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Questions about tubeless - oily weeping?

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Questions about tubeless - oily weeping?

Old 01-28-23, 10:21 AM
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Telkwa
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Questions about tubeless - oily weeping?

I'm new to tubeless.

Maintaining two bikes. One's still t/l. I went back to tubes on my bike.

I noticed an oily weeping to the outside of the tires where the sealant apparently did its job. The liquid is clear and looks/feels slightly oily. It'll stay there on the tire for months, not drying up or going away.

Recently I peeled both tires off my bike. The tubeless sealant had completely dried out. There was no liquid whatsoever. Does anyone know what the oily liquid is? I used Bontrager tubeless sealant.
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Old 01-28-23, 05:35 PM
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cyccommute 
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It’s a glycol…likely propylene glycol. It has virtually no vapor pressure so it won’t evaporate. It can wash off the outside but the propylene glycol dissolves into the rubber which won’t wash off. You are seeing a bit of the material that has made it all the way through the rubber but the bulk of it is in the rubber itself. When you put more sealant into the tire, it will just be forced through the tire while displacing the old glycol but it won’t go away.

On a positive note, the glycol isn’t toxic as long as it is propylene glycol. If it ethylene glycol (which I don’t think is used) it is toxic if you lick it. But to paraphrase the old “Doctor! Doctor!” joke, don’t lick your tires.
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