Should I use tire slime for my EUC?

[FF9F00]

I ordered my Begode A2 with road tire because I will never be using it for off-roading anyway. And my goal is to have never puncture.

I want my A2 to be as reliable as my parents' cars. Those cars never punctured even once in my lifetime to my knowledge.

Now, given that I will only use the A2 on proper roads, and a little bit of cobble stone terrain on occasion, will tire slime even be necessary?

I was sort of hoping these tires would be reliable and never puncture like real car tires, but I sometimes hear people repair their punctured EUC, which made me doubt  a bit. So would you recommend Tire slime for someone who doesn't care about mileage and top speed all that much, but instead values reliability/puncture resistance?

[UniVehje]

I think it’s a good idea. I’ve used Linseal sealant from German Amazon. Usually people recommend Slime or Goop brands. The longer it lasts the better. I always put this stuff in my tires and never even thought it would affect riding negatively. 

[woke rider]

Slime is a must. I have always gotten a flat within 3 days if not using slime. I used to have a mountain bike with tubeless self sealing tires and those worked better than slime, but without slime I always get a flat. I always suspected that slime was making my wheel feel softer on the road so I wonder about how it affects the wheel too.

[Funky]

When i was commuting with regular bicycle, i maybe got 1 flat once a year or two. But i didn't use slime on bicycle, because flat repair was very easy and fast to do. 

On EUC it's different story. Flat repair takes more time and is harder to do. So i use slime in every tube i put in. 

I use 2-3 ounces of 2in1 Slime on my 18xl. And i have 16 ounce bottle sitting in my closet just in case. 20$ best ever spent. (I ordered it from German Amazon, as we don't have any type of "slime", anti puncture mixtures in my country available to buy.)

 

 

@UniVehje I have noticed there is little bit of difference in ride quality. Without slime wheel feels more responsible, but when i put slime in - wheel got more sluggish.. Luckily EUC is powered by electricity, so the sluggish can't be felt that much. And over time (about 1 week) i didn't notice it anymore. But i can guarantee - there where difference before and after.. Also if you try holding the wheel by pedals and let it speed up little bit - all that slime that has collected at bottom wanna start shaking the wheel left/right way more, than without anything in tube. Luckily 1-5 rotations the slime gets evenly disturbed around tube and that imbalance gets fixed. 

 

Edited April 6 by Funky

[Scubadragonsan]

Without slime or anything like it, I have ridden my wheels for over 6 years and never had a puncture. Some of my wheels got anti-puncture tires!

[Marty Backe]

I've been using Slime in ALL my wheels (over 45) for the last ~8-years. It has saved me many a flats and I see no downside. Probably not as important if getting a flat has no bad consequences but I'm often riding many miles from civilization where getting a flat would really ruin my day.

[Planemo]

Same here, I slimed my MSX, Sherman and now EX30. I saw a trace of slime (easy to see given it's colour) in the deep groove of my Sherman knobby tyre one day during an after-ride clean. On closer inspection there was a dirty great thorn and out of curiosity I checked the pressure and it was bang on. As I was at home I pulled out the thorn - bloody thing was about 2cm long! the tyre pissed air until I sat the hole at the bottom and the slime sealed after a few seconds. I rode it like that for another few days (with no loss of air) until I decided to replace the tube.

So that test was good enough for me to keep using it. Like Marty, I could be 50 miles from my car in the middle of nowhere and a flat would ruin my day as well as my wallet to get a cab back to my car.

And I did a video recently in response to seeing one too many people moaning about how sealants can upset the balance of a wheel (it's nonsense btw):

 

[alcatraz]

I learned that inner tubes of different brands have very different mileage before they start to puncture.

I used to buy any brand but now I use only cst. After about 4000-5000km it starts to puncture and you can choose to swap it out for a new inner tube instead of patching and that way start the clock again.

Another good thing to do is check your tire pressure every 1-2 weeks. Enough to not bend your rim and not puncture your tube (pinch flat), but low enough to get most of the comfort from having a larger tire.

[Planemo]

Yeah CST do make some good tubes, I always keep a spare one in the shed. Not cheap but it's not worth skimping out on a tube - I think I paid about £20 for mine. I would add that it's possible that CST do make a lesser quality (less thick) tube as well but the ones as fitted in most EUC's do seem to be of the motorcycle quality rather than bicycle quality and when replacement is due it's worth being careful not to fit a thinner version by mistake.

