I've used em.

First off, they slow you down noticeably.

Secondly they are not "bomb proof". If you're running over huge nails daily I don't think you'd be satisfied.

I have flatted with slime tubes on my fixed gear. I use slime on my cruiser and haven't had any problems, yet.

There is no way to know when and if any flats were prevented. I have never pulled a foreign object from the tire and have it fixed.

For the fixed gear bike I ended up getting a flat resistant back tire with a regular tube and so far so good. Still have the slime in front.

Have you tried Pit Stop?
Also there's stuff you can put into existing tubes.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

When I ran tubeless I had Stans sealant and it worked as advertised. It'll seal most punctures, but won't do cuts or snakebites. If your tubes have removable cores you can buy some Stans (or get some Slime in the Target/WalMart auto section for $5) and put it in.


Personally I've gone with Gatorskins for the winter training hoops (but man do they roll slow).

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

I have not been impressed by them. Seem to get as many flats a normal tube but it is much more difficult to patch them with all the green goo. I would not buy them again.

If you share some more details we may be able to help.

- What kind of tube failures you are experiencing? Glass, pinched on side, puncture in same place, multiple punctures, near the valve?
- What is the condition of the tires? What size?
- How are your tubes? Are you patching or using new good quality tubes?
- How about air pressure?

While Slime tubes are heavy and seemingly more durable I've been told by bike several bike mechanics that the tubes don't really help for certain types of flats. That being said, I do have slime tubes in my 2.1" 700c city bike and have not had any problems in the past year.

Just some things to think about.

Love 'em to prevent flats.

I buy tubes pre-filled. Bad things happen when you fill tubes yourself like the valve getting clogged up. It's easier just to buy the pre-filled tubes. And they're not that much more expensive.

Gotta take normal care changing tubes. Don't pinch, make sure wheel doesn't have sharp edges, the inner liner covers up spoke nuts, line up tube liner well, and sand off sharp edges, etc.

I don't carry a spare tube. Left in air oxidation degrades tubes. So if my slime lasts a couple years, then when it finally fails I pull out my 2 year old backup, it's likely to fail quickly due to the oxidation it experiences just being carried around in my bag. I do keep a small repair kit with patches though, but rarely use it. One failure was the valve stem and patches wouldn't have helped that.

Hate 'em for speed. I estimate I lose a full kph using them. It's not just added weight. The weight is in the worst place - at your tires. And I suspect the sloshing creates drag much like trying to spin a raw egg vs. hard boiled (raw eggs spin slower). The hard boiled egg spins faster. It's much harder to accelerate although it's easier to maintain speed. But it's like being a heavier rider - the net result is you slow down.

I'll use 'em for training and switch to regular tubes for racing.