How long after mounting tubeless do you ride them (road)

[makoti]

Is there an accepted safety window? 12 hours? 24? If I mounted them this afternoon, ride them tomorrow morning? I've been waiting 1-2 days, but in this case I won't have quite that long, if I want to ride them.

[cinema]

you can ride them immediately. the rim holds the bead, not the sealant. the sealant is not supposed to ‘dry’ anyway if thats what youre thinking. not saying you are but many people ive convinced to convert initially thought this

[makoti]

you can ride them immediately. the rim holds the bead, not the sealant. the sealant is not supposed to ‘dry’ anyway if thats what youre thinking. not saying you are but many people ive convinced to convert initially thought this

Not really dry, but I had heard that you wanted to give it some time to work its way into whatever small leaks you might have and seal those. Not the case?

[cinema]

oh i figured you were mounting new tires not used. the sealant is supposed to seal the hole quickly while you ride anyway, so unless it's a big hole which would need a repair anyway, spinning it in the stand a couple times should be sufficient. if you are letting it sit the sealant is just pooling around the portion of the tire facing down. it is actually good to ride the tire immediately to distribute it before it pools in one place by sitting still.

oh and i learned the hard way NOT to pull larger things that puncture the tire out while you're riding. the sealant is doing it's job and sealing around the goathead or whatever it is. if it's big enough a good hole will never seal with sealant alone and you'll just have a flat unless you take it off to repair. did this on a bikepacking trip one time don't know what i was thinking it was a mess. unless it's like a nail or something that requires immediate plugging

[jkbrwn]

24 hours in my books. Just to make sure they’re all groovy and they’ve not somehow spontaneously deflated/unseated themselves.

[makoti]

Yeah, I'm not being clear. Sorry. It's late.
New tires, new mount. I'd heard that it helps to seal small gaps between tire & rim that might otherwise allow air to leak if you gave them 24 hours to sit before riding. They held air great without any sealant, so likely not an issue but better safe than stranded.

[cinema]

I think that is a myth. the bead pops and thats that. the sealant does not prevent the tire from losing air or staying on the rim in any significant way at all. it would make sense if you want to leave it for a few minutes to monitor if it's losing air at the spoke holes due to rim damage or due to poor fitment but it would be pretty apparent in just a little bit.

as you said the tires seat without sealant. one could ride them that way until something flats the tire. i mount a new tire with sealant then head out for a ride.

[makoti]

Thanks. That's what I'll do, then. Makes sense.

[cinema]

if it was really losing air from bad fitment the sealant could not control that. it will seal small punctures tho.

the time i was not thinking and ran thru a field of goatheads in carizzo plain, i pulled a couple out and tire immediately lost air. sealant could not seal the empty hole well enough but it sealed just fine with the goat head in there.

i ended up pulling the tire and taping the inside. with some gorilla tape i had with me. by the time i was ready to put the wheel back on most of the sealant was completely gone. i popped the tire back on the rim and rode it like that for hundreds of miles.

[bigbill]

I plan on riding right after I install the tires with sealant. Even if it's only 30 minutes. It spreads the sealant all around the inside of the tire and bead.

[Clancy]

I plan on riding right after I install the tires with sealant. Even if it's only 30 minutes. It spreads the sealant all around the inside of the tire and bead.

This! Sooner the better, right away if possible. Quickens the process of pushing the sealant into any gaps and keeps the sealant moving around. I can’t see any advantages to waiting any given amount of time. It’s only after I’ve ridden a tubeless set-up and have it remain inflated overnight that I consider it good to go.

[MikeD]

If you can put the tire under water to verify that no air bubbles are coming out, then immediately. Otherwise, I'd wait a day. I had problems with a new tire that was leaking through the sidewalls when I went out on a ride without verifying I had a good seal.

[daker13]

I wait a day.

[Robot870]

I mount and hit the streets asap - no worries

[unterhausen]

24 hours in my books. Just to make sure they’re all groovy and they’ve not somehow spontaneously deflated/unseated themselves.
I think that's a good idea, depending on how easy it is to get the tire to seal. I had some Maxxis tires that were horrible about sealing and I had to do it more than once before it held for good. OTOH, the gravelkings and mtb tires I have were obviously sealed as soon as the bead popped onto the rim, and riding them right away was no problem.

