After three quick punctures in succession, my mountain bike was hanging around the garage, looking pretty sorry for itself, my lodger lost all inspiration in putting another inner tube in. After a puncture rate of about 1 per 5 miles, he’d resorted to using the bus and running home. I had repaired the punctures so I didn’t think it was a pinch flat from poor repairing. I blamed the cheap thin tyres (the bike did only cost £89). Anyway, I wanted to see it fixed, so when I saw some Green slime inner tubes on sale, I thought I’d give it a go. It was double the price of an inner tube, but, if it does really work, it would be worth it – the main pain is not so much the cost, but the time taken to change it on this mountain bike.
The inner tube works, by automatically releasing a green slime to fix any piercing of tube by things like thorns, sharp glass e.t.c. I must admit I find it hard to picture how it actually works, but, it does! When you get a puncture, like a thorn, there is a hissing sound, but spin the wheel round a few times and it is fixed. The tube is obviously a bit heavier than a normal inner tube, I wouldn’t be wanting it in my road bikes (as far as I can see it’s not available anyway). But, when you have a cheap, heavy mountain bike, an extra 100grams in the inner tube is hardly going to be noticed. I also didn’t notice any difference in ride quality after fixing inner tube. – the mtb was still slow and heavy! making me grateful, fast road bikes have been invented.
Rather surprisingly on the packet it said it didn’t work for pinch flats – that’s a pain because a high % of punctures are pinch flats. Anyway, so far it is great. Also there is the peace of mind of not being stranded in the centre of town, and have to walk it back.
Recommended. As long as you know how to properly put in an inner tube – i.e without creating pinch flats (this took me about seven years of cycling to master) It is a good investment. At double the price of a standard tube, even one puncture would mean it more than pays for itself. Great for those who hate anything bike maintenance related. Unless you race around town, you probably won’t notice any difference in bike performance.
I tried green slime inner tubes and found they worked OK until I rode on a hot road then the gunge seems to melt and the tyres deflate. I have recently bought some Schwalbe Super Marathon tyres and have just returned from a run with a puncture! The offending article was a long blackthorn thorn from a hedge being trimmed with a flail mower. I met a cyclist from Canada who said his tyres had a layer of something like chain mail and he never has a puncyure. I can’t remember the name- any ideas?
Slime cannot guarantee that use of these inner bicycle tubes will never get a puncture! What they do offer is enhanced resistance to small objects that may end up being solely responsible for causing your flat. When correctly fitted, pumped to the correct tire pressure… they’re fine! To expect, upon using this product, that your tire will never again experience a flat… is just expecting far too much. To find yourself getting a flat tire once a week on the UK’s roads is actually pretty good considering the state of them! sharp objects such as glass etc.
No product can offer a caste iron guarantee that you won’t get a puncture! Flats happen for many reasons… cheap tires that have little to no ability to prevent any ingress of a sharp object. Cheap tires are a false economy… They may you money but, they won’t be able to offer you anything like the puncture resistance of one that has a high thread count, or Kevlar casing. All any tire or sealant can offer is increased resistance – that’s all. It’s only a matter of time, bad luck & cycling on roads or dirt tracks that this resistance will be pushed past the limits of what’s available. Like any product – some people swear by them whilst others just swear after finding out they’re not completely puncture proof. Better to have it & not need it, than to need it & not have it… especially in your tires!?
Slime Smart Tube 700 x 19/25 Presta Valve. I’ve got them on both my road bike & my hybrid which also has 700c tires. Personally, I think they’re fantastic. The alternative is what? Carrying glue, patches, a decent pump that won’t leave you both mentally & physically exhausted in trying to get enough air back into your tires to get you home or you could carry those sexy CO2 canisters? There are other tire sealants out there… some come as pre-filled inner tubes, others that you have to squeeze into the tube. On expensive tubular or lesser Clincher- tubular’s which carry a Presta valve with a removable valve core… you can connect up a bottle of whatever particular sealant you choose. Any tire that tube that seals is better than one that doesn’t!? Keep your tire pressures well inside the min-max rating shown on each tire wall. Some people err on the side of caution & don’t inflate their tires enough… which leads to pinch flats, more tire wear – not less. Clincher-tubular’s seem to be growing in popularity. They’re a tubeless tire… simply because they are a tube already. You don’t need to change your Clincher wheels for expensive tubular one’s. The tire’s I’m currently using have a max PSI rating of 220… which is more than enough to scare the life out of me when pumping them up!!!
Obviously, you don’t have to be so adventurous… they usually have their own brand of sealant – but, I’m sure those manufacturing Slime won’t mind if you decide to use their product. I’m off to shampoo my pet rat, again. It’s Saturday night & he’s going out on the pull… I haven’t seriously got a pet rat – honestly! 
Hello. Ive currently got A BMX bike with a 20″ wheel and a 2.25″ thick tyre. I have noticed that there is no size available for this tyre. If i get some green slime 8oz bottle, will i just have to simply put half of the bottle in the front innertube and the other half in the rear innertube (This is just a standard kenda innertube) thanks.
Joal, you can buy Slime which comes in a container that you attach via a tube directly onto your valve. The instructions will let you know how much slime to place in your tires. You then pump your tires up to the minimum – maximum PSI that’s written on the side of each tire. Spin the wheel just to enable the slime to coat the insides of the inflated tube inside the tire. Never exceed the maximum pressure rating of your tires. No sealant is perfect! If you cycle over large broken shards of glass… don’t expect your newly slimed tires & tubes not to suffer. This sealant will not ‘heal’ great big gaping wounds. It should, within reason, help seal potential flats from thorns, small sharp objects no larger than a couple of millimeters. It certainly beats using nothing…
Some people claim that buying better quality tubes will help – they won’t. They may offer some added protection because they’re slightly thicker… but, your wallet will hurt buying them!
Well, it does have a product for road-bike inner tube.
I’m intrigued. This might be helpful for a long-distance cycling event (brevet).