Goat heads are my arch nemesis. Don't know what they are? Here's a pic....Goathead
I have always used slime, in combination with thick tubes, double tubes or thorn resistant liners. This usually has done the trick. Well...it's not doing so well anymore. I think Slime has gone down hill as a sealant.
Does anyone else have a way of dealing with them?
As a father of four I share this woe with all my children who ride more then I do.
Goat heads are my arch nemesis. Don't know what they are? Here's a pic....Goathead
I have always used slime, in combination with thick tubes, double tubes or thorn resistant liners. This usually has done the trick. Well...it's not doing so well anymore. I think Slime has gone down hill as a sealant.
Does anyone else have a way of dealing with them?
As a father of four I share this woe with all my children who ride more then I do.
Run tubeless or load your tubes with Slime. Not much more you can do. Slime can lose effectiveness with time, so add more or install new tubes and re-Slime. For kids who don't care about weight or rolling resistance, you can install "Tuffy" tire liners. Work great for preventing goatheads from getting through the tire tread, but won't do squat if you get one through the sidewall.
Well, I think that tubeless is kind of pricey for kids. You may not be able to do it anyway, if they're on smaller wheels. I'd go with the liners. They work pretty well. I'd also tell them to stay on the trails, and not wander around in the grass. That's where most of the goatheads are anyway.
I use Spin Skin liners between the tube and the tire, and have had good success with them. UST is probably the best way overall, but for a kids bike, I'd get the Thorn Resisitant tubes. They weigh a ton, but what kid cares about that?
I'll put in another vote for tire liners. My old house had a gravel driveway that turned into a happy little goathead farm every summer. My commuter was flatting once a week and it drove me nuts! I finally put in some of those kevlar liners and my flat frequency went way way down. Goo setups are a pain in the ass and I've never had the patience for them.
I''ve had good luck with pre-slimed tubes. Used to live in northern New Mexico and South Western Colorado, where goatheads and broken glass are a way of life. My flat frequency went way down after I started using them, and, for a few bucks more, you avoid sliming the tubes/tires yourself.
Mr. Tuffys tire liners are probably the easiest route for kids' bikes. They should be available in different sizes and are fairly cheap. Thorn-proof tubes with sealant are a good choice as well. Tires with tall knobs help keep the goatheads from penetrating into the carcass, but they're not the greatest for pavement or hardpack.
Or you could go this route, from an arizona rider profile in mtb mag.
His set up was:
Thorn-proof tube, filled with slime, and then wrapped up in a second thorn-proof tube, which was then covered by a Mr. Tuffy. The whole kit and kaboodle was then popped into an IRC Kujo DH tire.
Ahh, nothing like a 20lb tire/tube/rim setup. :thumbsup:
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