What can I do to make my mountain bike (it's ridden on pavement only) nearly flat proof?

Question

I have heard of tuff liners and green slime. Does anyone use these products? If so, how many miles a week do you ride the bike, and how many flats do you normally get with the products you use in a 2 month period?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Get the best tires you can afford. In the end it will save you money. Cheap tires are, well, cheap. They are punctured easily and are heavy to boot. I ride 10+ miles frequently on rough New England roads and have age related tube loss before I get a puncture. Matter of fact, I can't remember the last puncture, and it's been years.

I highly recommend a kevlar belted tire. It works like an army flack jacket, brushing off most road debris. Panaracer, Specialized, and Continental all make cost effective and durable tires. Very good brands. Add a good thick walled tube which you can get multi-packs of three from http://www.PerfomanceBike.com ($10-15?) and you should be good to go.

Do you live in the desert with LOTS of cactus needles, a machine shop, or around a glass factory? Then I suggest solid tires. They don't contain air, so no punctures. Problem is that they don't have that air cushion. They ride decently, but the air tire definitely is more comfortable.

http://www.airfreetires.com/shopping/c-1...

If you go this route, you will probably wear out the rest of the bike before the tires give out.

Answer 2

A good cheap way out is to get tubes with Slime pre-installed and a set of tire liners. It might be a little over kill to use both but you now it won't flat from glass, nails or other sharp objects. I've used slime tubes and NEVER had a flat from thorns or glass, after one race I found half a dozen thorns in my front tire and it was still holding good air pressure.

Answer 3

I get no flats in 2 months and maybe 1 a year. MTB tires on the road should almost never get a flat. What are you doing riding over bottles and razor blades?

Get tuff liners. The slime is horrible to use.