Tubeless - how often do you redo/check?

[xcentric]

Having seen the benefits of tubeless recently (30km ride which my wife had to push 4 km to the bike shop at halfway having run over a thorn on the towpath - and then push 3km at the end omn the way back for the same reason) I've just converted her bike to tubeless too.

But how often do people actually redo the sealant, or check. it? The bottle says every 4 weeks or so, which seems quite frequent to me.....

 

[TheBikePilot]

Bike shop reccomended every 3 months. It does go hard and gum up eventually.

If you have gone tubeless I highly reccomend getting some plugs. You can get pack and a tool for about £5. I had crappy tyres on my bike with a weak sidewall and still got punctures on tubeless, the plugs always held and ended up with three in the tyre..I’d also carry a valve core remover and a spare valve plus an inner tube. Covers all eventualities. Obviously a half decent pump..!!

How to fix a tubeless puncture

 

[Gary]

Even running tubeless I carry 2x tubes, patch kit and Co2 on any decent length ride so I'd rarely ever have your issue.

You don't really need to check the sealant all that often (especially if you put in a little more than recommended in the first place).
Always check it after any puncture that doesn't seal quickly and sprays sealant.
but other than that every 4 months sounds more realistic than 4 weeks.

I recently changed tyres on 2 bikes after well over 8 months and there was plenty stans still sloshing around inside.
You can tell without even removing the tyre or opening hte valve. just remove the wheel tip it around up close and listen for sealant sloshing around. it won't tell you exactly how much is in there but it will let you know it's not all dried out.

 

[TheBikePilot]

+1 to CO2. Be sure you know how to use it rather than have it and think your covered!! I’d carry it with a pump also as it has been hit an miss for me a few times.

Last ride I had to pinch an inner tube then he nearly needed it later on!!

 

[R120]

I think this new CO2 Head from Topeak is going to be rather popular

 

[Gary]

compact?

Er... Topeak! That's bloody huge!

You could carry a digital tyre guage separately and it'd take up less space.
They're also less than a tenner.

Exact pressures to the nearest 1psi aren't all that important to me after a puncture though so mine stays in the car/at home. same as shock pumps. and track pumps.

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

How often do I check? I don't. When the tyre stops holding pressure for a week, then it's a sign it needs topping up.

 

[Dirtnvert]

We had a super cold winter. Hovered around -20 for 6 weeks. Just pulled the bike out yesterday and my ghetto tubeless setup might have lost a psi or 3 but very little. I'll probably just add some sealant through the valves and redo when I change worn out tires. Ghetto is the shit. Next time I'll glue the excess split tube to the outside of the sidewall instead of shaving it off

 

[pgtips]

Never checked the sealant on mine!! Maybe I should, but when ever the tyre has to come out for any reason there is always sealant in there.

I carry a couple co2 canisters , plug's, a good pump in my backpack this is brilliant one.

One thing to mention with co2 canisters, I know is common sense for some, but for others isn't, is always use something to hold the bottle with and don't hold the bottle with your bare skin ( usually they come with foam insert ) I have seeing few folks leave their skin on the bottle after they used one without the protection.

 

[TheBikePilot]

Yeh and Make sure it’s a decent foam collar.. !!

 

[Donnie797]

How often do I check? I don't. When the tyre stops holding pressure for a week, then it's a sign it needs topping up.

Same here, but since i filled in a whole bottle (500ml) in my two tyres i have plenty of that stuff in there and don't need to worry a whole season ^^

 

[outerlimits]

Always use 25% more sealant than recommended for a new Tyre seal up. Check sealant after the first 6 weeks. Usually find there is just water left and latex has gone and soaked into Tyre. Remove water and refill with recommended amount of sealant and check by shaking Tyre every 2-4 weeks and top up when you can’t hear is sloshing around. Usually 6-8 weeks. This is the case for 30deg c days.

 

[ggx]

when they go to maintenance !

 

[steve_sordy]

I check my tyre pressure before every ride, so when I notice that I have to put more than 1-2 psi in then it probably needs some more sealant. although I once did hear a rumbling noise and found inside the tyre a 3-D starfish made from congealed latex.

