Slime

[Johnny]

Hi, can I alime my cross core? I'm not familiar with presta valve, can we do it on the yammies? Thanka

If your presta valve has removable core, the procedure is the same.

If not there are youtube videos that offer different solutions. The worst case you can make a small cut on the tube, put the slime in then use a vulcanizing patch to fix the cut.

 

[reed scott]

If your presta valve has removable core, the procedure is the same.

If not there are youtube videos that offer different solutions. The worst case you can make a small cut on the tube, put the slime in then use a vulcanizing patch to fix the cut.

Iffy.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I have found the sealers work less well at higher psi's I have it not work till I got home to change the tube and it has sealed.

 

[AHicks]

I have found the sealers work less well at higher psi's I have it not work till I got home to change the tube and it has sealed.

I know it works fine in 700c's at 70 psi or so from personal experience. The fact it worked so well, eliminating weekly tire checks, is what sold me on the Slime in the first place. Been using it since.

 

[DaveMatthews]

I run tubeless with Stans.
I bought a box of small bottles of Stans.
Just remove the core and snip the tip off the small bottle, put the wheel at 5 or 7 o'clock and squeeze the Stans in. No mess.

 

[AHicks]

And I'll bet it works as well as Slime. There are several brands I've heard of. The bigger point though, for me anyway, is to get on board and use SOMETHING!

 

[fooferdoggie]

I know it works fine in 700c's at 70 psi or so from personal experience. The fact it worked so well, eliminating weekly tire checks, is what sold me on the Slime in the first place. Been using it since.

I have had it fail twice but the Stans can fail too. or maybe they worked and I did not know about it. who knows?

 

[EMGX]

I haven't had great experiences with Slime, after a few years I found it had separated out into a thin watery liquid. But I just bought a couple slime tubes for a non-electric mountain bike that I am going to take on a trail that has goat's head thorns. The sides of the new tube's boxes states it works for up to 2 years, about after which is when I found it separated out.

 

[Gordon71]

I haven't had great experiences with Slime, after a few years I found it had separated out into a thin watery liquid. But I just bought a couple slime tubes for a non-electric mountain bike that I am going to take on a trail that has goat's head thorns. The sides of the new tube's boxes states it works for up to 2 years, about after which is when I found it separated out.

That reminds me of a question I have. I slimed my tires last summer so have a year to go. So what is recommended after two years? Just re-slime or replace the tubes and slime the new ones? I wonder if pre-slimed tubes have an expiration date?

 

[EMGX]

That reminds me of a question I have. I slimed my tires last summer so have a year to go. So what is recommended after two years? Just re-slime or replace the tubes and slime the new ones? I wonder if pre-slimed tubes have an expiration date?

This was the manufacturer's answer to a Amazon Q
"If the hole in your tube is smaller than 1/8", then the tube sealant will seal it up and you will not need to patch it. Slime's tube sealant lasts 2 years, so the repair will not be permanent, but it will last 2 years before you will need to add more Slime to your tube.
By ITW Global Brands MANUFACTURER on October 1, 2018"

I suppose remove valve stem, drain/squish out what you can and replace with fresh Slime?
Overall Slime seems to get good reviews but with multiple reports of failures even with small punctures.

 

[linklemming]

Never heard of or seen such a thing.

The technique is shown starting at 1:20 in the following video.

I have done this in a pinch but much prefer using a removable core.

Some people have even cut a slit in the tire, added slime and then patched the tire (I have not done this personally)

 

[fooferdoggie]

The technique is shown starting at 1:20 in the following video.

I have done this in a pinch but much prefer using a removable core.

Some people have even cut a slit in the tire, added slime and then patched the tire (I have not done this personally)

thats the hard way see the threads below the knob? grab them with the pliers and unscrew the whole valve assembly. it comes off and laves =you with a hollow valve tube.

 

[linklemming]

But from queries here a majority use a LBS. NOT something most shops want to deal with IME. But if you caught other posts, you know I have been blessed with very few flats over my 60 years of pedaling. Maybe it’s my anal attention to tire pressure, tire condition, pre-fright inspections, valve repairs, and high quality rim tape, may all be my reason for the luck. That said I have two flats on two bikes and my arthritic hands mean I need a pal to repair. I’m thrilled to read riders doing their own tires have a success with those products. Like you many seem happy. . (They say “opinions are like butt holes, everyone has one.”)

I rode MTBs in the SF bay area for about 10 years and dont ever recall having a flat.

