Mr. Tuffy bit my tube!

Okay, I have read previous comments where some people believe Mr. Tuffy
liners will cause holes in the tire tubes and others say this won't happen.
Well, I am now a believer. My rear tube developed a slow leak and it turned
out to be exactly at the curve of the Mr. Tuffy liner's forward tip. I can
even see the line where the Mr. Tuffy liner pressed into the tube and the
little slit it caused. It took awhile, but now I wonder about the other
tires with these liners inside of them.

Pat in TX

Okay, I have read previous comments where some people believe Mr. Tuffy
liners will cause holes in the tire tubes and others say this won't
happen.
Well, I am now a believer. My rear tube developed a slow leak and it
turned
out to be exactly at the curve of the Mr. Tuffy liner's forward tip. I can
even see the line where the Mr. Tuffy liner pressed into the tube and the
little slit it caused. It took awhile, but now I wonder about the other
tires with these liners inside of them.

Pat in TX

Pat: Never use Mr. Tuffys, or for that matter the Park tire boots, with a
superlight tube. The problem you experienced will happen much more rapidly
with a thinner tube than with a thick one (I guess that should be pretty
obvious...). Anybody who claims this doesn't happen has been leading quite
the charmed life!

I'm sure Jobst can give us the details, but obviously there's a certain
amount of movement/friction that occurs between the tire and tube. I've
never found talc necessary for a normal installation, but suspect it might
help if you have a Mr. Tuffy installed.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

"Pat" wrote in message
...
Okay, I have read previous comments where some people believe Mr. Tuffy
liners will cause holes in the tire tubes and others say this won't
happen.
Well, I am now a believer. My rear tube developed a slow leak and it
turned
out to be exactly at the curve of the Mr. Tuffy liner's forward tip. I can
even see the line where the Mr. Tuffy liner pressed into the tube and the
little slit it caused. It took awhile, but now I wonder about the other
tires with these liners inside of them.

Pat in TX

Most 700x23c tubes are pretty thin anyway, and won't last forever.
I've had similar problem slow leaks at the seam of the tire liners..
Even with these slow leaks, the number of flats I experienced dropped
way down.
I did not want to stop using liners, so I tried other methods to
prevent those leaks.
One simple method is to reduce the pressure to, say, 100 psi instead of
110 or 120.
Another is to add a cushion at the seam. At first I used the old
folded dollar bill trick, then I switched to chamfering the liner's
edge and covered it with a cut up piece of oldtube.
I can't detect any vibration or out-of-round bumps while riding, and I
don't have leaks at the liner seam anymore.

: Most 700x23c tubes are pretty thin anyway, and won't last forever.
: I've had similar problem slow leaks at the seam of the tire liners..

This is a 26" mountain bike tube, though, one made by Kenda (if that makes
any difference). I don't get to ride this bike too much. It's a 1987
Cannondale without suspension. I do like to ride it when I can, but the
Brooks B-17 is not yet broken in. In fact, it's trying to break ME in, I
swear! From time to time, I think, "Get out the Cannondale and put in an
hour on that saddle!"

Pat in TX

Use the liner in combination with a thorn resistant tube. They're thick
enough to avoid slow leaks. Thei weakness, though, is a tendency to stem
failures. There's no perfoect combination!


"Pat" wrote in message
...
Okay, I have read previous comments where some people believe Mr. Tuffy
liners will cause holes in the tire tubes and others say this won't
happen.
Well, I am now a believer. My rear tube developed a slow leak and it
turned
out to be exactly at the curve of the Mr. Tuffy liner's forward tip. I can
even see the line where the Mr. Tuffy liner pressed into the tube and the
little slit it caused. It took awhile, but now I wonder about the other
tires with these liners inside of them.

Pat in TX