Tire Liners - thumbs up/thumbs down

alright dudes, I need some assistance. I have popped 3 flats in the last 2 months and I am damn tired of the inconvenience this creates...

--- late for a meeting at work
--- almost late for Critical Mass
--- almost missed Project Runway...phewww thx TiVo

anyways, a friend recently mentioned adding a "tuffy tire liner" to prevent flats...I feel like if these worked so well then everyone would just have them, so what am I not seeing about this?

any words of wisdom would be awesome...also Bike shop employees, whose got em and how much?

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Permalink Reply by Ammo on October 9, 2008 at 8:29am
wow, that's a lot!

Most people probably don't use them because it's meticulous to put on. What type of tires are you riding on? Are you riding with enough air? Are you familiar with what psi you need?
Permalink Reply by vxla on October 9, 2008 at 8:42am
Tire liners are ok, but they add substantial rolling resistance. They're a bit tricky to put on, but it's nice to have 'em once they're there. Have you thought about switching tires? Specialized Armadillos are excellent (albeit heavy), as well as Gatorskins. However, that is more expensive than getting tire liners.
Permalink Reply by Tommie on October 9, 2008 at 9:05am
2 suggestions

1) slime tubes
2) heavier tires


1 + 2 = heavy
heavy = stronger
stronger = faster.
Permalink Reply by Ammo on October 9, 2008 at 9:09am
I heard that slime really weighs the tires down. I am a light freak with my tires. I've had one flat this summer (thankfully), riding through logan square. I ran over a thick screw, penetrated my fat cruiser tires.



Tommie said:
2 suggestions

1) slime tubes
2) heavier tires


1 + 2 = heavy
heavy = stronger
stronger = faster.
Permalink Reply by Tommie on October 9, 2008 at 9:11am
I'm not denying that these things make your tires heavy and sluggish BUT they do prevent flats.

In my opinion, going light with tires and tubes should only be done after going light with wheels. I mean, if you have light tires and tubes but are more prone to flatting where is the benefit? Further the weight savings on wheels is generally greater than that of switching to light tubes and tires (Mavic Ksyriums are a perfect example).

But to each their own.

Ammo said:
I heard that slime really weighs the tires down. I am a light freak with my tires. I've had one flat this summer (thankfully), riding through logan square. I ran over a thick screw, penetrated my fat cruiser tires.

Tommie said:
2 suggestions

1) slime tubes
2) heavier tires


1 + 2 = heavy
heavy = stronger
stronger = faster.
Permalink Reply by Abby on October 9, 2008 at 9:15am
....to answer some questions:

My tires were at air capacity all 3 times this happened(90 PSI is my tire's indication...and I check religiously every other day)
I ride a SE Lager with the tires it came with (I'm a noob, so I don't know anything more specific -- they are 700s though)
I can attribute each flat with a cause:

- Shard of Glass on the Milwaukee bridge
- Construction debris metal object on Augusta near Western (I keep the thing on my keychain cause it was so random to hit)
- Resurface prepped road hole on Armitage

...maybe I am just a tire jinx. Have I mentioned, all three were on my back tire and both shops I have been too tell me that the tire is fine....grrr so confused!
Permalink Reply by root on October 9, 2008 at 9:20am
tires are for suckers!

Permalink Reply by Tommie on October 9, 2008 at 9:29am
Abby, it sounds like you've had a string of bad luck...

When its time to replace your tires you could go up a size (e.g. 23 --> 25). I noticed that when I switched from 23s to 20s I flatted more (flatting twice on a 50 mile ride BLOWWWSSSS).

I would also start checking your tire pressure every day you ride--if you ride heavy even a 5psi drop in pressure could allow you to pinch-flat.

You could also inspect your tires when you're done riding to remove any debris that you might have picked up. I do this when I'm riding sew-ups (I can't afford to trash one of those tires).

Abby said:
....to answer some questions:

My tires were at air capacity all 3 times this happened(90 PSI is my tire's indication...and I check religiously every other day)
I ride a SE Lager with the tires it came with (I'm a noob, so I don't know anything more specific -- they are 700s though)
I can attribute each flat with a cause:

- Shard of Glass on the Milwaukee bridge
- Construction debris metal object on Augusta near Western (I keep the thing on my keychain cause it was so random to hit)
- Resurface prepped road hole on Armitage

...maybe I am just a tire jinx. Have I mentioned, all three were on my back tire and both shops I have been too tell me that the tire is fine....grrr so confused!
Permalink Reply by Jessica on October 9, 2008 at 9:34am
Slime doesn't work...and it's GROSS when you actually puncture it. You'll never use them again when it coats the inside of your tire, your rim, your hands, possibly your clothes... Look for 'hard case' tires, they're lined with kevlar.

I agree, you've had a streak of bad luck.
Permalink Reply by Ammo on October 9, 2008 at 9:49am
I ride 700cc by 23ccs and fill up every week. Get a tire pump with a guage or a little guage for your bag. I do that and I haven't gotten a flat with my skinny tires. Knowing murphy's law, I'm going to get a flat on the way home.

*knocks on wood*

Jessica said:
Slime doesn't work...and it's GROSS when you actually puncture it. You'll never use them again when it coats the inside of your tire, your rim, your hands, possibly your clothes... Look for 'hard case' tires, they're lined with kevlar.

I agree, you've had a streak of bad luck.
Permalink Reply by Jessica on October 9, 2008 at 9:57am
I ride 700 by 32. Had one problem...that was a straight up blow out. Heard the tire unseat, the tube rubbed on the brakes twice...I had enough time to get a 'Son of a bitch..' out before the shot was heard to the world. I have NO idea what caused that...I was riding home from work...

Do you use slime? My experience is that it blows just as often...you just get a nice shower with it. YAY! And they're really expensive.

(Random piece of info: Some tires are measured by the diameter of the wheel...aka: 26". What does 700cc mean?? It is the distance covered by one exact rotation of the tire. :) Random info of the day, complete.)

Ammo said:
I ride 700cc by 23ccs and fill up every week. Get a tire pump with a guage or a little guage for your bag. I do that and I haven't gotten a flat with my skinny tires. Knowing murphy's law, I'm going to get a flat on the way home.

*knocks on wood*

Jessica said:
Slime doesn't work...and it's GROSS when you actually puncture it. You'll never use them again when it coats the inside of your tire, your rim, your hands, possibly your clothes... Look for 'hard case' tires, they're lined with kevlar.

I agree, you've had a streak of bad luck.
Permalink Reply by vxla on October 9, 2008 at 10:10am
Yes but the designation "C" really isn't required anymore (I don't know why you're putting two C's there). It's a french thing designating a "wide" tire (versus "A" being narrow), but has long since been dropped.

I do 700x23s on my leisure bike, and 700x25s on my road bike.

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