auto_bike said:
The slime would force itself into the valve and basically any time I tried to inflate the tube it would clog the valve and destroy the tube.
What exactly happened to the tube? Because if the Slime clogged the valve all you'd need to do is use a valve core remover tool to unscrew it, wash it off, and put it back in and it'd be fine.
The Slime tubes come with a plastic version of this as the valve cap, although my luck with those plastic caps is that by the time I actually need to use one they've been damaged by teh intense heat and sunlight (UV) here in Phoenix, since it can be years, leading to me not bothering with them, and instead keeping an old old metal valve cap with remover tip in my toolkit. But even needlenose pliers or a small enough flatblade screwdriver will work to unscrew a jammed/clogged core.
That said, the only times I ever had Slime clog a valve core were when I A) overfilled the tube with more than I should have, and/or B) tried inflating the tire with the valve stem at the bottom, instead of rotating it to the top like the Slime instructions had told me to (but I didn't actually read those until some time after I had the problem
:lol
.
@Rassy: I also like those thick Slime tubes, but I don't just use the regular Slime--I use the stuff with rubber chunks in it that's meant for tubeless tires, as it fills larger holes, and has saved me from a walk home when the puncture was large enough the regular stuff wouldn't ahve worked. Because of the weight of my SLA friction drive on DayGlo Avenger at the time, I had to keep stopping and adding more air, because even though the puncure in even the TIRE was sealed by the rubber+slime they use in that, the air kept leaking thru the nipple holes and valve stem hole. But it did work, whereas not having the slime at all would've left me walking 80lbs+ of bike home, plus all the cargo I had on it (at least 30-40lbs).
But what I really like to use are the Slime protector strips. I have only had one failure, and Slime company cheerfully replaced BOTH strips on the bike under warranty, AND sent me new tubes, too (the thick thorn-resistant kind). The failure was a roofing nail that must've been directly beneath DayGlo Avenger (with the SLA and friction drive above) on the rear tire, perfectly centered, and it went thru the tire, the liner, the tube and dented the rim, too. Considering how many other unavoidable roofing nails off the back of the truck in front of me *didn't* make it thru that liner at the same time, in the same spot of road, or thru the front tire, I'm not unsatisified with the liner's performance, really. :lol:
FWIW, I'm still using the failed strip and the other non-failed replaced strip on various test-bike wheels, and haven't had another puncture thru either one; it's been 2-3 years or more now; I forget exactly. Might be more.
The only problem I have with flats these days is when the valve stems herniate and rupture, at or near the brass/rubber interface.
Pretty sure it wouldn't happen if I didn't have such heavy bikes, or carry heavy cargo on them (or keep reusing old tubes that most people would've (or did!) retired years ago, from necessity).
Keep in mind that the tires I use are also just whatever I happen to get on junk bikes, for the most part. Once in a while I get one "new" from someone that replaces what came on their bike, and would just toss the originals, but it's rare that they will fit anything I have (usually they're 700C or 29, or other skinny roadbike tires, etc).
So they're the thin cheap stuff...but I expect in my heavy cargo bike usage (or that on any other heavy ebike) that just about no bicycle-class tire will really hold up, by itself, to the stuff on Phoenix/Valley roads and paths, without liners and/or Slime or something.
About the only tire/tube I have ever tried that would survive no matter what is "airless" ones, that are "solid" foam/rubber. And unless you like squishy mushy riding (assuming a heavy bike), they kinda suck, and sorta always feel like I'm riding on a low tire. I don't know how much efficiency they waste, but when I get the one currently on the back of DayGlo Avenger on a new non-destroyed wheel, I'll test that out, vs a regular tube in the same tire at my usual 60PSI, if I can.
