Anyone have experience w/ (a) tire liners; and/or (b) Slime Self Healing Tubes?
I’m thinking about picking up some Spin Skins and the Slim Self Healing Tubes? Kinda like using two condoms.
Overkill? Other ideas?
I’d just go with flat resistant tires. Specialized tires with “flak jacket” protection work great, are light and have low rolling resistance.
Tire liners can cause as many flats as they prevent.
Go with a good, puncture resistant tire. Specialised gatorskin, Continental 4-season, Michelin Axial Carbon all have good puncture resistance.
I ran tire liners and slime tubes in my MTB, freakin billions of thorns in the summer around here, I’ve gotten more flats on the roadie than the MTB, but I also have about 10x as many miles on the roadie over the last year.
Just get flat resistant tires, like they said above. No need for all that junk riding on the road. Just carry a couple CO2, patch kit and tube and you’ll be fine.
Whatever tire you go with, ALWAYS ensure they are inflated to the proper pressure as indicated on the tire sidewall. I pump my tires before every ride and I rarely get flats. There is the occasional thorn, glass, or other debris, but as long as the tires have enough “tread”, almost no flats. In fact, when I start to get an increased incidence of flats, it almost always means time for new tires.
Tire liners can cause as many flats as they prevent.
Tire liners grab little bits of glass and thorns and such and then they work into your tube over time. Just to clarify. I run Specialized Turbo Armadillos and put Tru Goo in the tubes when I train it works pretty well I have had flat but they were mostly catastrophic and nothing would have helped in my opinion.
Self healing tubes work fine though they can be messy and I agree with the others who have said that puncture resistant tires and proper inflation pressure will help more. I wouldn’t bother with tire liners on a road bike but that’s just me.