gkamieneski

I purchased some Continental Revo sealant recently, thinking it would be the best formulation to use in some Conti Sprinter sewups and maybe also in some Conti tubes for my clinchers (Conti tubes seem to always have replaceable valve stems). The plan is to use it for prevention, 1 or 2 ounces.

Wondering what others are using, Stans, Vittoria, MuckOff, Caffelatex, Orange Seal, even Slime for bicycles (readily and cheaply available at Walmart) and whether they are using it for clincher tubes and/or sewups. Not running tubeless, so not interested in how sealant is being used for those.

thanks.

RGMN

I have some Muc-Off Inner Tube Sealant that I'm trying this season. I tried Stan's in the inner tubes last year and wasn't real happy with it. I had a couple of flats that it didn't seal. I think it had more to do with the pressure of a road tire than the size of the puncture since both were pin-pricks from tiny wires. Made for a messy tube replacement.

shelbyfv

Yep

L134 

I use caffelatex in tubulars. It works well enough for me up to maybe 80 psi. Over that, I don't know - I don't pump anything over that. I wait for first puncture before putting any in, after which it seems to work pretty well for prevention. My experience has been if the tire will hold air long enough to ride on it for a bit, sealant will do the job. If the tire won't hold air, the sealant will make a mess and only make patching or tube replacement more difficult. I bought a 1L container and probably still have about a third of that after 2+ years and ~20,000 tire miles. I'll buy more when I need it.

A little over 2 years ago when I first started riding tubulars, a young racer employee at LBS told me not to use Stans in latex tubes. He said it has ammonia which will eventually dissolve latex. I have no idea if this is true, have not heard it from any other source but, as he lost a sale as a result (not having anything but Stans), I decided to heed his advice. I think I have read in BF of others using Stans without reporting dissolved tubes.

squirtdad

my vote is caffelatex. it seems to have worked for me in a tubed setup and haven't had any flats on my tubular...... I ride at pretty high pressures with does not seem really a good mix with sealant and tube set up (made a lot of messes with orange seal) I tried slime a long time ago and it was a total disaster.

DiabloScott

I've never used anything BUT Stan's in my latex tubed tubulars. I'm not sure how much I like it, but I can attest that my tubes have never dissolved even over a typical two-year useful life.

gkamieneski

No opinions yet for Continental Revo? Guess I will be the guinea pig and report back.

L134 

That's good to know. I was just starting out with tubulars and therefore very impressionable. Good to have more options!

ExPatTyke

I've used Orange sealant in the tubes of one of my commuting bikes; just one puncture over a year's use which was caused by a sharp stone and ripped the tyre. I binned the tube, it made a bit of a mess. For information the tyres are Conti Ultra Sport 700x25, inflated to about 100PSI at the back and 95 front.

Gyro

How did the Muc-Off work out or you?

gesta

My experience is that thicker stuff works better (stans race, oko magic milk hi-fibre) and only with latex tubes. Butyl tubes seem to be initially sealed but when put back to motion, they leak again almost immediately.

Gyro

How long will the tube last before it would need to be replaced? I'm assuming a puncher is not obvious while riding.

Do you need to refresh the sealant? Does it harden up? Are punchers obvious while riding the bike, air presser lost?

Can't seem to find much about the life of the tube hidden inside the tire, were as a tubeless tire, life is more clear.

gesta

Punctures are quite the same experience with ”proper” tubeless and latex tubes with sealant. First there’s a hiss/spray and then there’s not. With butyl tubes, all I’ve got is a hiss/spray and a disappointment. I guess with tubeless it’s possible to survive larger punctures, but it’s just a guess, I have no experience having mtb style gaping holes in my tires.

Sealant behaves quite the same as with tubeless setups, so it will eventually dry up in the tube. I’ve re-added sealant few times before tossing the tube. Oko is water based, so there should be a possibility to refresh dried sealant to some extent by adding water, but ymmv.

I’d say a puncture will always result to air loss and depending on how long it takes to seal, pumping tire back to preferred pressure might or might not be needed. Most often I notice there’s been a puncture only after the fact, when my front tire and steering starts to get squirmy.

Gyro

Sorry to be such a noob on this. So the sealant repair is a temporary repair for a tube unlike a tubeless tire. until the tube is patched or replaced? Filled with sealant, would that make a patch repair to the tube even possible?

gesta

I have patched some sealant filled butyl tubes after sealant did not work and it can be bit more messy, especially if there are multiple punctures. I figure it could be harder to make the patch to stick due sealant residue, but fixing one hole at a time, I’ve had no problems. I’ve never patched a latex tube with sealant, so cannot say but it’s probably the same story there.

RGMN

I don't have enough miles on the bike with the Muc-Off to know if it works or not. No punctures so far, but that's only on about 100 miles with it. One down-side with it is they recommend 100cc of the sealant for a road tube. It's enough that you notice it when you first start riding after the bike sits for a long period of time. It's the only time I've ever noticed a bike tire was not balanced. After about 100 ft the feeling goes away but it is sort of strange.

zandoval 

Talking to the guys using Tubulars I have found most in the Central Texas area using Caffelatex or Stans. Never Slime or Mukoff. Truly considering what a good set of Tubulars or even regular tires are costing these days I would not skimp on unproven tire sealant...

I find allot of riders have false expectations of the effectiveness of tire sealants.

Some Times Ya Just Gonna Loose Your Air...

DiabloScott

And that spray goes on your bike in the hardest to clean places, and if it's your front tire, it also goes in your face.