Slime Update

I got another puncture today. Like the ‘number 13 bus’, these things seem to come along in groups. Just over a mile from home at the end of my Sunday ride, I heard the usual ‘hisssssing’ that means the bike’s handling’s about to go to pot.

Again, this was in a tyre whose inner-tube had been treated with Slime. Yet despite the fact that the problem had been caused by a small glass fragment (about 3 x 3mm - an eighth of an inch square), the Slime was literally squirting out of the tyre! Once the tyre’s pressure had reduced a little from it’s standard 80 psi, this stopped, and I could ride the rest of the way home on a tyre only slightly softer than usual.

I’ve repaired the tube that was punctured last week, and just fixed this week’s one. The Slime seems to be a good product for postponing the effect of a puncture, but I wouldn’t say that it actually prevents it. On both tubes, the hole was scarcely larger than a pin-prick. But on both, even moderate pressure would cause them to leak.

So my overall verdict on Slime:

• A good get-you-a-few-miles-further-down-the-road product. This is GREAT when you get a puncture in the rain / the wrong part of town!
• But it’s NOT puncture-proofing for your tyres. If you get a puncture, you will need to repair it soon.
• Remember, it’s only for inner tubes with Schrader valves (the ones like on car tyres).
• Having it in the tyres may make you over-confident of your bike’s invincibility to punctures, and less concerned than you should be of glass etc on the road.
• Bottom line: I think it’s a good product, and worth the extra expense.

Filed under: Cycling, Fitness