hi guys, i was just wondering how the seasoned riders deal w/flats out on the trail? i seem to get more than my fair share of flats. ive tried different brand tire sealers. and so far i have had best results using "slime" (THE GREEN CHIT) i carry a mini compressor, and also a plug kit. anybody have a better product? i get so many flats ive had the thought of buying a spare tire and rim to take on long rides.. so far ive made it home all but 1 time using slime. except for 1 time when i punctured side wall descending some rock ledges. so let me know how you guys deal w/flats....thx

 

you hit a homerun w/ what you use and carry. its worked for me a couple of times and even had to use 2 plugs(which are still in the side wall) andslime but it sealed it up last yr and set all winter and did not leak. i carry slime and plugs/kit and now just bought a little compressor kit at wal mart for like 22.00 i think and it will be in the bike this yr.

 

thx for the reply..wow you plugged the sidewall thats good to know. i guess my pea brain wasnt working the time i punctured sidewall cuz i didnt even think of trying to plug it ..doh!

 

when your out in the woods, you'll try anything. and this was on a 6 ply tire as well. the stock tires suck since their only a 3 ply. ive alreadsy got slime in 2 or 3 of the wifes tires as shed the flat tire queen. lol.

 

You've got the right idea, but I will add one more sugestion. When I was out at fort Irwin in the army for desert training we would get flats on our chevy maintenance contact truck. We didnt have plugs or patches and replacement tires were days out so we use sheet metal screws with washers and silicone/RTV. I've tried it in those large holes up on the side wall and they work well in a pinch.

 

The 4 ply PXT's that came on my sportsman 700 did not hold up well at all. I had a "pinch flat" in the sidewall of a front tire with a record 22 plugs in one hole/tear! (there were more than 40 plugs among the four tires with under 100 miles on them!!) It held for a few weeks of riding while I ordered my Mudlight XTR's which are 6 ply. That was 700 miles ago and I have not had another flat or used a single plug since. 6 ply tires solved the problem....

 

Back when I was a dedicated rider with no other hobbies and no children, I rode with a set of saddle bags that were packed full of preparedness. One thing that paid off many times were tire plugs. They work just fine for patching holes in sidewalls and lasted in the one tire for the life of the tire tread. For the speeds they see and the small loads the tires handle compared to that of a car, it's worth carrying them.

 

flat tire problems

I am curious, are you putting slime in before the flats or after? Here in AZ we slime before, when new, because of all the cactus here. We put half of a big bottle in each tire. I may buy the gallon next time! So far I have not had a flat and we hit a lot of pri##ly pear cactus.

 

we usually wait until it goes flat. but a bought a gallon at walmart and put 32 ozs in and i swear by it.

 

when you use slime, how much of a mess is the rim when you take the tire off? Is it hard to clean it up? Is it still liquid or does it harden on the rims?