When I moved to Colorado, the situation changed drastically. If one sticks to the actual mountains, flats due to things like thorns are pretty rare. As soon as one starts doing more of what is known as 'plains trails', this changes quickly. The first time it happened to be, I went a tad wide on a u-turn and ended up with probably 30-50 goatheads in my tires. What was typically a 30 minute ride became several hours. I completely removed the tire and spent over an hour getting all the goatheads I could see/feel out. Still didnt matter, even after 5 patches (my whole patch kit) and a spare innertube I had to call a friend to come pick me up. That tire never would never allow a tube to not leak despite spending hours on it under a magnifying glass looking for thorns.

So I was introduced to Stans "by my LBS" and simply put it in my tubes. That was in 1999 and I have had only had 2 flats since (which were fixed by adding more stans )

All my bike tires currently have goatheads in them, Im guessing at least 10 per tire and none leak. Basically I put in new tubes every year and add stans with the new
tubes and then about 6 months later. No mess, no fuss, easy peasy

So using stans means I never have to go to the LBS to get flats fixed. .

So Im assuming your also against tubeless setups as well since they use sealant? I dont like tubelesss on my ebikes but do spend the time doing it on my acoustic MTBs.

 

[linklemming]

thats the hard way see the threads below the knob? grab them with the pliers and unscrew the whole valve assembly. it comes off and laves =you with a hollow valve tube.

Even with non-removable valve cores? I have done what is in the videos for non-removable valve cores as it was the only way.

If the whole valve assembly unscrews, thats a removable valve core.....since you removed it

 

[Coolbob]

I've had great luck with Slime in my wheelbarrow tire, riding mower tires and utility cart tires. My wheelbarrow tire and utility cart tires would loose so much air pressure between uses that the tubeless tires would separate from the rim and seating the bead with a ratchet strap wrapped around the tire while re-inflating them with a small air compressor was a chore. My riding mower tires would leak enough in a weeks time that the mower would cut unevenly if I didn't check the pressure on all four tires before every use. Now I check the mower tires a few times a season and the other tires haven't separated from the rims in years.

I'm so impressed with the product that I purchased Slime brand inter tubes with Slime already installed in them for my eBike.

I do my own bike maintenance because I enjoy doing it and my workmanship is better than I've experienced in most bike shops. If my bike goes to a shop for a flat tire I am not al all concerned that the mechanic might get his hands messy working on my bike. Considering how many folks don't pick up after their dogs, Slime would be the least objectionable thing on my bike tires.

Would I recommend Slime in any vehicle that is intended to take on the highway or with TMPS (tire pressure monitoring system), nope.

 

[Johnny]

thats the hard way see the threads below the knob? grab them with the pliers and unscrew the whole valve assembly. it comes off and laves =you with a hollow valve tube.

You are talking about presta valves with removable cores, yes the core can be removed on those. However there is also the non removable version and if you still want to fill them up from the valve the given method is pretty much the only way of doing that.

That's why for non-removable cores instead of going through this, one can simply make a slight cut on the tube with a razor blade(enough to fit the slime tip), fill it in then patch it. Or use a syringe, once filled the hole should be sealed by the sealant easily.


I have had very good luck with slime, It almost completely eliminated flats.

 

[DaveMatthews]

In the first 6 mos of owning the Fathom I got 3 flats. Peed me off so I went tubeless. Haven't had a flat since and that was 2 years ago.

 

[AHicks]

That reminds me of a question I have. I slimed my tires last summer so have a year to go. So what is recommended after two years? Just re-slime or replace the tubes and slime the new ones? I wonder if pre-slimed tubes have an expiration date?

My answer would be to run it until you get a flat. If you're over 2 years at that point, you might want to consider replacing the tube anyway?

 

[fooferdoggie]

You are talking about presta valves with removable cores, yes the core can be removed on those. However there is also the non removable version and if you still want to fill them up from the valve the given method is pretty much the only way of doing that.

That's why for non-removable cores instead of going through this, one can simply make a slight cut on the tube with a razor blade(enough to fit the slime tip), fill it in then patch it. Or use a syringe, once filled the hole should be sealed by the sealant easily.


I have had very good luck with slime, It almost completely eliminated flats.

all my Presta tubes are just normal tubes but they all unscrew. maybe I got lucky? but its worth a try. they have to have a way to install the valves.

 

[Johnny]

all my Presta tubes are just normal tubes but they all unscrew. maybe I got lucky? but its worth a try. they have to have a way to install the valves.

Yes you got lucky, there are non removable ones too. I have both. For example schwalbe has both kinds on their tubes. Contis I have had removable ones, REI ones were non-removable etc.

In the removable ones the top thread has flattish sides so that you can unscrew them with a tool.