How To Slime a Ninebot Z10 Tire

[Marty Backe]

 

[Toshio Uemura]

44 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

 

What is your experience with Slime? I have never used it. Doesn’t slime seal everything....including the valve. I am also afraid it could create a centrifugal effect that does all sorts of odd things to my wheels rotation especially at high speeds. And especially with the Z, where I want to increase or decrease my tire pressures according to the kind of tours I am planning to do, I am kind of afraid I can’t get air in and out my wheel as easy as before. Am I wrong? ?

[Marty Backe]

33 minutes ago, Toshio Uemura said:

What is your experience with Slime? I have never used it. Doesn’t slime seal everything....including the valve. I am also afraid it could create a centrifugal effect that does all sorts of odd things to my wheels rotation especially at high speeds. And especially with the Z, where I want to increase or decrease my tire pressures according to the kind of tours I am planning to do, I am kind of afraid I can’t get air in and out my wheel as easy as before. Am I wrong? ?

I've been using Slime in all of my wheels for the last two years. It has fixed multiple flats. I have direct evidence and even have a video showing it repairing my MSuper V3s+ flat.

No affects have ever been noticed on my tires, and I know lots of other people who use Slime with nothing noticeable.

Did you see the recent post where @JBoo had a nice gash in his Z10 tire and Slime fixed it?

And if you ever do get a Z10 flat, if you don't use something like Slime then you will have to buy a new tire and have fun replacing it.

Regarding Slime affected your ability to fill the tire or let air out - nope. That does not happen. When the tire isn't moving the Slime sits at the bottom of your tire. It won't come out the valve. Never had a problem adding or letting air out of any of my tires.

Hey, if getting a Z10 flat is not going to ruin your day, then don't put Slime in your tire. I ride mine where I might have to walk miles if I get a flat, so I use Slime.

Edited September 1, 2018 by Marty Backe

[Marty Backe]

34 minutes ago, Toshio Uemura said:

What is your experience with Slime? I have never used it. Doesn’t slime seal everything....including the valve. I am also afraid it could create a centrifugal effect that does all sorts of odd things to my wheels rotation especially at high speeds. And especially with the Z, where I want to increase or decrease my tire pressures according to the kind of tours I am planning to do, I am kind of afraid I can’t get air in and out my wheel as easy as before. Am I wrong? ?

The reason that I made this video and other Slime videos is to pass on my experience to EUC owners. I wasn't born with knowledge of Slime. People with more experience than me ( @Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer" ) told me about Slime. Dion ( @myfunwheel ) also gave me guidance, including how much to put in my tires. I've since gotten more direct experience and have heard additional positive experiences by other riders.

So I'm passing my Slime knowledge to other people. When you know nothing about Slime, seeing a video where it's put in an EUC can be very helpful. 

[Toshio Uemura]

2 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

I've been using Slime in all of my wheels for the last two years. It has fixed multiple flats. I have direct evidence and even have a video showing it repairing my MSuper V3s+ flat.

No affects have ever been noticed on my tires, and I know lots of other people who use Slime with nothing noticeable.

Did you see the recent post where @JBoo had a nice gash in his Z10 tire and Slime fixed it?

And if you ever do get a Z10 flat, if you don't use something like Slime then you will have to buy a new tire and have fun replacing it.

Regarding Slime affected your ability to fill the tire or let air out - nope. That does not happen. When the tire isn't moving the Slime sits at the bottom of your tire. It won't come out the valve. Never had a problem adding or letting air out of any of my tires.

Hey, if getting a Z10 flat is not going to ruin your day, then don't put Slime in your tire. I ride mine where I might have to walk miles if I get a flat, so I use Slime.

Thank you for your video and for sharing your experiences. I will probably buy me a bottle in case of running into a flat tire. I guess it is not to late if you do it afterwards. In Japan the cycling shops I know are not selling slime. So I need to order it from the internet. If my Z10 runs flat, I can call JAF. They will come and repair my tire cheaply, if repairable. It might be the first unicycle they do in their long history of road service. ? The instructions on how to put it in are very helpful. ? Thank you!

