Sealant for any type of tubular

CRAIGO5000

I've just bought a set of 50mm carbon tubular race wheels for next season but a little research has shown me plenty of riders using them for nearly all year riding.

Im coming from Clinchers only and own two sets of wheels, Fulcrum racing 5 and Kyserum SSC wheels. I have zero experience with tubular wheel/tyre combos and think if I did start to train on my carbon tubs in spring, what kit would I need to carry?

The tubs are Conti sprinter gatorskins. Ideally I'd like not to be carrying a spare tub. I understand certain sealants are suitable for certain tubs so which sealant is the best when a puncture fairy visits? Bear in mind, Tufo sealant apparently should only be used in Tufo tubs as they are Butyl.

Thanks

sloppyschleckonds

Monty Dog

Gatorskins tubs are made with butyl inner tube so you can use any sealant. Some makes use latex innertubes which can be harmed by some sealants which contain certain ammonia compounds - never had a problem myself.

sloppyschleckonds

Agree with MontyDog

CRAIGO5000

Ahh okay. That's great. Yes I've read that the expensive tubs with latex inners can cause issues with certain sealants especially if the tyre is deflated and inner surfaces bond together.

I actually wanted to use the Tufo extreme sealant as they seem to cope with larger cuts. Also it seems to stay active within the tub effectively sealing a would-be puncture as you ride.

Is Tufo Extreme something that can easily be used in the same tub over and over hopefully until the tub actually wears out before replacement should be sort? I see a single bottle says to use a third so that's three applications.

simon_masterson

Conti don't seem to believe in latex tubes; at least as far as I know, they only use butyl. Vittoria use latex (though I don't know if this extends to the cheap ones like the Rally), as do most manufacturers of typical racing tubs. Tufo tubs don't have tubes at all. Latex tubes seal well with latex-based sealant, but I've generally heard that the Tufo stuff works with everything, likewise Stan's. I personally try not to puncture them!

Grill

I use Stan's in all my tubs. Works a treat.

jgsi

If you are racing then a punctured tub means game over anyway.. but a spare tub will get you back... sealant can and will let you down ..too hit and miss for me.. especially on a long training ride with tubs and no marshalls car to hitch a lift back to HQ.. so I'd recommend spare tub.. one can rolld up just about enough to get into a back pocket without too much ado.
The punctures I had this season x 2 were the result of massive hits potholes/flint unavoidable at race speed in a fast bunch.. such things dont really happen on training runs in daylight in decent weather...
But if you cautious about being on tubs and 50 miles out from home.. ,maybe a set of decent clincher training wheels ... tubeless as it appears that sealant there is a gift of the gods.

noodleman

Stans for me too. Saved me three times on pre-sealed tubs. Decided against pre-sealing them on my new tubs and keeping my fingers crossed that it'll still do as good a job.

DavidJB

People must really underglue their tubs if they can get them off at the road side...Or I over glue mine.

CRAIGO5000

Was that three times saved on the same tub? How do these sealants cope under multiple applications spread over several months ? Do they gunk up the valve or eventually render the tubular useless at a certain point? I'd like to only change tubs when they are physically worn!

noodleman

Twice on one tub and once on another. May have had more punctures that i dont know about. On the pre-sealed tubs, i've had the stans sloshing about for over twelve months on one of the bikes. Still ver much a liquid, as when i top up the air it still comes out from the valve so i guess its still fine.

DavidJB

I always put sealant in the tubs on mounting...a puncture in a race is pretty much game over for the race...even if you get back on you're fecked. Looking at my tubs at the end of the season I can see multiple places the sealant has done it's job.

Monty Dog

Never noticed any difference in performance having sealant in a tub, only when finishing a ride do you realise that the sealant is doing it's job. The problem with Tufo Extreme is that it doesn't like mixing with pre-installed sealants but it's very good at dealing with bigger punctures i.e. up to a couple of mm which a normal sealant can't cope with.

thegreatdivide

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19736795#p19736795]SloppySchleckonds[/url] wrote:

Agree with MontyDog

Two flats on latex inners. Zero issues with the above. I've ridden one if them all autumn.

sungod

yep, i've found tufo extreme works well with veloflex tubs which have latex tubes, i've tried pitstop but it's nowhere near as effective

thegreatdivide

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19737725#p19737725]sungod[/url] wrote:

yep, i've found tufo extreme works well with veloflex tubs which have latex tubes, i've tried pitstop but it's nowhere near as effective

Indeed. Mine were on Corsas and I only needed a third of a bottle to plug the hole (it's what they recommend anyway). Good stuff.

earth

Caffe Latex