slime coming out of valve

tillson · Apr 10, 2011

dmcgoldrick said:
just ahead of this mornings pleasure ride i was checking the tyre pressures.
the rear tyre would not take any inflation and when removing the pump, slime shot out of the valve. tried again with the pump but could not force any air in and no air coming out.......has the slime caused a blockage in the valve......
if so how do i clear it ????

did not know there was slime in the inner tube......

wisper alpino 706

regards

It would be worth fitting new tubes without Slime in them. Some will disagree, but Slime can be more trouble than it is worth. If you do dispense with the Slime tubes, putting on a set of Marathon Plus tyres would be worthwhile whilst you have the wheels of the bike.

banbury frank · Apr 10, 2011

Hi

Yo can remove the valve its the same as a car Tyre

in the old days the metal dust caps had the notches in to remove valves

it is a reverse screwdriver Halfords or local bike shop

Frank

tillson · Apr 10, 2011

dmcgoldrick said:
thanks tillson, that sounds like quite an expensive fix to replace new tubes and tyres on a new bike......will do this in the future...but for now does anyone have a fix to unblock a slimed up valve ??????

regards

It is quite an expensive fix, but worth it in the long run for the fit and forget factor. I scrapped a set of tubes and tyres on a nearly new bike. It hurt a bit at the time but I'm glad i did it, never had a puncture (I shouldn't have said that should I?) You should be able to make the swap for sub £50.

If you only use your bike for leisure, it might not be worth making the change, but if used for commuting, definitely worth considering. It's only half a tank of petrol!

allen-uk · Apr 10, 2011

DMC: I had precisely the same problem a month or two back (Wisper 905 with Marathon Plus and slimed tubes) - I couldn't get any air into a tyre without putting all my weight on the track-pump.

Anyway, I bought a valve extractor tool and some valves off the web (SJS, I think, but I'll check and come back), took out the offending slimed-up valve, stuck in a new one, and hey presto, one fixed tyre and tube.

No trouble since, but I keep the tool and new valves ready just in case. Bloke in my bike shop says it's not uncommon for slimed tubes to bugger up the valves, but easily fixed if you've got the right extractor.

(Yes, it was SJS:
SJS Cycles Online Bike Shop for Touring, Mountain & Road Bikes and Specialised Bicycle Parts
The tool and valves were about £5 total:
Weldtite Schrader Valve Repair Tool
Schraeder Valve Replacement Core - Weldtite.
You can apparently buy them from car tyre shops, but I couldn't be bothered, and SJS delivered in about 2 days).

Allen.

flecc · Apr 10, 2011

Halfords should have the tool and Schrader valves as well.

Wisper fit slimed tubes as standard on their bikes.
.

Biged · Apr 10, 2011

Just take the valves out and rinse them under a running tap, pushing the valve stem down to clear, its the fibres in the slime that clog the valve. Dry and replace, job done!
Never had a puncture in more than 5 years with slime in my tyres on two separate bikes. Changed my tubes on my new Agattu to Schwalbe, for the Schrader valves and got a puncture in 20 miles.

Caph · Apr 10, 2011

I recently changed my tyres and was surprised to find several punctures in the slime tubes only noticeable by the prevalence of slime around them. I'd never even noticed but thinking back I did have to inflate my tyres as a result of what I thought was more than usual loss of pressure a few times.

I'd think twice about going back to a tube without sealant.

lonestar292 · Apr 11, 2011

Does this slime generally work well? At Halfords I had this in one hand and the slime liner rolls in the other. I chose the liner rolls. A pain to put in (which I still have to do after 3 weeks) but I guess once they're in then they're in.

rog_london · Apr 11, 2011

Biged said:
Just take the valves out and rinse them under a running tap, pushing the valve stem down to clear, its the fibres in the slime that clog the valve. Dry and replace, job done!
Never had a puncture in more than 5 years with slime in my tyres on two separate bikes. Changed my tubes on my new Agattu to Schwalbe, for the Schrader valves and got a puncture in 20 miles.

I think that's by far the best advice on here. If the slime has blocked the valve there's just one reason - the valve was letting air by and the slime sealed it - in other words, it has done its job.

It won't always work - especially if it's a big hole or in the tyre wall - but most of the time you won't even be aware you have or have had a puncture until you remove the tyre for some other reason.

Changing tubes just because you don't like the idea of slime is your privilege but probably not sensible advice to give to someone else. Wisper have always used it, and I'd suggest they wouldn't do so without good reason. The technology goes back at least 30 years - it saved my bacon a few times when motorbikes had tubed tyres. It tends to work less well on tubeless tyres. It's frowned upon now as a permanent fix on motor vehicles because it's not as good (or safe) as a new tube and a professionally vulcanized repair to the tyre.

One thing to add - make sure that the valve is near the top of the wheel before you remove the dust cap to add air, and definitely before you remove the valve, and let the bike stand for a while. The slime tends to run into the bottom of the tube while the bike is standing, and there's always a tendency to let a little air out when fitting and removing the pump connector.

Rog.

Tinker · Apr 11, 2011

my kids swear by slime & has been mentioned already the secret is to carry spare valves + extractor with the repair kit. It's surprising how many small punctures have been 'slimed' before a complete tube change.

Mussels · Apr 11, 2011

Tinker said:
my kids swear by slime & has been mentioned already the secret is to carry spare valves + extractor with the repair kit. It's surprising how many small punctures have been 'slimed' before a complete tube change.

I was surprised how few punctures were prevented when I changed mine - none! A few days after getting the bike with slime tubes fitted I got a puncture, the problem was that the slime prevented me fixing the tube with a normal patch so I had a long walk to Halfords to get a new tube.
I've also had trouble with the liner rolls causing punctures by themselves.
I'll stick to normal inner tubes, that way I can be confident of being able to repair it within 10 minutes.
I have MPs fitted now but there's something I don't like about them, I can't put my finger on it yet. So when these wear out I'll probably get a more standard tyre without any extra puncture protection, living dangerously.

tillson · Apr 11, 2011

rog_london said:
Changing tubes just because you don't like the idea of slime is your privilege but probably not sensible advice to give to someone else. Wisper have always used it, and I'd suggest they wouldn't do so without good reason. The technology goes back at least 30 years - it saved my bacon a few times when motorbikes had tubed tyres. It tends to work less well on tubeless tyres. It's frowned upon now as a permanent fix on motor vehicles because it's not as good (or safe) as a new tube and a professionally vulcanized repair to the tyre.

I think that opinion on the use of Slime is pretty much divided. Many, me included, have not had a good experience when using Slime. When a puncture occurs, the Slime can escape from the inner tube, without sealing, and penetrate between the tube and tyre. This results in a complete mess making it impossible to apply a patch to the inner tube. You can then end up being away from home, with a flat tyre, and no way to repair it.

Slime is actually less effective in a tyre with an inner tube fitted. It was originally intended for use in tubeless tyres. The possibility of leakage between the tyre and tube being the reason for it's reduced effectiveness.

It was these facts and shared experience that the advice to change the inner tubes was based on. That is all that it was, experienced based advice. There's nothing wrong with that.

Wisper Bikes · Apr 11, 2011

We are divided on the use of slime within Wisper.

For people like Mussles who can mend a puncture in a few minutes there seems to be little point in using it. However there are also those not so proficient find the bother of the inevitable puncture very wearing. On balance we feel it is best to keep using it, especially considering the very small number of problems we hear of it causing.

All the best

David

slime coming out of valve

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