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Tire Pressure and Maintenance


Chris Westland

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8 hours ago, jrkline said:

They may brand it differently,but it is the same stuff.

Interesting, you seem to have insider knowledge. Do you mind to share how you got to find out that these are the same fluids?

Edited by Mono
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15 hours ago, Mono said:

To my understanding there are two different types of slime sealants, one for tubes and the other for tubeless tires.

Here is the response on the https://endless-sphere.com/ forum.  This is a perennial discussion on the bicycle sites ...

Re: auto slime in bike inner tube tire

Postby amberwolf » Sun Jul 22, 2012 11:38 pm

palmer.alexj wrote:I was hoping to figure out whether or not there is a difference between Tubeless and Tube versions of slime.

There is; it was already stated that the tubeless version uses small chunks of rubber in it to help seal larger punctures (the regular slime does not have these, and thus can only seal smaller punctures. It also states this on the product packaging, and on Slime's website, AFAICR). 

 
Can I put Tubeless slime inside a Tube?

Again, this was also answered, as a Yes with a caveat that it may clog the valve later, or your particular valve stem may be too narrow for the larger chunks of rubber to pass thru, and it may clog up the actual valve stem minus valve, just filling it. You could fix this by carefully pushing with something like a Qtip or similar-sized stick or tool into the stem's hole to push the chunks thru the rest of the way. I'm not sure if it was mentioned that you probably can't get the rubber chunks into a Presta-valved tube, so it probably won't work with them. 

 
Anyhow, they claim the ability to balance a tire while riding.

All of the slimes will balance during riding, as they spread out over the outer circumference of the tube or tire. As soon as you stop, of course, they will all begin to run down to the bottom again, so the balance only exists during motion at sufficient speed to keep the stuff centrifuged to the outer circumference. ;)
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1 minute ago, LanghamP said:

I bought the slime but now need a valve core extractor.

It is included as part of the slime can lid cap. 

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  • 1 month later...

I'm a beginner rider with back and hence leg issues. I started at past 3 bars on my Lhotz, but once I got the tighter steering in order, I started to lower the pressure gradually since even small cracks in the pavement felt harsh. I'm now at 2.3 bars, and while lazy, the steering is still manageable. More importantly, the cracks and bumps are now a lot better!

What would you guys think as the absolute minimum for a relaxed 91kg (200lbs) rider? I don't feel that I'm anywhere near bottoming out, I take rough patches quite slowly.

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  • 1 year later...
2 hours ago, Topkek said:

When a tire is slimed do you need to account for it with slightly lower pressure than without?

No, You can adjust your pressure to your preference. You have a wide range to work with so the proper amount of slime makes little difference. Just make sure you are not riding with pressure too low. eWheels.com had a chart for tire size and rider weight at one time. The smaller the wheel and heavier the rider the higher the pressure. 

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  • 11 months later...
On 2/21/2017 at 8:59 PM, Chris Westland said:

Where the rubber meets the road, it seems, doesn't get enough love here.  So I thought I'd start a thread to share opinions about tire pressure, maintenance, etc. (starting with some of my opinions).

I find tire pressure to be one of the most important components of handling and ride, and I'm a bit obsessive about it on my EUC's (probably carrying over from motorcycles and bikes).   There are three things that make tire pressure a challenge with EUC's:

  1. EUC's only have one tire, low pressure has a direct impact on ride, and tire failures are unforgiving
  2. EUC's have unique bent valve stems that make it hard to find inner-tubes, and a pain to fill (you just don't want to do it)
  3. EUC tire pressure is a bother to check compared to any other vehicle, because the valve stems are hidden in the EUC cavity, and difficult to attach to a pump

... and there are probably other things.   The net result is that you want to maintain the tire, fill to pressure and forget it. 

To that end, I've Slimed (https://www.amazon.com/Slime-10056-Tube-Sealant-oz/dp/B003V9XYNW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1487706156&sr=8-2&keywords=slime+bicycle) both my V8 and Zero.  I used about 1/3rd of the bottle on each one.  There is no effect whatsoever on the feel of the wheel, and I think it provides a certain security.  In Chicago, I can take my bike into any number of convenient shops to buy and install a new inner-tube; but the same shops would just draw a blank with an EUC, and the inner-tubes are hard to find.  Best to maintain what you have.

I like to keep my tire pressure up at 3 bar (~44 psi).  The sidewalls of my V8 and Zero tires both recommend 40-65psi pressure, and the V8 comes from the factory at 2.8 bar (~40psi).  So for me 3 bar seems the right pressure, and both wheels feel good at that pressure.   It's a real bother to fit a pressure gauge on the valve stem because they are bent against the wheel.  I almost never get a seal on my gauge without several tries.  

So instead, I pumped the wheels up with my Lezyne pump (https://www.amazon.com/Lezyne-Steel-Floor-Drive-Black/dp/B005UND3CY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1487706504&sr=8-3&keywords=lezyne+pump) -- I recommend Lesyzne as the absolute best bike pump on the market -- and then put a Gozens 44psi cap  (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HRIKIY0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) on the wheel.  That way, I can easily check the pressure at the start of each ride.  You do need to buy the Gozens at a particular pressure (BTW, they have bluetooth systems, which I think are a bit of overkill) but you get 4 of the basic caps for $9, so NBD.

pump zero.jpg

cap.jpg

V8 Cap.jpg

I just got the Gozens caps but they do not fit the V8! They rub the case below the pedal. How could you fit them?

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I carry an airhawk pro and always inflate my KS16X.  It had a slow leak since I got it, rather disappointed on a new wheel, though I not slimed it yet either, the ritual to inflate became second nature (it takes less than 5min) sometimes it drops 5psi or up to 10psi.  The extension that comes with the pump is flexible and I found I can just twist the entire extension onto the stem. I did replace the cap with this metal one which is twice as high but has 2 finger like grooves which make removing it  by pushing it sideways to twist off if that makes sense.

Edit: I did do a water/soap check and couldn't find the leak if stem or tire. And I did get a 16oz bottle of slime to eventually get around to lol.

 

Edited by giggidditygiggiddity
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