Best sealant for tubed MTB tyres

[Sbloomer]

Oh the horror, I hear you say.  You don't have tubeless?

 

The struggle is real

 

I don't know if it is weeks of lockdown that have resulted in massive amounts of dubbeltjies being thrown into the roads but my kids have suddenly managed to get huge numbers of punctures while out doing their short rides while mom is doing her running.

 

This was from my son's bike in a 6km ride and they all swear he only rode on the road or near the gutter.

 

 

Both my son and daughter have loads of slime in their tyres but I'm still having to try deal with flats after almost every ride, although my daughter's bike (with Maxxis) seems less vulnerable than my son's (with Rocket Ron).

Is there a better anti-flat solution than slime?  Or am I going to have to fit tyre liners? Or go with better much more substantial tyres, which I don't want to do given the scarcity of decent tyres in 26" and 24"

 

I've also had to deal with these thorns on my gravel bike (but luckily only one flat) and they are far more numerous in the road than I can recall

 

 

 

[ChrisF]

SLUDGE UNI-SEAL ... the one with the RHINO horn on the emblem.

 

 

Maritz has had MANY thorns over the last few years, not a single puncture with the SLUDGE in the tubes.

 

 

I actually used it in my Scott for about 600km, before doing the tubeless conversion.  Also had many thorns and never a flat tire.

 

 

Was R75 a bottle at CWC, should be enough for both tubes.  Seen it near R100 at other stores ...

[Mojoman]

I used to use tyre liners and those much thicker tubes you can buy...although they do add a bit of weight. Worked OK for me for many Kms. Odd punctures for sure but waaay less than using normal tubes. I tried a couple of sludge type products. Just makes a mess and never really seal, still had to use a patch.

[Alouette3]

I'd say go for some tire liners. The added weight is not going to be major for the kids.

 

never had great luck with sludge in tires. It works for a bit, but eventually gives and you land up with a royal mess and no way to patch the tire. Patches and sealant don't play well.

[Darrynbp]

Lay out the money for preslimed tubes, the cycloplus ones work really well for me,.. I was told by my lbs the powder inside a standard tube has some effect on adding your own slime, which over time makes the the slime in effective????????.

 

I've used the cycloplus and the definitive bike brands, both work well

Edited May 14, 2020 by Darrynbp

[T_Boss]

In my opinion, best bet would be to keep the tires they have on, but do a ghetto tubeless conversion. All you need is tubeless valves and a roll of gorilla tape. You won’t regret it.

 

That said, my experience with schwalbe tires has never been good. They seem to puncture very easily.