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Ugly puncture on my 11" tire, Slime saved the day?

DosCom32

DosCom32

Established
Joined
Apr 25, 2026
Messages
61
Location
California
What do you guys think about this recent puncture I got? Could it have been caused by a piece of glass?
I'm asking because it looks like a fairly shallow cut, about half an inch long on the surface, and I suspect it's actually smaller internally. That might explain why the Slime sealant seems to have handled it successfully. I'm not sure whether it sealed it easily or if it was right at the limit of what Slime can repair.

On the other hand, maybe the damage is larger internally than I imagine, and the Slime really worked wonders. Some sealant definitely escaped during the process, since the rear part of the scooter ended up covered with Slime.
I remember my first puncture. It was caused by a woman's earring that got firmly lodged in my tire. Slime sealed it instantly without leaking a single drop.

If it truly repaired the puncture, I have to give it credit. Right now the tire appears to be holding air with no noticeable leak at 45 PSI. I'll keep monitoring it over the next few days to see if the pressure remains stable.

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:confused: It has been 24 hours and I’ve lost about 10 psi, with Slime still being pushed out a bit. It seems like not all is lost, and we’ll see if it eventually seals completely with more cycles of inflating and riding. I’m not really sure what to expect since I don’t have experience with this...
 
Wondering what happens to valve when you let air out of tire? Does it get all buggered up with Slime? Soapy water will tell you where leak is.
 
marty said:
You got a leak. Is there a tube? If yes? Replace or patch it. I have no experience with Slime sealant and don't know how it would affect adhesion of tube patch. Me, I would buy a new tube. Careful not to poke a hole in tube during tire surgery.
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The tire is tubeless and only has about 80 miles on it. I think I may need to replace it because the damage it suffered was quite significant. Even if the Slime seals it for now, there is still a risk that the cut could eventually reopen, making the tire less reliable. Of course, I could also try patching the tire and installing an inner tube, but I'm not sure what I'll do yet. Looking at the prices of 90/65-6.5 tubeless tires on Amazon, which are around $30, I think I'll just go with one of those. :)

Edit: I just took another short ride a few moments ago to see if the Slime had stabilized the puncture, but things went badly. I went from 45 psi down to 20 psi. At times it was making a loud noise, like spraying a can of compressed air — pshhhhhh! This tire is basically a lost cause. :ROFLMAO::cry:
 
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G'day people's.
I'm not a fan of slime. It might get you home, but makes tyre replacement real messy. I got a green face once removing a valve & it sprayed out all over me. It's a bitch cleaning the rim too. It can seal valves as well so you can't pump up the tyre anymore. For emergency insurance it's good but you still have to fix a flat properly.

AussieRider
 
Some small tire thoughts. Harbor Freight has low prices. Just have to throw away the rim. Marty's small grass cutting tractor gets flats. Thorns in the grass? Not sure what is causing flats? Remove tire. Wash tire and rim real good. Soap and water works. Same as you take a shower before going to the doctor. Locate hole with soapy water. Mark with white crayon. [white tire marking crayon] Take tire to tire guy. Tire guy puts plug in tire. Tire guy told me he is like a doctor. He really is like a highly skilled doctor. He got all the tools and works fast. If tire guy says no charge. Please give him $10 or $20.

Note that tire failure on a low speed tractor or wheel barrow is a lot less serious then a failure on a fast dangerous scooter.
 
AussieRider said:
G'day people's.
I'm not a fan of slime. It might get you home, but makes tyre replacement real messy. I got a green face once removing a valve & it sprayed out all over me. It's a bitch cleaning the rim too. It can seal valves as well so you can't pump up the tyre anymore. For emergency insurance it's good but you still have to fix a flat properly.

AussieRider
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I used Slime for quite a while on my e-bike and never had any issues with the valve getting clogged. I haven't had that problem on this scooter either. Maybe it's because I was careful to position the valve properly before adding air. Also, Slime doesn't really harden like epoxy resin would. Even if the valve did get clogged, it seems like you could just poke it with a small stick or something and clear it.

marty said:
This is sad. How to you think the tire feels? Too many people throwing away too much stuff because they don't know how to fix it. Tire guys know how to repair tires. Tire guy is the guy who puts tires on cars. Do you have the internet? Lets learn.

tire patch on inside

And or.

tire plug
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To begin with, money isn't exactly growing on trees for me, so I really don't want to replace this tire. But did you see the cut in the picture I posted? It's obviously incompatible with tire plugs, and it seems like it may be beyond what a tire patch can handle as well. These repair methods work best with round punctures, not with a long straight cut that has compromised a significant portion of the tire's structure. But I'm no expert, so don't take this as me claiming to know everything. I've just done some reading here and there and formed what may or may not be a solid conclusion.
 
DosCom32 said:
a long straight cut that has compromised a significant portion of the tire's structure.
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Are you sure? From your photo it looks like a small cut. Tire shop should be able to patch that easy. Les Schwab would probably do that for free.
 
