Is sealant really worth it?

[MikeD]

Yesterday, on my 700x44 tires (35-45 psi), I got a rear puncture. It eventually sealed and I lost about 5-10 psi, but it sprayed all over the place; my bike, shoes, shorts and maybe jersey, and sprayed the rider behind me. I can't get the sealant out of the shorts. I figure I'm going to expend more time and effort cleaning things up and topping off my sealant than what it would have taken to just change a tube. Probably ruined that pair of shorts. I'm thinking to go back to tubes as I don't think I get that many flats and I know how to fix a flat and I figure just deal with it when it happens. I'm thinking that there's a lot of people, for whatever reason (lack of skill, hand strength, tight tires, etc.), that try to avoid fixing flats at all costs.

[fourflys]

this should be a fun conversation..

for me, tubes on the road, even at largish tires sizes.. mainly for many of the reasons you stated.. when I had an MTB and gravel bike, both were tubeless as the MTB tubeless provided the ability to go much lower in pressures and the gravel bike came set up that way..

I think I would go tubeless on MTB for sure as, I think, flats are more rare since the tires are more robust (and less glass, etc on the trails).. I'm undecided on a gravel bike.. I guess it might come down to how much pavement riding I'm doing on the gravel bike? back in the 2010s when I was riding a lot of trails on my cross bikes, I always ran a tube and ever had any issues (35ish mm tires?)..

[Likes2ridefar]

For me riding in sharp Arizona it is definitely worth it. I can ride nice riding lightweight tires with no flats (no flats in years now…losing count) versus thick and durable tires with tubes that still flat on occasion.

I know we all weigh different (low 160s here) and have different rims but I’d never be running that high psi in a 44mm tire. Currently have 38mm and start at 39/41 which feel pretty stiff on the road and can run down to mid to low 20s before really needing to add air.

[tellyho]

Topical for me: I've had to plug tubeless cuts on two different bikes within the past week. I yo-yo on tubeless - I'll give up on one bike, ride tubes for a while, then have a sequence of flats with tubes that motivates me to re-set-up the that bike without tubes. Then I ride it for a while, get to a point where I have tubeless issues and return to tubes.

On bikes that I ride in gnarly situations, tubeless is worth it for the peace of mind in running lower tire pressures. But as we know, the dirty secret of tubeless is when it goes wrong, it's big, messy and annoying. You trade off more frequent but predictable small issues with tubes for less frequent, unpredictable messy issues with tubeless.

It's also become apparent to me that a tubeless setup has to be "refreshed" every couple years: new tape, new valve core, etc. if you want to forestall big trailside issues.

The OP's situation sounds like a tubeless win, overall, to me. Yes, messy, but you could ride home without big trailside wheel surgery.

[makoti]

Clearly it happens, but...
I have had at least 4 punctures that required sealant to fill the hole. It did get all over the frame, but not on me. Never been an issue.
And sealant in bike clothing isn't really "ruined". Stained, maybe. Is cycling clothing with a grease stain ruined?

I went from getting several flats a month to two in the last two years. On the road for one, gravel roads for the other. I've had 4 others fill and I rode home, also on the road. Inflated to 85 psi. On 25s
It works and hell yes, it's worth it. I no longer have to add in an extra 15 min for a ride I'm trying to squeeze in because "What if I get a flat?"

[MikeD]

Tubeless isn't infallible either. If you forget to top it off, it's useless (worse than useless). Dried sealant can glue the beads to the rim. I've had punctures that sealed only to let go days or weeks later. Plug kits work so carry one.

This current flat I had blew almost all 3 oz. of sealant out the puncture before it sealed (Orange Seal Regular). The hole is really too small to bother using a plug.

[johnniecakes]

I tried tubeless also for a while but had similar issues with sealant getting on the bike and shorts. Just too much of a mess and maintenance for me. Topping up sealant, scrubbing dried sealant out of tires, cleaning valves etc. In a typical year I may only get 2 or 3 flats in 6000 or so miles. So my time and hassle factor with tubes is very low. I have switched to TPU tubes and carry a butyl as a spare. If I get a flat a butyl goes in along the road and then a new TPU goes in at home under calmer conditions. More work and no performance gain keeps me using tubes

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by johnniecakes

I tried tubeless also for a while but had similar issues with sealant getting on the bike and shorts. Just too much of a mess and maintenance for me. Topping up sealant, scrubbing dried sealant out of tires, cleaning valves etc. In a typical year I may only get 2 or 3 flats in 6000 or so miles. So my time and hassle factor with tubes is very low. I have switched to TPU tubes and carry a butyl as a spare. If I get a flat a butyl goes in along the road and then a new TPU goes in at home under calmer conditions. More work and no performance gain keeps me using tubes

Are you using the expensive TPU tubes or the cheap AliExpress ones? Have you tried sealant in the TPU tubes?

