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Slime or a puncture kit

Hi ,

what do most people prefer , the extra weight of slime in your tubes or taking the hit of changing a puncture whilst racing.



Still deciding the best approach for the Oly distance in London

Comments

  • GallantryGallantry Posts: 38
    Hi James - well this is my second attempt at a reply so if two appear we know it was user error my end, and if this is the only entry then there's something wrong with the forum... anyhow.... as I said ... I'm also doing London Oly (first Oly distance tri), so am interested in any replies you get to your post. My personal idea at this moment in time is to carry a little air cannister thingy under my saddle and use this for additional inflation if I get a slow puncture. If I get a whopper I'm going to throw my bike to the ground and sulk like a child and give it up.... I've tried changing the inner tube slow time and it takes me about 30mins!!!



    Good luck in August!

  • mikescotttmikescottt Posts: 48
    Great reply Gallantry :) .... love the image of you throwing your bike down and sulky like a kid ..... that'd be me as well I think. Did half last year and it seemed like there were people all over the pace with punctures. Some were fixing them and some were walking their bikes back to the start - not sure if they then did the run or just DNF'd. I was just 'praying' all the way round the bike course that I wouldn't get a puncture. Takes me about 20 mins to change a tube and I was soooo close to the cut off time that I wouldn't have got a medal if I'd punctured :(



    I'm going to put new kevlar tyres on a few weeks before the half this year.

  • Ah, I will add a tube ticket to the list of things to pack for the bike ride, if I puncture at Westminster, That’s a long walk back in bike shoes!!!!. I will take a look at Kevlar tyres , used them on my mountain bike in the past and never had a puncture , did not realize they do them for road bikes as well. Doh!!
  • paul2007paul2007 Posts: 2
    I did my first triathlon last weekend at Blenheim and got a puncture on my first lap...boo. Seemed to take ages to get the tyre off and ages to get the tyre back over the rim. Then I used a gas canister to pump up the tyre and heard a loud pop: I hadn't fixed the tyre over the rim properly on one side. It was a combination of poor technique and panic as I was doing pretty well up to that point. I'm doing the London Triathlon so my lesson learned is to practice changing the inner tube until it's second nature!



    Interested to hear if anyone else has any tips or tricks for changing inner tubes quickly.
  • peddlerspeddlers Posts: 18
    I have used Slime Lites in my racing wheels for the last 2 years without getting any punctures. they have only added a small amount of weight to my bike but give me greater confidence that i shouldn't get a puncture. no punctures durring ironman Uk last year and i saw a few with them.

    Experience though of slime tubes is that if they puncture then the object that punctured them was bigger than the size slime say the tubes will seal.

    Quickest way to change inner tube i have found (3 mins or less) is to slide a tire lever under the one side of the tire and run it all arount the rim, pop the tube out but leave the tire on the rim, then check your tube to see where the puncture was. then do the reverse inserting tube all around, start feeding the tire back onto the rim, check no pinched sections of tube and inflate.

    This should prevent your tire from popping off when you inflate the tube, as usually that occurs when the tube isn't seated correctly in the tire.



    www.peddlers.co.uk

    http://www.justgiving.com/peddlers1

  • pigletpiglet Posts: 86
    Wow- wish I could "slide a tire lever" and "pop a tube out"

    I end up with three levers all flinging about the place whacking my knuckles etc. I'm fine ONCE I get one side of the tyre off- but that's the hard bit. I am yet to change a flat and not end up with blood and grime all over me, my bike, my clothes etc.

    Like most of you guys my best time would be 15mins- and that was on an old baggy mountainbike tyre that sort of fell off.[:@]
  • peddlerspeddlers Posts: 18
    The joys of running a bike shop and on an average day getting to change 5+ tires and tubes, so you hone your skills and become good its where you make your money by being quick.
  • [:D]



    A triathletes nightmare...all that time and training only to get a puncture....Have found through experience that to pre inflate spare inner tube and then carefully deflate it squeezing it as small as possible before hopefully never using it. This assists with application and possible pinching on the rim etc.



