Bicycles don’t have anti-freeze…
It’s the first day of National Bike-to-Work Week. To celebrate, it rained today. No problem. I attached my fenders, ran the lights, wore some Gore-Tex and packed some Gore-Tex. It wasn’t raining that hard, so I packed the rainpants. I packed dry socks and sneakers too.
I had an appointment at the sleep research clinic this afternoon. I’m using the riverway trail now to bypass Pinnacle Hill. On a weekday afternoon, in the rain, the trail was deserted. One guy passed me and later, another guy in scrubs rode by from the hospital. Other than that, no-one was on the trail. It was the same way coming home.
Since Main St worked so well going to work last week in rush-hour traffic, I decided to use it again today. I think I’ll use it all the time now. It’s just that much faster.
Anyway, I got to the top of the hill at the end of the street, turned right on red then went “Wheeee!” all the way down the other side of the railyard overpass.
Something green shooting out from the front fender caught my eye, and the first thing I thought was, Bicycles don’t have anti-freeze.
The second thing I thought was, Some poor bastard’s radiator is leaking and I ran through a puddle of it. Which made sense since I was passing an auto parts store. But it just kept coming.
Just then, there was a hole in the traffic which allowed me to hear, spit-spit-spit-spit… Now the correct answer hit me. Holy shit! That’s tire Slime. I have a puncture!
At about 23 mph in five o’clock traffic on Main St in the rain.
It was fascinating; riding along with bright flourescent green fluid bubbling out of my tire. Much prettier, actually, than anti-freeze. The gods of bicycling were with me because I could have run into a parked car as I watched the show.
Next I thought, Well, I can go back home and walk to work. I’ll be a couple of minutes late—no more than five.
Spit-spit-spit-spit…
Or, I could just keep going. If the tire seals, fine. If not, I’ll wait for a bus. Either way, I’ll get to work early.
Spit-spit-spit-spit…
Which got me wondering about the correct procedure for dealing with a tire that’s bleeding tire slime. I know nothing about the stuff exept that they put it in the tires at the factory. Other than one time some spurted-out when I was checking the tire pressure. I didn’t clean it off the valve and it glued the valve cap in place.
Should I stop and let it coagulate? Or does it seal while you’re moving? Does riding in the wet reduce its efficacy? What if the tire fails catastrophically?
Spit-spit-sputter-sputter…
It sounds different. I think it’s sealing!
Sputter-sp-sp-sp…
Mad cool! It’s sealing on-the-move, in the rain, in about a half-mile.
I rode the rest of the way to work between 20 and 25.
Tire slime was everywhere. Naturally it coated the underside of the fender. It was on the forks, on the frame, on the pedal cranks, but damn! The tire still had adequate pressure.
My other thought during the ride was, Now everyone’s going to yell at me that I don’t have a patch kit, I don’t have a spare tube, I don’t have tire levers and my only pump is a traditional T-handle floor pump, which is at home next to the fridge.
To which I respond, That stuff helps only if you know how to use it. I’ve been waiting for the bike repair and maintenance classes at the dealer. Meanwhile, the bus is my backup if I have trouble on the road. I’m never more than a mile’s walk from a bus line. And after I get home, the dealer is less than a mile’s walk away, or just a few stops on the bus.
So there.
I arranged to start work a little early so I could leave a little early in case I needed the bus. The tire was a little soft, but sealed. I didn’t know if I should go across the street the gas station to pump it up, or just ride on it. I’ve seen plenty of bike tires explode at gas station air pumps, so I decided to just ride home, gently.
I made it about half way. At Culver and University, the combined light of the intersection streetlights and another gas station showed that the tire was really, really low. Just then, the bus came through the intersection. It goes a half-mile up University to the loop, then comes back heading downtown. I rode a hundred yards to the next stop and waited for it.
And the bike got its first ride on the bus.
Even though I only made it halfway home, I’m sold on Slime. Here’s what I learned on their web site:
- It doesn’t seal glass cuts well, if at all. This is clearly a glass cut.
- The wheel should spin to distribute the sealant to the hole. That’s what happened as I rode.
- Even though it cleans up with water, riding in the wet didn’t seem to reduce its efficacy in sealing the hole.
- I should have fully re-inflated the tire after it sealed. The extra flexing of an under-inflated tire probably caused the hole to re-open.
- Attempting to re-seal the hole by re-inflating the tire and spinning it, should not be done in the living room.
Anyway, tomorrow I’ll take the wheel off and walk over to the dealer, get it patched if I can, or a new tube if I’ve really messed this one up, buy a patch kit, tire levers, a spare tube and a backpackable tire pump.
And more Slime. Now I know the stuff works, and what to do after it’s sealed a leak. Next time, I may not have to walk or bus at all.
