I'm thinking about putting tire sealer in all four tires. I do quite a lot of riding, in and around thorny loucst trees, and I will be getting a lot of flats and doing a lot of plugging if I don't. Anyone out there used this stuff much? What's the down side, other than the mess you will have if you dismount the tire from the rim? I have an old Honda 3 wheel ATC that I have always just added air using fix a flat, and that seemed to work pretty well. Would that be OK here too, or should I just get the sealer for all four tires and put it in, then re-inflate? Are there some kinds that are better than others, or are they all about the same?

 

Hi,

NEVER put fix a flat in a tire,it turns into a nasty,super glue-like mess,and some tire shops will not even work on tires with that junk in them. Slime works real well,and Highlifter sells their own brand that is said to seal holes up to 1/4 inch. those brands stay liquid, and can be easily wiped out of the tire if need be.

 

Fix-A-Flat is water based, and will rust the wheel over time. Stay away from it. Slime and the HL stuff are both good, but HL wants an arm and a leg for theirs. I prefer the Slime. It's cheaper...you can get it almost anywhere...and it works just as good.

 

Don't use fix a flat!!! some versions have butane (lighter fluid) in them.
heard a story about a tech at an auto shop.
was changing a tire for a customer who brought it in to get it fixed.
slipped the removal tool in between the rim and tire and BOOM!!(metal tool and metal rim caused the spark)

tech wakes up in the hospital with a collapsed lung and a concussion.

shop caught fire and caused some serious damage.
car owner forgot to tell them he had used a fix a flat.

the safest bet is to use the sealant ( Slime, PJ1, etc.)and/or carry a plug kit.

those sealants can only stop a small leak and using the plugs will cover the bigger ones.

 

I had a slow leak in my right front that I couldn't find (rode in amongst some Honey Locust sprouts). I finally got the Victor tire sealant from Wal-Mart because it was cheaper and effective. It works well; I only add air because of seasonal changes. I also carry a plug kit and 12 Volt inflator with me; I used them twice on one ride. If you have both, you won't regret it.

 

I HAVE ALWAYS RUN FIX-A-FLAT IN ALL MY BIKES! (I have tried slime in the past, but it has proved to be pretty inefective.) Sure there are the problems that everybody has mentioned, but these are nothing compared to a 50 mile walk back to the truck in your riding boots, through the hot nasty dry desert!!

The other day I nailed a cactus and got maybe 30 spines in the front tire. I lost about 1/2 pound of air before the tire sealed. I made it back to camp 35 miles with no problem. Ever try patching 30 holes with your patch kit? For me, the advantages of running sealant, far outweigh the disadvantages of not running it.

On the other hand, if you are riding a big utility with a big trunk, you could just carry some sealant with you, and use it when needed???

 

YZGuy...are you saying that the Fix-A-Flat is more effective than Slime would be in that situation? Man, we must be talking about two different products. The Slime would easily seal those cactus punctures faster and better than the much thinner viscosity Fix-A-Flat.

 

Slime might do OK on the real small stuff like a thorn, but my experience is that it doesn't seal the larger (say 6 penny nail size and up) stuff so well. After thousands of miles of hard a$$ desert riding with a variety of tires, fix-a-flat has never let me down even once!!!

 

Slime works on nails, thorns, small punctures. I would recommend buying 4 or 6 ply tires. Your troubles will end. It worked for me, anyhow!