yukiinu

Cross country I get a flat every 1000 miles. Although in one nasty state that sweeps all road glass debree etc to the shoulder I got 5 flats in a hundred miles. Sealant is only good for very small round puntures, other than that it doesn't stop glass etc. And will cause a tire patch to leak. Have had no experience with tubeless tires.

drbarney1

I don't get along with spoke wheels because in spite of the rubber lining coating the heads of the spoke bolts on the interior of the wheel, and no matter how carefully I installed the rubber lining and the inner-tube, every few weeks I would get a pin-hole leak where the inner-tube meets the interior of the wheel. "Why don't you try a better rim band?" I am told. I sent away on ebay for some solid magnesium wheels and that was the end of my surprise pin-hole leaks. The wheels cost almost as much as the bike but I am sure I would in a few years spend more on replacement inner-tubes when the patches inexorably go to hell on me.

noodle soup

I guess that's one fix for cheap rim strips.

Most people just use a better quality rim strip, and never have an issue like your's again.

79pmooney

+1 I have zero issues with $6 Velox cloth strips. Been using them for decades and some have lasted me more than a decade. Others have been pulled off, a new rim laced on and the old strip back on the new rim. Yeah, $12/bike is a lot for something that doesn't actually "do" anything, but I"ll live with it.

Ben

noodle soup

It sounds like he was using single wall rims, and rubber rim strips. I'm not surprised he was having issues.

drbarney1

I believe you, but if this is a 99% chance of a cure, I'll take the much closer to 100% cure even if the risk of more flat tires from spoke becomes a once every two decades event. I hate flat tires disrupting my life more than most people do.

Psimet2001 

Specialized makes a half bottle they call a keg or cask or something. I have a few of them. Love them. I stuff each with the right tube, inflator, tool, levers and CO2 and just throw it into the back bottle cage on whatever bike i am riding. When it's super hot and I need another bottle I take it out and throw it in my jersey. Not as cumbersome as a full bottle and fits easily in the pocket.

They aren't for everyone but I definitely love mine and it seems similar to what you are doing.

Psimet2001 

Levers, Tube, CO2. Just lke any other flat kit. Dump the sealant into the grass

Psimet2001 

Agreed. I've never had any problems with any tubeless and have used levers on everything I have ever needed to. Unless someone is an animal that mashes everything with their ham-fist - this is a non issue.

Psimet2001 

Yeah no telling. We use sealant extensively in tubulars once they flat and it usually works but mostly in tubeless tubulars (someone's head just exploded).

I won't say adding sealant to a tubular that has a tube never works but I have absolutely had it fail more often than not. On the cross ones we have them blow out at high pressure. Will hold at 25-30psi but blows out at 40 psi. In those cases we let it sit with the hole down at 20psi as long as we can before we take it to race pressure.

It used to be standard for old school racers to put sealant into their cross tubulars in advance. I've never had great results that way. On the road I would say it's more likely the smaller holes than the larger pressure.

Psimet2001 

I loved and still love Velox but to be honest I don't even have any on hand. I can't tell you the last time I put some on. I bought a metric ton of high pressure strips in 20 and 23mm widths way back and still have them. Then for anything new that is tubeless ready they are all taped with tubeless tape even if they are going to be run with tubes.

The cheap single wall stuff I still use the cheap rubber strips. They still work and that's the customer they work well enough for. *shrug*.

WhyFi

Yeah, those work well in 1-bottle situations and they're readily available - Spec makes them for others, like LBSs and REI, who usually has them on-hand under their Co-op label. I used to use one until I got my Silca roll.

63rickert

Agree with the smaller hole thesis. If the tire has cut, broken, or damaged casing threads then the tire needs to be opened up and booted. Sealant works on small holes. That it ever works even temporarily on big cuts is nice if it lets you finish the 45 minutes or gets you home but you don't trust it.

dim

I've been using tubeless for a while now on 2 bikes (a touring bike and a road bike) .... Let me run through a few steps (the way that I do it)

1. Use the proper tubeless rim tape .... and initially don't add too many layers of tape. On my latest wheels for my touring bike, (HED Belgium Plus) I have used a new rim tape especially made for the HED Belgium plus rims... Only 1 layer of tape is required ... on my other wheelset (also HED Belgium Plus), I used 2 layers of DT Swiss tape and find that it's a bit harder to mount tyres to the rims but still easy and I don't need to use tyre levers). Read the reviews on tubeless tyres on Wiggle, and read the forums .... many complain that they struggle to fit tyres to tubeless rims .... a lot of the problem is the rim tape (too many layers of rim tape or the incorrect rim tape).... hard to fit tyres are also hard to remove when you are on the road

If you are going to use tyre levers, get the IRC tubeless tyre levers (they are quality and can be used for normal clincher rims aswell)

2. Then, I remove the valve core and add 50ml of Orange Sealant (the regular version, and not the endurance version) .... re-install the valve core, spin the wheels a few times to spread the sealant and then pump the tyre with a track pump with the valve position at 12 O'clock so that the sealant lays on the opposite side of the valve. ...

