Tire Sealer

Post by **celticus** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 6:54 am

Has anyone tried , or heard of , the tire sealer that is supposed to prevent flats and balance your tires as well? It is supposed to be non-corrosive to alloy wheels and won't cause rust on steel wheels.
Almost sounds too good to be true.
Mark

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 7:04 am

I don't know much about it.

I do know that it's been around for years...and often used in Mt Bikes. (pushies)

I do know that it might gum up you valves.

I do know the guys that change your tires next time will curse you.

I do know that it may put your wheels out of balance but may come good once up to speed and warmed up.

I do know that it will increase the unsprung weight..and that's not good..I once picked up a bottle of it and it's heavy stuff.

I do know that it sometimes works.

Other than that I don't know much about it.

I know that I would not use it..unless I lived near a nail factory..

Others here may know more about it.

DJ

MIXR · Post by **MIXR** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 7:14 am

I've used it twice. As a repair method. Once on one of my bikes with a tube (desperation) and once on a mate's bike with a tube (more desperation). On my bike (Honda XL) it worked ok. Very temporary though. Most stayed in the tube.

On my mate's old Kwaka 900 - It leaked past the torn tube and sealed the rim. It worked - But as DJ said - What a mess.

Avoid it if you can. It's really a sort of "If all else fails" type of thing in my book. Shocking stuff in a bike rim.

Your tyre guy will hate you if you use it in a tubeless rim. Guaranteed. It goes in ok - Then you spin the wheel to get an even distribition. It plugs the leak as it tries to leak out.

On a 'good' tyre - It just adds a sealable layer to the inside of the tyre. Most stays where it gets spun - The centre of the tyre. No good if you get a nail through the sidewall.

Post by **celticus** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 7:28 am

Thanks , The advertisment made it sound much different that just fix a flat but hearing you guys talk about it I get the feeling it may not be.
Mark

LeonardoNYC · Post by **LeonardoNYC** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:36 am

There are a few different types of sealant on the market and after getting three flats in one year on my rear tire a few summers ago I tried a diferent type and researched pretty well. I live in NYC and often travel the dreaded Long Island Expressway and sometimes will ride on the shoulder during times of heavy traffic which caused me to pick up a lot of debris which included screws and nails that made their way to the side of the road. I have since changed one rear tire and had no complaints from my mechanic who changed the tire and he didn't even notice anything different.

You can see the link for the product at http://www.ride-on.com/prod_mot.asp

Cheers!

Leonardo

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:49 am

If you see some, always walk the other way. Avoid it at all costs. There is a reason that after the invention of the air filled, rubber tire that 99.99999% of folks use weights and a plug kit to address balancing and flat fixes.

Post by **mogu83** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 3:58 pm

Being an 'old guy' I tend to look on this flat fixer stuff in the same light as 'snake oil' and 'Slick50'. On the other hand I've heard good things about RideOn ( not the other brands) on a few lists, and from some people that have used it.

Back in the day the only thing that went inside a tire (tyre) was a tube, then some demented person mounted one without a tube. Everyone knew the tire would come off the rim in a hard turn, nowdays people are using all kinds of gasses and even foam inside their tires (tyres). So maybe there is something to this stuff. It's expensive so I'll have to learn more before I spend my money.

Anyone that has actually used RideOn --- Please share.

soggybottom · Post by **soggybottom** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 7:45 am

I am an oldguy and have used rideon in 2 sets of goldwing tires that I install myself. I don't bother to static balance my tires when using rideon, after a 6000 mile tour from scottsdale Az to Freehold NJ the dunlop oem's had no cupping and looked as new as the day I left. 8 oz of liquid in your tires will not cause your mechanic to hate you. I use it and recomend it for long distance touring but, if your paying someone to install and balance your tires that are used for day trips it probly is not nessesary. I started using it for added security while super slabing 750 miles per day. I have never experianced a nail puncture though so I can't report on that function.

Post by **ka5ysy** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 5:30 pm

Slime works great in 4x4 and motorcycles for leakstops and large holes needing plugging !

Arbee · Post by **Arbee** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 5:19 am

If you use that white goop expect to throw away the tyre on dealer repair.

DRothermel · Post by **DRothermel** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 6:36 am

Mark: I have no experience with the goo stuff, but here's what I do. I bought the Slime brand 12v compact air compressor and the Plug n Go tire plug kit. The kit uses the mushroom style plugs. Total cost for both around $70.00 or so. Both received good write-ups in the MCN mag. I carry my raingear in a zippered business style pouch. I keep the compressor and plug kit right inside the same pouch. The pouch stays in my high side saddle bag and goes wherever I go!

Find a rain cover for your seat yet?

Richard

Post by **celticus** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 4:17 am

Richard yes I did. At a camping store fits very well $15! Loving the seat.
This from another topic. I believe it is pertinent. The author is thorough and seems to know his way around.
Mark

My friendly local shop couldn't bring himself to run an awl through what looks like perfectly good rubber in order to install a patch/plug (the only ones that are really safe on bike tires IMHO - I've used them several times before and when I took the tires off to replace, I tried to get them out.. no way, no how.. but I digress..)

When I got there - he was rotating the tire on his spin balancer. He said it put in some "RideOn" - and he'd had very good luck with it on other peoples tires that had tiny leaks or punctures.

There was only a very tiny bit of air leaking at this point (wet finger test..) and the instructions said to take the bike for a 3 mile ride to let the stuff circulate and deposit itself on the inside of the tire.

So - I came home, put it on and did the onerous job of going for a ride - about 5x longer than suggested, but it was a nice evening so what the heck.

Came home - tire pressure hadn't dropped at all, and NO air leaking that I can detect (wet finger test, and then dish soap test..) No feeling of imbalance - if anything it felt smoother than it had (it came from the factory with no weights - go figure - a perfect tire?)

Will report tomorrow after a round trip to work and back.

Post by **deilenberger** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:31 am

I can report - so far - so good. Seems fine at highway speeds (bike may actually be a tiny bit smoother.. go figure) - and tire is holding air fine (can tell by how tippie-toe I am when I come to a stop.)

Will check pressure again tonight, but it appears to have stopped the air from oozing out of the tire.

And since my friendly local shop installed it - they get to deal with it when it's tire time (I asked him - he said it's a non issue. Very little to clean up, most of it sticks to the inside of the tire.)

Post by **celticus** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 4:38 pm

Ah, Real clarity on the issue at last.
Mark