Thoughts on Thorn Resistant Tubes
04-27-17 | 09:47 AM
#26
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Colorado Springs, CO
Bikes: 2015 Charge Plug, 2007 Dahon Boardwalk, 1997 Specialized Rockhopper, 1984 Nishiki International, 2006 Felt F65, 1989 Dahon Getaway V
I've been commuting 25 years, I just had a lot more flats before tire liners. Seriously, the difference in my cycling, and the enjoyment thereof before and after discovering bikeforums is amazing.THank you everyone on bikeforums!
04-27-17 | 03:23 PM
#27
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Central Illinois
Bikes: 2008 Dawes Haymaker 20XX Leader LD515 TotoCycling Road Bike
I rarely ever got a flat when using them, but the rolling resistance was pretty high and the weight quite substantial. I went back to standard tubes on my other bikes. I won't buy them again. I will still continue to use them since I have them, but only on my winter commuter.
04-27-17 | 03:31 PM
#28
Thread Starter
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Joined: Apr 2017
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They aren't "random pieces of material". They are strips of polyethylene that, in the case of Mr. Tuffys have smooth edges and smooth ends. Other attempts at making the same kind of strip haven't worked as well in my experience, however. Slime's version has ends that are too thick and are sharp enough to cut through the tube in just a few miles. I've never had a problem with them.
They work well enough that many tire manufacturers put the liner under the tread. It's the same material.
"Thorn proof" inner tubes are just heavy. I'd rather use Slime...and I hate Slime!
Piffle
Seven years...what a newb? I've been using them for more than 25 years in the heart of goathead country. I've been on a ride with 3 other people where we had 27 flats between us. One poor person got 20, the guy running tubeless had 6, my wife had one (in the tire I forgot to put the Tuffys back in) and I got none...with Tuffys in both tires.
Don't get me wrong, I can get, and still do, get flats but the Tuffys slow them down.
They work well enough that many tire manufacturers put the liner under the tread. It's the same material.
"Thorn proof" inner tubes are just heavy. I'd rather use Slime...and I hate Slime!
Piffle
Seven years...what a newb? I've been using them for more than 25 years in the heart of goathead country. I've been on a ride with 3 other people where we had 27 flats between us. One poor person got 20, the guy running tubeless had 6, my wife had one (in the tire I forgot to put the Tuffys back in) and I got none...with Tuffys in both tires.Don't get me wrong, I can get, and still do, get flats but the Tuffys slow them down.
04-27-17 | 09:22 PM
#29
Clark W. Griswold
Joined: Mar 2014
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From: ,location, location
Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26
Ehhh I am still not sold on those things. I guess more heavy tire junk for others. I always wonder what people do to get all of these flats all the time. I am not a lightweight guy and I have been riding tires that are pretty light and not so tough and I just keep them inflated and don't have these issues. I run over some rough stuff frequently on and off road. Goatheads certainly would require a GatorHardshell but luckily I am not in that territory though I did get one in my foot one and it hurt like a...
Proper inflation and not riding like a complete crazy works wonders.
Proper inflation and not riding like a complete crazy works wonders.
04-28-17 | 11:26 AM
#30
Mad bike riding scientist
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 29,210
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From: Denver, CO
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
However, don't tempt the Gods of Goatheads! They are capricious. The next ride in the same area I stopped counting at 63 punctures...I had a whole lot more. The next ride in the same area, I decided to face the Gods of Goatheads full on and got used tires (to throw away at the end of the ride), Slime tubes and Tuffy's. I didn't even pick up a single goathead on the same trail.
Zero! That's the first time ever. Stupid Gods of Goatheads!
Oh! Wait! I didn't say that! I didn't mean it! Please, oh Great and Powerful Gods of Goatheads, spare this poor stupid mortal! I love goatheads! I'll eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I'll trod upon them for miles without shoes! Just don't smite me!
Oh, woe is me!
__________________
Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
04-28-17 | 11:29 AM
#31
Mad bike riding scientist
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 29,210
Likes: 6,286
From: Denver, CO
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Ehhh I am still not sold on those things. I guess more heavy tire junk for others. I always wonder what people do to get all of these flats all the time. I am not a lightweight guy and I have been riding tires that are pretty light and not so tough and I just keep them inflated and don't have these issues. I run over some rough stuff frequently on and off road. Goatheads certainly would require a GatorHardshell but luckily I am not in that territory though I did get one in my foot one and it hurt like a...
