Slime Your Tube

While cranking up hill on the way home the other night, I hear the sudden sputtering, spitting sigh of my rear tube deflating.

Upon inspection, I find a giant ¼” piece of glass driven straight through the double rubber of my tire. I needed a pair of needle nose pliers to pull it out. My tube never stood a chance.

Such are the hazards of commuting.

But fear not, the tube was easily replaced and I’m ready to roll once again. Well, almost. It’s time to Slime my tube.

Slime is a fantastic substance that prevents minor punctures from disrupting your roll. It’s just like a synthetic scab. If something – like a goathead – creates a small puncture in your tube (smaller than 1/8”), the air pressure and rotation of your tire pushes the Slime into the opening, where it clots and plugs the hole. Not only can you keep rolling to your immediate destination, but you can just keep on rolling with the same tube until you run into a major reason to replace it.

Like a giant ¼” piece of glass driven straight through your tire.

Slime didn’t help me in this particular instance because the glass remained embedded in the tube; the puncturing object has to be removed for the Slime to do its thing. I also suspect the hole would have just been too big for the Slime to clot effectively.

Getting slime into your tube is easy. You don’t need to remove your wheel, take off the tire or anything like that. The first step is simply to unscrew the cap on the stem and deflate your tube. Then, using the special top on the Slime bottle, remove the valve core from your tube’s stem. When it comes time to squirt the Slime, make sure you have the stem in the 3 or 9 o’clock position; this allows the Slime to get into the tube and run down the side without making a huge green mess. Replace the valve core and inflate the tube. Finally, free-spin the wheel so that the Slime spreads out and coats the entire tube for optimum protection. Also, if you don’t spin the wheel, it will feel totally off-center during your first ride because the newly-injected Slime will have pooled in one place.

One other note: the Slime web site says that Slime is environmentally friendly. I’m still waiting back for a more in-depth explanation from the company on this one and will update this entry when I have it.

The bottom line is that Slime is great for the commuter because of the junk and debris you can run into on the road. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to keep the littlest of things from deflating your good times.

The above image was borrowed from the Slime web site. Check them out for more information at www.Slime.com.