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| *Vultures Knob>>>Cycling |
Do Slime MTB tubes lose their ability to seal themselves after a few months? |
I ride in socal, thorn capitol of the world, and have been using slime tubes for some time with good success. But it seems that after a few months, even the slime tubes flat. Do they have an expiration time? I cannot find any literature that says they need to be replaced after a certain period of time. Nope.....they last a long time. The mfr says it's good for 2 years, and I know I've had some tubes that have been through three riding seasons that still sealed up just fine. I don't use Stan's or the other sealants for that reason.....they state they're only good for about 6 months. One thing I have noticed is that high temps will sometimes leave me with a flat, like if the bike has been sitting on the car rack in 100掳 heat all day. That's happened a few times to me, but after reinflating it and riding, it's fine again. I usually use the atv/tractor Slime instead of the regular - it has tiny grains of black rubber in it that will help seal holes from bigger thorns better. That seems to work a lot better. Plus, it's usually cheaper by a longshot. I DO know that if you add a little water to the slime in your tube, it won't seal well anymore. That was a little experiment I did awhile back....bad idea. The only other thing is that you have to use enough of it so it can circulate well. Note: I slime my own tubes, I've never used the Slime-branded ones. With schraeder valves it's simple, and with prestas I use a small injector to put the stuff in the tube, then seal it with a glue-on patch (the stick-on patches aren't compatible for some reason and the slime will push past them). If you live in the thorn capitol of the world then slime or any other tire sealant should be secondary to sealing holes. Try rim strips. They are puncture resistant strips that line the inside of your tire and work well, you may not even need slime. You can also purchase tires made with kevlar, that in combination with tire strips will make your tire bomb proof. I don't like slime. Yes, I believe it does go bad after a season, in addition every time you hit a thorn a little of the slime comes out to seal the hole, which in turn empties the tire. So after a while it starts to run low and holes are not sealed properly. It is also very viscus compared to other brands like specialized. In the winter months or on a cool day it can take a while before it spreads evenly throughout the tire, actually making one area of the tire heavier than another. This adds to the rotational weight of the tire making you work harder. If you want to use a tire sealant give specialized a try, much better and more focused towards the sport than slime. Slime usually lasts me about 2-3 years. However I have had Slime interfere with the valve on Schraders. Try rotating your tire so that the valve is in the 9 o'clock position, then let the air out and remove your valve stem. inspect, rinse, clean dry and reinsert. pump up your tire and monitor it. If things are OK for a while, you have a problem of the slime getting in your valve. be sure to air up your tires with the valve at 9 o'clock to prevent this. |
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