May be sold on this tubeless thing, but now what?

[makoti]

Riding a friend's set of Mavic UST wheels while he is out of town so I can try tubeless. Comfy, seem solid, but until today no reason to think about actually switching.
4 miles from home, winding down, and I hear a thump on the rear wheel followed by the dreaded "psssst!" of air escaping. I figured I was about to see how to change a tubeless tire on the road. I saw the sealant spray & figured I was screwed. Waited for it to go flat....and it never did. I left home with 85psi & got back with 70psi. Completely rideable. That was nice! worked as it should, I guess.
Now... I have a tire that normally I would pull off & double check for the what ever caused the flat. Do I need to do that? I'll check the outside (didn't have the chance to look at it closely), but should I just expect to be able to ride it as if it never got a puncture? Should I consider it "fixed", or its there a suggested thing to do when this happens?

[ColonelJLloyd]

Pump it back up to desired pressure. Ride on.

[bshell]

find the hole if you can. plug it if it looks big. keep riding.

[makoti]

find the hole if you can. plug it if it looks big. keep riding.

Like with a car tire?

[jtakeda]

Like with a car tire?

Yes

[rwsaunders]

https://www.genuineinnovations.com/blogs/learn-about-our-tech/how-to-plug-a-tubeless-tire

[makoti]

https://www.genuineinnovations.com/blogs/learn-about-our-tech/how-to-plug-a-tubeless-tire

Thanks!

[kingpin75s]

Can anyone comment on whether there is more of a need to plug after with road tubeless vs. mountain due to higher pressures etc.

In the 10 years I have ridden mountain and gravel tubeless, I have never installed a plug after a puncture. Even large punctures filled and never were an issue after.

Nothing wrong with plugging to be safe, but any evidence it solves a real problem?

Guidance I have seen is plug if greater than 2mm hole, which is pretty big and, per above, I have had larger that sealed. I use Stans but most seem to do a good job as I understand it.

[MikeD]

I don't think there's a need to plug if the hole is small. I didn't.


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[Jaybee]

I wouldn’t mess with a hole that was already sealed. Check the area to be sure you didn’t take further damage to the sidewall, top up sealant and air and continue to ride. The simplicity is the point.

[mmfs]

Don’t mess with it and ride on! I’m riding +1500 miles on a tire that sealed itself after a flat.

[bigbill]

I had one that sealed but the hole was kind of big. It was a Schwalbe One with <100 miles so I took it off, cleaned out all the sealant, wiped the inside with a rag and alcohol and patched the tire. I got another 1500 miles out of it.

[makoti]

Well, it got me home but then wouldn't hold air. Lost 40psi overnight. Took it into the shop & they are going to patch it, even though neither of us thought the hole was nearly that big. Every time I put more air in it, sealant bubbled up out of the hole. Never really dried.
Still, given the ride & the fact I didn't have to stop to change a flat, I think I'll be setting up one set of wheels & give this a go.

[kingpin75s]

Well, it got me home but then wouldn't hold air. Lost 40psi overnight. Took it into the shop & they are going to patch it, even though neither of us thought the hole was nearly that big. Every time I put more air in it, sealant bubbled up out of the hole. Never really dried.
Still, given the ride & the fact I didn't have to stop to change a flat, I think I'll be setting up one set of wheels & give this a go.

Just curious. What type of sealant are you using?

[Jaybee]

Well, it got me home but then wouldn't hold air. Lost 40psi overnight. Took it into the shop & they are going to patch it, even though neither of us thought the hole was nearly that big. Every time I put more air in it, sealant bubbled up out of the hole. Never really dried.
Still, given the ride & the fact I didn't have to stop to change a flat, I think I'll be setting up one set of wheels & give this a go.


Sometimes if the hole won't seal right away, letting it find a sort of "equilibrium pressure" can allow the sealant to dry and plug the hole without a large pressure delta between the tire and ambient pushing all the liquid out. In short, just let it sit at whatever psi it wants without adding any air. It will dry, then you can pump it up, see if it holds over a period of a few hours, and then ride. Sometimes you don't have the time or inclination to keep that wheel out of service for a day or two - in that case patch or plug, add sealant/air, then ride.

[vqdriver]

Sometimes if the hole won't seal right away, letting it find a sort of "equilibrium pressure" can allow the sealant to dry and plug the hole without a large pressure delta between the tire and ambient pushing all the liquid out. In short, just let it sit at whatever psi it wants without adding any air. It will dry, then you can pump it up, see if it holds over a period of a few hours, and then ride. Sometimes you don't have the time or inclination to keep that wheel out of service for a day or two - in that case patch or plug, add sealant/air, then ride.

this has worked for me in the past, tho mostly out of laziness and not getting around to addressing it until a weekend.

fwiw, on a road tire, i'd be curious to know if you can feel a plug going round and round. if you can find it, i'd remove the tire and patch from the inside. obviously not a concern with mtb treads.

[makoti]

Just curious. What type of sealant are you using?

The official Mavic sealant that came with the wheels.