Proper inflation and not riding like a complete crazy works wonders.
Proper inflation and not riding like a complete crazy works wonders.
__________________
Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
04-28-17 | 11:30 AM
#32
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 74
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Nope. No question at all. Part of it was knowing where not to ride...although that is difficult on single track...and a large part of it was the liners.
However, don't tempt the Gods of Goatheads! They are capricious. The next ride in the same area I stopped counting at 63 punctures...I had a whole lot more. The next ride in the same area, I decided to face the Gods of Goatheads full on and got used tires (to throw away at the end of the ride), Slime tubes and Tuffy's. I didn't even pick up a single goathead on the same trail.
Zero! That's the first time ever. Stupid Gods of Goatheads!
Oh! Wait! I didn't say that! I didn't mean it! Please, oh Great and Powerful Gods of Goatheads, spare this poor stupid mortal! I love goatheads! I'll eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I'll trod upon them for miles without shoes! Just don't smite me!
Oh, woe is me!
However, don't tempt the Gods of Goatheads! They are capricious. The next ride in the same area I stopped counting at 63 punctures...I had a whole lot more. The next ride in the same area, I decided to face the Gods of Goatheads full on and got used tires (to throw away at the end of the ride), Slime tubes and Tuffy's. I didn't even pick up a single goathead on the same trail.
Zero! That's the first time ever. Stupid Gods of Goatheads!
Oh! Wait! I didn't say that! I didn't mean it! Please, oh Great and Powerful Gods of Goatheads, spare this poor stupid mortal! I love goatheads! I'll eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I'll trod upon them for miles without shoes! Just don't smite me!
Oh, woe is me!
04-28-17 | 01:13 PM
#33
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 3,477
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From: NE Ohio
Bikes: A few...
The heavy thorn-resistant tube I pulled out of the 23mm front tire on a bike I had recently acquired weighed more than the regular tube AND the 28mm 150tpi Vittoria Rubino Pro Tech III belted tire that replaced it - COMBINED! Said previous 23mm tire/tube rode terrible - like I was riding a solid tire. The ride quality after switching was light night and day!
__________________
'75 Fuji S-10S bought new, 52k+ miles and still going!
'84 Univega Gran Tourismo
'84 Univega Viva Sport
'86 Miyata 710
'90 Schwinn Woodlands
Unknown brand MTB of questionable lineage aka 'Mutt Trail Bike'
Plus or minus a few others from time-to-time
'75 Fuji S-10S bought new, 52k+ miles and still going!
'84 Univega Gran Tourismo
'84 Univega Viva Sport
'86 Miyata 710
'90 Schwinn Woodlands
Unknown brand MTB of questionable lineage aka 'Mutt Trail Bike'
Plus or minus a few others from time-to-time
04-28-17 | 03:15 PM
#34
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2016
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Bikes: '87-ish Pinarello Montello; '89 Nishiki Ariel; '85 Raleigh Wyoming, '16 Wabi Special, '16 Wabi Classic, '14 Kona Cinder Cone, 2023 Surly Disk Trucker
Up until last year I lived in one of the thorn capitals in the world, Arizona. Out there everything has a thorn. On the road I rarely got a flat because of goatheads or thorns. Mountain biking? Woah nelly, that's a different story. I tried thorn-resistant tubes but didn't like them at all. It made my nimble road bike feel like a 1975 Chevy Nova.
On my mountain bike I noticed it also but not as bad and they did "help" but didn't stop thorn flats. Many riders out there use Slime in their tubes. I never liked that stuff either but most folks had pretty good success with it.
On my mountain bike I noticed it also but not as bad and they did "help" but didn't stop thorn flats. Many riders out there use Slime in their tubes. I never liked that stuff either but most folks had pretty good success with it.
04-28-17 | 04:40 PM
#36
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 3,477
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From: NE Ohio
Bikes: A few...
Yep, that was where I took OUT that puncture-resistant tube in my 'Arizona road bike' and replaced it with the standard tube and puncture-belted tire. 200+ miles last November riding around Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and as far south as Florence on US60 and SR77. LOTS of steel-belted radial wires and broken glass on the shoulders in addition to cactus thorns, and no flats.
__________________
'75 Fuji S-10S bought new, 52k+ miles and still going!
