Do self-healing(Slime etc) and thicker walled tubes work re puntures?

Hi.
I had a bit of a sad days ride today with 2 puntures - now repaired but I'm thinking of buying some more tubes.
Do the slime filled ones work?
I presume you have to take them out and remove the glass or whatever then refit them and pump them up again.

What about the thicker walled tubes? I've seen some that advertise 1.2mm walls.
Couldn't it just mean the glass stays in longer but still gets through?

Your thoughts/experience would be appreciated

Slime works and seals the hole all by itself, but: at higher pressure and larger gashes you will lose a good deal of PSI before you get sealing. You can put Slime in yourself. A tube of it should have a tiny wrench for removing a schrader valve core, attached to a valve cap. I personally prefer kevlar belted tires or tire liners and I don't know how to put slime in a presta valve tube.

Slime does work on the nasty little goat head puncture burrs we have to contend with here in Utah. Pull out the thorn, rotate the tire, a little green goo oozes out, and then stops with plenty of pressure left. I've pulled 4 thorns from one tire in the same day, and still had 80 psi of the original 100 psi left when I got home.
My crude method of putting Slime in presta tubes is to make a small slit in the tube, jam the Slime nozzle in and inject the goo, and then patch the hole with a regular glued patch. Strictly ghetto, but works well!

first verify that your punctures are from a penetrating object (glass, thorn, nail, etc.). if so, the thick tubes do work (I'd recommend kevlar belted tires as well) as do the tire liners. this is based on patching semi-homeless people's bikes at shops and seeing how long the last "setup" lasts. thorn-resistant tubes, kevlar belted tires, and liners seem to be the best combination. keep in mind these riders didn't care about responsiveness - they carried a lot of stuff on their bike, pumped up their tire only when they came to the shop, and rode through all the glass etc on the road.

slime is difficult to get into presta valve tubes but some tubes have removable valve cores. if you can find some these tubes are easy to "Slime" - unscrew valve, fill, screw on valve. just like a shraeder but you don't need a shraeder valve tool. also, with slime/etc, you have to keep riding. centrifugal force causes the slime stuff to push out the hole (and clot). if you stop to see if it's working, it won't.

if you have a pinch flat ("snake bite", i.e. two cuts near each other that look like a small snake or vampire bit your tube) this is caused by rider error and/or lack of maintenance (not enough air pressure). you can't easily buy your way around these types of flats. if this is the case, first make sure you have good pressure every single time you ride. not "oh, that's feels about right" but "the pump gauge says 120 psi (or whatever)". second, learn to unweight the bike when riding over bumpy things. optionally learn how to semi-bunny hop your wheels over bumps/holes.

hope this helps,
cdr

I've been running Slime Lite tubes (approximately same weight as standard tube) in Continental GP 4-Season tires for about three years now, with not a single flat. Worth every penny, and every ounce of rotating weight (compared to lightweight tubes). I hate changing flats, and I hate the idea of potentially flatting in the front going 40+ mph. I'll never, ever use another tube.

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'07 S-Works Tarmac SL, Polar CS600+Power
2008 Cervelo P3C, Zipp 900c+808

'07 Specialized Epic Marathon w/Crossmax SLRs
CycleOps Pro 300PT Indoor Cycle Trainer (my winter ride)