99t4 said:
Are you sure? From your photo it looks like a small cut. Tire shop should be able to patch that easy. Les Schwab would probably do that for free.
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That's what I wanted to hear! I like trying to repair things before throwing them away, so I'll see about removing the tire and taking it to one of those shops to find out if they can do anything with it. That said, I honestly wouldn't pay more than $10 for a repair when a brand-new tire costs me about $30.
hillslayer@ said:
Flatout would have fixed that no problem
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Don't even remind me, friend! When I bought my 16 oz bottle of Slime at AutoZone for nearly $20, I didn't know about FlatOut. I had never even heard of it, unlike the much more popular Slime. From what I've read, it's stronger and more effective, and what I like most is that it doesn't require refilling after a few months because it doesn't tend to dry out or evaporate away. Slime is supposed to last only a few months before you need to add more, whereas FlatOut is said to last for the entire life of the tire. Considering it also costs around $20, that's probably what I'll be using from now on the new tires. This type of puncture must be pretty uncommon, I just had really bad luck.

OlderGiantFan said:
I wouldn't hesitate to replace that tire. A nail or screw hole is one thing, but a slit like that?
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That's what I was thinking from the beginning, but I don't really know much about it.
 
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Slime has drawbacks. Latex based sealants have drawbacks. Flatout has drawbacks. I have dealt with the aftermath of all of them but I will not use any of them except in some special case.
 
marty said:
Noooooo!

www.joes-no-flats.com

Joe's No-Flats

It's our love of bicycling and fresh air that makes us free. Free to ride, travel, explore, commute or compete. This is our story:Joe's No-Flats provides the bicycle market with the world’s mos...
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Joe is my brother :)
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Oh, I wasn't familiar with that Joe's product. It seems pretty good, but I'm leaning more toward FlatOut because of its effectiveness and longevity. It's available on Amazon, which is where I usually buy my stuff. That's actually where I bought this OOTD T10 scooter as well.
 
Better I won’t go ahead with repairing it. After that I’d probably feel paranoid about whether the repair could fail, especially because of the type of cut it has. I’m glad to see it doesn’t cost $100 to replace it, but rather around $25–$30, and of course mounting it myself.
 
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99t4 said:
Study up ahead of time the processes to seat the beads on a small tire. Sometimes you have to employ some "tricks." It's better to have those materials at hand to save time.
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I will use the zip ties method to install it. I've never mounted this type of tire before, but I'm pretty handy and enjoy figuring things out and having fun in the process. Where I do have experience is with bicycle tires.
 
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DosCom32 said:
That's what I was thinking from the beginning, but I don't really know much about it.
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As far as I'm concerned it's the most important safety aspect to the ride, good tires at the correct inflation. If you don't ride fast though a patch would probably do, but for $30 I wouldn't hesitate to replace it if I liked to bat around on the scooter.
 
I used to use Slime, I used it for about 3 years but it never stopped any flats I got. All it did was make a slimy mess inside my tire when it sustained a puncture. From small pin hole punctures to larger ones from things like dry-wall screws the Slime failed 100% of the time. So I stopped using it because patching a hole in a inner-tube became almost impossible due to the mess it made. If slime did ever work for anybody it helped them get down the road a little while longer so they could get to a place where they could disassemble their wheel and clean out all the old Slime. IMO it is a messy waste of money.
 
e-beach said:
I used to use Slime, I used it for about 3 years but it never stopped any flats I got. All it did was make a slimy mess inside my tire when it sustained a puncture. From small pin hole punctures to larger ones from things like dry-wall screws the Slime failed 100% of the time. So I stopped using it because patching a hole in a inner-tube became almost impossible due to the mess it made. If slime did ever work for anybody it helped them get down the road a little while longer so they could get to a place where they could disassemble their wheel and clean out all the old Slime. IMO it is a messy waste of money.
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It's a shame you had a bad experience with Slime. According to Slime, it keeps providing protection for up to two years, but in practice it seems that the heat generated by the tire causes it to dry out or evaporate over time, so it may need to be checked and topped off after about six months if necessary.

The first 1 mm puncture I got was sealed perfectly without any fuss—not a single drop of Slime leaked out. I didn't get any other punctures, but I would have liked to see how it handled a 3 mm screw, because that's where things get more challenging. And since the tire is tubeless, if Slime couldn't handle a larger puncture, there's still the option of using one of those rubber-coated tire plugs that screw into the hole.
Slime couldn't handle the huge cut in my tire, but what surprised me was that it didn't leave me stranded with the tire at 0 PSI. Instead, it still held about 25 PSI, which was enough to get me home carefully. That's pretty amazing, considering how severe the cut was.

In any case, I won't be using Slime in the new tire. I'll be using FlatOut instead, since it's said to be more effective and to last for the entire life of the tire.
 
DosCom32 said:
In any case, I won't be using Slime in the new tire. I'll be using FlatOut instead, since it's said to be more effective and to last for the entire life of the tire.
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It is true that Flatout does not clump into wads of felt over time like Slime does. Flatout is intended for low pressure tires and has inconsistent results when used at regular bicycle pressures. I would expect it to work okay to plug up tiny leaks caused by thorns, wires or small glass chips. I would not expect it to work for the puncture featured in the original post.
 
Apartunis said:
It is true that Flatout does not clump into wads of felt over time like Slime does. Flatout is intended for low pressure tires and has inconsistent results when used at regular bicycle pressures. I would expect it to work okay to plug up tiny leaks caused by thorns, wires or small glass chips. I would not expect it to work for the puncture featured in the original post.
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I'm surprised that FlatOut is advertised as sealing punctures up to 1/4" in diameter, which would be a huge hole (6.3 mm). Hopefully it can handle anything from 1 to 4 mm without any trouble, since that's the range where most punctures usually happen. Anything larger than that and you were probably just very unlucky.

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