Tubeless maintenance...

[jfranci3]

Questions:
1) How often do you add more sealant?
2) Is there a need for a regular (yearly) tire removal and clean?
3) cleaning off goo, is there something I can put in the tire to keep the goo liquid like alcohol?

Thanks
Jon

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by jfranci3

Questions:
1) How often do you add more sealant?
2) Is there a need for a regular (yearly) tire removal and clean?
3) cleaning off goo, is there something I can put in the tire to keep the goo liquid like alcohol?

Thanks
Jon

I like to hear a little sealant sloshing around when I shake the wheel and listen very closely. When all goes quiet, I open the tire and usually add more, not a lot. How long the stuff stays good varies by usage, environmental conditions and the specific sealant.

Sealant will congeal if you leave it there for a while in one position. Peel that out if it bothers you.

Adding thinner to the sealant probably reduces it's sealing properties.

[simplemind]

I use Stan's for my mountain bike and I have to add more about every 3-4 months. Usually don't clean out because about that time I'm ready for new tires anyway.

For road tires I only use Orange Seal Endurance. It has lasted as long as a year without adding. I would also highly recommend using two layers of Stan's tape and NOT Orange Seal tape as it won't withstand the higher pressures of road tires, and Stan's tape will.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by sparky33

When all goes quiet, I open the tire and usually add more, not a lot.

Are you breaking the tire bead seal to add sealant?

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

Are you breaking the tire bead seal to add sealant?

It depends.
If I have a pretty good idea what's happening on the inside of the tire or if I'm being lazy, I'll just remove the valve core and squirt in a bit of sealant.

Other times, I'll break the bead seal and open it up, take a look, pull out globs...never a problem resealing things.

Also, I got one of these recently...the Airshot inflator. simple and effective.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by sparky33

Airshot inflator. simple and effective.

Cool. That's useful. I decided just to sell my Lezyne Floor Drive and replace it with their pump with secondary chamber. I just dump 150-200psi in the tire to seat the beads and it works out well.

[OldCrank]

I'm about ready to convert my Ardennes+ to tubeless-

If your road tire gets slashed beyond sealant help, will a CO2 unit re-seat a new tire?

Thanks

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by OldCrank

I'm about ready to convert my Ardennes+ to tubeless-

If your road tire gets slashed beyond sealant help, will a CO2 unit re-seat a new tire?

Thanks

Edit.
I've never tried to seat a new tire with an ordinary CO2 cartridge. I suspect you would need more air than a cartridge has. I would be interested to know if anyone has used a 16-25g CO2 cartridge successfully for this purpose.

[jfranci3]

Originally Posted by OldCrank

I'm about ready to convert my Ardennes+ to tubeless-

If your road tire gets slashed beyond sealant help, will a CO2 unit re-seat a new tire?

Thanks

I haven't tried yet. For road tires, they should be pretty easy to seat. You can do a 25c on with a floor pump. MTB tires won't touch the rim sides in some cases and non-tubeless tires run tubeless don't have deep enough sidewalls, so you need that 'explosion' of air. You can also seat a non-tubeless 35c tire on a rim with a normal pump. A CO2 cartridge should almost work on an MTB tire.

I'll look a different goos... I'm hearing the existing stuff will just line the tire. As long as it doesn't puddle in one spot for some time, I'm OK.
As for keeping it liquid, I just want to replace the valves in the off season. It might make sense to prevent the liquid from going solid as a do this.

[simplemind]

Originally Posted by OldCrank

I'm about ready to convert my Ardennes+ to tubeless-

If your road tire gets slashed beyond sealant help, will a CO2 unit re-seat a new tire?

Thanks

I wouldn't count on it. That's why I always carry two tubes. My first ride with tubeless, someone scattered box cutter blades on the shoulder. One flipped up and sliced the tire in half. Well, even a tube was not enough to continue, that's why you always carry a second item...your cell phone to call the wife to come get you!

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by jfranci3

Questions:

1) How often do you add more sealant?

2) Is there a need for a regular (yearly) tire removal and clean?

3) cleaning off goo, is there something I can put in the tire to keep the goo liquid like alcohol?



Thanks

Jon

Seems to last me only a couple of months in hot weather before it dries out (Orange Seal). It's a good idea to remove the tire and clean it like every other time. The sealant dries into a puddle and will add weight and throw the wheel out of balance. Alcohol won't work. Picking, peeling, and scrubbing works removing dried sealant. Liquid sealant can be washed out with water. I have removable valve cores and inject sealant through the valve stem with a syringe. Less messy than pouring sealant into the tire and putting the bead on. Also, you will have to replace a valve core from time to time because sealant gets in it. Buy some extras on eBay.

[bigbill]

Wasn't able to seat a new road tire with CO2's. At the time, I used my neighbor's rig which is an old fire extinguisher he charges up a compressor and then uses to seat tires. I've since bought the Schwalbe version of the inflator above. Looks the same is similarly priced. I used it on Sunday to seat a 37mm gravel tire. I'm still pretty new to tubeless but I've made a point to ride tubeless for every ride this month. I'm 805 miles in and have had no flats on the road. I carry an Innovations Tubeless Tacklebox that has plugs and new valve cores. If I was to get a hole that won't seal well, I can put a plug in the hole and reinflate with a CO2 because the tire would still be seated.

[OldCrank]

<<<Innovations Tubeless Tacklebox>>>
https://stevethebikeguy.com/genuine-...le-kit-review/
https://www.modernbike.com/genuine-i...kit-with-bacon

Anything that includes (tire) bacon gets a place in my seat bag!

Still, looks like I'd carry spare tire&tube(s) on long rides.

Hmmmmm

[foo_fighter]

Black burn has a newer version of this that look easier to use:
https://www.blackburndesign.com/coll...epair-kit.html
And dynaplug is even easier:
http://www.dynaplug.com/bicycles.html

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by OldCrank

I'm about ready to convert my Ardennes+ to tubeless-

If your road tire gets slashed beyond sealant help, will a CO2 unit re-seat a new tire?

Thanks

Co2 will do it. I’ve seated a 33c cx tyre with a single canister.

The catch is that it ruins the sealant - the extreme cold of the co2 causes the sealant to ball up.

It’ll get you out of trouble no worries, but you’ll need to sort it out when you get home kinda thing.