem has settled down as the neighborhoods are almost built out and there is much less construction around here now.

I'll have to agree with Serge on this one. I think my high number of flats is simply from riding in debris. I use bike lanes sometimes (here in Roseville the bike lanes are actually pretty clean...believe it or not the street sweepers clean them!) but don't have debris issues there. There are a couple of roads that don't have bike lanes or aren't WOL construction. Basically on these roads you ride to the extreme right so that cars pass on the left (speed limit 50mph so I can't ride in the lane and the traffic is pretty heavy). The debris gets swept to the right and waits there for my bicycle tires. It is one particular road that is the big offender. It has lots of open fields adjacent to it so perhaps that's where the thorns come from.

Riding along the right edge can be dangerous because you're not leaving any lateral margin for avoiding obstacles, etc. It also invites passing motorists to pass you within the lane. If the lane is too narrow to safely share side-by-side, then you should be able to ride near the right tire track, forcing motorists to slow down and at least move partially into the adjacent lane to pass you. If you're impeding anyone for any significant time, you can always move over temporarily to let them pass. How many lanes in your direction?

Yikes Froze...I thought I was the only one who remembered the old fire vulcanized patches! I've yet to try the glueless patches but I hear good things about them. I haven't had any problems with the glue types though.

The offending road I mentioned would require that I ride actually in their right tire track. I don't try to ride on the outside white line (read: extreme right). The debris is still a problem even up to 24" to the left of the white line. Most of the roads are pretty clean around here but this one stretch of road, about 1 mile long, is a problem. Mostly goathead thorns.

I'll have to take your word for it, but it's hard to understand. On every busy road I can think of, the half-life for debris presence on and about the part of the roadway where cars travel can be measured in minutes. Between the left and right tracks, and for a few feet to either side, the roadway is constantly swept clean.

I keep either a patched spare or a new tube handy for a quick change. I patch the flat later, at home.

I keep a tube as long as it will hold a patch and still maintain adequate pressure over several days. Why throw money away?

My motto is no more than three patch and always patch the tube with attention to details. And like someone said buy a box of Rema patch of 100 and a large tube of rubber cement for repairs. Always squeeze the used tube of glue to take out any air pocket so glue won't ruin from sitting around. I make it to 1500 miles flat free and then some because of tuffy liners on my road bike.