Tubeless. CO2 cartridge and then sealant? Wisdom needed

Dr Tinkle

I have installed STAN's no tube kit onto DT Swiss xr 4.2 rims(not UST ready). Bontrager Mud X tyres (tubeless ready)seat like a dream first time so I think I must have the rim tape installed correctly.. Bontrager XR3s are a bitch though and won't seat at all and I'm not sure my life is long enough to keep pumping with my track pump.

Question is, can I use a CO2 cartridge to seat the tyre, then remove the valve core and add the sealant. I know you are not supposed to use CO2 with the slime (I think the cold air affects its elastic properties) but if I do it in this order, it would save taking the tyre back off the rim on one side to add the sealant and would also mean that the CO2 usage and the sealant would be in different phases.

Any help much appreciated.

Gadaffi

Yes this would be fine IMHO - the CO2 makes the sealant stringy but if you don't have any in there its fine.
Using a compressor makes the job a breeze if you can get one, even nip down to the garage with a presta/schraeder adapter if you fancy a go. If you're having trouble seating the tyre it pays to tease out the bead as much as possible around the value and use plenty of soapy water. I find the biggest problems occur if its not a new tyre as tubed tyres tend to be like sieves and trying to seat the tyre with a track pump kills you.

BG2000

I've just done the exact same thing last night (for the first time) so it's fresh on my mind !

You only need a compressor to get the tyre seated and check that it's reasonably well sealed without any sealant. I put soapy water onto the rim strip before mounting the tyre to allow the tyre bead to slide outwards when I pumped air in. I then brushed soapy water onto the sidewall to see where it's leaking (as per instructions).

So you can use CO2 to get this first stage done, as you've not yet put sealant in. Once the tyres are fitted, you don't need high pressure again, or the sudden burst of air that you can't achieve with a pump.

So you're absolutely right, once you've got the tyre seated and you're confident it's a good fit, you don't want to remove it again to put the sealant in. You want to remove the valve core and pour the sealant in that way. I poured sealant into the red plastic measuring pot and then used a plastic syringe to squirt it down the valve stem. I then cleaned the inside of the valve stem with a cotton bud before refitting the valve core.

Then after 20 minutes of shaking the sealant around near the leaks (as per instruction video on Stan's website) it was all sealed. Job done.

It's my understanding that each tyre and rim is slightly different in size. So a good fit with one tyre won't necessarily be good for another. My first attempt checking the seal was with only one rim tape. I couldn't get the tyre to 'pop-out' using my compressor. So I wrapped a couple more rim tapes on top, reffited the rim strip, and hey presto, the tyre beads went straight into the rim hooks with the first puff of air.

My setup is Mavic EX729s, Stan's DH kit, Conti Mountain King 2.4 Protections...

supersonic

CO2 carts do not always seal the bead to the rim, as I found out recently.

BG2000

supersonic wrote:

CO2 carts do not always seal the bead to the rim, as I found out recently.

Would you say that's because they can't deliver the right volume of air quick enough, or because of a property of the CO2 gas, e.g. it's too cold ?

I'm guessing it's because they don't throw enough air out. If I didn't already own a compressor, I don't think I'd have bothered with tubeless - It must be a nightware without one, and CO2 refills aren't exactly cheap are they ?!

supersonic

I'd say a combo of speed with some cartridges, and tyre/rim combos. Some C02 carts may only get a decent volume tyre to 50psi, and often needs more, at a faster rate for it to seal. Especially UST.