Newbie Tubeless Tyre Questions
After how many months should you clean out the tyre (assuming it's dried up) and apply fresh sealant?
Or do you just keep topping it up and only clean it out once a year, for example?
Should you regularly check (every week) the level of the sealant, by sucking the liquid back up the applicator. After which you'd squirt it back into the tyre?
Is it best to buy a big bottle of sealant or a smaller bottle?
Would the big bottle's contents start to go off after a period of time, once it's been opened and the seal broken?
I've also seen it mentioned, that some tyres really need an air compressor to seat them.
Could you bodge it and use the type of air compressor that blows up your car tyres, which is powered by the cigarette lighter port or wouldn't that provide a quick enough blast?
Thank you.
Comments
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Thank you for the help.oxoman said:Copied wrong page link.
https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/pages/tech-page
But it didn't answer my questions.0 -
Many thanksoxoman said:Ok no worries this is my experience over a couple or years so.
I have only got sealant when I replaced a tyre that was gashed beyond safe repair. Have never needed a compressor to pump up when replacing tyres, used a Co2 inflator once and my normal joeblow track pump on all other occasions. Current back tyre is still on original sealant and probably dried up but not had an issue even with a couple of tyre plugs/worms fitted. Never checked sealant level, ever. Sealant does go off after a bit if open. If I could be bothered I ought to check my sealant once a year, but it's not given me any problems so haven't bothered. Some tyre and rim combinations can give problems, certainly my Giant SLR1 carbon wheels matched with gavia and IRC Formula pro xguards have never given me any issues. TBH I probably had more issues going tubeless with my MTB and CX bikes as the tyres get changed more often due to wear and tear and abuse.
Imagine the scene, if returning from a ride, you discover that you've had small puncture on your ride, the sealant fixed it and you only noticed it just by chance when you got home?
Do you patch the inside of the tyre or just ignore it, knowing the "hole" has been sealed by the sealant?0 -
I dont top up my sealant every three to 4 month. I do when I get a puncture and no sealant come out. A plug sort that.
As for cleaning the tyre never do it. It does nothing good. If you get bead stretch then resetting may mean a change of tape. It's more hassle than it's worth. The tyre come of when it needs to be replaced. Otherwise leave it be. Clean out the valve witha spoke.
Sealant going off in a bottle. It's not milk you know. I have one sealant bottle for a few years at home. I rarely use it but it's fine.
What compressor you need if any depends on the tyre rim combo.
Yes my page answer what you need to know. If my page does not address it it because the question is not relevant in the first place.
Only fix problem that are problems. Never ever fox a problem like a puncture that sealed by removing the tyre to patch
Trust me it's a can of worms. If the tyre is sealed then leave it alone
Plugs should be your first fix perhaps flexible superglue. Only remove a tyre to patch if all other attempts have failed. You will ha e bead stretch and the extra friction from old sealant often means you have a fair bit of cleaning to do to get the tyre to reseal.
With tubeless the worst thing you can do is overthink things. That makes problems which often non problems into real problems.
So my advise do nothing more than inject sealant every few months if that, clean out the valve with a 1.5mm spoke, replace clogged valve cores and plug tyres that dont seal when they puncture. Only remove a tyre to replace it. You can attempt a patch repair to the old tyre then. If your puxturing alot then either the tyre is not a good a choice for you and you need something tougher or its worn out and needs replacing.
Tubeless is simple. If it more hassle than tubes then your doing it wrong by creating extra work for yourself.
www.thecycleclinic.co.uk1 -
Oxman by the way has the right attitude. Same as mine. Worry less ride more and fox something g once it's a problem and then in the simplest way.www.thecycleclinic.co.uk1
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Today's club run was on the nice sartorial. The front tyre has been on there for a couple of years. Cant remember when I last topped up sealant. I simply dont care as if I picture and the sealant has dried up I'll just plug it.