    [;)]
  • WellaWella Posts: 188
    If I get a whopper I'm going to throw my bike to the ground and sulk like a child and give it up
    Gallantry wrote:


    Hi James - well this is my second attempt at a reply so if two appear we know it was user error my end, and if this is the only entry then there's something wrong with the forum... anyhow.... as I said ... I'm also doing London Oly (first Oly distance tri), so am interested in any replies you get to your post. My personal idea at this moment in time is to carry a little air cannister thingy under my saddle and use this for additional inflation if I get a slow puncture. If I get a whopper I'm going to throw my bike to the ground and sulk like a child and give it up.... I've tried changing the inner tube slow time and it takes me about 30mins!!!



    Good luck in August!





    I did this!



    I was doing an off road duathlon a few weeks ago on a really crappy moutain bike. 5km into the bike leg my back wheel buckled but i carried on. The nut worked lose and the rear derailler(?) fell off and wrapped the chain around the frame and wheel. Absolutely knackered.



    It was pouring down and as i trudged back to the start I saw a recycling skip. So I picked up my bike and recycled!



    I know this has nothing to do with a puncture but it has everything to do with the misery and frustration of a DNF due to a bike fault rather than a physical one.



    Since then I have left nothing to chance. I take spare innertubes, puncture kits and pumps everywhere. My race strategy for Eton was to put an inner tube and tyre levers in my trisuit pocket but for my race on Sunday I've bought one of the small handlebar bags to put the tubes etc in as my saddle bag won't fit on my new bike.
  • KarlOnSeaKarlOnSea Posts: 28
    Peddlers -

    I didn't know you could use slime in a tube with a presta valve! Do I need to buy a special bottle / nozzle adapter thingie?



    James -

    I've used Slime in my Sturdy Commuting Bike for about a year now, and in general it's a good get you home product. It'll convert a rapid deflation puncture into a slow drain, going flat over about 5-10 miles instead of 500 yards. But really you want to be able to change the tube too - if you get a flat just as you cross the bike mount line, you'll be knackered otherwise!



    Getting the tyres off a road bike is generally a whole lot easier than a mountain / hybrid bike, where you just have chunkier bits of rubber to try & get over the rim. So I'd be inclined to practice tyre changes - a new / different set of levers might help too. You should be looking at comfortably less than five minutes.



    If your tyres aren't brand new, make sure you check them before race day for any bits of grit / glass / thorns / etc in the tread, and look for any signs of cracking or splitting. Pull out anything that's starting to pierce the tyre, and if you're in any doubt, get a replacement. I'm sure that somewhere like, oh, um, peddlers could sort you out with some tough kevlar bead tyres ;-) Actually these do seem more puncture resistant, and what I always use as a matter of course.



    Good luck in London!



    "OK, So What's Next?"
  • I'm sure that I have mainly been lucky but I have never had too much trouble changing tires. I find it easier to let let all the air out of the inner and then use two tyre leavers, one hooked over a spoke and one to run around the rim.



    I had to change the back tyre on the cummute into work about a week ago, took about 8 minutes. Then again it was dry and sunny, I have never had to do it with wet bike or fingers.

  • TheMonkTheMonk Posts: 10
    I've never had any real trouble with my road bike but I’ve got a wealth of knowledge from mountain bike tires and punctures, hopefully it’s all transferable. I’ve known people to swear by slime and such like products but I would advice against slime and presta valves. The valve internals are not removable and once you pump it up to full pressure the slime can leak out, normally when you go to check pressure levels.



    The safer option is to double up on inner tubes, by cutting and old inner tube down the length and inserting it in your tyre. Rolling resistance increases as will weight but it has nearly eliminated punctures for me. Kevlar tyres reduce risk as well, Kevlar beads are easier to get off the rims than steal beads so if you do end up on the kerb popping the tube out you may not need tyre levers. I’ve done it so it’s not impossible. Other than that practise makes perfect.
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