Tubeless leak issue

Crazyjenkins01 · April 2017

Ok so now I'm confused!!

Have been running tubeless and for some reason the front seems to have stopped staying sealed. Its gone flat after a day or 2 sat when not riding, the thing is once I pump it up again it rides fine and keeps pressure for a while then flat again almost overnight.
A mate at work helped me look for leaks last week with an old toolbox filled with water. I had tried this the day before and found nothing. We both looked for bubbles over 2 full rotations and nothing found, over the weekend flat again!

Any ideas?
TIA

iwilldoit · April 2017

Have you tried shaking the wheel to see if you can hear sealant in it, might of dried up and need some more putting in it.

Crazyjenkins01 · April 2017

Plenty of sealant as i topped it up to see if that helped!

POAH · April 2017

spray soapy water over the tyre and see if there are any bubbles.

what wheels and tyres are you using?

Crazyjenkins01 · April 2017

Will that be any better than the water? It was a good 4 inches deep (enough to cover the tyre, rim and valve when the wheel was valve down) so any leak would have shown up as bubbles???

WTB i23 rims (i think, bossnut oem) and Maxxis HR II

robertpb · April 2017

If they have plenty of sealant in them then take the wheel off, pump the tyre up to 45psi, then you do the tubeless tyre dance with it.

That should make sure the walls are properly sealed, that's where most slow leaks are if their not punctured.

oxoman · April 2017

Check the valve went tubeless on my road bike and after a few flats found it was the valve leaking on the rim adapter. Just tightened up and all was good

The Rookie · April 2017

If it's leaking through the rim it won't bubble under water as it will come out the line of least resistance, you'd have to put the whole wheel under water, probably wouldn't show up with soapy water either.

Crazyjenkins01 · April 2017

I had a feeling it might be through the rim!
If that's the case would that be a retape of the rim? I didn't tape it first time round but might get the bits to have a go myself this time if thats what needs doing.

The Rookie · April 2017

Sounds like you may need to replace the rim tape, the pressurised air shouldn't contact the rim itself, the rim tape should fill the wheel rim and the tyre seal to the rim tape.

Crazyjenkins01 · April 2017

That's what I was thinking. Just wasn't sure if there would be some other cause with a fix that meant I didn't have to take the tyre off!

Crazyjenkins01 · May 2017

So, unfortunately the bike has been sat since its last ride last Sunday on the way home from work, as work hours have stopped me riding for the last week

However, having checked the front wheel this morning when I got to work (have left it here for a bit), the tyre is not only still inflated but seems to be at a very similar pressure to what it was when i last rode it. So no air loss in 8 days of no riding. WTF?!?!?

cooldad · May 2017

Sealant has sealed whatever was leaking. It happens.

Crazyjenkins01 · May 2017

Happy if that's the case but I've been riding tubeless for months with no issue, then this popped up for about a month or so then disappeared without me doing anything. Just seems weird how the leak didn't seal earlier and now it has.

Could it need the sealant replenishing?

drlodge · May 2017

Dunk the wheel in the bath, bubbles will show where its leaking (if it is).

Crazyjenkins01 · May 2017

Been there, done that, no bubbles showed... flat 2 days later.

drlodge · May 2017

You need to look harder. If you have a leak there will be bubbles. No bubbles, no leak.

cooldad · May 2017

If it's not leaking anymore just leave it.

Crazyjenkins01 · May 2017

Checked again this morning and still inflated. May just ignore this and see what happens over the next few weeks.
Hopefully getting out again Friday night/Saturday so will see what happens!

Tubeless leak issue

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