Kevlar-reinforced tires and self-healing tubeless setups

Starting a new thread here—feel free to share your thoughts on those external and internal tire setups. I just placed an order myself, mostly because I’ve spent far too many long walks home after getting bit by something in the woods—black flies, maybe? Who knows. Do we actually think this stuff will be enough to save me?

I just put this setup together about ten days ago, so I'm still a newbie here. That said, I built it based on a buddy's recommendation—he’s been riding this exact combo for over a year now without any issues at all.

Vents:
http://www.keindl-sport.com/detalji.php?id=1191

Tires (protection, folding):

It’s a similar setup to mine—though perhaps less refined. And where exactly is this colleague of yours cycling? Is he heading deep into the woods where the locust trees grow?

Found the page for my outdoor tires—take a look if you can make sense of the English. The tread patterns are pretty much identical to yours, and the price point isn't far off. These specific ones are going for $33 with a discount; here is the link

http://www.csttires.com/Bicycle/Mountain/Crusader.aspx

Slime is just the liquid you use to fill an air bladder to make it self-healing; it’s actually a lot cheaper than buying one pre-filled from the factory.

hiddenheron47 said:it's just that sealant you pour into a tire to make it self-healing, and honestly, it's way cheaper than buying those pre-filled tires from the factory.

Yeah, I'm totally on board with that.

William Alvarez35 said:I couldn't agree more.

I haven't come across that liquid yet—what's the damage? Even these factory-filled tubes were cheap; I picked them up for $15 apiece. So, how much could this sealant actually run?
I swapped in some new Kevlar-reinforced tires and those tubes yesterday afternoon after they arrived via FedEx. The tubes felt a bit heavy at first—odd, right?—but once everything was mounted, the wheels actually felt lighter than they did with my old setup. My only real hesitation is that the sidewalls on these tires seem a little thin. They aren't breaking the bank, though—perfect for hitting trails and grass. Links for the tires are below.

http://www.csttires.com/Bicycle/Mountain/Crusader.aspx $33

http://www.csttires.com/Bicycle/Tubes/Self-Sealing.aspx $15

Slime costs $17 per kit, which covers two mountain bike tubes. You just fill them through the valve by removing the pin,
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/shop/slimes/

hiddenheron47 said:It costs about $17 to get sealant for two MTB tubes; you just pump it in through the valve stem after popping the needle out,
http://www.local-bike-shop.com/sealant-offers

Honestly, at that point, you’re better off just buying those two tubes from $15 instead of shelling out for 2x$8.25 plus the cost of the $17 sealant.

Didn't account for those aero wheels on the bike. That's a double $8.25
savings right there.

It all seems to boil down to the same result—roughly $3.25. As long as it works and doesn't break the bank, what's the fuss? I haven't actually tested them out yet since I’ve only had these tires for a few days—hopefully, I won't be pushing my bike home through the woods again.

hiddenheron47 said:You clearly didn't factor in having spare tubes on your bike, which basically doubles your savings.$8.25

The reality is, you still need those spare tubes because sealant can only patch up tiny little pinholes; once you run into anything even remotely substantial, you might as well just enjoy the view while you're stranded on the side of the road.

jadetiger962 said:You’ll want those spare canisters—the liquid ones can only patch tiny pinholes; anything remotely substantial and you might as well just start walking.

It claims to seal holes up to 3mm—which is actually quite significant. Most punctures on a bike tend to be much smaller than that anyway.

James Perez84 said:The manual claims they patch holes up to 3 mm, which actually seems like a pretty substantial size for this kind of thing. Usually, when you're dealing with a bike tire, you're just looking at those tiny little punctures anyway.

Anyway, let me know how it works out for you once you give it a shot. 👍

jadetiger962 said:Alright, let us know how it goes 👍

Checking in at the end of the season—I have nothing but praise for these Kevlar-reinforced CST tires. They finally survived about ten trail rides without getting punctured; perhaps it was luck, but I am satisfied for now. The tread performs beautifully on dirt once you pump them up to about 58 PSI—simple as that, they can handle just about anything.