Do tires (tubeless) not hold air as well as they age?
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SoCal
Posts: 1,186
Bikes: 2016 Surly Cross Check, 2019 Kona Rove ST
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 284 Post(s)
Liked 313 Times
in
211 Posts
Do tires (tubeless) not hold air as well as they age?
Just curious - I recently swapped in some used tires I had that still had some life left in the tread on my gravel bike. Same rims the tires were originally on. I'm used to tubeless tires going through phases where they seem to fluctuate in how well they maintain pressure when new (at least this has been my experience) as the sealant does its thing, but these tires just aren't settling back in and stabilizing. I've gone over them and I don't think there's any leaks at the valve stems, and the bead is seated all the way round. I don't see sealant coming out anywhere. I've put in a double dose of sealant too. Could it be that older rubber gets more porous as it's more dried out? These have been sitting in a hot garage for the better part of a year.
Last edited by pbass; 08-22-22 at 10:33 AM.
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,904
Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee
Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2604 Post(s)
Liked 1,933 Times
in
1,213 Posts
Here's an example of internet speculation at its best:
I'd expect that your sealant would fix any cracks or holes in the tire. So why isn't it working? Perhaps you've still got dried sealant from the original use on the tire that's being compressed against the sidewall enough to keep the new sealant from plugging any leak, but still allowing the smaller gas molecules to diffuse around the "plaques" and escape.
Either that, or you've forgotten how much these tires leaked when you decided to replace them.
I'd expect that your sealant would fix any cracks or holes in the tire. So why isn't it working? Perhaps you've still got dried sealant from the original use on the tire that's being compressed against the sidewall enough to keep the new sealant from plugging any leak, but still allowing the smaller gas molecules to diffuse around the "plaques" and escape.
Either that, or you've forgotten how much these tires leaked when you decided to replace them.
#3
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SoCal
Posts: 1,186
Bikes: 2016 Surly Cross Check, 2019 Kona Rove ST
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 284 Post(s)
Liked 313 Times
in
211 Posts
Here's an example of internet speculation at its best:
I'd expect that your sealant would fix any cracks or holes in the tire. So why isn't it working? Perhaps you've still got dried sealant from the original use on the tire that's being compressed against the sidewall enough to keep the new sealant from plugging any leak, but still allowing the smaller gas molecules to diffuse around the "plaques" and escape.
Either that, or you've forgotten how much these tires leaked when you decided to replace them.
I'd expect that your sealant would fix any cracks or holes in the tire. So why isn't it working? Perhaps you've still got dried sealant from the original use on the tire that's being compressed against the sidewall enough to keep the new sealant from plugging any leak, but still allowing the smaller gas molecules to diffuse around the "plaques" and escape.
Either that, or you've forgotten how much these tires leaked when you decided to replace them.
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NW Peloponnese, Greece
Posts: 548
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 112 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 25 Times
in
22 Posts
My 25mm tubeless road tires loose about 5-7 psi in 2 days originally pump to 80-85 psi. Both front and rear loose about the same amount with no evidence of sealant escaping.
#5
Guest
Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 2,888
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1346 Post(s)
Liked 3,270 Times
in
1,439 Posts
Lose (verb): To be unsuccessful in retaining possession of; mislay.
Loose (adj): Not fastened, restrained, or contained.
Loose (adj): Not fastened, restrained, or contained.
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 982
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 506 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 639 Times
in
357 Posts
Just curious - I recently swapped in some used tires I had that still had some life left in the tread on my gravel bike. Same rims the tires were originally on. I'm used to tubeless tires going through phases where they seem to fluctuate in how well they maintain pressure when new (at least this has been my experience) as the sealant does its thing, but these tires just aren't settling back in and stabilizing. I've gone over them and I don't think there's any leaks at the valve stems, and the bead is seated all the way round. I don't see sealant coming out anywhere. I've put in a double dose of sealant too. Could it be that older rubber gets more porous as it's more dried out? These have been sitting in a hot garage for the better part of a year.
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 3,682
Bikes: Puch Marco Polo, Saint Tropez, Masi Gran Criterium
Mentioned: 25 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1163 Post(s)
Liked 442 Times
in
315 Posts
How is your tubeless tape job? You made no mention of this important detail in your initial query.
Likes For yannisg:
#9
Full Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: seoul korea
Posts: 461
Bikes: 3Rensho SuperRecord Export, Bridgestones MB1 RB1 XO2, Colnago Super, Medici GranTurismo, Schwinn Paramount, Olmo Competition, Raleigh Portage, Miyata 1000, Stumpjumper, Lotus Competition, Nishiki Maxima, Panasonic DX6000, Zeus Criterium
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 30 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 82 Times
in
36 Posts
i've heard and read this to be a problem with tubeless. the handful of my friends who have at least one bike tubeless wheelset have discussed the pros and cons. one con being : if they have to remove the tire for some reason - they can't get the tire to seal again well enough and end up tossing the tire and having to buy a new one . seems like one of the bigger potential downside to tubeless
#10
Curmudgeon
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Triangle NC
Posts: 336
Bikes: Specialized Diverge Comp
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 157 Post(s)
Liked 32 Times
in
28 Posts
Just curious - I recently swapped in some used tires I had that still had some life left in the tread on my gravel bike. Same rims the tires were originally on. I'm used to tubeless tires going through phases where they seem to fluctuate in how well they maintain pressure when new (at least this has been my experience) as the sealant does its thing, but these tires just aren't settling back in and stabilizing. I've gone over them and I don't think there's any leaks at the valve stems, and the bead is seated all the way round. I don't see sealant coming out anywhere. I've put in a double dose of sealant too. Could it be that older rubber gets more porous as it's more dried out? These have been sitting in a hot garage for the better part of a year.
Likes For rbrides:
#11
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SoCal
Posts: 1,186
Bikes: 2016 Surly Cross Check, 2019 Kona Rove ST
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 284 Post(s)
Liked 313 Times
in
211 Posts
I eventually gave up and got new tires, which was fine as I was ready to try something different, and luckily landed on something I far prefer to the old ones.
Likes For pbass: