Compass tubeless stops holding air?

[sparky33]

I've been using a set of SBH extralights off and on for about a year, so the tires appear in good mid-life form with maybe 1500 miles. I top up the Orange Seal every now and again so there is some sloshing around inside.

Recently I noticed that both tires aren't holding air the way they used to, losing at least half the psi over the course of a day while sitting. They lose a small amount during a short ride. The rear is worse. Up until recently, they would hold rideable psi for a week and need only a few occasional pumps. I can't find any leaks...

Is this degradation of air retention normal and expected?
What am I missing here?

I've got many smiles from this set of tires, so I am happy to get a new set. I am mostly asking for my own education.

[sandyrs]

Per a Jan post (https://janheine.wordpress.com/2017/05/29/the-trouble-with-road-tubeless/) (scroll down to the line that says "If the tire flexes excessively, this will break down the casing until it starts to leak (above)."), the sidewalls have a tendency to break down when ridden tubeless at low pressure. Is that what yours look like?

[ColonelJLloyd]

Interesting.

It probably wouldn't change a thing, but if it were me I think I'd unseat the beads, remove any clumps of dried sealant worth removing, re-seat the beads, add 1.5-2oz Orange Seal, inflate to 35 or 40 psi and come back in a few hours and test pressure again.

[doomridesout]

Or, you could take the wheel off and shake the wheel side to side to re-coat sidewalls if you think the sealant is still good. I'd imagine flexing sidewalls on a supple tire will break down the coating on the sidewalls, but you could probably just re-coat with the "Stan's shake".

[sparky33]

Holy cats no! I would chuck a tire if it looked that weird.Per a Jan post (https://janheine.wordpress.com/2017/05/29/the-trouble-with-road-tubeless/) (scroll down to the line that says "If the tire flexes excessively, this will break down the casing until it starts to leak (above)."), the sidewalls have a tendency to break down when ridden tubeless at low pressure. Is that what yours look like?

This is probably worth doing for the sake of pseudo-science. I will report back. The Stan's shake is my go-to move, but it didn't fix the situation.
Interesting.

It probably wouldn't change a thing, but if it were me I think I'd unseat the beads, remove any clumps of dried sealant worth removing, re-seat the beads, add 1.5-2oz Orange Seal, inflate to 35 or 40 psi and come back in a few hours and test pressure again.

[R3awak3n]

I have heard that compass tires are not the greatest at tubeless, specially the ELs. A few people are preferring the WTB horizons for this reason

[FR8CAR]

I have bon jon ELs and the seams are where I've experienced leaks to the point where I can feel air coming through at times. Regular use of the stans shakey move usually works pretty well and stabilizes things a few days after mounting. I usually have to top off the sealant pretty regularly though and I've had instances where I've sloughed off the sealant scabs when cleaning and opened new leaks. Fun tires if you aren't put off by the extra attention.

https://www.cxmagazine.com/compass-bon-jon-pass-extralight-tubeless-gravel-tire-review-35c

[Cat3roadracer]

In my experience there are four necessary factors.

Tubeless rim, tubeless tire, tape that will adhere to the rim, and a valve suitable for the rim.

If all four are in order, smooth sailing.

[ColonelJLloyd]

I have heard that compass tires are not the greatest at tubeless, specially the ELs. A few people are preferring the WTB horizons for this reason

That's like trying to satisfy the craving of a dry aged, marbled cut of beef with a T-bone from Waffle House*.

I'm 2 for 2 on Compass EL tubeless setups (SBH and Bon Jon) and don't discount the fact that others have had legitimate trouble, but with their current "TC" models, a proper tubeless rim and Orange Seal one ought to be good to go. Whether or not the supple casing is appropriate for how and where you ride is a personal matter. It seems like they've sorted out what bead or seeping issues there were.







*maybe that's a little harsh

[ptourkin]

I did fine with regular Switch Back Hills - they held the bead and held air well but just pulled them off after little use for some Byways. I'll put them up on the Classifieds if nobody local wants them. I think they do fine for almost everything but counter to Jan's advice, I decided to do less of the #supplelife when I'm in the back country.

[owly]

If they are losing air that quickly then I'd at least pump them up and dunk the tyre bulb into some water; slowly rotate the wheel. See if there's any leaks in the tyre. If non visible (and you're losing air that quick) then I'd pull the tyre and check the tape application.

SBH extralight user for a few months. Like you after a couple I noticed one day a handful of air leaks through the seals. Just dumped a heap of sealant in the tyre through the valve, sloshed it around over those areas. Sealed up straight away. Syringed back out the excess sealant. No issues since.

[Hilltopperny]

I had a similar issue with a schwalbe g-one and the tubeless tape was the culprit. The tape had shifted away from the rim bed allowing it to lose a significant amount of air. I re-taped the rim and all is well. Might be as simple as that?


