Slime Smart Inner tubes

[JoeBlow]

Are they worth the money? I've just ordered a bike with 29" x 2.6 wheels. These "smart" tubes only go up to 2.2 as far as I can tell. I assume this makes them unsuitable?

As an aside what does tubeless ready mean? I imagine that the wheel that is tubeless ready will have the tape already in place and perhaps the appropriate valve? Is that about it?

Al

 

[pacnwtexan]

Can't speak to the size fitment, but the slime is beneficial especially if you are riding hub drive. I chose standard tubes and filled the slime but the tubes would be easier.

The rims and tires need to be tubeless ready you will need to retape the wheels but gorilla tape should be the most cost effective option.

 

[Jamze]

I use them on my hardtail. They work well IME. Had several punctures in the rear where I've removed the thorn, pumped them back up and they've sealed fine and are still holding air months later. They'll be a bit more stretched and thinner if in a 2.6 tyre. They'll work, maybe slightly more risk of punctures?

TBH I'd go tubeless if you can though. I'm running very old XC rims that won't convert.

 

[JoeBlow]

I don't need convincing about the advantages of tubeless. Best money I spent on my current bike, it's just that it's an additional expense that I could do without especially if I need new tyres as well. I'd do it myself but I've heard nightmare stories when it is attempted without a high pressure air source. Which gets me back to the original query. The tyres are "Maxxis Minion DHF 2.60" 120 TPI FB 3C Maxx Terra Exo+ TR" Are they tubeless ready? The wheels are "DT Swiss H-1900 Spline 30c TLR 15/110mm CL" Would it just be a matter of adding the sealant? I looked at the tyre web manufacturers web site but there is no mention of tubeless or otherwise. What does it all mean?

Al

 

[Jamze]

Both are tubeless compatible looking at the specs, so at worst you'll need tape, valves and sealant. I don't have any experience of Maxxis on DT Swiss rims, but I've never needed any more than my track pump with WTB rims.

 

[pacnwtexan]

$39 conversion

 

[JoeBlow]

How can I tell if a tyre is tubeless compatible? I looked at the Maxxis web site but didn't see anything in the spec that signified this. Did I miss something or is it in code?

 

[simonk]

How can I tell if a tyre is tubeless compatible? I looked at the Maxxis web site but didn't see anything in the spec that signified this. Did I miss something or is it in code?

The ‘TR’ in the tyre you reference above stands for tubeless ready. Most tubeless ready tyres state as much on them.

 

[JoeBlow]

The ‘TR’ in the tyre you reference above stands for tubeless ready. Most tubeless ready tyres state as much on them.

Thank you. Seems odd that they send bikes out with rims and tyres that are "tubeless ready"and don't go the extra little bit to add the sealant and send them out tubeless in the first place especially considering how superior tubeless is. Why the reluctance? Are there still people who want tubes? I assume the TLR in the wheel description means the same? Bearing this in mind is it a relatively simple job? I have heard that you really need a compressor or pump that can provide a quick burst of air. Being new to all this would it be worth my while taking it into a shop to be done properly?

 

[simonk]

Thank you. Seems odd that they send bikes out with rims and tyres that are "tubeless ready"and don't go the extra little bit to add the sealant and send them out tubeless in the first place especially considering how superior tubeless is. Why the reluctance? Are there still people who want tubes? I assume the TLR in the wheel description means the same? Bearing this in mind is it a relatively simple job? I have heard that you really need a compressor or pump that can provide a quick burst of air. Being new to all this would it be worth my while taking it into a shop to be done properly?

Bikes could well be stuck in storage or on the shop floor for months on end, by which time any sealant In them might well have dried up.
I doubt you’ll need a compressor, I’ve converted dozens of wheels and have never needed one - best tip to get the tyre to seat easily is to use a plant sprayer to spray soapy water around the rim prior to inflation. Watch a couple of YouTube tutorial videos and dive on in. You may not get it right first time but there’s very little to go wrong really. I expect your rims are already taped from the factory.

 

[GrahamPaul]

I'd do it myself but I've heard nightmare stories when it is attempted without a high pressure air source.

I agree with @simonk on this. However, if you are worried you need an extra boost of air, use a CO2 cartridge. I have had a couple of wheels where they wouldn't pump and one or two cartridges got the tyre to pop onto the rim when no amount of pumping would do it.

The only thing to remember is that rubber tyres are permeable to carbon dioxide and so your tyre will go down overnight. It is therefore important to make sure you pump it up with air as well. (With a decent sized tyre this won't be a problem as a cartridge is unlikely to get you tyre pressure over 1 bar. But the soft tyre will probably frighten the life out of you the next morning!)

 

[steve_sordy]

As above TR and TLR both mean "tubeless ready". But that does not mean all you have to do is to remove the tube and add sealant.

The inner tube has its own valve bonded to it, so you need a tubeless valve. The tubeless valve looks almost exactly like an inner tube valve that you have cut from an inner tube. Instead of a thin bit of rubber bonded to the valve, you have something a bit more solid that stops the valve from being extruded through the hole in the rim.

In theory, a TLR wheel should be ready to go, just add tubeless valve and sealant. In practice, I don't trust the OE rim tape. Even tape that looks perfect has let me down and because it looks so good, when the installation went badly I used to think it was something else that caused my failure (like me!). So now, I always remove the rim tape and add my own. I like two layers of Gorilla tape, but some don't like it. My LBS uses it.

You need high volume, not high pressure. I have found (a sample of one) that my local petrol station's air line is not high volume enough. How the hell it inflates truck tyres I have no idea, it must take ages! I bought an Airshot tubeless inflater. Definitely one of the absolute best bike related gadgets I have bought for many years, second only to a dropper post! Recommended.

Remove the valve core from the valve body before inflating, the air flows in much faster. Once the tyre beads are engaged on the rim, you can re-install the core and pump the tyre up with a mini-pump if you want to prove a point, but a track pump is always better.

Keep an eye on the sealant level. Latex based sealants dry out eventually and stop working. I use a digital tyre pressure gauge and check pressure before every ride. You will still get many punctures, but no flats. Each puncture loses some sealant and not all seal perfectly, so a slow pressure loss will occur in time. Once I see the pressure dropping I add sealant.

PS: You don't actually need the tyre to be tubeless, or even tubeless ready. You can fit any tyre and as long as you use a latex sealant you can go tubeless. It might take a while for the latex to seal the sidewalls, like a few hours! But you can do it.

PPS: Slime is a great product and I have used Slime in tubes and I have bought Slime-filled tubes. Both work very well, but the Slime tubes are heavy. Slime also make a tubeless product and it is very good as it does not dry out like latex based products, but it does not seal the sidewalls as well as the latex versions do.

 

[GrahamPaul]

PS: You don't actually need the tyre to be tubeless, or even tubeless ready. You can fit any tyre and as long as you use a latex sealant you can go tubeless. It might take a while for the latex to seal the sidewalls, like a few hours! But you can do it.

I'd just like to add a bit to this. I converted a couple of non-TR Schwalbe tyres to tubeless some years ago. It took 2 days for the side walls to stop weeping sealant. They needed to be laid horizontally, turned every few hours and given a good shake. They wept and wept and wept.

They did eventually seal well. However... the side walls had half the TPI of a tubeless tyre. They were so squirmy as to be impossible to ride without pumping up hard. Which made for poor grip and a horrible riding experience. Lesson: use proper TR tyres.

 

[steve_sordy]

@GrahamPaul I agree with you! Mine didn't take quite that long. I just wanted to make the point that it can be done. I was not actually recommending it though, certainly not for a big old emtb!