10/15/14 7:18 AM

Just a heads up on a way to fix pin holes in tubes quickly and easily. I have done it for years.

Superglue. Yep, pinch the tube at the hole and put a drop in it. Let it dry and you are good to go. It helps holds very well. Sometimes I will put a tiny spot of paper towel on it for a buffer against the tire but I don't think it is really needed.

10/15/14 11:44 AM

They pulled a finger print off a bike tube on CSI last night. So don't leave your old tubes around if you commit a crime while out on your bike. Public service notice. ;)

As far as CA glues goes, I would be afraid the hardness of the dried spot could cause another flat.

Have you had said repair last for long periods?

I have not patched a tube in a while. I bought 30 tubes for 3.00 each [2.99]. I got 1/2 doz. repairs to get to, but still have 13 new ones left in nice sealed packages in my stash. I got a lot of wheels, too many probably since I got the Park Stand.

I can recommend these: http://www.jensonusa.com/Duro-Road-Presta-Valve-Tube

Sealed plastic foil packaging keeps them fresh and clean.

10/15/14 1:41 PM

Seems to last just fine. It is just a tiny spot so flex is not a really a problem.

10/15/14 2:38 PM

I am going to try it for sure! Any cleaning suggested, or just dab, dry and go?

10/15/14 5:42 PM

nope just dab, dry, air up and ride. I have a tube in the front right now that is going on a month and hold air fine. I even pulled it to rotate tires once, no issue at all. It only works for pin holes from stuff like staples or radial tire belt wire.

10/15/14 5:45 PM

Just plane old crazy glue? I tend to have bigger portions of a few viscosity choices of CA around for guitar building. Wonder which will work best now that you got me thinking about it? ;)

10/15/14 6:22 PM

I use the gel type most of the time but have used plain ole crazy glue before.

10/16/14 5:33 AM

...eliminates those types of flats. While a quick fix is nice, not having to fix it is even better. I haven't had a pinhole flat in several years now, since I started using Stan's in everything.

10/16/14 7:08 AM

we used "Hot Stuff Super-T" CA adhesive, had plenty on hand from building flying model airplanes. the thicker stuff works better in this application.

CA works in a pinch, but it's a kludge. guess i'm old school...prefer more substantial, meaty tube repairs.

10/16/14 8:40 AM

I want nothing to do with tubes with sealants. Yuck. I will take a cludge fix that works fine.

10/16/14 9:24 AM

but like erik...not keen on the mess.

might not be too big a deal for a heavy training wheelset. the roads up here can be pretty crappy, it's not unusual for me to get 2-3 flats on 1 ride in early spring-time right after the snow has melted from the roads.

10/16/14 10:48 AM

My last sealant issue was also my last tubular issue, the maiden voyage on the Paramount. Tubulars with the Yellow Jersey Tires [Taiwan, Old Clement factory] with Latex Spesh sealant. 20 miles into the ride I hit a chunk of glass with the rear and all the sealant pooed out after it sealed when I pumped it over 50 lb.

Had a pre-glued spare, tossed the new tire with the crater in it into a dumpster, prayed I did not get another flat for the rest of the ride. Decided I was done with them.

When I sold the Colnago recently, I added 2 tubular wheelset along with the clinchers, with 5 Yellow Jersey tubies, two glued, 3 loose. A set of original Cosmic 16 spokers with rotted Contis barely glued on, and a Shimano set I sniped for 30.00.

Out and done. How I let some romanticism convince me to go through all the effort is beyond me still. Just seem appropriate for the 72 Paramount I guess.

Also included all my old non valuable Campy parts. to get him to buy it at full price. I told him it is not worth selling to me unless the bottom dollar is X. In fact said in the ad, bring x$ or don't bother. So only the Chorus Crankset on the Paramount left as far as Campy goes. I disliked going from ERGOs to STI, and I had one ERGO and 10 STI bikes. Case closed for now. ;)

I have some Stans and Spech I plan to use for off road and one tubeless off road set. Even sold my tubeless DA road wheelset. High pressure tubeless make no sense to me. A lot of mess to tend to for a few extra second of rolling before you have to re-inflate or deal with the mess/sealant out on the road to put in a tube.

I can out in a new tube in a clincher pretty quick out on the road. Thus, gone is the much adooooo.....

10/17/14 5:48 AM

Sealants are easy to work with and I've never had what I could consider a mess, either in the shop or on the road. You either pour (tubeless) or inject (clinchers or tubulars) it, pump up the tires and ride. End of story. Worst case, you get a few drips during the installation process. Heck, my water bottles make a bigger mess than that.

10/17/14 8:02 AM

...a riding buddy had a couple instances in rapid succession of holes too big for sealant, which sprayed all over the rear wheel/triangle making for quite a mess. No spare so he had to call in 4-wheeled support. That certainly has colored my perception.

Also I've read that you're supposed to remove/replace stan's after every season lest it harden in your tube. Also heard they recommended for storage to either remove completely or rotate regularly to avoid hardening. That sounds like a PITA.

10/17/14 12:32 PM

yeah, I am going stick with sealant and/or tubeless for low pressure off road only. Walter's post just makes me think this even more.

When I built up the Steel New Success ERGO bike for my kid two years ago I put slime in. He was down last weekend to ride here and to check out PDX as after EWU Graduation moving down.

Anyway, we figured 2 years, best to get the slimmed tubes out for fresh non slimmed. He and I both got sprayed as did collator surfaces/cloths no matter how pre-emptive you would try to be to avoid.