'84 Univega Gran Tourismo
'84 Univega Viva Sport
'86 Miyata 710
'90 Schwinn Woodlands
Unknown brand MTB of questionable lineage aka 'Mutt Trail Bike'
Plus or minus a few others from time-to-time
'75 Fuji S-10S bought new, 52k+ miles and still going!
'84 Univega Gran Tourismo
'84 Univega Viva Sport
'86 Miyata 710
'90 Schwinn Woodlands
Unknown brand MTB of questionable lineage aka 'Mutt Trail Bike'
Plus or minus a few others from time-to-time
05-17-17 | 01:25 PM
#38
Banned
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 43,586
Likes: 1,380
From: NW,Oregon Coast
Bikes: 8
Theyre in both my Trailer's wheels , each, my Bike Friday, 406 size, and my Studded Tire mountain bike
For my 3rd European tour I use 622 - 40 utility Nokian tires , and P/V thorn resistant tubes, zero punctures..
SW Ireland, To NE Scotland , taking 3 seasons. to spend there (Visa Extension) ...
...
For my 3rd European tour I use 622 - 40 utility Nokian tires , and P/V thorn resistant tubes, zero punctures..
SW Ireland, To NE Scotland , taking 3 seasons. to spend there (Visa Extension) ...
...
05-17-17 | 02:45 PM
#39
afraid of whales
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,306
Likes: 6
From: Front Range, CO
I'm in the land of goat heads, I've found there's much better options than TPT or Mr Tuffy. A good quality tyre with flat protection works just as well and doesn't mean the tyre rides harsh. For example, the Panaracer Pasala is regarded as a nice riding tyre. Spend twice as much on the tyre and use a regular tube gets the costs close to a TPT.
I've been running Panaracer Pasalas 28mm and 32mm through a few generations of their flat protection. In over 7000 miles of road, gravel and MUP here in Colorado over three years...no flats through the thread. I did get a flat from the rim strip slipping over ~5 miles after bragging to a fellow club member that I didn't have any trouble with flats. I did find the 38mm Pasala's sidewall dies when colliding with babyheads, they're sharp out here. The 28/32mm sidewalls don't have issues.
For mountain biking, before I moved here I changed my MTB over to tubeless using Stans Flow EX rims. I have ripped two beads with Kenda Nevegals, since I switched to Maxxis DHF/DHR no problems. In any case, no flats due to goatheads in four seasons of riding in CO/UT.
I just clocked ~500 road miles riding tubeless road tyres this so far spring, again, no flats. I expect going forward all my wheelsets will be tubeless, lighter, stronger, better riding and better flat protection, what's not to like?
And tubeless doesn't mean expensive, lots of mid-priced road/hybrids bikes are coming with TR rims from the factory. Almost every new MTB comes TR these days.
All of my tubeless tyre wheelsets were set up with a floor pump. 5" wide fat bike tyres, 25mm road tyres and everything in-between. 28mm, 32mm, 40mm, 2.35", 2.4", 2.5". Tubeless is ready now, it offers excellent advantages over tubed tyres wrt flats and ride quality.
I've been running Panaracer Pasalas 28mm and 32mm through a few generations of their flat protection. In over 7000 miles of road, gravel and MUP here in Colorado over three years...no flats through the thread. I did get a flat from the rim strip slipping over ~5 miles after bragging to a fellow club member that I didn't have any trouble with flats. I did find the 38mm Pasala's sidewall dies when colliding with babyheads, they're sharp out here. The 28/32mm sidewalls don't have issues.
For mountain biking, before I moved here I changed my MTB over to tubeless using Stans Flow EX rims. I have ripped two beads with Kenda Nevegals, since I switched to Maxxis DHF/DHR no problems. In any case, no flats due to goatheads in four seasons of riding in CO/UT.
I just clocked ~500 road miles riding tubeless road tyres this so far spring, again, no flats. I expect going forward all my wheelsets will be tubeless, lighter, stronger, better riding and better flat protection, what's not to like?
And tubeless doesn't mean expensive, lots of mid-priced road/hybrids bikes are coming with TR rims from the factory. Almost every new MTB comes TR these days.
All of my tubeless tyre wheelsets were set up with a floor pump. 5" wide fat bike tyres, 25mm road tyres and everything in-between. 28mm, 32mm, 40mm, 2.35", 2.4", 2.5". Tubeless is ready now, it offers excellent advantages over tubed tyres wrt flats and ride quality.
