First Tubeless Puncture

Went out for a ride this morning, was cruising along at about 35-40kmh on a nice quiet country road, went round a nice wide blind corner and saw a huge mess of potholes and road debris; had to try and pick the best route through but my rear tyre hit a small rock and then I heard the ssh--shh---shh---shh noise of sealant bubbling out of a hole as the wheel span round... The tyre got pretty squashy fairly fast, it became evident the sealant wouldn't seal up the hole so I had to stop.

Looked at the damage, the hole was about 2mm in length so out came the rubber worm and poky tool to try and plug the hole. A few minutes later and success, the hole was plugged, a blast of CO2 to re-inflate and on my way I went! This was great I thought --- Then a couple of minutes later, I hear the dreaded sound again (shh---shh---shh---shh) DANG! - Stopped to have a look, and the plug was starting to work its way out of the hole, so this time I got a thicker worm and tried stuffing it in the hole, it was hard work getting it in but I got it in, and this time I made sure it was well and truly in there.... Another shot of CO2 and all was good again.

Lesson learnt: If you get a larger puncture that won't seal up, make sure you really shove that worm into the hole so it can't work it's way back out when the tyre is pressurised! I found it so much easier repairing this tubeless hole than messing around taking the wheel off, getting the tyre off, removing the punctured tube, finding the hole, patching it up, checking the tyre for any debris or thorns, before putting everything back together.

Comments

  • oxoman said:

    Not sure if your aware but you can get different sized tyre worms. You can also patch the tyre from the inside as well.

    Yep - my first attempt was with the thinner worm (which subsequently failed a few mins later), my second attempt was with the thicker worm which was far harder to poke into the hole, but it went in there with some careful persuasion!
  • whyamihere
    whyamihere Posts: 7,713
    Good work. I'd advise against using CO2 unless you have no choice, it can affect the sealant (and is a bit problematic environmentally). Stan's have this in their FAQ, for example:

    Is Stan's sealant compatible with CO2?
    CO2 is best used in an emergency situation. If you have no other means to get your tire to seat, you can use CO2. However, we recommend that you let the CO2 out either after your ride, or after setting up your tire, and replace it with regular air. Prolonged exposure to CO2 can cause the sealant to separate and/or decrease the life of your sealant.

    https://www.notubes.com/support-center/faq
  • Yes indeed - I did read that as well - I use CO2 on the road and then inflate with track pump at home.... CO2 is great on road because it's a quick fix and for tubeless if the tyre gets unseated and you only had a pump then you're in trouble! ...I carry 2x 25g CO2 canisters with me which means I can get 4x tyres inflated, today I used one cannister to inflate the tyre twice ;)
  • RedClip
    RedClip Posts: 110

    I got a thicker worm and tried stuffing it in the hole, it was hard work getting it in but I got it in


    make sure you really shove that worm into the hole so it can't work it's way back out



    Sorry ;)
  • rafletcher
    rafletcher Posts: 1,235
    The problem with CO2 is the “cold shock” of it filling the tyre causes the sealant to set.
  • I had my first tubeless puncture today, too, (or so I thought) having done a few hundred KM since I got the bike. I was surprised not to see any sealant around the hole (it was a shard of metal I was able to pick out), I was surprised to see no sealant on the bead when I started to remove the tyre (though it was still a fight), and surprised to find an inner tube under the tyre!

    So tubeless rims and tyres specced on the bike, but tubes fitted. Ho hum. The rims already have tubeless tape fitted, so I’ll grab some valves and set them up tubeless at the weekend.
    They use their cars as shopping baskets; they use their cars as overcoats.
  • https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-tubeless-repair-kit

    This is an absolute life saver if you’re using tubeless tyres. It’s got a selection of sizes of worm, a fork, and a reamer tool. It’s also got a folding razor blade for trimming down any excess worm, and some rubber solution to help with any patching, and also helps with the worms. There’s a knack to getting the worm positioned in the fork, so that enough goes in, to prevent any work back issues when you re pressurise the tyre, and not having it positioned so that the end of the worm doesn’t go in before the bit where the fork is gripping the worm, which you don’t want to happen. The trimming tool means that you can easily trim the worm down to prevent any possibility of the worm snagging or sticking to the road and getting pulled until the tyre de pressurises again ( you don’t want that either). I still won’t use tubeless road tyres anymore ( set up as tubeless ) though, because there are a lot of things that happen with them ( in my experience of them over the years ) to a far greater extent than the tubeless tyres I use on my hybrids / off road bikes, that are either inconvenient, or down right dangerous.
  • The problem with CO2 is the “cold shock” of it filling the tyre causes the sealant to set.

    That’s only an issue if you’re using too much sealant. Once the tyres are seated and set, you don’t need as much sealant in the tyre as some people think.

  • I had my first tubeless puncture today, too, (or so I thought) having done a few hundred KM since I got the bike. I was surprised not to see any sealant around the hole (it was a shard of metal I was able to pick out), I was surprised to see no sealant on the bead when I started to remove the tyre (though it was still a fight), and surprised to find an inner tube under the tyre!

    So tubeless rims and tyres specced on the bike, but tubes fitted. Ho hum. The rims already have tubeless tape fitted, so I’ll grab some valves and set them up tubeless at the weekend.

    Did the valves not give you a clue?

  • gethinceri
    gethinceri Posts: 1,646

    I had my first tubeless puncture today, too, (or so I thought) having done a few hundred KM since I got the bike. I was surprised not to see any sealant around the hole (it was a shard of metal I was able to pick out), I was surprised to see no sealant on the bead when I started to remove the tyre (though it was still a fight), and surprised to find an inner tube under the tyre!

    So tubeless rims and tyres specced on the bike, but tubes fitted. Ho hum. The rims already have tubeless tape fitted, so I’ll grab some valves and set them up tubeless at the weekend.

    Did the valves not give you a clue?


    I shall await your aide memoire as to how they differ from one another without removing the tyre.
  • I had my first tubeless puncture today, too, (or so I thought) having done a few hundred KM since I got the bike. I was surprised not to see any sealant around the hole (it was a shard of metal I was able to pick out), I was surprised to see no sealant on the bead when I started to remove the tyre (though it was still a fight), and surprised to find an inner tube under the tyre!

    So tubeless rims and tyres specced on the bike, but tubes fitted. Ho hum. The rims already have tubeless tape fitted, so I’ll grab some valves and set them up tubeless at the weekend.

    Did the valves not give you a clue?


    I shall await your aide memoire as to how they differ from one another without removing the tyre.

    Yes. A valve is a valve from the outside, there's no difference!

    Tubeless wheels/tyres on my Whyte Wessex which came direct from the supplier. No punctures but was taken aback to find inner tubes fitted when the time came to replace the tyres.
  • Lol, I don't know! Maybe because the lockring tends to be ever so slightly bulkier on tubeless valves?
  • bobones
    bobones Posts: 1,215
    I've had too many issues with worms working back out under pressure so I switched to Dynaplugs, where a little metal arrow head keeps the rubber secured in place. Really quick and easy to use, although a bit more expensive than standard worms, but still pretty cheap in the overall scheme of bicycle expenditure.
    http://www.dynaplug.com/carbonbike.html
  • Lol, I don't know! Maybe because the lockring tends to be ever so slightly bulkier on tubeless valves?

    Ain't necessarily so (Google some images).
  • junglist_matty
    junglist_matty Posts: 1,731

    Lol, I don't know! Maybe because the lockring tends to be ever so slightly bulkier on tubeless valves?

    Ain't necessarily so (Google some images).
    Rule #60