Sealant is there to make the tyre/ wheel air tight. That's its primary function. Its secondary function is to seal small puncture. All brands of sealant do that with varying success. So given sealing punctures is of secondary importance and a puncture is easily fixed with the insertion of a plug then that's how you deal with pictures and you can do as me an oxman do top up once a year.
Using tyres that hardly picture is key. Trail and error will tell tou which tyres work for you. The fast schwalbe and contis dont work for me as the picture to often. Hutchinson and IRC seem pretty reliable for me. Yet to properly try the Vittoria tyres. That's me though. Other find the conti reliable but often those people are fairly light. That helps alot.www.thecycleclinic.co.uk1 -
Thank you very much for your help, I appreciate all the feedbackthecycleclinic said:I dont top up my sealant every three to 4 month. I do when I get a puncture and no sealant come out. A plug sort that.
As for cleaning the tyre never do it. It does nothing good. If you get bead stretch then resetting may mean a change of tape. It's more hassle than it's worth. The tyre come of when it needs to be replaced. Otherwise leave it be. Clean out the valve witha spoke.
Sealant going off in a bottle. It's not milk you know. I have one sealant bottle for a few years at home. I rarely use it but it's fine.
What compressor you need if any depends on the tyre rim combo.
Yes my page answer what you need to know. If my page does not address it it because the question is not relevant in the first place.
Only fix problem that are problems. Never ever fox a problem like a puncture that sealed by removing the tyre to patch
Trust me it's a can of worms. If the tyre is sealed then leave it alone
Plugs should be your first fix perhaps flexible superglue. Only remove a tyre to patch if all other attempts have failed. You will ha e bead stretch and the extra friction from old sealant often means you have a fair bit of cleaning to do to get the tyre to reseal.
With tubeless the worst thing you can do is overthink things. That makes problems which often non problems into real problems.
So my advise do nothing more than inject sealant every few months if that, clean out the valve with a 1.5mm spoke, replace clogged valve cores and plug tyres that dont seal when they puncture. Only remove a tyre to replace it. You can attempt a patch repair to the old tyre then. If your puxturing alot then either the tyre is not a good a choice for you and you need something tougher or its worn out and needs replacing.
Tubeless is simple. If it more hassle than tubes then your doing it wrong by creating extra work for yourself. 0 -
Nail on the head. I was quite anxious when I first went tubeless and made a massive deal of taking the tyre off and faffing with it everytime I had a puncture.thecycleclinic said:
With tubeless the worst thing you can do is overthink things. That makes problems which often non problems into real problems.
Just ride, don't over inflate and take a Stan's Dart with you and not a tube as you don't need them!
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Thank you for the advicechristimson said:
Nail on the head. I was quite anxious when I first went tubeless and made a massive deal of taking the tyre off and faffing with it everytime I had a puncture.thecycleclinic said:
With tubeless the worst thing you can do is overthink things. That makes problems which often non problems into real problems.
Just ride, don't over inflate and take a Stan's Dart with you and not a tube as you don't need them!
Equipping with tubeless tyres seems a never ending process of spending money
£80 for tyres. £40+ for tape, valves and sealant.
£100+ for an air compressor. And now £25 for a dart.
When will it ever stop?
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0110 said:
Thank you for the advicechristimson said:
Nail on the head. I was quite anxious when I first went tubeless and made a massive deal of taking the tyre off and faffing with it everytime I had a puncture.thecycleclinic said:
With tubeless the worst thing you can do is overthink things. That makes problems which often non problems into real problems.
Just ride, don't over inflate and take a Stan's Dart with you and not a tube as you don't need them!
Equipping with tubeless tyres seems a never ending process of spending money
£80 for tyres. £40+ for tape, valves and sealant.
£100+ for an air compressor. And now £25 for a dart.
When will it ever stop?
When you sell them and go back to tubes
You can fool some of the people all of the time. Concentrate on those people.0 -
You don't need an air compressor.
