basscadet

My new bike came with Panaracer GK's in 35mm and were installed tubeless. That was not my initial choice but after riding tubeless I am 100% sold and won't go back. I've read about refilling sealant through the presta valve (core removed) but what I don't know is how often this should be done. I've heard everything from "once a quarter" to monthly.

I ride about 160 miles a week, 90% on pavement.

Question 1: How often should I be refilling sealant?

Question 2: How often should I be cleaning out the old sealant?

Question 3: The sidewall states max tubeless PSI @ 60. I am 180lbs and have been using 60 and love the comfort/performance. Am I asking for trouble running at max pressure?

Thanks for any advice, guys and gals.

GrainBrain

Topical thread as I just had a "dumb" moment last week with tubeless. Bought my bike in the spring, setup tubeless ASAP. Within the last month noticed I had trouble keeping the front pressure up, one day had to refill multiple times in a few hours but then it sealed Anyway ran to the LBS crying about my tubeless problem, mechanic promptly refills with 2oz and shakes tire. Now it holds just fine

I promptly bought a bottle of Stan's, a valve core tool, and the Stan's injector for home. So yeah, I made it probably 3 months between probably 2oz refills. Trying to run over 40psi once the temperature rose past 80°f, it started to eat sealant.

My tires list 55 max so I run the back at 55 and the front at 45 if I'm doing pavement all day.

fourfa

My GP5000TLs on road wheels have a slick (butyl?) inner liner, and seem to never lose pressure or sealant. Haven't topped them up in over a year, probably should pull the core and do a dipstick test but I bet it's still wet in there

Had a few different WTB 650B x 47 tires on my gravel wheels, they seep noticeably through the sidewalls and 2oz every 3 months sounds right. Tires vary a lot. Every couple of seasons ought to be enough to clean out the stanimals and the valve core, there's no real harm.

FYI, initially I followed the directions on the Orange Seal Endurance bottle to shake well (there are small particles that settle out at the bottom) but found what I was injecting was mostly foam, oops. Now I do more of a stirred, not shaken, and make sure it's 2oz of actual liquid in the syringe.

chas58

1) Using Orange seal endurance, I do it about every 6 months. Depends a bit on how much you put in there though.
The dipstick test (through the core) is always an option. or just unseat the bead on one side and look. That is educational.
3 months is pretty safe bet (not all last as long as endurance, and it depends on your tire)

2) I'd take it apart and clean it out every couple of years (or the way I ride, the lifetime of the tire).

3) hookless rims have a max of 60-70psi. But the point of tubeless is to run low pressure. For 40mm tires, I run 30-40psi - maybe a little more if it was smooth pavement only.

Good points.
Yep, a lot of tires can hold air with no tubes (schwalbe, Conti for example), and of course a lot can't.

Yep, Orange seal should be stired not shaken, lol. I have a 2oz bottle that held bontrager sealant originally. I use that to pour my orange seal into - measuring out exactly 2 oz. I then can let the air settle a bit, and know I will still get all the larger particles into my tire (once they get to the 2oz bottle).

csrpenfab

I've been running Orange Seal Endurance in both my gravel bikes. My spare gravel bike is a flat bar Trek FX6S and I recently swapped new tubeless tires onto it after it had been well over a year w/o a sealant top off. To my surprise, I was able to suck 1.5 oz. of the original 2 oz. of sealant out of the old tire before pulling it off the rim. I fully expected to find little if any sealant left after it had been sitting in my garage for a year with temps well over 100 much of that time.

For adding new sealant or topping off, I use a syringe with a long tube that allows me to get past the "foam" in a shaken 16oz. bottle of orange seal. It works great. That same syringe I got from Amazon, also threads onto a presta valve for easy injection. I run a pipe cleaner down the presta valve stem before replacing the valve just to make sure there's no sealant lingering in there to gum things up when I air up.

