Tubeless sealant top-up frequency?

[ripvanrando]

I got three flats on ride the other day, actually my first in almost 2 years. When replacing the rear tire since it was pretty much worn out, I was shocked that all of the sealant was solid. Not a drop of liquid.

Is replenishment frequency based on miles or time?

I put 50 ml into new GP5K S TR 30 mm tire on 4/7/23

I topped up with 30-35 ml on 5/5/23

I got three flats on 5/27-28 ride

I really hate to break the bead and take the tire off every two weeks to check, any tips? Am I used too little sealant? The wheels are Zipp 303 Firecrest 25mm if that is relevant. I am perplexed.

[catchourbreath]

I think there's a combination of factors.

1) what sealant you're using, some seem to stay liquid far longer than others
2) frequency of use
3) temperature

minimum replenish in the 4 month range. Monthly is far too often unless you got a flat and lost sealant. In terms of amounts I think it seems to vary but for a road tire 30c 40ml is around average l.

[tellyho]

I usually replenish seasonally (4ish months). I don't have tubeless tires <47mm though. Only a couple weeks to dry out is no good. What sealant do you use?

[kppolich]

Check every 90 days, set a calendar reminder and use a feeler stick like the one that comes with Orange Seal or something to check the sealant levels.

A higher concentrated sealant like TruckerCo will last a bit longer, however if you are riding a lot it might be worth topping up sealant and replacing tires/sealant together when the time comes.

For me, I have a calendar reminder set every 30 days to charge batteries and a second set every 90 days to check sealant. Both take less than 5 minutes to complete and I usually give the sealant the ear test first (remove wheel, shake, listen for sloshing).

[Jaybee]

There's no need to break the bead to check sealant levels. you can just shake the wheel. If you hear sealant, you're probably good. If not, add 20ml. Or, if you want to be more precise about it, you can pull the valve core and use a dipstick.

The initial setup of a tire usually soaks up more sealant faster than subsequent top-offs. After all the little micropores in the casing are full, they won't take up as much sealant.

[benb]

I'd question something else about the whole setup if it's drying up that fast AND flatting that easily.

They want to jam tubeless into weight weenie road/gravel so hard but realistically it fits so much better with burly MTB tires. Maybe somewhat burlier tubeless ready road tires are the answer.

I do my MTB sealant like 1-2x a year. And I've had one tubeless flat since 2008! I used to flat 1-2x a season on MTB with tubes I'd estimate.

My Trek Farley I got last May has not been refreshed yet. I have been bashing it into everything in sight in all weather and have settled in on 7psi for general trail usage and 4-5psi for the places a normal MTB has trouble. That bike has the Bontrager smurf blood sealant in it. The shop strongly argued it has poorer sealing performance than Stan's but takes longer to dry out so is good for burly setups where you're not so afraid of flats. That bike is not sitting either.. I have rode that bike about 95% of my rides the last year as it was the "new fun". I know that sealant is not dried up after a year cause I still get it on my fingers when airing up!

Realistically I think you should not be going into tubeless thinking it's about saving the weight of a tube. It's about going for a setup that flats less. If you already have a setup that rarely flats you gotta ask yourself what tubeless is giving you.

And yes, removable valve cores and shaking the wheel are the way.

[John H.]

How long and how much sealant stays active also depends on the specifics of the tires, rims, and rim tape.
Some tires are less pourous, some leak a lot.
Same for rims and rim strip. A tight setup that seals well will do a better job.

[ripvanrando]

Thanks. I will try the dipstick method every two weeks or thereabouts.

My objective/reason for tubeless wasn't weightweenie related.

[bigbill]

The MTB wheels get a refresh every three months. The road bike (32s) get a monthly check, but I usually don't get more than four months out of a rear tire when I'm doing big mileage weeks.

In 2018, I rode a bunch of miles on a set of 25mm Panarace Race A's set up tubeless. I did a 500-mile week in Fredericksburg, Texas, and on the last ride, I noticed the rear tire was soft in the last few miles to my truck. I was putting the bike away and wiped the tires, but the "dirt" wouldn't come off the rear tire. It wasn't dirt; it was the tire casing. I had worn the tread off in spots. I peeled the tire off the rim, and it wadded up in a ball because it was so thin. The tire had dozens of thorns and small pieces of wire, but it had never gone flat.

[dddd]

Sealants seem to work better at lower pressure, so is the pressure in those 30mm tires perhaps too high?
Now if it's going completely flat, obviously not an issue of too high pressure, but the rate of initial air loss might be affected by higher pressure.

I am having better sealing results using regular Orange Seal than I had using Mavic's white latex sealant, and my sidewalls are also seeping less.

[ripvanrando]

I run the 30mm rear at 50-60 psi as a range, lower part of the range on bad roads and higher on good roads.

[NHAero]

Rip, my smallest section tubeless tires are 650Bx38 GK slicks. I put in 2 ounces of Stans. I check roughly every 6 months, at best. I use the KOM injector system to put the sealant in and to remove it if necessary. It also gives a good sense of how much is in the tire.

I recently changed worn out GKs on my Bingham after slightly over 2,200 miles and there was plenty of liquid sealant in the tires, and I don't think I ever added any, even when I was checking it. That was just under 11 months worth of riding with 650Bx42.

Overall, I have used Stans since I got my Pivot MTB in 2015 (since that is what it came with) and even though there may be better products I continue to do so, because I've had no flats (beyond running over a drywall screw) and very little solids when I change tires (in fact, it's the opposite, which is why I like the KOM tool, because otherwise it's more of a mess).

Hope this helps.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by ripvanrando

I got three flats on ride the other day, actually my first in almost 2 years. When replacing the rear tire since it was pretty much worn out, I was shocked that all of the sealant was solid. Not a drop of liquid.

Is replenishment frequency based on miles or time?

I put 50 ml into new GP5K S TR 30 mm tire on 4/7/23

I topped up with 30-35 ml on 5/5/23

I got three flats on 5/27-28 ride

I really hate to break the bead and take the tire off every two weeks to check, any tips? Am I used too little sealant? The wheels are Zipp 303 Firecrest 25mm if that is relevant. I am perplexed.

I'd check it every 2 months in warm weather. I went 3 months and my sealant was dried out. Go by time, not miles. Take out the valve core and use the end of a zip tie to check the sealant level, or use one of those needle sealant suckers like KOM or Park, then you can measure the actual amount. If you flat you will probably lose some sealant so take that into consideration too.

[AngryScientist]

Must have been something else going on; sealant completely drying out in a few weeks does not sound right to me.

[makoti]

Every 3 months, and I agree - something else happening. Completely dry in 3 weeks? Not supposed to be like that