New to Tubeless - What repair kit to carry etc.?

timmys

My new bike has tubeless tyres (Conti Race King UST on XT rims) and I am a complete newb to tubeless and slightly confused about what kit I should carry with me for on-trail repairs

Obviously with tubeless I should have less need to worry about punctures but I don't want to ruin a days riding by not being properly equipped for the worst. So what should I carry? Patches for the tyres themselves? Those rubber worm things? Sealant? CO2 inflator?

Should I carry a tube anyway? - I'm not really sure if in an emergency fitting a tube is possible.

I'm sure I've read that with UST tyres sealant is not essential. I don't really understand that at all - surely any puncture is going to mean total deflation. Can I assume the tyres on my bike came with sealant in them?

Sorry, lots of stupid questions!

Mancunianfightingcat

First off, your tyres won't have sealant in them.

Correct a thorn type puncture won't seal unless you have some sort of sealant. I use about 50mm of Stans Solution in my rear tyre and for some reason have never put any in the front, but have never suffered a puncture.

In my trail pack, I do carry a tube most of the time, and a small bottle of sealant, in case there's not enough in the tyre. (I prefer the weight in my Camelbak than in the tyre!). I also take tyre levers and that's about it in terms of tyre tools. If you regularly ride with other people, you could probably forget the tube and just blag one if you ever need it, I did once when I tore a sidewall and the sealant wouldn't plug the leak!

The good thing with a proper UST system is the fact that the tyre is locked into the rim. Even if the tyre does go fully down, you only need a hand pump to re inflate it.

I suggest you get some tyre sealant and if you've got removable valve cores it's dead easy, put 50 or 60mm in each tyre. I recently replaced me rear UST tyre after 9 months and when I looked inside it there were 9 places that I could see where the sealant had set over small holes. I never had a pinch flat though!

bomberesque

I carry a spare tube and that is all.

fortunately I've not needed it yet as my wheels are ghettoed and I think it would be a messy process to put the tube in....

timmys

Thanks for the advice guys. Sounds like buying some sealant is the way forward. The valves are presta so I'll have to loosen the tyre off the rim to put it in - probably not a bad thing as it will allow be to test the theory that I should be able to seat and re-inflate a UST tyre with a hand pump

adb1006

I carry a tube and some patches. I don't personally bother carrying any sealant as i think you'd find it very hard to re-seat a tubeless set-up with a mini-pump anyway, so don't see the point. On the one occasion i did get a puncture (sealant had "gone-off" and i'd been too lazy to top-up/replace it), i just pulled all 9 thorns out of the tyre, chucked the tube in and continued the ride. Then put it back to tubeless when i got home.

If you've got plenty of sealant in there and you still get a puncture, you'll obviously need to patch the inside of the tyre (which is why i carry some patches as well).

Mancunianfightingcat

Sorry, should have said, I have removable Presta valve cores so getting sealant in the tyre isn't an issue!

rich_e

I've switched to UST a couple of years ago now.

I've had what were obviously a few small punctures, as I've seen the sealant ooze out, but then obviously it sealed them up with no issues.

I carry with me a spare tube and some super glue (As I read that super glue is good for filling in large puncture holes if the sealant escapes too quickly.

I've never actually needed to use them though, Tubeless is brilliant.