DrIsotope

As often as is needed. This depends on a whole bunch of factors. If you ride in a very hot climate, you might be adding sealant every few weeks. If your sidewalls are extra porous, you'll be adding sealant more often. More punctures, more sealant.

Never. I had a front 700x35 Hutchinson Overide go just a hair shy of 7,000 miles, never needing to be removed from the rim. It weighed slightly over an ounce more than a brand new one.

Not in my experience. I'm about 35lbs heavier, and am usually at or within 5psi of the max.

For primarily pavement riding, I would highly recommend going to a mixed-use tire (like an Overide) once the GKs wear out. The increase in both speed and comfort will be immediately noticeable.

LesterOfPuppets

Here in AZ, bikes stored in hot garages need a reup every 2 months or so. I keep mine in the house, so get 3-4 months between shots of Stan's.

I've heard of folks on the wet side of the PNW going for six months!!!!

Koyote

Some good answers here, so I will only add this: you can use a dipstick (some Orange Seal bottles come with them, I don't know about others. You can always improvise one with, e.g., a straight zip tie) through the valve (core removed) to check sealant level. After checking it a few times over the months, you will get a sense of how long you can go between top-offs.

chas58

I'll just add - don't let them sit for months unused (like over winter) without rotating them. Otherwise your sealant will dry in a little hard pool of latex (don't ask how I know...)

jlockwood98

#1 - if you use Stans or a similar "watery" sealant, just remove your wheel and shake it. You should be able to hear the sealant sloshing around. If not, add some. I can usually get 4-6 months before adding Stans in both my gravel and mountain bikes. But as others pointed out, a lot depends on temperatures and other conditions.

#2 - Depending on the bike/tire, I may wear the tire out before I have to clean out the old sealant. If I plan to use the tire for a second season, I will clean it out before the spring. So, once a year for me. (If you clean the old sealant out, just remove the bead on one side of the tire so that it is easier to reinstall the tire).

#3 - that sounds a little high for a 35mm tubeless tire at your weight. Look up the Silca tire pressure calculator for a good starting point. I weigh more than you (~195lbs) and run 32mm GK+ at around 54/58 psi (F/R). And I use these tires on some pretty nasty terrain.

basscadet

Hey everybody - I just wanted to say thanks for all these responses. You've taken some of the mystery out of this for me and I feel a little more comfortable with this awesome setup.

Marcus_Ti

1) When you need to. You'll notice tires holding air less well

2) Probably never over the life of a tire

3) Pressure depends on tire size and weight. Saying 60 PSI and your weight means nothing without knowing tire size. Generally if you're riding max tire pressure you're either greatly overpressured or need to ride larger tires to avoid pinch flats or rim damage.

Over winter gets extra fun here...because my garage can get down below the freezing point of regular Orange Seal...

tyrion

Any issues with clogged valves with Orange Seal Endurance?

csrpenfab

Zero issues. I run a pipe cleaner down the valve stem before replacing the Presta core. Well over 3000 miles now across two bikes, and I have yet to open the 10-pack of Stan’s cores I bought for back up.

chas58

Oh yeah, I get clogged valves.

Valve stem is easy to clean.
My cores get gunked up too. With the core out of the stem, I press down (to "open" the valve) and there tends to be a lot of gunk around that o-ring. Clean that area up, and the core is good to go.

masi61

Just wondering if folks press down the valve stem from the rim internal side in order to make a better seal? What about taking a little file to the rectangular type of tire valves when there is a mis-match and valve leak? I ordered DT-Swiss road valves at a good price and they sent me MTB valves. Enough different of a profile that they seem to be my cause of ongoing slow leaks.

Chandne

It is dry in Colorado so I top up every 3 months. Max PSI is fine. Cleaning out old sealant is more involved and I only do this every year or when changing tires (then I clean the rim bead). You have to clean the tire bead and the rim bead so I only do the rim cleaning when I change tires. No need to do it frequently since latex weighs hardly anything once the liquid evaporates. Those are really good tires, by the way.