[Treponema]

@Marty Backe I'm a little confused. you didn't have a flat now so why fill it with slime?

[Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer"]

1 hour ago, Treponema said:

@Marty Backe I'm a little confused. you didn't have a flat now so why fill it with slime?

Slime is like a rubber or profilactic (condom) for your tire.It is to help prevent the unwanted scenario of a flat tire.One might "spend a nickel to cover your pickle" to prevent getting an STD or an infection,whereas Slime does the same for tires/tubes.It helps to prevent unwanted deflations which is no fun while riding wheels or riding other things.

[Nic]

6 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Did you see the recent post where @JBoo had a nice gash in his Z10 tire and Slime fixed it?

Slime plugged the leak, it did not fix the gash. Important distinction.

Slime is structurally weak and does not bond to rubber. Its fine for plugging small leaks, but comes with its own set of problems. If you ride miles from anywhere, then its good insurance against getting a flat as dealing with a puncture on a 25kg EUC in the middle of nowhere is not a pleasant prospect. 

[Negru Ionel]

How much slime do you recommend to fill with?

[Marty Backe]

5 minutes ago, Negru Ionel said:

How much slime do you recommend to fill with?

8-ounces in the Z10 tire.

[Negru Ionel]

2 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

 8-ounces in the Z10 tire.

Thank you ♡

[cg]

On 9/1/2018 at 8:46 AM, Marty Backe said:

Never had a problem adding or letting air out of any of my tires.

just what I needed to know great

[Papa Schultz]

Thank you for this instructive video. Even though the leaflet on the tube is quite detailed, it helps seeing someone doing it. Just slimed my wheel as per your video, done in 15 minutes, no issues. Again thank you, sir. 

[Marty Backe]

2 hours ago, Papa Schultz said:

Thank you for this instructive video. Even though the leaflet on the tube is quite detailed, it helps seeing someone doing it. Just slimed my wheel as per your video, done in 15 minutes, no issues. Again thank you, sir. 

Thanks for letting me know that the video was useful to you  That's why I take the time to make them.

[fbhb]

Green now has a listing for the majority of Z10 parts, including the 4.1" tyre, should anyone need to replace one that Slime was unable to fix. Just follow this link: https://ru.aliexpress.com/item/Ninebot-Z6-Z10/32922646414.html

[Dave Frear]

does the Z10 have a tube, or is it tubeless?

I filled my with the slime intended for tubes, not tubeless. Though I'm not sure if there is a difference.

[Marty Backe]

Just now, Dave Frear said:

does the Z10 have a tube, or is it tubeless?

I filled my with the slime intended for tubes, not tubeless. Though I'm not sure if there is a difference.

The Z10 is tubeless - which was a big selling point for the wheel. As shown in my video, I used Tubeless Slime. There is a formulation difference. The "tube" Slime is designed to seal the hole in the thin inner-tube. The "tubeless" Slime is designed for the much thicker tire. I don't know in exactly what way they are different. I suspect that either will work.

[JBoo]

I just wanted to jump in here to state that this IS NOT a permanent fix for a tire puncture.  Two days after getting my Z, some sort of metal shard punctured the tire.  At the time, I used tire slime and everything seemed okay, the tire maintained pressure with no noticeable loss.  Fast forward several months and 1000 miles, and I started experiencing a weird issue; I could inflate the tire to 30psi and it would maintain that pressure while resting idle, but as soon as I went riding, the pressure would drop to 15psi.  Since I didn’t want to experience the special agony of replacing the Z10 tire, I decided to go with a full puncture repair and, so far, it seems to have done the trick.