That's it.... you are ready to ride. You don't need the sealant at first and the only reason we use sealant is for when you do get a puncture (you could ride thousands of miles before your first puncture) .... there is no need to use a compressor or airshot etc but you may find that your micro hand pump will not work and you will need to use the track pump. If the tyres struggle to inflate, you may need to use a CO2 cartidge

3. On the road: So ..... I'm riding along, and I get a puncture ... I stop, make sure that the puncture is on the bottom of the tyre and give the bike a few shakes (sealant is at the bottom where the hole is) .... If the sealant is squirting out, hold you finger over the hole until it seals (a few seconds) most times, the puncture will seal and you may need to add a bit more air to your tyre. If it does not seal, I use the Dynaplug Racer kit (takes 2 seconds to plug the hole)... sometimes you will get a puncture and not even realize that you had a puncture, as small holes seal almost immediately:



If all the air has been lost, and the tyre is completely flat and off the beads, you can add more sealant and pump the tyre with a CO2 cannister .... I use the Lezyne Control Drive with a 25 gram canister. (theres a lot more CO2 and I can control the amount) .You need to make sure that the valve is at the 12 O'clock position with the sealant pooled at the opposite side. There is no need to add more sealant as the sealant is only there in case of a puncture, and more sealant is only added for your next puncture
if the dynaplug and sealant don't plug the hole, you will need to add an inner tube .... then pump with the CO2

some sealants clog up with CO2 but many have said that the Orange sealant does not. If you use CO2, it is advisable to pump the tyre with the valve at the 12 O'clock position and the sealant at the opposite side as the initial temperature of the CO2 is very cold

There are a few types of Orange sealant .... I use the regular version as it plugs bigger holes (most bike shops here in Cambridge stock the endurance version, but I buy the regular off the internet):



here is a link showing the different Orange sealants:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1700/ ... 1823713349

there are many sealants on the market.... the Orange has worked well for me .... There is a new one by panaracer, and I will be watching reviews of it



top up sealant (30ml every 6-8 weeks) ... thats if you use the Orange regular sealant

It's that easy .... the orange sealant does not damage your frame, wipes off instanly with a damp rag. The sealant is only there for when you have a puncture .... A micro hand pump is useless for tubeless

all you need to carry on a long ride is a bit of Orange sealant, a spare innertube, a valve core remover, a Dynaplug Racer kit and CO2 (all of that fits in a small saddle bag or in one of your Jersey pockets).... that it .... easy!

I don't get many punctures (that I know of as many small punctures seal instantly without you knowing) .... in all the time that I have been using tubeless tyres, only once have I had to phone my wife to fetch me (I was using an IRC tubeless tyre and I rode over a broken beer bottle .... I had a big gash on the sidewall and never had a spare tyre)

jadocs

I will pump up my tire first after applying sealant, then spin to spread the sealant. My thought is...with air in the tire, the sealant will be directed where it needs to be due to the pressure.

Racing Dan

Did you ever try super glue (cyano acrylate) rather than sealant? So far i have tried gluing tubes rather than patching. It appears to work with zero issues as long as you are careful getting the glue into the the hole, not "on" the hole.

datlas 

datlas 

If you live in goathead territory or have roads strewn with glass, I think it makes sense. I get a flat roughly every 2500 miles, so 3 flats/year. So tubeless is not really worth the hassle for me. It's a personal choice. Realize that as a shop employee, you have a biased sample.

WhyFi

Lol. I'll never go back to tubes, but even I'll admit that tubeless isn't for everyone. I have no idea how some people can have 2000+ mile intervals between punctures, but these people evidently exist. If I was one of those fortunate persons, I'd still be using tubes.

noodle soup

I'd rarely go more than 1k miles without a thorn puncture, and in monsoon season I might get 1 or 2 after every heavy rainfall. in 2019 I had zero flats

My old Italian bike won't likely ever be tubeless, but every other bike will be tubeless eventually.

BigPoser

I'll never go back to tubes....ever. For me in my area tubeless is the best option. Goat heads are abundant and I can't remember the last time I've had a flat on tubeless that I actually had to change.

robbyville

Ditto on my end. Having not a single flat for the last couple of year until a few weeks ago. Although I did make a mess when putting in the tube due to not paying attention, still peeling sealant off my shoes and tights, lol did have me cursing more than my usual.

once I calmed down I was back to my usual tubeless happiness though.

Carbonfiberboy 

I don't run tubeless but do a lot of group rides. Some of us usually stop for the flats of others. Yup, total tubless PITA, been there, seen those, run tubes. Car tires =/= bike tires. I admit to carrying a spare tire and 2 tubes on every ride. Good loaners if nothing else. Besides, the spare tire makes changing a flat really, really quick on non-tubeless ready rims.

WhyFi

It's something that's difficult, if not impossible, to judge second-hand, IMO. Done right, tubeless works much more often than not and it's usually imperceptible to the person running them, let alone to another rider. If you've been in the company of others for a handful of tubeless failures, you've undoubtedly been present for numerous successes that you never noticed. By the nature is the system, you (a non-user) will only experience the worst it has to offer, and that's not exactly a balanced view.

Even in the event of a failure, you have to ask why it failed. Sometimes it's just too big of a cut, but those are rare. More often, it seems that people are running sealant not suitable for road pressures, or have been lax with their maintenance (not enough sealant or stuff that's old and ineffective) - user error that can be mitigated with experience, in other words. So, again - did the system fail or did the user fail? Tough to say without intimate knowledge of what was used and how it was maintained.

Again, tubeless isn't perfect and it's no free lunch, but for many, it's a very sensible and very beneficial trade-off.

Carbonfiberboy 

Good points. Some were tire failures, others were old sealant issues. Which made me wonder - so one adds more sealant every how often, which adds more and more weight to the tire? And the old dried stuff against the tire's inner surface, what happens to that? You know, garden variety ignorance. But OTOH, I've never had a 1/2 hour flat stop. I'll admit to eventually riding away from that one, leaving other folks to watch the denouement..