Tubeless

[paxterg]

My rear tyre is leaking air, have to pump it up every few days. Do I add more sealant to stop the leak

 

[screenman]

I would find out where it is leaking first, how long since you topped up?

 

[13 rider]

Tubeless tyres tend to need pumping up more often than tubed tyres unless it's going flat I'd just stick to checking the pressure before you ride

 

[chriswoody]

Depends on the level of sealant already in there and when you last topped it up. I top up my sealant every two to three months, dependant on the time of year.

Also bear in mind if you have a small hole, then it helps to spin the wheel or go for a ride to get the sealant to actually flow to the area and do it's stuff. I had a friend "helpfully" pull a thorn out of my tire this summer whilst it was sat still, there was sealant flowing everywhere and the tire losing air until I gave it a good spin to agitate the sealant and block the hole.

Another issue could be the valve, a blob of sealant may be clogging up the valve and causing air to leak. You could always remove the valve core (make sure the valve is at the top of the wheel first), then clean the core in warm water and poke a pipe cleaner into the empty outer part to clean it.

 

[boydj]

If you are losing more than two or tree psi in a couple of days then pump the tyre up, take the wheel off, fill a dirty old basin with water and submerge the rim section by section to see where the air is leaking, then action appropriately.

The post above has some good pointers.

 

[paxterg]

The tyre "punctured" again tonight. It resealed, I'm pretty sure this is twice in the same spot although there is no obvious hole. Should I take the tyre off, clean the sealant off, put a patch over the "hole" and add new sealant?

 

[MrGrumpy]

Just to add another thing into the mix, unbeknown to me I had a set off tubeless wheels built over a year ago. Always had bother getting the rear to seal. It would lose pressure over time etc. Fast forward to last month, I put the rear in to get rebuilt, turns out the rim tape was not tubeless ! No wonder I had bother sealing it up. The bike shop had to pick all the sealant out of the spoke holes .I can laugh at it but proves the point that the tubeless sealant does actually work eventually !

 

[weareHKR]

The tyre "punctured" again tonight. It resealed, I'm pretty sure this is twice in the same spot although there is no obvious hole. Should I take the tyre off, clean the sealant off, put a patch over the "hole" and add new sealant?

This is what put me off about this slime/sealant, may as well just stick a new tube in, inflate & on yer bike!

 

[MrGrumpy]

If you have a big hole in your tyre an inner tube is not going to fix that ! Tubeless they way I see it is it helps out with all the annoying punctures like I’ve had the last two weeks on my road bike .

 

[chriswoody]

I converted to tubeless in April, since then I appear to have had numerous punctures, as evidenced by damp patches appearing on the tread caused by the sealant. Not one of them has caused the tire to deflate or even interfered with my ride. I've had to clean the valve a couple of times, but that was my fault for causing the problem in the first place. Overall, tubeless been hassle free and a real step forward from tubes.

 

[weareHKR]

I converted to tubeless in April, since then I appear to have had numerous punctures, as evidenced by damp patches appearing on the tread caused by the sealant. Not one of them has caused the tire to deflate or even interfered with my ride. I've had to clean the valve a couple of times, but that was my fault for causing the problem in the first place. Overall, tubeless been hassle free and a real step forward from tubes.

If you have a big hole in your tyre an inner tube is not going to fix that ! Tubeless they way I see it is it helps out with all the annoying punctures like I’ve had the last two weeks on my road bike .

Yeah, suppose it depends on the terrain you ride in & how much you use the bike etc, fair points.
I was thinking of trying some slime-filled tubes (my rims are not tubeless-ready, or my tires for that matter) however, I think it's less costly to buy the stuff in a can & fill the existing tubes, anyone done this?

 

[lane]

After quite a bit of success with tubeless I have had a few issues of late. Had air leaking out of the valve on the rear tyre, fiddles about with ot quite a bit but it just got worse. Ordered same tape to re tape the rim and in the meantime put a tube in; surprised me how well it holds pressure compared to my tubeless front. Although i now seem to have an issue with the front starting to lose pressure quite markedly. I will probably make the effort to sort it all out an re tape the rims etc. but just at the moment can't really be arsed. Had about 18 months with no real issues so probably just time to re tape rims etc. and then hopefully another 18 months hassle free.

 

[lane]

I haven't had a puncture in 18 months of tubeless, apart from one I know sealed itself while I was riding. That's about 6,000 km on Continental GP5000 tubeless which I don't suppose is bad.

 

[weareHKR]

I haven't had a puncture in 18 months of tubeless, apart from one I know sealed itself while I was riding. That's about 6,000 km on Continental GP5000 tubeless which I don't suppose is bad.

Hells bells, I didnt realise it lasted that long, unless of course you've done 6k quickly, it would take me 6+ years to do that many...
At the moment I'm looking at Kevlar tire liner tape as an alternative!

 

[Pale Rider]

Hells bells, I didnt realise it lasted that long, unless of course you've done 6k quickly, it would take me 6+ years to do that many...
At the moment I'm looking at Kevlar tire liner tape as an alternative!

Some liners cause punctures because they abrade the tube.

Up to you, but I would steer clear.