<
Mr. Tuffy tire liners have been around forever as far as I’m concerned—I remember placing them in my mountain tires back when I was a kid. They’re still around, and even with significant advances in tires with integrated flat protection Mr. Tuffy liners have their fans that swear by them.
Mr. Tuffy liners are dual durometer polyurethane strips made to fit a given tire width and diameter, with different sizes available for just about every tire size out there. By installing it between the tire and tube the Mr. Tuffy is meant to be a barrier between most common pieces of glass and thorns that work their way through tires. It’s not going to stop everything imaginable, but I have an ex-courier riding friend that reports just one or two flat tires in some 4 years on the same set of Mr. Tuffy liners and otherwise cheap tires. He even reports riding home with a marker sized hole torn in his tire with the Mr. Tuffy poking through, being the only thing keeping the tube in place and rolling.
While the latest flat resistant tires are nearly flat proof in my experience, they aren’t cheap. One strategy with the Mr. Tuffy liners is that it allows you to use inexpensive tires that can otherwise be prone to flats on glass laden streets, moving the liners from tire to tire rather than essentially buying a new one inside each tire. Installation is the only complicating factor with Mr. Tuffy liners. Some people swear by putting them in the tire first and using a lightly inflated tube to hold it in place, others place the tube in first and work the liner into place. Just about everyone reports that the liners themselves get easier to put into place with time as they “learn” a shape, but there is no doubt that installation can be challenging.
The Ultra-Lite liners come in a number of sizes denoted by color, with the pictured red ones fitting 700×28-32 and the orange versions 700×20-25. They’re available for about $16 per pair, with a weight penalty of around ~55 g per tire.
I just have to chime in at how great these are. I’ve been using them for the past 3 years and have only had a couple flats. Once of which was due to valve problem. I ran over a broken beer bottle and heard the glass crush under my tires. But there was no flat. You’re right about the advantage of being able to use cheaper tires without worrying about flats. Also, when compared to some puncture resistent options like Schwalbe Marathon Plus, it’s actually quite a weight savings to go with a lighter tire (I’m using a Conti sport contact on back, and gatorskin on front) and tire liners.
Sure, in concept tire liners sort of work. Sort of… the general population of cyclists however don’t know the number one thing that prevents flats; correct tire pressure. Generally tire liners will cause more flats than prevent when incorrect tire pressure is used, because they cause pinches in tubes. Honestly, even as a mechanic, I am still human and forget to pump up my tires, which if I used a tire liner could cause a flat. Liners or slime or whatever aftermarket flat protection device used out there, none of these options is going to beat good ole’ air and nice tires like armadillos, gatorskins, or schwables.
I ride in downtown Dallas and before I started using these I would get a couple of flats a week. I guess all the broken beer bottle shards are common. I haven’t had a flat in a couple of years since using the Tuffys. I’m a fan and maybe on the fancy expensive teeny tiny tires they would be iffy but on my cruiser tires they work great.