Tubeless sealant "seeping" through tires?

[makoti]

I don't really know what to call this, but after a ride and the bike sitting for days, I will notice what looks like dirt on the tires, but isn't. I'm wondering if the sealant is seeping through the casing? It isn't wet, but there will be more spots in the morning than were there the night before.
The tires have a lot of miles on them, they aren't new.
What am I looking at? Is this a good sign that the tires are ready to be replaced?
Conti 5K/Orange seal regular

[mjf]

Originally Posted by makoti

I don't really know what to call this, but after a ride and the bike sitting for days, I will notice what looks like dirt on the tires, but isn't. I'm wondering if the sealant is seeping through the casing? It isn't wet, but there will be more spots in the morning than were there the night before.
The tires have a lot of miles on them, they aren't new.
What am I looking at? Is this a good sign that the tires are ready to be replaced?
Conti 5K/Orange seal regular

I wouldn't say that it's unheard of even on some new tires to see a very small amount of seepage. That of course is depending on the sidewall composition and sealant particle size.

When I was working as a mechanic, I used to find this to be a very regular occurrence with new, larger mountain tires, or over pressured road tires. YMMV of course.

That being said, with a GP5k that has some miles on it, I'd be leaning toward replacing the tire.

[Matthew]

I see it on my buddy's mtb tires all the time. It looks like they have acne. Not sure what type of sealant he's using. Tires are Schwalbe.

[rice rocket]

Originally Posted by makoti

Conti 5K/Orange seal regular

Conti GP5k S TR hopefully?

The 5k are not tubeless tires.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by rice rocket

Conti GP5k S TR hopefully?

The 5k are not tubeless tires.

Yes. Fully tubeless. And older TLs

I guess I should add that this is on the tread (or where the tread should be ) and not the sidewalls

[benb]

I've seen this on MTB but over the years it's become less common in my experience.

I am never really running weight weenie tires though. I could see it way more on road tires which are trying to get away with as little tire/sidewall as possible and relying on the sealant to finish the job.

[Sarhog]

I’ve seen it seep out of the sidewalls on a pair of Rene Hearse tires that I owned for a (very) short while.

[ChainNoise]

It happened to a set of Veloflex Corsa Evo TLRs I have mounted. Kinda looks like poo but they do ride nicely. Some spots on the sidewalls were also bubbling ever so slightly during the first fillup with sealant.

[bigbill]

WTB Riddlers did it on my gravel bike. Regular Orange Seal: I added more sealant before the next ride. Once, they bubbled up under the tread, and I punctured the bubble, and it all sealed up. Rode it for a year like that, no problems. Not every Riddler did it. My Raddlers didn't seep at all.

[Tandem Rider]

I had a Gravel King start to seep after it was pretty worn, I had little splotches on my kit after a ride and took the hint. I would just replace it if it's pretty worn and hasn't done it before.

[NHAero]

My Gravelking slicks spot after a while on the tread. I get about 2,000 miles on these tires. I don't run tubeless GP5000 tires so dunno about those - the tubed versions last 5,000 miles for me.

[Jdg68]

I too have sealant coming through all over on some WTB Riddlers.
I use Maxxis tires on the mtb (for years) and never have that. Had Gravel Kings set up on the same rims as the Riddlers and no sealant seepage either...based upon this I believe it's a design issue with the tire.

[jonnyBgood]

Completely normal… I had had numerous tires with numerous brands over the years that the sidewalls have had sealant seeping through. Most of the tires I have had do it were mountain bike tires but even more recent have had several gravel tires do it as well.

From I was told it that it just depends on how/when the tires were molded. Tires of the same brand and model can have different overall weights and that just depends on when they were molded. So some can have just a little thinner sidewalls

[reuben]

Originally Posted by jonnyBgood

Completely normal… I had had numerous tires with numerous brands over the years that the sidewalls have had sealant seeping through. Most of the tires I have had do it were mountain bike tires but even more recent have had several gravel tires do it as well.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and opine that sealants shouldn't leak under normal circumstances, especially through the sidewalls. Whether that's an issue with the tire or the sealant is a debate surely worth a few dozen posts.

[mtbmoose]

Not uncommon in the mountain bike tire world. Have had several Schwalbe Nobby Nics over the years that do this, particularly as they age and wear.