Puncture repair is pretty straightforward and boils down to following the instructions on the box (I actually used a kit for repairing car and truck tires), so I’ll just list some tips:

• The process is kind of a gluey mess so be ready with rags or paper towels.  You’ve got to fully coat the fill strip with rubber cement and it’s going to want to get on everything.  A good idea which I didn’t do is drape stuff over the rest of your wheel to make sure the glue doesn’t go where it isn’t wanted.  After inserting the strip in the puncture, be ready to wipe off the excess from the tire.
• Don’t be afraid to put your back into it.  Getting the roughing tool and the patch tool through the puncture is not a trivial operation.  I fully deflated my tire for this, but, in hindsight, if you have any pressure in the tire, leaving it there may make this process easier as it reduces how much the tire flexes as you’re trying to insert the tools.

When all is said and done, you should have something resembling this:

[Girth Brooks]

I will just use a plug kit like have for decades on motorcycles and ATVs tires to fix my Z tire if I ever get a hole in it this big. Tire plug kits like this are readily available anywhere.

https://www.amazon.com/Slime-1034-T-Handle-Tire-Plug/dp/B000ET525K

[Marty Backe]

9 minutes ago, JBoo said:

I just wanted to jump in here to state that this IS NOT a permanent fix for a tire puncture.  Two days after getting my Z, some sort of metal shard punctured the tire.  At the time, I used tire slime and everything seemed okay, the tire maintained pressure with no noticeable loss.  Fast forward several months and 1000 miles, and I started experiencing a weird issue; I could inflate the tire to 30psi and it would maintain that pressure while resting idle, but as soon as I went riding, the pressure would drop to 15psi.  Since I didn’t want to experience the special agony of replacing the Z10 tire, I decided to go with a full puncture repair and, so far, it seems to have done the trick.

Puncture repair is pretty straightforward and boils down to following the instructions on the box (I actually used a kit for repairing car and truck tires), so I’ll just list some tips:

• The process is kind of a gluey mess so be ready with rags or paper towels.  You’ve got to fully coat the fill strip with rubber cement and it’s going to want to get on everything.  A good idea which I didn’t do is drape stuff over the rest of your wheel to make sure the glue doesn’t go where it isn’t wanted.  After inserting the strip in the puncture, be ready to wipe off the excess from the tire.
• Don’t be afraid to put your back into it.  Getting the roughing tool and the patch tool through the puncture is not a trivial operation.  I fully deflated my tire for this, but, in hindsight, if you have any pressure in the tire, leaving it there may make this process easier as it reduces how much the tire flexes as you’re trying to insert the tools.

When all is said and done, you should have something resembling this:

Fantastic. Thanks so much for posting this. It's true that Slime can not necessarily be a super long lasting repair (but it did get you ~1000-miles ?).

It's great to know that a car tire type repair kit works on the Z10 tire. To be fair, we'll need to see if it too fails after ~1000-miles 

Would you be able to post the exact kit that you used for this repair. It really helps to have the details.

Thanks!

[JBoo]

8 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Fantastic. Thanks so much for posting this. It's true that Slime can not necessarily be a super long lasting repair (but it did get you ~1000-miles ?).

It's great to know that a car tire type repair kit works on the Z10 tire. To be fair, we'll need to see if it too fails after ~1000-miles 

Would you be able to post the exact kit that you used for this repair. It really helps to have the details.

Thanks!

It’s the one Girth posted, https://www.amazon.com/Slime-1034-T-Handle-Tire-Plug/dp/B000ET525K

 

[Rehab1]

37 minutes ago, Girth Brooks said:

I will just use a plug kit like have for decades on motorcycles and ATVs tires to fix my Z tire if I ever get a hole in it this big. Tire plug kits like this are readily available anywhere.

https://www.amazon.com/Slime-1034-T-Handle-Tire-Plug/dp/B000ET525K

I just ordered this kit. For $7 you can’t go wrong.  @Marty Backe I’m now approaching 2 miles on the Z so this tire plugger will give me piece of mind.