[johnniecakes]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Are you using the expensive TPU tubes or the cheap AliExpress ones? Have you tried sealant in the TPU tubes?

I am using the RideNow TPU tubes and so far no issues with flats or the valves. No, no sealant in them, that would need refreshing periodically which is something I am avoiding. To help clarify I have several bikes that I use and sometimes a particular bike may not get ridden for 2 months, depending on my mood. Or a bike may be ridden exclusively for a month. So keeping track of sealant is not worth it to me. As I mentioned I very rarely get flats with tubes so punctures are not an issue for me (fortunately). I also tend to replace tires (25mm) before they are worn out which I think helps reduce punctures

[gospastic]

Since switching to wider IW wheels I've found tubeless to be beneficial for road. I'm running 28mm tires on 23mm IW hookless rims at 54-58PSI. Sealant works at these pressures. It was super handy in one situation where I was warming up for a race and with 5 minutes to start, got a puncture. The sealant worked and I just had to top up with a pump. I wouldn't have had time to take the tire off and replace a tube. Yes some sealant got all over the frame, but whatever.

[bikinchris]

One more time.
I've been wrenching for over 40 years now. I have zero problem with replacing tubes and fixing flats on the side of the road.
Tubeless is a godsend for mountain bikers. They have serious problems with thorns and pinch flats. Tubeless allows them to run lower pressures and gain traction without worrying about pinch flats or thorns. It solves a problem and has low downsides. Harvesting dried sealant and adding more is the main downside.

Tubeless for road riding is much less of a godsend. The higher pressures to start with often don't allow the punctures to seal and it spews sealant everywhere. It's much harder to set up road tubeless even without the foam. It's great if the team mechanic is the one setting up and maintaining tubeless.
The upside is slightly lower rolling resistance, so racers like it. The downside for people who fix their own flats is a huge mess if it doesn't work out well setting up and more often when you get a puncture.

Gravel is more of a mixture. It might be worth it.

But if you're like most people, you don't get flats often enough to warrant tubeless.

For someone like me who has fixed tens of thousands of flats for bikes of every description and doesn't need tire tools unless it's tubeless, I have absolutely zero interest in tubeless. I get enough of it at the shops I've worked at.

[giordana93]

to each his own, but the idea that one needs a team mechanic to set up road tubeless is hooey. 4-5 years ago, there were some nightmare combos but for the most part things are much better these days and if you have a modicum of mechanical ability, tubeless is easy, and in my book, totally worth it. I only flatted once or twice a year on tubes and it's down to zero on tubeless. Frame got sprayed a couple times; it wiped off, quickly if spotted soon enough. Most of our group are on tubeless and I can't recall anyone getting really hosed ever.

I appreciate tubeless on those damp days when it's almost guaranteed someone is going to pick up a tiny rock shard and flat (and possibly miss it when they put the tube in). Again, zero flats last 5 years, except the time I took out the old Giordana--before it too got tubeless wheel set--in conditions like that and flatted a tube.

For the record, I have been wrenching for over 40 years, though only the last 10 professionally, at a shop with a younger owner/rider with decades of experience. We both ride tubeless on the road. Slightly wider rims with 28s around 70 psi combine fantastic ride quality, resistance to flatting, and speed (marginal gains, right?). They float over chunky pavement where the need to jack up tire pressure to prevent a pinch flat would have me bouncing all over the road. I pump them up to 70-75 then let them drop to about 50, and they ride great.

[Louis]

I'm late to this thread and haven't read every single one of the posts, but at the risk of being accused of being a Luddite, I'll say this:

1) If you want to use tubeless tires have at it - that's totally up to you.

2) If you don't know how to properly change a bike tube out on the road (front or back wheel) you really shouldn't be riding (with a group or alone). I don't use tubeless tires so I know little about sealant, but if I did I'd still carry both a spare tube and tire boots, no matter where I was riding.

[juanj]

Originally Posted by Louis

. . . . If you don't know how to properly change a bike tube out on the road (front or back wheel) you really shouldn't be riding (with a group or alone). . . .

Well, um, obviously!

[Louis]

Originally Posted by juanj

Well, um, obviously!

Not necessarily - this is what prompted my comment (the OP's op)

Originally Posted by MikeD

I'm thinking to go back to tubes as I don't think I get that many flats and I know how to fix a flat and I figure just deal with it when it happens. I'm thinking that there's a lot of people, for whatever reason (lack of skill, hand strength, tight tires, etc.), that try to avoid fixing flats at all costs.