RubeRad

Yeah, I guess it's a definition of terms. I think 'ghetto tubeless' can refer to any setup where either the rim and/or tire are not specifically marked as tubless-ready, although the split inner tube seal is extra ghetto for sure!

I had non-tubeless tires running tubeless on WTB TCS rims on me&my wife's MTB for a while, but I had problems because I wasn't precise enough with the gorilla tape I was using as a sealing strip. In one case too narrow, there was a hole in the rim that was exposed at the edge (not a spoke hole, looked like a pin hole used during manufacture to hold the seam together while welding), in the other case too wide, I had tape all up in the bead area, and sealant would weep right out the sides all around.

So I went back to tubes. Hopefully soon I'll have time to try again, and goldilocks the sealing tape.

Darth Lefty 

It's not like there's anyone enforcing what it means! I didn't mean the split tube, I think that's passé, most of them seem to be Gorilla tape and homebrew sealant.

I'm closer than ever to trying it. The front of my old MTB has an overnight leak too.

chas58

You need to top off the sealant every 6 months or so. Many tires will lose their seal when deflated, they you may need to blast them on again. It all depends on the wheel/tire combo.

I don't have any problem using a hand pump on tires less than 40mm, but I do take the valve out when pumping the tubes up initially.

RubeRad

My understanding was it's more like every 3mo or so. I was quite disappointed to learn that. I thought tubeless would be set it up once and ride the tire til it's bald. But ongoing costs for booster sealant is I think comparable to ongoing cost to buy tubes/patch kits. That's why next time I'm going to try with homebrew sealant.

Darth Lefty 

The purpose built tubeless tires have a layer in the carcass that makes them less permeable. It's supposed to stop them losing air but it should help sealant life too. They are always improving...

srestrepo

this is surprising, this is the first time i heard of this too. i thought it was one and done.

in anycase, i'm still curious. how hard is it too clean up the sealant after a puncture provided it isn't like someone shot my tire or something?

like is it a pain to get off your down tube or forks or whatever?

what about cleaning it off your rim if you decide to go back to tubes?

kbhenze

It will wipe/rub off with a cloth, a little simple green will work also

RubeRad

Yes, it comes off pretty easy. I've also taken the film of dried sealant off the inside of a tire, it was kind of fun, like a shed snakeskin or the best sunburn peel ever. I've heard other people had it a lot harder, probably to do with the inner surface of the tire.

The problem on my wife's tires was, everywhere she got a puncture and it sealed, the liquid would weep out the hole. Her tires always had streaks. My tires didn't do that, mine wept out the bead. FWIW, my tires are Kenda smallblock8 John Tomac edition, hers are I think WTB Nano. Tires not marked tubeless-ready, but the rims are WTB TCS.

asmac

Even then, Joe's Sealant is about $20/liter or maybe $8/yr if you're generous with the sealant.


How do you know if your tire is accumulating too much sealant?

RubeRad

I was using TruckerCo, $21.50/L free shipping, includes a syringe which is nice. And that price/rate is multiplied as I'm looking at taking 2-4 bikes tubeless.

As for too much sealant, everything I've read says don't worry just pour in more sealant. As it dries, I'm sure most of the weight is lost with the liquid, and if you're riding enough, your tires should wear out within a year or two.

HardyWeinberg

I did kind of an autopsy on my 2 tubeless tires when I replaced one of them a couple wks ago; the sealant fresh out of the bottle is white and milky, the stuff in the tube was brown and stringy and not really flowing. I don't know how often to refresh it, I have not had problems with too much sealant although one time when I pushed in the presta valve before topping up the pressure a bunch of sealant blasted out. I might have accidentally unthreaded the valve core though instead of the tip.

I have not had a great time removing sealant from my frame and brake caliper but have not yet tried a solvent. It does come off my calves OK in the shower.

RubeRad

Before pushing in the presta valve, you want to put it in a like 4:00 or 7:00 position for a few seconds so it can drain any sealant that might be in there, and it's not sitting right over a well of sealant. That should minimize spray.

HardyWeinberg

That might have been it too, usually I put it up to 12 but not that time

asmac

So they do. I was inspired to add sealant by all the talk here and the seal broke when I pulled out the cores. Next time I'll try it on a stand and see if that helps. In any event, while I couldn't get them back on with a floor pump, I was pleased that a regular service station inflator gave enough airflow to get them sealed.

My takeaways are to keep carrying a tube, add a spare core to my toolkit and aspire to tubeless rims that will move me on out of the ghetto to the tire burbs.

Re other questions, my Joe's Super Sealant says it won't freeze so that's a good thing. And cleaning up the mess was easy. It dries to a very thin rubbery layer that is barely visible and easily removed.

Overall I'm very happy with tubeless and don't want to go back.

chas58

I used skinny strippers on my tubeless and ghetto tubeless. Best benefit: if they lose the seal, they just pop back on with no air loss. Just removed the cores to trail sealant, and they aired back up with a hand pump, even when the tire pulled away from the rim.

chas58

Depends on the tire. A "Tubless ready" tire needs sealant to seal the tire (sidewall). A heavier fully tubeless tire can be run without sealant.

RubeRad

'skinny strippers' -- needs to be googled carefully!

I don't get it -- why would I pay for these when I could just split open some old tubes?

RubeRad

But without sealant, you still flat from punctures (goathead thorns), so what's the benefit of no sealant?

ArnoldPowers

Wow what great info! Thanks everyone!

chas58

Good points, especially the first point.

#2. They are cheaper than tubes, but if you have old tubes go ahead and use them.
They are lighter than tubes (which could be good or bad)
They are latex - meaning latex sealants for a nice bond with them - making a tubeless tire essentially a "tubular" tire. I can deflate the tire and inflate with no loss of sealant, even if the bead unseats.

Nothing wrong with using old tubes though...

gregf83 

Question for tubeless riders: I picked up a large (1 1/2") two-pronged staple in my tire yesterday. The staple diameter was maybe 1/16". Would the sealant take care of a hole like that if I removed the staple?

chas58

Same as with using tubes. Do you use Slime in your tubes?

I use slime tubes where I really don't want to change the tire or have higher risk.
I use a slime tube on the rear of my commuter bike/.
I use regular tubes on the front wheel (which rarely flat, and are a little easier to fix) or on a race bike.

Sealant only fixes small pinholes. A tear in the sidewalll requires an inner tube to get home.

And, if you live in goathead country, use sealant. The rest of us may or may not need it.

asmac

Yes, it should take care of that easily.

asmac

imho sealant is an essential component of running tubeless. It's needed to mount the tires in the first place and get them inflated and it's what prevents puncture flats going forward. It seals more than small pinholes (though not gigantic gashes) and there's not much point of going tubeless without it.

Framebuilders

Tubeless is AWESOME. But some nails and pieces of glass are just too big... but for the most part anything a tube will survive with a patch would have been sealed by a tubeless setup.