I use latex based sealants in tyres that are not proper tubeless because the sidewalls need sealing and latex is best for that. In proper tubeless tyres that actually don't need sealant to hold pressure, I prefer to use a non-latex sealant (Slime for ex), because they never go off, they just run out.

 

[xcentric]

thanks all. Seems much more sensible.....

 

[gelfy666]

Finishline kevlar sealent dosnt dry out so should last the life of the tyre.

 

[xcentric]

Finishline kevlar sealent dosnt dry out so should last the life of the tyre.

doesn't get good reviews though, e.g. here

 

[gelfy666]

doesn't get good reviews though, e.g. here

I've been using it for 12 months and have had no issues at all.
Try different brands and see what suits u.

 

[gelfy666]

doesn't get good reviews though, e.g. here

Or perhaps try the Air-Fom system.... No air in the tyre then ?

 

[Dirtnvert]

I think peatys sealant was claiming it doesn't dry out. No experience. Curious what people are using

 

[Akiwi]

I had a Tubeless Total Fail last night. Had to do the push of shame 3.5 KM home. Actually I am lucky that this happened relatively close to home and not 30 km from the nearest road in fading light... alone.
I use DTSwiss rim tape. Schwalbe valves, Schwalbe tyres and Finishline Sealant.
Obviously I got a small hole and the tyre went down. I was confident this wasn't a problem as I had everything with me. Pump, Tyre levers and a spare tube. When pumping it up I couldn't get the valve to seal. It was leaking at the base of the valve. I tried tightening it up with some plyres (Normally I try not to over tighten). Still leaked so fast I couldn't ride.
SOOO. I thought, time for the tube. So I got it out. and Shock! Horror! It had a Schrader (Car) valve.. and wouldn't fit.
Also I noticed that my Lifetime lasting Finishline Milk which has been in for about 9 months, was drying up, and it seems to be disolving the DTSwiss rim tape!!! At least the black colour and writing is coming off.
I topped the sealant up a couple of weeks ago.

 

[xcentric]

ouch. I (well, my wife) feels your pain.....

 

[All Mountain Coaching]

I think peatys sealant was claiming it doesn't dry out. No experience. Curious what people are using

Stans. Was first one I used and it just works so I've not tried any others.

 

[xcentric]

Stans. Reviewed a few via the interwebby thingy, and it was consistently there or thereabouts.

 

[Akiwi]

I'll give the Finish Line another try as I have a 1 litre bottle of the stuff, but it was definitely drying up on the Schwalbe Nobby Nicks

 

[Stumpy]

I'm using the muc-off sealant at the moment, mainly because I like the smell of it

 

[Dirtnvert]

Stans. Was first one I used and it just works so I've not tried any others.

Thanks. I guess I originally used stan's. Changed to Joe's for no reason other than it was cheaper. Not sure if it was the size of the hole but the stan's sealed quicker. Might've been the hole size. Idk. So many options now and additives and particles to seal holes. Tough to differentiate one from the next without controlled testing.
I'm thinking, if its able to seal the biggest hole possible over its competitors , my ghetto tube system is a great seal and its prolonging the mixtures from drying out and/or congealing. Purely speculative.

 

[Akiwi]

OK, as supplement to my post above. I found a pretty big hole in my tyre. (5mm). Surprised I didn't see it at the time, but it was dark. I replaced the rim tape and patched the hole with a normal tube patch from the inside.. See how long that holds. The FinishLine sealant definitely had dried up to a point that it wouldn't work any more. I bought it because of the claim that it lasts forever. I see they have removed that claim now.
What I learnt was. Make sure you have the right vavle type on your spare tube. I was f..ing lucky as that has been the spare tube I have been carrying around with me for 3500km of bike tours. and untill the other night I had never needed it! And lucky that when I did, I was close to home. Also that the Finish Line Gunk needs to be topped up like any other.. Possibly lasts longer, and is easy to clean.

 

[Vilt]

I've used doc blue (works fine), orange seal (works fine for specialized tyres that bleed) and now stans.

 

[Dukeinlondon]

If what's left in the bottle is still liquid, surely what's in the tyre is the same? No?seriously, need to check this weekend, but last time I tried,I couldn't make the tyre budge off the rim....