[YesNdeed]

While riding tubeless, you have a pucture, PSSSSSSSSSS! Sealant is quick to the rescue and the puncture seals. Do you then pull over and wait 24 hours before finishing the ride?

Ok, well that comment was just for fun. My point is that I just seat the tires with sealant, shake the wheel wildly in all directions, good to go.

[RoosterCogset]

I think that is a myth. the bead pops and thats that. the sealant does not prevent the tire from losing air or staying on the rim in any significant way at all. it would make sense if you want to leave it for a few minutes to monitor if it's losing air at the spoke holes due to rim damage or due to poor fitment but it would be pretty apparent in just a little bit.

as you said the tires seat without sealant. one could ride them that way until something flats the tire. i mount a new tire with sealant then head out for a ride.

Is this topic dependent on whether we're talking about Tubeless Ready vs Tubeless tires? ie. is this article incorrect?

https://www.bicycling.com/skills-tips/a27628336/tubeless-tires-guide/#:~:text=Tubeless%20ready%20tires%20don't,bed%20it self%20is%20not%20sealed.

Quote: "Tubeless ready tires don’t have the sealed casing that UST tires (see below) do. That makes them lighter, and also means they require sealant to hold air.

Tubeless Compatible: A tubeless-compatible wheel or rim is one in which the rim has a bead lock, but the rim bed itself is not sealed. Some companies use “tubeless ready” and “tubeless compatible” as synonyms. In either case, the components needed to run the wheel and tire combo as a tubeless setup are the same: a sealed rim bed, tire with a tubeless bead lock, and sealant."

[Hellgate]

If you have to wait you may as well use a tube. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose.

[cinema]

Is this topic dependent on whether we're talking about Tubeless Ready vs Tubeless tires? ie. is this article incorrect?

https://www.bicycling.com/skills-tips/a27628336/tubeless-tires-guide/#:~:text=Tubeless%20ready%20tires%20don't,bed%20it self%20is%20not%20sealed.

Quote: "Tubeless ready tires don’t have the sealed casing that UST tires (see below) do. That makes them lighter, and also means they require sealant to hold air.

Tubeless Compatible: A tubeless-compatible wheel or rim is one in which the rim has a bead lock, but the rim bed itself is not sealed. Some companies use “tubeless ready” and “tubeless compatible” as synonyms. In either case, the components needed to run the wheel and tire combo as a tubeless setup are the same: a sealed rim bed, tire with a tubeless bead lock, and sealant."

Whether or not this is true is irrelevant, because letting the wheel sit overnight will simply pool the sealant to downward facing part of the tire. riding the tire will spread the sealant and therefore assist in this allowing the thinner casing to hold air better over time. the sealant is not supposed to really dry inside the tire (though it will over time) to 'seal it,' certainly not after 24 hours. but it will lay a wet film over it sure, increasing the mass of rubber and thereby allowing less air to escape i guess. All rubber will allow air to escape the tire eventually, which is why you have to pump it up.

[Davist]

Ride immediately after "shaking" the sealant into the bead. Riding pushes the sealant into any potential holes with better force than you can manage otherwise. I thought this was the recommended procedure, what I've always done..

[MikeD]

Riding doesn’t get the sealant into the sidewalls and bead area of the tire to any appreciable extent because of centripetal force, which forces the sealant into the tread area. That's why you should shake or spin the wheel around when it is in a horizontal position after you put the sealant in.

I use one of these plastic planter boxes filled with water to look for leaks in the tire, rim tape, valve... $8 at Lowes. Seal the holes in the box with duct tape. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200711/6b80e712ece2faafbf034b9610e45352.jpg

[nalax]

Depends a lot on the tire. I had Compass SBH's which started seeping sealant out the sidewalls right away. Those took a while before they sealed. Gravel Kings, WTB, even Challenge TL all have been easier for me.

[cinema]

sealant seeping out of the sidewalls? that is crazy. never witnessed that but maybe with these lighter thinner casings i can see it happening. i guess if you see sealant seeping out shortly after it's best to wait a bit. i would guess air would be escaping anyway on that tire through a tube if that is happening, you just can't see it.

[Davist]

Sealant leaking out the sidewalls is poor design implementation.. but at least you pay a lot for it!