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Tubeless upkeep

Old 10-15-18, 02:05 PM
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CO_Steve
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Tubeless upkeep

I just bought a Salsa Mukluk for some winter fun. It's a few years old, not ridden a lot recently, and set up tubeless.
Tires are holding air fine right now but this is my first tubeless setup, what do I need to keep it happy?
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Old 10-15-18, 02:07 PM
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Air it at least once a week. Put in new sealant every 3-4 months.
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Old 10-15-18, 02:10 PM
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Should I just squirt some more in with what's there? Does mixing brands matter? Ii don't know what was used before.
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Old 10-15-18, 03:30 PM
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Originally Posted by CO_Steve
Should I just squirt some more in with what's there?
That's what I do. I have to be careful not to let the bead become unseated because I don't have a compressor to get the bead re-seated.

Does mixing brands matter? Ii don't know what was used before.
I've never mixed brands (Orange Seal guy myself) so I don't have any first hand experience.

(but if it was me I'd do it because seriously, how much can it hurt?)
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Old 10-15-18, 03:37 PM
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I've got a compressor if it comes to that. Thanks all, it seems pretty easy.
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Old 10-15-18, 05:11 PM
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Originally Posted by CO_Steve
I just bought a Salsa Mukluk for some winter fun. It's a few years old, not ridden a lot recently, and set up tubeless.
Tires are holding air fine right now but this is my first tubeless setup, what do I need to keep it happy?
Make sure the tries are given a good spin once a week or so. The sealant dries out over time, and you don't want it settling and drying out all in one lump in the bottom of the tire. The sealant will eventually dry out and need to be refreshed but if it's evenly distributed you don't have an off-balance lump.

This is not an issue for regularly ridden bikes, but can be an issue in the off-seasons.
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Old 10-21-18, 09:16 PM
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If I have to add air once a month I look for a cause. Roll once a week for sure. Avoid wet sealers like Slime as they will settle a lot faster than Stans or other drying adhesive sealers. Personally, I add a bit more than the rated amount when installing so that they go a little further. Haven't had any detriment from it yet in 15 yrs. When you see the tire sidewalls sweating sealer, they are timed out due to age but that usually comes from sun time.
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Old 10-22-18, 02:21 PM
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Yeah, don't let them fully deflate, ideally rotate tires semi regularly, add more every 3-6 months depending on conditions etc. It's a lot easier if you just remove the valve core and squirt some though that. Generally you can mix latex based sealants--you're probably safe putting either Stans or Orange Seal in there if the sealant is either white or orange in color. If you ride a lot you can pretty much just keep adding sealant until the tire is worn, but if your bike gets relatively little mileage it can be a good idea to occasionally remove the tire and try to clean out as much old sealant as you reasonably can before refreshing with new, maybe after 4-6 refreshes or so.
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