Tire Liners and those Fix-A-Flat products

[Eden]

I've had mixed sucess with tire liners. I had them in my old bike and I went about 15 years flat free - yes that's 15 years, with 700c tires. I put some in my winter bike this year and I got 3 flats in 2 days, 2 of them caused by the liner itself (one from the trainer rubbing over the overlap...). That was with 650's - I think that the liners just did not agree with those tires/wheels. I definitely like original Mr. Tuffys over slime liners - much easier to install properly.

I've never personally used tire sealants - though I bought a used disc wheel that already had it and it sure does work - but I don't know what brand - def. not slime since it was not green. That tire will leak slowly, but it will hold 150 psi for an hour or better, which is pretty good.

We also bought some slime for a friend of ours who uses a wheelchair and seemed to have perennial flats. He really loves it - he's not always pumping up his tires or listing to one side. Wheelchair tires generally are much lower pressure than bike tires though.

[TsPoet]

Hope this won't be considered a hijack - but what about the flat-resistant tires - like Armadillos or Gatorskins?
Which will give more "performance" while stopping, or at least inhibiting, flats, tire liners or flat-resistant tires?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

DH and I always use Kevlar tires- but then we ride a lot of rough gravel roads with 700x28 tires.

[yellow]

Alex, you hit the Salt Lake valley goathead jackpot. See my post in Southwest. So sorry someone didn't warn you about the JRT! It's notorious for goatheads!

[Alex]

I talked to my uber-roadie coworker today and he rolled his eyes at the mere mention of tire liners and said, in an exasperated tone, "But, it's all about rolling resistance, so WHY would you add weight to your wheels?" He then proceeded to tell me about some new wheels he purchased at enormous cost. I suppose I wouldn't want to add any weight to wheels that cost that much either!

Alex

[Thistle]

We use mr tuffy tire liners and they've been great. Far fewer punctures. Downside is i'm really slow at replacing a tube I had to do my back wheel yesterday (pump got stuck on the valve and DH pulled the valve out of the tube getting the pump off ). But i insisted on changing it myself cos i know one day i'll have to do that on the road. Took me 45 minutes

I think i like the sound of that fix-a-flat gooey stuff

[ehirsch83]

I talked to my uber-roadie coworker today and he rolled his eyes at the mere mention of tire liners and said, in an exasperated tone, "But, it's all about rolling resistance, so WHY would you add weight to your wheels?" He then proceeded to tell me about some new wheels he purchased at enormous cost. I suppose I wouldn't want to add any weight to wheels that cost that much either!

Alex

I'll ask my SO what they do(he works at the LBS in albuquerque). They line all of their tires b/c of goatheads.
I am in south florida still and I use gatorskins for training(silly people smashing glass beer bottles all along the beach).
But I know that gator/armadillo skins won't do any good fighting the evil known as the goathead. They will go right through them.
So tell that weight weenie co-worker of yours to go shove it,haha.
but really- would you rather have to change a flat during your ride, or have an uninterupted ride. I know I would prefer the 2nd. Also if you can ride with the few extra ounces of the liner, then you are that much stronger then he is! haha

[tangentgirl]

What's a goathead?

I got some tubes pre-filled with slime at the beginning of the year. No flats yet, and I know I've ridden through glass and such. I think I broke a piece of a bottle on a ride the other day. (I'm very glad I wear sunglasses.)

I might notice a slight weight difference, but I suspect it's in my head. I'm guessing that if I do get a flat, it will be messy, especially if I have to carry the tube back from anywhere. Ew.