Tubs and sealant......

leechy12

I have just taken delivery of a smashing pair of Harry Rowland Mavic Reflex Tubs. I have gone for the new Schwarble One, they are a really excellent set of wheels and at the moment i'm only going to race on them as opposed to train on or ride out with mates. However, I'm not sure what to carry if I do go out, I've not purchased a spare tub as yet, but was thinking about a sealant. Does the sealant affect the tyre pressures I can inflate to? What Sealant s the best to purchase, does it affect the handling / weight of the wheel? What works best for everyone else?
Thanks

imposter2.0

Schwarble..??

Sealant will not affect the inflation pressure - but it might limit the repairability if you get a puncture. Unless the sealant itself weighs nothing, then it will obviously increase the weight of the wheel, by a very small amount. Unlikely to be noticable though.

leechy12

Sorry - SchwalbeOne-HandmadeTubular....If only reeding n writtin was my strong point.

drlodge

I've got tubs that I've used a few times for fast rides. I don't want to put sealant in the things as a preventative measure since it will make repairing them difficult.

I carry a spare pre-glued tub and a can of sealant just in case, the spare tub will be the first line of defence but just in case I get 2 puctures the sealant is handy too - but it'll only seal small holes 1-2mm max. I really wouldn't want to be very far from home without a spare tub or the option of the 4th emergency service.

The tub goes in a bag made for the job, its quite neat - pump on its mount on the down tube and sealant in a back pocket:

leechy12

Thanks, I think this is the way forward.

sungod

what drlodge says

i tend to use sealant if i get a flat on an old/worn tub, on the basis it'll be retired in a few months anyway

on newer ones i'd rather remove and repair, as once injected with sealant the tube needs to be kept inflated (otherwise it will collapse and stick, probably burst when next inflated)

i've tried vittoria pitstop but with no success, it's been too thin to seal a hole

now i prefer tufo extreme sealant, used it a few times always successfully, it has a lot of fibres in the liquid so seals reasonably size holes, repairs are durable and hold 10 bar ok (i inflate to max to test the repair), about 20-25% of a bottle is enough to seal a hole, you do need removable valve cores to use it

btw this is on veloflex tubs with latex tubes

thegreatdivide

Does tufo extreme work with latex tubes then? I was under the impression that Pit Stop needs to be used with latex.

sungod

yes it works very well with latex

over the long wet winter/spring, i had one tub that i wore to death, i'd already patched it when it was newer, it had umpteen cuts in the thinning rubber and i think it picked up 3 or 4 new punctures over all the wet rides, all sealed ok with the tufo

once it got too worn (and the rain stopped) i swapped it for a newer one and opened it up to have a good look at what the tufo did, there were chunky clumps of cured sealant inside each of the holes, strong adhesion to the tube, no sign that the latex was harmed by the multiple shots of sealant

i generally ride 7 to 8.5bar, but as above always test a repair, whether patch or sealant, by taking the tub to the 10bar max pressure, never had the sealant blow out when i did this

racingcondor

I've flatted 2 tubs and used sealant twice (once on the last tub, once on a clincher as an experiment).

Carrying a spare tub under your seat (pre glued) works a treat but I have to say, so far sealant has failed me on both attempts (Pittstop, no joy. Slime which held air until I sat on it...).

I don't worry too much though as both flats took ages to deflate. I rode 3 miles on the first one before pulling over and still had 20-30 psi in the tyre.

JayKosta

The sidewalls on tubs can be delicate and easily cut / damaged.
I wouldn't ride tubs without at least 1 spare. And make sure the spare has at least been dry fitted on a rim and inflated. Trying to mount a new tub can be quite an ordeal - some are very tight.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

xscreamsuk

what sort of racing are you doing? Anything relatively short and your day is over with a flat, I use tubs for TT's ( track tubs at that) and don't take anything other than £20 for a taxi should I not be able to get a lift from a Marshall or walk back. If I was doing 100's I would take something, but longest I've done so far is a 50

overlord2

I only use sealant on a old tub or if i'm in dire straits. Pre-sealing new tubs defeats the point on riding on tubs in the first place.