Tubeless?

Madmatt75

Member
Nov 22, 2018
43
58
London
Tubeless is meant to be easy. 2 punctures, and both won’t seal! I’ve used stansdart in both and they both fly out. Think I’ll go back to Tannus armor, never had a problem with them.
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aarfeldt

E*POWAH Master
Subscriber
May 25, 2019
712
634
Denmark, Danstrup
Strange....I have used Stans tubeless "milk" for many years, and never had a puncture that it did now handle well.

My trails are rooty/rocky/thorny and I push as had as possible - avg speed is 21-22 kmh, top speed is +50kmh, 14-18 jumps pr round.
Maybe I'm just lucky...but my friends has the same experience.
 

DrStupid

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Patreon
Jul 10, 2019
1,464
2,128
Pleasureville Ky
Some wounds won't heal.

When this happens to me, on a newish tread, I install a Tannus Armour + tube and proceed to use the tread up. This setup is not as lively as tubeless, which is my preferred setup, but allows me to get use, out of an otherwise useless tread.

The Tannus Armour is generally indestructible and reusable.
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,503
4,977
Weymouth
Never had a puncture that did not sort itself in seconds. I have a dart set but only ever used it on a lawn tractor tyre! Are you doing the dart correctly? On the set I have you use a pointed file to ream the hole first then use it again to line the hole with vulcanising glue. Then the plug is similarly coated in vulcanising glue and pushed into the hole. Best to do this with the pucture at the top of the wheel so the tyre sealant is out of the way. Leave to set for 5 minutes before inflating the tyre.
 

DrStupid

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Patreon
Jul 10, 2019
1,464
2,128
Pleasureville Ky
My last unsealable puncture happened two days ago on an almost new EXO+ assegia. I somehow managed to hole out through the bead 🤬, and sidewall simultaneously. It looked like somebody milking a cow, it was spraying so bad.
 

Daev

E*POWAH Master
Jan 15, 2022
249
289
Cornwall
I've just had my first experience of a loss of tubeless pressure.
Bought the bike 2nd hand from lbs who'd supplied it new to original owner.
Asked them if it was tubeless, they assured me it was tubeless ready but had tubes. I was happy with this as I know how to handle tubes ( 50 years experience - no idea of tubeless) . Asked them to Slime it ready for me to collect the following day. They assured me they had when I collected it.
Had the bike about 3 weeks, getting out on it once a week.
Last week noticed loss of pressure in front tyre. Inflated, went for ride, all fine.
This week, preparing to go out, noticed similar loss of pressure. Checked tread for thorns etc, nothing. Checked valve locking nut, got a hissing from the base of it and clear liquid shooting out. Twisted until stopped but slight hissing as i moved valve. Thought valve torn from tube so decided to change tube. Undid locking nut, touched valve which promptly dropped into the tyre!!!
Tyre glued to rim - suspect it is tubeless after all - having a wtf?? moment.
LBS having wheel in to sort out this afternoon. I want tube and slime, although the tannus solution looks favourable.

Now, about the back wheel ?? 🤔🙈
 

RustyIron

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
Jun 5, 2021
1,791
2,758
La Habra, California
Does Stans sealant have bits in it?

There are two different kinds of Stans. There's the regular, OG stuff, and the new "Race" style Stans.

The original Stans does have bits in it, but they're really small. If you rub the Stans on your fingertips, you can feel and see the bits.

The Race Stans has BIG bits in it. They remind me of vermiculite like you'd use in potted plants. Some of the chunks won't go through a valve stem, and they certainly won't go through a syringe. It's a pain in the butt to use.

I've only used one quart of the Race Stans, before going back to the original. With the original, I can't remember having a flat since the olden days when I ran super-thin XC tires. With the Race version, I had a problem. In defense of the product, the tire needed more sealant. In defense of me, there was still a little liquid in the tire, but upon disassembly, I discovered it was CLEAR. All the whiteness was stuck to the tire, leaving clear liquid, which didn't seal the puncture.

Maybe Race Stans works better than Original, and I just needed to learn more about how to use it. But Original Stans works flawlessly for me, it's cheaper, so there's no reason for me to switch.

To summarize:
Yeah, Stans has stuff in it.
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,916
9,250
Lincolnshire, UK
@RustyIron Thanks for the confirmation.

To everyone else: This may seem like teaching granma to suck eggs, but give the sealant bottle a very good shake before pouring it into the tyre, to make sure that you don't leave all the bits at the bottom of the bottle. I always used to pour the sealant into the tyre before completing installation, or just unhooked 6" of bead if topping up. I "just knew" that I would never get the sealant (with bits) down through the Presta valve hole. I don't use Stans, but of course many do and seem to get by with using the valve hole to install it (valve core removed of course). This always puzzled me.

