Cactus Question

[waynebergman]

Out for a road ride this morning and passed a city worker weed wacking the scruffy area next to the side walk. All the cactus bits were scattered all over the road which caught me pretty good. I even got some up my shirt. I had slime in the tires ahead of time so this was good and seems to be working on two out of the three tires. One is too far gone to hold air. The big stuff I will pick out with but the little tiny stuff is taking forever. My questions

1...... Do I need to talk out all the little tiny guys? If I am relying on the slime anyways to keep air in these tires is there any advantage to taking out each and every one of these little thones. I have about 10 thorns for each square inch and 3 tires.

2......Also how long does this slime stuff last for. I am in the dessert now for another month and hope I can get by with just dumping in more slime till it stops leaking and then when I get back to Canada maybe 3 new tubes if the slime only lasts for the life of the tires say 3 months or so?

3......Also wondering if anyone has use the stuff in the can shown in the photo. I got it from Walmart for around 5 bucks I may just try it on the one tire that is flat.

Thanks in advance ....wayne

 

[amberwolf]

All the cactus bits were scattered all over the road which caught me pretty good.

They don't look like cactus, but rather just thorns from a groundhugging weed, possibly bullhead thorns. Those haven't started growing yet so probably what you've got are last year's batch that's dried out and were in the gravel or dirt.

Some are up to 1/2" long or more. I get them in my yard; used to hurt Hachi's toes often.

FWIW, they are one reason I want to get moped tires/etc, aside from all the construction/destruction debris, etc.

1...... Do I need to talk out all the little tiny guys? If I am relying on the slime anyways to keep air in these tires is there any advantage to taking out each and every one of these little thones. I have about 10 thorns for each square inch and 3 tires.

Yeah, they'll take out your tires and tubes pretty good, and worse than just being in there, the tips break off and stay in the tire to work their way thru into the tube later (or get between the tube and tire when presssure drops and then they start cutting into the tube with gashes as the road massages the two layers).

You'll want to take the tire off the wheel, pull the tube out, and feel around in there for the tips of those things, and push them back out.

2......Also how long does this slime stuff last for. I am in the dessert now for another month and hope I can get by with just dumping in more slime till it stops leaking and then when I get back to Canada maybe 3 new tubes if the slime only lasts for the life of the tires say 3 months or so?

Slime itself is good for a year or two before it gets all clumped up and won't flow to seal a hole. At that point, you'll have to either figure out how to wash it out of hte tube and replace it, or replace the tubes.

The more slime you put in, the more irregularly your tires will roll, especially when you first get rolling after being stopped for a minute.

3......Also wondering if anyone has use the stuff in the can shown in the photo. I got it from Walmart for around 5 bucks I may just try it on the one tire that is flat.

If it's what it looks like, t's usually a kind of latex sealant, meant for thicker auto tires really, though I guess it would work on a bike tire I don't know what the solvents in it would do long term to the tube, or how big a hole it'll patch.

 

[hydro-one]

ask dogman!!

 

[waynebergman]

Update on the Walmat product. I had in these little 20 inch wheels the recomended amount of slime in each tire but I guess there was just too many holes in the tubes to keep them inflated so I shot half of the can in each front tire after the incident as both fronts lost all of there air from the morning ride. I picked all the thorns out first and the tires and tubes seem happy so far. Not sure on long term but I think this can of air and glue is only ment to get you out of a pinch anyways and it looks like it will do that as I have good pressure in each of the tire two hours after re inflation.

 

[neptronix]

Those are goatheads AFAIK.

I live in goathead country here in Utah. They will flat any ordinary tire in minutes. But not puncture proof tires such as the Schwalbe Marathon Plus or Specialized Armadillo.

The bike stores here are of course, too stupid to carry these, so you have to order them online. But they work.

I'm pretty sure i've picked 10,000 goatheads out of the pair i own. I've had a flat ONE time, when i was drifting around in something that the local bicyclists jokingly refer to as 'goathead gulch'. I caught a gnarly side puncture.

So i'd not call the tires completely flat proof, but 99.99% flat proof...

 

[2old]

CA has the infernal goatheads too, but my wife hasn't had a flat in the seven years she's had her current bike (not ebike) with thornproof tubes. They weigh about as much as a tire (500 gr or so), but are worth it IMHO.

 

[waynebergman]

Thanks for the info guys. Goatheads hey? Learn something new everyday. I thought dog crap was bad but I would gladly take the dog pooh anyday before being hit by these goatheads again. It took a long time to pick all these little guys out of my tires today. I am curious on the fancy tires you recomend Neptronics. How would these tires work for this as some of these thorns look like they would go deeper than the thickness of the tire rubber (at least the rubber on my tires) and then its all up to the tube if the thorn goes through the tire thickness unless you go tubless. Are these tires tubless you are talking about Neptronics or some kind of self healing compound?

 

[arkmundi]

Back in my Texas days, called them devil's weed. It was our feet - hurt like the devil, hence the name. Considered invasive here in America. Rumour was that the Texas goat-man left them around to dissuade us mere mortals - impervious to his hooves.

 

[neptronix]

[youtube]ek1GkEfxFqc[/youtube]

Skip exactly to 24:00 in this video and i'll show you the amount of goatheads i pick up on pretty much every ride out here.

http://www.schwalbetires.com/marathon-plus-page

 

[amberwolf]

Those are goatheads AFAIK.

Oops...that's what I meant instead of "bullhead". Sorry.

My brain doens't work too well these days.

 

[arkmundi]

Depends on where you are what they're called - bullshead, goatshead, devil's weed all refer to the same nasty little bur.

 

[999zip999]

But can you smoke them. I use thick slime tubes and serfas drifter kevlar. No bull heads around here.

 

[dogman dan]

Goatheads. Those guys from slowpoke cycles that stayed at my house a week got quite an education in those.

Soon they were off to get thicker tubes.

Slime is what I use, since I can get it anywhere around here. Others swear by Stans. But the thicker tube is key to slime working its best.

1 few of the goatheads even penetrate all the way. So you can just brush them off the tire and forget about them.

2 for longer spikes, small nails, staples, mesquite thorns, etc, the thicker the tube is, the better the slime can clog up that hole. Once you have some good large holes, you may lose the seal and have to periodically pump the tire. So carry a pump.

3 put in lots of slime. If the jug says 2 ounces, put in 4. I think my dirt bike runs on about 8 ounces per tire. More like 4-5 for street.

You can also use tire liners, but they don't help the slime work better. Max protection is a tire liner, thick tube, then slime or stans.

The air can is useful, but only as an air supply. The sealant in that type is very weak. I don't like the idea of mixing the slime and the stuff in the can of air. But in a pinch, better than nada. I just carry pumps at all times.