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Goatheads and flats

2K views 23 replies 18 participants last post by  BrianU 
#1 ·
I have had a nice run of getting goatheads this month!! And each tire gets like 10 of them each.
I think it has to do with riding on little used side trails that have brush on the path. In SoCal, we get some rain, everything grows, then dies.

Should I just avoid these little side trails, get tire liner, get slime tubes or just get used to changing tubes???
 
#6 ·
Even if you buy the Stans Strips you are out a lot less money in the long run. You can also look up how to make the tire sealant yourself, which will save you more money.

How many tubes have you gone through? They are what...$5 a piece? You could probably do tubeless for $20 if you know some with a compressor.
 
#9 ·
allroy71 said:
I thought about tubeless, but this is supposed to be my low maintenance, low investment SS bike!!
That's what we are saying, by going to tubeless - it will me back to low maintenance. Investment wise, you can use two old tubes and buy a jug (pint or a quart) of Stan's sealant at your LBS or online. A quick and dirty DIY ghetto split-tube conversion - and you won't be changing flats for a while.
 
#16 ·
mr tuffy liners are super heavy. you don't really want to add even more weight to your wheel do you? slime tubes are also heavy and work soso. way better then the tubes specialized put out. both pretty much suck aganist goat heads. go tubeless and mix stans with slime that you buy from an automotive store (has bigger chuncks of rubber in it). it's pretty simple to do yourself and you will for sure save time and money in the long run. can also run lower tire pressures!
 
#18 ·
Going ghetto tubeless is not very expensive and really worth it. It takes a while to set up with shaking and resting the wheels on buckets, but it is worth it.
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After I made the switch I took a ride on a trail that seemed fun and was close to home. As I drove back home I heard some rattling. I had 10-12 goatheads in each tire. tough pulling them out but did so, spun the wheels and kept riding. No problems. Nice not to have to change tubes with flats. When you go out and ride with tubeless you don't have to worry about getting stuck changing flats. Make sure you do all the steps and refresh some Stans or homebrew every 4 or 6 months.
 
#20 ·
yourideit said:
mr tuffy liners are super heavy. you don't really want to add even more weight to your wheel do you? slime tubes are also heavy and work soso. way better then the tubes specialized put out. both pretty much suck aganist goat heads. go tubeless and mix stans with slime that you buy from an automotive store (has bigger chuncks of rubber in it). it's pretty simple to do yourself and you will for sure save time and money in the long run. can also run lower tire pressures!
I run tubeless on my bikes but use Mr. Tuffy "Ultra lite" liners on my kid's bikes.

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=35042&category=199

If you run light tubes and the liners the weight difference in minimal
 
#21 ·
Mr. Tuffy seemed to be utterly worthless to me and the extra rotational weight was noticeable. Thorn resist tubes worked well but were WAY too heavy. Slime tubes or injecting sealant into your tubes works ok half the time but many tube punctures won't seal that way. This is not even to account for pinch flats either. Tubeless is really the way to go, much easier than I expected and not terribly expensive. Certainly worth the up front cost to never buy another tube or use another patch.

Plus the ability to run nice low pressures is really sweet once you get used to trusting your tires to do so. I'd be kind of careful with that at first depending on the rim/tire combo though.

I think for kids bikes injecting slime or slime tubes is a decent option.
 
#23 ·
If you don't go tubeless, you might try Foss tubes. Lightweight and supposedly very puncture resistant. I heard a report on them from the Taiwan bike show by someone who got to press a nail through one. The tube apparently forms a seal around the nail. I haven't tried them yet, but I am going to try them on my road bikes. I use Stans for my mtb's.
 
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