Most tubeless tyres will seat with a track pump, especially if you've got UST compatible rims.
The couple of times where a track pump hasn't worked, I've used a CO2 inflator and it works a treat.1 -
I've had a change of heart and either refused delivery or cancelled my orders for the items mentioned above.
I'll just buy some spare inner tubes.
When the time comes for a puncture. I'll drop to my knees, shake my fists and swear at the sky
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If you think tubeless tyres are expensive then try tubs. A tub habit is really expensive. £70 tubs that once punctured need to sent of for repair which of course means you have more than at home.0110 said:
Thank you for the advicechristimson said:
Nail on the head. I was quite anxious when I first went tubeless and made a massive deal of taking the tyre off and faffing with it everytime I had a puncture.thecycleclinic said:
With tubeless the worst thing you can do is overthink things. That makes problems which often non problems into real problems.
Just ride, don't over inflate and take a Stan's Dart with you and not a tube as you don't need them!
Equipping with tubeless tyres seems a never ending process of spending money
£80 for tyres. £40+ for tape, valves and sealant.
£100+ for an air compressor. And now £25 for a dart.
When will it ever stop?
www.thecycleclinic.co.uk0 -
Blimey Charlie, that is expensive.thecycleclinic said:
If you think tubeless tyres are expensive then try tubs. A tub habit is really expensive. £70 tubs that once punctured need to sent of for repair which of course means you have more than at home.0110 said:
Thank you for the advicechristimson said:
Nail on the head. I was quite anxious when I first went tubeless and made a massive deal of taking the tyre off and faffing with it everytime I had a puncture.thecycleclinic said:
With tubeless the worst thing you can do is overthink things. That makes problems which often non problems into real problems.
Just ride, don't over inflate and take a Stan's Dart with you and not a tube as you don't need them!
Equipping with tubeless tyres seems a never ending process of spending money
£80 for tyres. £40+ for tape, valves and sealant.
£100+ for an air compressor. And now £25 for a dart.
When will it ever stop?
Irony of iron ronnies today.
I went out for a ride with inner tubes in the wheels (as I had cancelled or sent back the tubeless equipment) and got a puncture.
Flipping the heck, I said multiple times.
I repaired the puncture, but during the reinflation, the hand pump broke the value core off.
So I had to call the support vehicle from home
I called at a bike shop and bought some CO2 cannisters and a new tube, as they didn't have any valve cores in stock.
I might get some 4 Season tyres or just reorder all the tubeless stuff again and hang the expense.0 -
Thanks.oxoman said:I feel tour pain as I've been there myself. By spring all my bikes will be tubeless. That's MTB, CX, Touring and best road bike.
I've reordered the tubeless tyres etc and saved a bit due to BF.
This time I'm not going to cancel, no matter what
Do you think it's worth keeping the CO2 applicator (+ 1 bottle) and 5 bottles or would you take them back and buy the Stans Dart, mentioned above?
Are they an unnecessary back up when going tubeless?
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Oh man you got to laugh at stuff like this.
There was that time I got a few tubeless puncture at the same time and then found I forgot my plugs, superglue and pump. I had a tube (got to put somethinh in the panniers) and co2. I had to remove the tyre by hand,for the tube and refit the tyre. Inflated the tyre only then to realises there was still.flint I the tyre and it went flat again.
We have all been there.www.thecycleclinic.co.uk0 -
Oh no.thecycleclinic said:Oh man you got to laugh at stuff like this.
There was that time I got a few tubeless puncture at the same time and then found I forgot my plugs, superglue and pump. I had a tube (got to put somethinh in the panniers) and co2. I had to remove the tyre by hand,for the tube and refit the tyre. Inflated the tyre only then to realises there was still.flint I the tyre and it went flat again.
We have all been there.
It's better to laugh about it, that to kick the S out your bike in frustration... unless you're needing a reason for a new bike.0
