what's the deal with the tubes in cheap Wally mart kid's bikes? the tires are always flat, but I took the tubes
out & did the ole dunk in water tank & there were no holes;

what gives with these? I have the same problem with my bike tires. I put slime in them, but they
still lose air over time.

Should I just get some better tubes & use the factory junk for backup? Oh yea, these bikes are part
of our potential bug out gear, so that's why I posted here.    Thanks

I used to go through like 15 tubes a week riding BMX. Get one of those 12$ tubes from wall mart. They have the slime stuff already in them and they are way thicker. Had the same one now for about a month with no flats and I ride at least 5miles a day. No need for them in the front being that it hardly goes flat and if it does it takes less than 5mins to change it.

But what you said about them going flat eventually, that happens with any bike tube I bought in the winter months.

I've had poor results with the slime tubes from wallmart.  I ended up at the bike shop for tubes to go on the kids bikes.  My bike has tubeless tires.

ETA  Thread

I live where there is a lot Devil Thorn - you pick some up every ride.



We never had much luck with Slime until we switched to Slime Super-Duty Tire Sealant for Tubeless Tires. We now use in every mt. bike tire (7 bikes) and the tractor. You might get a leak but if you pump it up again the Slime will plug hole and you always get home.

Slime for TT has chunks of rubber in it and is much better at plugging larger holes. This spring, my son got a big piece of bent wire stuck in his tire - 3" deep. I was sure the tube was fried but we pumped it up. He made it home and is still riding that tube.

Slime Super-Duty Tire Sealant for Tubeless Tires

I put two full pump strokes in each bike tire....

(My boys are always going out to feed the horses, etc. bare foot. Try stepping on one those things... I don't know how they do it.)

Don't throw the old tubes away. Few household products are better for making shit than bicycles inner tubes.

They are great to use as a pad or gasket between metal surfaces. You can also cut them into 1 inch squares and use as a firestarter. I even have a piece of tube on my vertical grip on my AR holding the switch for my weapon light in place.

I like to keep a few old ones laying around just in case.

Get a valve stem tool.  The valves are probably loose or just poor quality.  Try a tiny bit of lithium grease on the valve threads. (Not the part that opens for air, the part at the bottom that anchors them).

Also, it's possible the kids or their friends are just letting the air out.

There is definitely a quality difference between expensive (good) and cheap tubes, the good ones are probably a waste on the kids bikes though.

I agree.  Not as stretchy as rubber bands but they last a lot longer and you can cut the width to whatever you need.

I've got a pair of hunting boots and a pair of waders that I can't bring myself to throw away. My patch kit consists of a little 60 grit sandpaper, a hot melt glue stick, (the Stanley brand extreme hold work best), a section of inner tube and a small butane torch.