If I gave these tyres do o need slime?

Michael Love

Pedelecer
Aug 26, 2018
155
35
58
Hi all,

HNY to everyone.

If I have these tyres, do I need slime?
puncture resistant 700c Kenda K-935 tyres

Thank you.
 

sjpt

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
3,642
2,652
Winchester
My experience with slime was very bad; a puncture after not many days at all and a horrible mess all over the inner tube and tyre. Others swear by it, though.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: Nealh and flecc

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,311
Kenda original equipment tyres are not the best.

Probably worth doing a few journeys to see if you are getting punctures before seeking solutions to a problem that may not exist.

A tougher tyre might be a better option.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus is the usual recommendation.

I did 5,000 miles on a pair, and they are pretty bomb proof.

I'm currently running Schwalbe Moto X balloons tubeless, which has its plus and minus points.

But I was getting a few punctures with tubes, so something needed to be done.
 

sjpt

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
3,642
2,652
Winchester
Marathon Plus are brilliant for avoiding punctures. We had four sets; me, my wife, our son and our tandem. I went 13 years (probably around 1000m per year) without a puncture on one set; about 3 years doing the same commute that gave a couple of punctures a week with Kevlar belt tyres, and none for my wife or the tandem. Our son has had a couple, but he rides much more (and a lot harder).

BUT they aren't the most efficient, have a somewhat hard ride, and poor grip on mud, especially sideways grip.
 

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,311
I agree about the riding characteristics of Marathon Pluses, there are better.

Didn't bother me for my steady use on roads and well-made paths.

The toughness also equates to long life.

The guy who bought my bike with them on couldn't believe they'd done 5,000 miles.
 

jdallan

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 18, 2013
306
163
I had Kenda tyres on my first ebike and had a few punctures. I had Schwalbe tyres with slimed tubes on my last bike and the slime worked well when I got a hawthorn puncture 5 miles from home as it was getting dark. I have Schwalbe Moto X slimed tubes on my current (and last!) ebike and so far so good. As Rob says Marathon Plus tyres are usually recommended and I would agree with that, unfortunately they don't come in the size I need or I would have fitted them.

Jim
 

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,311
I had Kenda tyres on my first ebike and had a few punctures. I had Schwalbe tyres with slimed tubes on my last bike and the slime worked well when I got a hawthorn puncture 5 miles from home as it was getting dark. I have Schwalbe Moto X slimed tubes on my current (and last!) ebike and so far so good. As Rob says Marathon Plus tyres are usually recommended and I would agree with that, unfortunately they don't come in the size I need or I would have fitted them.

Jim
Same here.

The Charger has wide Alex rims which really need a two inch plus balloon tyre, if you want the tyre to sit well on the rim which I do.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
In my area punctures were very frequent, but with three and a half years on those Kenda tyres I suffered no punctures which was great improvement on some other tyres I'd used.

I later swapped out the Kendas for Marathon Plus which I rode on for many years with just one slow puncture. So for me there was nothing it between the two for puncture resistance, but the Kendas had better grip.

In your position I'd carry on with the Kendas for now, but I definitely wouldn't use slime which creates a big mess, making a puncture repair when the slime fails very difficult.
.
 

egroover

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 12, 2016
970
575
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UK
Have done 4000 miles on a pair of Schwalbe Energizer Pluses in 2 years, just the one puncture in that time. Just replaced them.
I found they are low rolling resistance, and great grip in wet and dry, so I think they are a good compromise over Marathon Pluses which are bulletproof, but a hard compound offering less grip, but similar to the regular Marathons, but easier to get on/off the rim if needed. About £16 per tyre from Mantel
 
  • Agree
Reactions: RobF

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,311
I think they are a good compromise over Marathon Pluses
Agreed.

Something like those would be my choice if buying that type of tyre again.

At only £16 a pop, you could afford to replace them before the tread got too worn, which is another way to avoid punctures.
 

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,311
Schwalbe offer the tyre in 700c at five widths.


The ever reliable BikeDiscount in the Fatherland has very similar Greenguard Marathons for similar money, including a couple of twin tyre and inner tube packages.

 

georgehenry

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2015
1,425
1,251
Surrey
After a side wall failure puncture on the rear tyre of a pair of Schwalbe Smart Sam Plus and then the same thing starting to happen with the replacement Smart Sam Plus on the rear I changed to Specialized Crossroads Armadillo 650B 27.6” Wired Clincher Tyres in 1.9” width.

I have covered 5962 miles on them and they are tough and hard wearing with no punctures. Importantly for me the side walls are much stronger than the Schwalbe.

The front is fine but the rear is beginning to get quite worn. When I feel the time is right I will probably move the front to the rear and put a new one on the front.
 

Martin56

Pedelecer
Feb 9, 2017
43
7
HP3
Agree with comments about slime it is so messy when it leaks horrible stuff. Didn't get on with Marathon Plus either, they are nothing special just have thicker rubber, if you get a thorn broken off and embedded it is hard to detect and keeps puncturing the inner tube. If at all possible, as mentioned above, go for 650b wheels with enduro tyres.
 

Benjahmin

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 10, 2014
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West Wales
Have to correct. Marathon pluses don't, 'just have thicker rubber'. They have a 5mm kevlar layer in the crown under the rubber tread.
Not had a single puncture in 6000 miles (o oh - that's buggered it:oops:).
 

Martin56

Pedelecer
Feb 9, 2017
43
7
HP3
I don't think its kevlar, its really just a thicker tyre, I think I took your share of punctures in my Marathon pluses.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
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