[Funky]

5 hours ago, Planemo said:

And I did a video recently in response to seeing one too many people moaning about how sealants can upset the balance of a wheel (it's nonsense btw):

 

EUC placed on solid stand - where side to side movements won't be noticed... 

I bet if you had held wheel by pedals and did that freespin test. You would have noticed difference at startup. (Only at startup, after 1-5 rotations the slime gets evenly disturbed around tube and imbalance gets fixed.) And the overall sluggishness goes away over time. As rider gets used to the new "feel".

I have placed 2 times a new tube and have ridden some days without any slime in, before filling the new tube. And i did notice difference with or without slime in it both times. It's small difference, but still noticeable. It felt like tire where "heavier" with slime, so on.. You needed to give more input at turns and acceleration with slime. (Ofc - because tire has gotten heavier by 2-3 ounces. Especially when all slime in collected at bottom at startup.)

But i still choose to use slime, because i didn't care that it got more sluggish..

 

Edited April 7 by Funky

[Funky]

4 hours ago, Planemo said:

Yeah CST do make some good tubes, I always keep a spare one in the shed. Not cheap but it's not worth skimping out on a tube - I think I paid about £20 for mine. I would add that it's possible that CST do make a lesser quality (less thick) tube as well but the ones as fitted in most EUC's do seem to be of the motorcycle quality rather than bicycle quality and when replacement is due it's worth being careful not to fit a thinner version by mistake.

I buy mine from Aliexpress very thick rubber tubes for 5$. Compared to ones i can get locally for 20$.. 1 vs 4 tubes for same amount of money. At closer look they are almost the same. Even when pumping they expand the same amount at same psi.

Local store - up price.

China - cheap from factory.

Edited April 7 by Funky

[Planemo]

13 minutes ago, Funky said:

EUC placed on solid stand - where side to side movements won't be noticed... 

You would easily notice side to side movements. The stand is far from solid and only has two small supports under the stanchions which barely hold the wheel upright front to back and side to side is irrelevant anyway because any slime wont be going side to side.

13 minutes ago, Funky said:

I bet if you had held wheel by pedals and did that freespin test. You would have noticed difference at startup. (Only at startup, after 1-5 rotations the slime gets evenly disturbed around tube and imbalance gets fixed.)

Yeah so 5 rotations to allow the slime to circulate is anything worth mentioning 

13 minutes ago, Funky said:

And i did notice difference with or without slime in it both times. It's small difference,

I noticed zero difference. Given a stock CST knobby is around 2.2Kg I don't think I need to comment much more.

11 minutes ago, Funky said:

I buy mine from Aliexpress very thick rubber tubes for 5$.

You do you. I won't buy any more tyres or tubes from Ali because previously I've had the wrong make and model tyres sent and crappy no name tubes to that which I ordered. For those that can be bothered its maybe worth it but given my tyres and tubes last me at least 2 years on average I'll go with vendors that don't cause me grief for a minimal increase in cost (relative to timespan).

[woke rider]

Pay close attention to your valve-stem when working on your tire because that has been a common failure point for me. Just try not to traumatize you valve-stem more than you have to while using it because that's one part that causes many headaches and if it tears (like on my KS14D tube) or pops on (like on my tubeless Z10) then it takes more work to fix and it's traumatic in general.

[Funky]

2 hours ago, woke rider said:

Pay close attention to your valve-stem when working on your tire because that has been a common failure point for me. Just try not to traumatize you valve-stem more than you have to while using it because that's one part that causes many headaches and if it tears (like on my KS14D tube) or pops on (like on my tubeless Z10) then it takes more work to fix and it's traumatic in general.

I had torn my valve stem 2 times.. It's the weak spot on any tube. Metal tube glued in thin rubber. No ring/washer around it, that would hold the stem more solidly in the tube..

Nowadays i add 1/2 extra layer of tube patch around the stem and glue it to tube.. (Cut patch of old tube, put little hole in middle and put it over stem.) So far i haven't had a torn valve stem anymore!

2 hours ago, Planemo said:

You do you. I won't buy any more tyres or tubes from Ali because previously I've had the wrong make and model tyres sent and crappy no name tubes to that which I ordered. For those that can be bothered its maybe worth it but given my tyres and tubes last me at least 2 years on average I'll go with vendors that don't cause me grief for a minimal increase in cost (relative to timespan).

Like in store bought tubes has a name..  All i was saying is that they both are the same. At least in my experience. Maybe you got better stores..

Slime wise: Also you ride those monster EUC's.. Ofc the difference will be even smaller on those heavy EUC's. As i said - it was my experience again. Some may not notice any difference.

