How Many punchers do you get?

[LittleBird]

I seem to be going through at least one tube every bike ride. Two the last one and a fall of my bike too:o I couldn't fix the puncher as I had 5 holes in there:eek:

Has anyone tried the slime that you put around the tube, if so would you recommend it?

[MartianDestiny]

Very carefully check your rim, spokes, and tire. Sometimes you can get a burr on the rim that will puncture the tube. Or your rim tape (covering where the spokes tie in) will be worn, etc. allowing a spoke to get to the tube. Or debris or other roughness on the inside of the tire can also get a tube. And finally make sure you are inflating to within the recommended PSI range (get a pump with a gauge).

I rarely flat and have never used slime tubes (no need). A good outer tire will even protect you from most road hazards most of the time (I've run over glass multiple times and never flat from it).

Flatting every ride is a sign that there is something wrong with your wheel/tire setup, IMO.

BTW: your avater (Aussie?) is adorable!!!

[kenyonchris]

I assume you are talking about a MTB tire? Slime is heavy. My SO has slime in his tires, he got it put in for a ride in very thorny country. We were out riding and got into some fishing line. When he turned the bike over to work on getting the line out of the crank, we found he had a huge roofing nail in his tire. The slime had sealed around it. So it works, but it is heavy.
I run tubeless on my MTB....Stan's. I have not had a flat since.

[LittleBird]

OK, I'm going to sound dumb but is it only mountain bike that you can buy the slime for, I have a Giant Avail Road bike so the Tyre are really skinny.

Thank you for the comment about my puppy, He's a Blue Merle Border Collie.

[coz i can]

Hi LittleBird you can definitely get slime liners for a road bike. Giant Avail, nice - is that the Avail Advanced. Seriously though before going to slime I would look into it further. Unless you are riding on terrain really unsuitable for road bike tyres, you just shouldn't be puncturing that much:) I definitely am on the same page as MartianDestiny on this one you need to check your rim thoroughly and your rim tape to start with. When I am uninjured and on the bike I do about 350-400kms (218-248mi) a week and hardly ever (ever ever) puncture. About 2 in the last 12 months and I dont use slime either. If you are unsure of checking your rims and tape you need to make friends with a really good bike shop.

Failing that I am flying to the UK at the end of June and will be in Birmigham are you anywhere close to there?:) Am brining my bike with me so if you know of good places to ride let me know.

[kenyonchris]

Yeah, you CAN slime your road bike...but, like I said, it is pretty heavy.

[OakLeaf]

+1 on first figuring out what's causing all the punctures.

+1 to what MartianDestiny said, plus how much tread is left on your tires? I usually use "multiple flats" as my tread wear indicator ;). If it's things like glass and nails that are causing your flats and your tires aren't worn, is it possible to (1) be more aware of what you're riding through or (2) take an alternate, cleaner route?

Some parts of the world are just loaded with thorns - on a road bike, tough tires like the Continental Gatorskins are popular. Not near as heavy as "Slime." Plus, I've never used "Slime," but I've heard lots of people complain about the mess it leaves in a tire. Maybe that's strictly tubeless tires though?

Whenever you fix a flat on the road, always check the inside of the tire carefully for whatever caused it.

[Aggie_Ama]

Veronica runs slime on her road bike. I run Specialized Armadillo (Heavy tires) on my bike because I am slow, who cares about a little extra weight? I am even slower at changing a flat. :)

Make sure you are putting proper air in the tire. When my tires were worn (and there is no magical distance/time for a tire) I started flatting like crazy. Check your rims as everyone has said too. Good luck, flats are no fun!

[LittleBird]

Thank you for all the replies, I always check both rims to see if there is any grit or anything else that may be lurking there. The roads where I live aren't very smooth, there are allot of stones(sometimes quite big) and pot holes so I have been trying to keep my distance from the edge but then you have to worry about drivers shouting obscenity's at you for being too over.

Coz I can I don't live in Birmingham so I can't really give advice on where to ride but you can definitely be sure to find some nice hills here in the UK:D

[tzvia]

Check the rim tape. I kept getting flats all of the sudden- I wasn't even riding, just pumping up the tire- and could not find anything causing it. Finally I took a hard look at the tube- the holes were on the rim side! Found that the rimstrip (ROX Ultralight, looks almost like tape) had stretched into some of the spoke holes to a point where it had exposed the edge of the hole which cut the tube! Shoot. It had wrecked a brand new Vittoria lightweight tube :mad:. Fixed it with Velox rimstrip; so much for that lightweight stuff-Velox rules.