[Mykhailo]

On 2/14/2019 at 11:38 PM, JBoo said:

maintain that pressure while resting idle, but as soon as I went riding, the pressure would drop

I have the same issue with pressure drops when riding. I was unlucky to get a puncture in the tyre of my Z10 on the 5th day. The stupid thing that it happened on the way back from work 100m away from home. I was passing by containers for disposal of bottles and I didn’t notice broken glass on the bicycle lane. In the beginning Slime seemed to fix the leak, but sometimes when I ride the wheel I hear the noise of escaping air. If I put the tyre with the hole down, slime does the thing and stops the leak. But when I get back on the wheel it start leaking again and again. I noticed that the tyre is less prone to such occasional leaks when is still hard, but as soon as it loses some air it becomes leaking more and more (probably because of bigger rubber deformations slime is pushed out faster). If I put 2.7 bar the wheel is rideable for 5-6 km. 

I’m looking for a way to fix it permanently and I got 3 ideas: 

1. Fixing with a special cyanoacrylate glue for rubber boats which stays flexibl (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=opil9sqLwME&t=277s). I will test 2 samples of such glue and compare them with normal superglue later this weekend. I have 2 difficulties: cleaning the hole inside the tyre from slime - will try with syringe and 96% alcohol; items to be glued has to be firmly pressed against each other - still have to figure out how to press the 2 parts of the tyre without removing the tyre. 
2. Using tyre repair kit (same as JBoo). It’s difficult for me to accept the idea that in order to fix the leak I have to make a bigger hole. More important I’m not sure how the rubber roll has to be placed in my case - perpendicularly to the tyre or under the same angle as the hole (see pics). Is it possible to use it inclined. 
3. Disassemble the wheel and fix the tyre from inside. I found it to be a difficult operation and for this reason I want to avoid it. Seen the considerable thickness of the rim I thought that it could have been possible to squeeze the tyre and install a patch through the gap between the tyre and the rim. But not sure if this feasible. 

 

This is where I am with brainstorming. I want to try first with the glue. Please share your ideas. 

[Marty Backe]

49 minutes ago, Mykhailo said:

I have the same issue with pressure drops when riding. I was unlucky to get a puncture in the tyre of my Z10 on the 5th day. The stupid thing that it happened on the way back from work 100m away from home. I was passing by containers for disposal of bottles and I didn’t notice broken glass on the bicycle lane. In the beginning Slime seemed to fix the leak, but sometimes when I ride the wheel I hear the noise of escaping air. If I put the tyre with the hole down, slime does the thing and stops the leak. But when I get back on the wheel it start leaking again and again. I noticed that the tyre is less prone to such occasional leaks when is still hard, but as soon as it loses some air it becomes leaking more and more (probably because of bigger rubber deformations slime is pushed out faster). If I put 2.7 bar the wheel is rideable for 5-6 km. 

I’m looking for a way to fix it permanently and I got 3 ideas: 

1. Fixing with a special cyanoacrylate glue for rubber boats which stays flexibl (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=opil9sqLwME&t=277s). I will test 2 samples of such glue and compare them with normal superglue later this weekend. I have 2 difficulties: cleaning the hole inside the tyre from slime - will try with syringe and 96% alcohol; items to be glued has to be firmly pressed against each other - still have to figure out how to press the 2 parts of the tyre without removing the tyre. 
2. Using tyre repair kit (same as JBoo). It’s difficult for me to accept the idea that in order to fix the leak I have to make a bigger hole. More important I’m not sure how the rubber roll has to be placed in my case - perpendicularly to the tyre or under the same angle as the hole (see pics). Is it possible to use it inclined. 
3. Disassemble the wheel and fix the tyre from inside. I found it to be a difficult operation and for this reason I want to avoid it. Seen the considerable thickness of the rim I thought that it could have been possible to squeeze the tyre and install a patch through the gap between the tyre and the rim. But not sure if this feasible. 

 

This is where I am with brainstorming. I want to try first with the glue. Please share your ideas. 

Frankly, I would do what @JBoo did and that's what I'll do if I get a flat that Slime isn't able to fix.

[JBoo]

Of those options, you should really try the tire patch, it is quite easy.  You don’t make the puncture larger, the roughing tool scuffs the edges of the puncture to ensure a good bonding surface when you insert the glue coated patch strip.  I’ve put several miles on the wheel since patching, and it’s been retaining pressure just fine.