The slime was still very much liquid to my surprise. It clogged up the valve more than anything else. Done!

Last edited by Sparky on 10/19/14 3:28 PM; edited 1 time in total

10/18/14 10:40 AM

...but it doesn't need to be removed, just replenished. In tubeless/tubeless-ready tires, it will eventually dry to a thin latex film, which is easily peeled off if you're so inclined. I wouldn't remove it from tubeless-ready tires, as you need it to seal the casing and the new sealant you add will just have to replace it. You may hear of an "oyster" forming in tires, which is what happens if a wheel has a lot of sealant in it and sits unused for months. If you have that much sealant in a tire, you're using too much (which the manufacturers recommend, so it's understandable). I prefer to use about half the recommended amount and just add a small amount every 3-6 months.

In clinchers or tubulars, there is no need to ever attempt to remove the sealant.

I have never had a situation where I - or the bike - got a sealant shower due to a puncture. That takes either a big cut, poor performing sealant, too much sealant or some combination of these. IME, Stan's seals quickly and I rarely even know that I've suffered any type of puncture. For example, my old MTB hadn't been used for several months and when I pumped up the tires, little beads of sealant oozed out of the tread in several places. As it turns out, there were thorns in these spots that had been there for so long that they had begun to rot and fall apart, reopening holes that the Stan's had previously sealed. I had no idea that I'd had even had one puncture, let alone several!

I don't have any bike-related experience with Slime (though I do have a bottle at home), but the high fiber content in the stuff doesn't impress me and you cannot inject it though a presta valve. It was originally designed for car tires and it seems like it's still best suited for that application. The only advantage to it is that it's ethylene glycol based (like older antifreeze), which is why it doesn't dry up. Slime Tubes are insanely heavy and have a lot of sealant in them, so I wouldn't use them.

I have tried Caffelatex and it is completely useless. Don't even go there.

There is a relatively new product called Orange Seal that's been well reviewed and it's propylene glycol based (like newer antifreeze), so it shouldn't dry up either. I haven't tried it because it's quite expensive.

As I have mentioned before, I use Stan's in:

- MTB tubeless
- MTB tubeless ready
- 'cross clinchers
- 'cross tubulars
- road clinchers
- road tubulars

It works fine in all of these applications and I can't remember the last time I had a flat (it's been at least 4 years). Linda has had one pinch flat since she started using it.

I had an interesting chat with a woman at the Stan's booth at a recent 'cross race. She said that when people ask her "what's the difference between your product and other sealants?", her simple answer is "it works".

Obviously, it's your own choice, so do what you think is best, but this is what works for us.

10/18/14 10:59 AM

Think its also propylene-based and well-reviewed

10/18/14 11:45 AM

Brian, were the thorns in a tubeless setup?

Also, re: " you cannot inject it though a presta valve"

Done it, either in a presta which the core is removable. And also popping off the little end and pushing in the center threaded rod into the tube holding it through the tube so you can put it back out after the sealant is in. Then put back on the locking thingy if yo have not lost it in the tube, which I have never done.

10/19/14 2:45 PM

I don't think it would have made any difference if it had been a standard clincher.

Slime is impossible to inject through a presta valve without a removable core, but it can be done with Stan's (though it can take a bit of effort). Even with a removable core, sometimes the Slime fibers will plug the valve stem. Other than the fact that you can buy it cheap at Walmart, I can't think of any good reason to choose Slime over other sealants, so I don't use it.

I've used the "remove the nut" technique many times and actually wrote an article on the process for Roadbikerider.com/, complete with plenty of photos. These days, I don't buy tubulars or tubes that don't have removable cores.

Walter, did you read the instructions for Flat Attack?

"To calculate the correct amount to put in any tire you just measure the height of the tire, measure the width of the tread area of the tire and then multiply the height times the width, time .11 which equals the number of ounces to install.
Example 27 x 2 = 54 x .11 = 5.94 oz or rounded up to 6 oz."

Six ounces in ANY tire is insane! I use less than a third of that amount of Stan's in 29x2.25 tires and an ounce or less in road tires. As I mentioned previously, this is about half the recommended amount.

10/19/14 3:34 PM

"impossible to inject through a presta valve without a removable core"

Well I posted a rebut to this the other day, but must have hit preview instead of posting it.

Without a removable core, you can pop off the valve tip and push the core into the tube. It takes holding it through the tube so you do not loose it in the tube, and inject sealant. Then crimp the tip back so it does not fall off the first time the customer goes to put air in. ;)

The owner of the LBS showed me this when a customer wanted slime. I asked why he did not just get tubes with removable cores. ;) He just used what ever Specialized sent him, being the source of a lot of his tire/tube offerings apparently. ;)

10/29/14 6:59 PM

The last 2 posts thoroughly lost me.

I've heard of removable valve core but I've never know what that is or what it looks like. So maybe that's why I didn't understand?

Perhaps a picture would be helpful (worth a thousand word)?

10/29/14 7:45 PM

If the core threads that the cap threads on has two flat sides, removable. If the thread have no flat sides and run undisturbed all the way around, not removable.

Removable:

<img src="http://www.zipp.com/_media/images/dynamicproducts/Img10214.jpg" width=320>


Not: [ignore Schraeder on right]

<img src="http://www.biketiresdirect.com/articleimages/a220-1.jpg" width-320>

Last edited by Sparky on 10/29/14 8:41 PM; edited 1 time in total

10/29/14 8:12 PM

Ah, thanks!