It's great you didn't notice any difference - kudos for you.  I for once noticed difference on my 18xl, when i used slime for first time. And after little wile i got used to the new feel and didn't even think twice about slime. It can fix punctures - i will use it. I didn't care that slime changed little bit my riding experience.

For some it could change their riding experience for worse.  < That's why i only mentioned it.

Edited April 7 by Funky

[woke rider]

It feels like slime makes the wheel feel softer, given the same psi of a non-slimed wheel, which feels more aired up at the same psi; or it could just be psychological.

[Planemo]

15 hours ago, Funky said:

I had torn my valve stem 2 times..

15 hours ago, Funky said:

Nowadays i add 1/2 extra layer of tube patch around the stem and glue it to tube..

15 hours ago, Funky said:

Like in store bought tubes has a name..  All i was saying is that they both are the same.

I've never had a valve stem fail nor would I even consider faffing about reinforcing it using cut up bits of rubber and glue.

Keep at it with your 5 dollar tubes

[daniel1234]

19 hours ago, Funky said:

I buy mine from Aliexpress very thick rubber tubes for 5$. Compared to ones i can get locally for 20$.. 1 vs 4 tubes for same amount of money. At closer look they are almost the same. Even when pumping they expand the same amount at same psi.

 

could you please share link ?

[Funky]

9 hours ago, Planemo said:

I've never had a valve stem fail nor would I even consider faffing about reinforcing it using cut up bits of rubber and glue.

Keep at it with your 5 dollar tubes

I'm 280lbs and i simply spun the tire around rim while braking to hard.. The valve stem was inside the rim. (Only plastic cap was outside.) It wasn't the 5$ tube fault in any way!

I have sandpapered/scraped the M/C tire and rim now - so no more slippage. First time it happened i was like okay... Second time - something needs to be done.

(I even broke my wheel axle dot welds simply by doing pendulum) LOL. Two small dot welds holding all axle... I welded all round the axle, good luck braking them open now. Just an example for how much torque i'm giving sometimes.. Nowadays i'm more careful and don't accelerate/brake that hard.

 

I was really bummed when it happened each time.. So i simply glued extra layer of rubber around stem. You know - just in case... Because it's a weak spot. As it moves little bit also. (You need to pray it sideways to pump up tire.) And over time it could break/tear i imagine.

Edited April 8 by Funky

[Funky]

8 hours ago, daniel1234 said:

could you please share link ?

Type in your tube size and go ahead.. I'm buying nowadays 18x2.125" tubes instead of 18x2.5" because i got tubeless M/C tire - which has thich rubber and smaller space for tube. So i don't need original 18x2.5" tubes.

But i have bought both sizes at Ali.

Edited April 8 by Funky

[Roadpower]

Not getting a puncture is pure dumb luck. That only changes if you happen to ride through industrial use areas (many trucks in operation) where the odds of getting a puncture dramatically increase. As for Slime I've never used the stuff and don't intend to because my bailout is public transportation of which I have a lot around my areas of use.

Now here is the funny thing, I almost exclusively ride around heavily truck traveled areas. I never got a puncture on my EUC (yet) but I did get hit twice on my motorcycle.

[varamontelo]

For information in France, it is no longer compulsory since this month to place the insurance certificate on the motor vehicle. A new document is given to the owner who must keep it with him to present it to the agents who request it.

[Toad]

On 4/6/2024 at 10:07 AM, Funky said:

...I have noticed there is little bit of difference in ride quality. Without slime wheel feels more responsible.... But i can guarantee - there where difference before and after.. [A]ll that slime that has collected at bottom wanna start shaking the wheel left/right way more, than without anything in tube. Luckily 1-5 rotations the slime gets evenly disturbed around tube and that imbalance gets fixed.

I too felt that I noticed a worse ride after I slimed the tube. The key would be to use the minimum (effective) amount of slime: but how do you know how much that is? The bottle might say something on the topic, but slime's liner-notes are written with bicycles in mind, or sewing machines, or farm equipment, or whatever, in any case somewhat different from electric unicycles.

[Funky]

1 hour ago, Toad said:

I too felt that I noticed a worse ride after I slimed the tube. The key would be to use the minimum (effective) amount of slime: but how do you know how much that is? The bottle might say something on the topic, but slime's liner-notes are written with bicycles in mind, or sewing machines, or farm equipment, or whatever, in any case somewhat different from electric unicycles.

When doing tire change - if you take tube and feel slime is "slushing" around in the tube itself - you have enough in it. In my case it's 2-3 ounces.