My experience with other sealants said that they would never go via the valve, unless the bottle was not shaken. So, my working theory was that Stans didn't have bits in it. But now I know it does!
So how do you get Stans through the valve? Why don't the bits seal the hole? It's much smaller than the holes you get in a tyre and it seals those OK.
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,503
4,977
Weymouth
I've just had my first experience of a loss of tubeless pressure.
Bought the bike 2nd hand from lbs who'd supplied it new to original owner.
Asked them if it was tubeless, they assured me it was tubeless ready but had tubes. I was happy with this as I know how to handle tubes ( 50 years experience - no idea of tubeless) . Asked them to Slime it ready for me to collect the following day. They assured me they had when I collected it.
Had the bike about 3 weeks, getting out on it once a week.
Last week noticed loss of pressure in front tyre. Inflated, went for ride, all fine.
This week, preparing to go out, noticed similar loss of pressure. Checked tread for thorns etc, nothing. Checked valve locking nut, got a hissing from the base of it and clear liquid shooting out. Twisted until stopped but slight hissing as i moved valve. Thought valve torn from tube so decided to change tube. Undid locking nut, touched valve which promptly dropped into the tyre!!!
Tyre glued to rim - suspect it is tubeless after all - having a wtf?? moment.
LBS having wheel in to sort out this afternoon. I want tube and slime, although the tannus solution looks favourable.

Now, about the back wheel ?? 🤔🙈
I assume your LBS removed the tubes and added sealant...hence why the valve fell in when you removed the lock nut!! Your problem was probably the tubeless valve not properly sealed which is usually fixed merely by tightening the lock nut a little.
 

RustyIron

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
Jun 5, 2021
1,791
2,758
La Habra, California
So how do you get Stans through the valve? Why don't the bits seal the hole?

With OG Stans, I shoot it through a 10cc syringe. The instructions suggest pulling the tire off the rim. That's extra work and messy. Stan's sells a syringe with a tube, which also seems messy. It's also expensive. Ten bucks for a syringe? Who does Stan think he is? The hospital billing department? I bought a case of 100 syringes off eBay. They might be ten bucks apiece, but only until the expiration date printed on each package. After that, they're no longer acceptable for medical use, and they're so cheap that you can give them away to all your friends. The 10cc that I got are great because they shoot straight into the valve stem. No hose is needed. They're also short enough where they fit between the valve stem and the hub. A hose is not needed.
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,503
4,977
Weymouth
@RustyIron Thanks for the confirmation.

To everyone else: This may seem like teaching granma to suck eggs, but give the sealant bottle a very good shake before pouring it into the tyre, to make sure that you don't leave all the bits at the bottom of the bottle. I always used to pour the sealant into the tyre before completing installation, or just unhooked 6" of bead if topping up. I "just knew" that I would never get the sealant (with bits) down through the Presta valve hole. I don't use Stans, but of course many do and seem to get by with using the valve hole to install it (valve core removed of course). This always puzzled me.

My experience with other sealants said that they would never go via the valve, unless the bottle was not shaken. So, my working theory was that Stans didn't have bits in it. But now I know it does!
So how do you get Stans through the valve? Why don't the bits seal the hole? It's much smaller than the holes you get in a tyre and it seals those OK.
Putting Stans throught the valve ( with the valve core removed) is no problem. I seat the tyre and then inflate to c 35psi and bounce it on the floor to ensure the bead is fully seated, then deflate the tyre and remove the valve core.........then inject the sealant through the valve using a stans syringe. Then rotate the wheel to distribute the sealant and lay the wheel flat on a bucket for a bout 10 minutes a side. Never had a problem doing it that way............and never had a puncture that did not self seal. I use 100ml of sealant for a 2.5/29 tyre, 80ml for a 27.5/2.5 tyre and top up with 30 ml every 3 or 4 months. I change the valve cores about twice a year when they start getting sticky.
 

Daev

E*POWAH Master
Jan 15, 2022
249
289
Cornwall
I assume your LBS removed the tubes and added sealant...hence why the valve fell in when you removed the lock nut!! Your problem was probably the tubeless valve not properly sealed which is usually fixed merely by tightening the lock nut a little.
NO - took a reality break, bless 'em.
I've now been further educated by the LBS in the ways of the tubeless so I understand it a bit better. They are running tubeless but the sealant had disappeared. They refilled sealant both front and back, so now much happier (and more educated) about going out for tomorrows ride.
Also apologised about the misinformation, which always helps.....
....and then sold me a tube for emergencies, labelled at £6.99 for £14.99, whilst removing the £6.99 sticker and explaining that they've all got a lot more expensive (presumably got something to do with the price of gas, Russia and, no doubt, Brexit) and it's Welterweight (!!??!!) - obviously saw me coming . - Then tried to convince me waving the £4 per tyre sealant refill charge was a 'good thing'(tm). I didn't mention the lack of 2 Slime filled inner tubes that I was assured I had (twice).... or did I??......p'raps I did :D
Anyway, onward and upward (with assistance hopefully).

P.s. that's taking nothing away from the Lbs - they were total heroes, fitted me in at a moments notice and did an awesome job - what's not to love 😁👍❤️
 
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