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[oldpotatoe]

I've been using a set of SBH extralights off and on for about a year, so the tires appear in good mid-life form with maybe 1500 miles. I top up the Orange Seal every now and again so there is some sloshing around inside.

Recently I noticed that both tires aren't holding air the way they used to, losing at least half the psi over the course of a day while sitting. They lose a small amount during a short ride. The rear is worse. Up until recently, they would hold rideable psi for a week and need only a few occasional pumps. I can't find any leaks...

Is this degradation of air retention normal and expected?
What am I missing here?

I've got many smiles from this set of tires, so I am happy to get a new set. I am mostly asking for my own education.

So...if checking all the usual culprits, tape, valve, no leaks in tire..and the tires have 'life' left..put a tube in there and use till replace..:)

[sparky33]

Maybe, be we understand the point.
I'm still keen on Compass tires since the superb ride quality makes any reasonable upkeep and maintenance worthwhile.

That's like trying to satisfy the craving of a dry aged, marbled cut of beef with a T-bone from Waffle House*.

*maybe that's a little harsh

[R3awak3n]

That's like trying to satisfy the craving of a dry aged, marbled cut of beef with a T-bone from Waffle House*.

I'm 2 for 2 on Compass EL tubeless setups (SBH and Bon Jon) and don't discount the fact that others have had legitimate trouble, but with their current "TC" models, a proper tubeless rim and Orange Seal one ought to be good to go. Whether or not the supple casing is appropriate for how and where you ride is a personal matter. It seems like they've sorted out what bead or seeping issues there were.







*maybe that's a little harsh

I do love waffle house, I would not get the steak there though :)

I would still go compass even if the tubeless setup is not as strong or does not last as long as WTB, they do ride considerably better imo.

I did not have problems with mine until the bead was very stretched and I could not make it tubeless anymore (this was before the TC models though.

[jbay]

My Switchback Hills are thirsty, bleeding tyres and using Orange Seal makes this very apparent. I have the standard casing version and have to add sealant approximately monthly to stop them going flat overnight.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aeNdrK3oWvo/WyJ3ETGa0nI/AAAAAAAAXZ8/2ZAEkhBdcZA2e1K5_SogxbBBC8Dm-qNOgCJoC/w530-h707-n/orange-compass1.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OllGFgcD3Zc/WyJ3BPcbTBI/AAAAAAAAXZs/eGOGBMp4nNc4iNjOKUr4lDzhIMC4KC2kACJoC/w530-h707-n/orange-compass2.JPG

-- John

[donalrey]

I had a nightmare trying to set up some BJP tubeless - because of this I will probably never set up any Compass tires tubeless. With that said, all the tires I have on my bike are still Compass - BJP, Barlow, and soon to be RTP! :)

[SpeedyChix]

Had some set up tubeless for a bit. Weeped and it never stopped. Newer batch were a bit better. Loved the ride but ended up running them with a fine Schwalbe lightweight tubes.

[ColonelJLloyd]

I had a nightmare trying to set up some BJP tubeless - because of this I will probably never set up any Compass tires tubeless. With that said, all the tires I have on my bike are still Compass - BJP, Barlow, and soon to be RTP! :)

I recently setup some BJP tubeless on i20 Blunt SL. They hold air well. What rims and tape? And you definitely have the ones marked "TC"?

[ColonelJLloyd]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aeNdrK3oWvo/WyJ3ETGa0nI/AAAAAAAAXZ8/2ZAEkhBdcZA2e1K5_SogxbBBC8Dm-qNOgCJoC/w530-h707-n/orange-compass1.JPG


Interesting creasing/cracking near and along the rim. What pressure do you run?

[jbay]

Interesting creasing/cracking near and along the rim. What pressure do you run?It's not really a crack, but rather where the reinforcing layer near the bead is applied unevenly.

To answer your question though, it depends (over and above whether they are in a mood to hold pressure on that particular day). However, 25-32PSI would be my typical range.

-- John

[joemull]

a friend of mine said when you keep adding sealant you're just rebuilding a fully replaced tire from the inside.

I'm losing a lot of air with my barlow pass ELs after only a couple months of initial orange seal upon mounting. I think a tire that requires so much maintenance is sub-par compared to all others that don't need attention - even including sew-ups for cyclocross

[oldpotatoe]

a friend of mine said when you keep adding sealant you're just rebuilding a fully replaced tire from the inside.

I'm losing a lot of air with my barlow pass ELs after only a couple months of initial orange seal upon mounting. I think a tire that requires so much maintenance is sub-par compared to all others that don't need attention - even including sew-ups for cyclocross

REality, what a concept..->:)

[MikeD]

IMO, tubeless performance/reliability of Compass tires is poor. I recommend running them with tubes.

[jtbadge]

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4551/38093691142_350cc7c798_c.jpg