Tubeless tires anyone?

[Osiris]

After my front tire flatted several months ago, I decided not to take any more chances and switched to a set of Hutchinson tubeless tires. I already had a set of American Classic tubeless wheels lying around, so I swapped those out for the stock wheels that came with my V20.

The tubeless tires gave me no trouble over the past several months, but as I was getting ready for a ride this morning, I noticed that the front tire was completely deflated. Strangely it pumped up just fine until about 80 psi, at which point I heard a loud hissing, and the tire completely deflated within a matter of seconds. I tried it again, and the same thing happened. There is no puncture anywhere, which suggests that the seal between the tire and rim has failed, but I can't determine where. No sealant sprayed out, but I'm not sure what to make of that.

Needless to say, a rapid deflation would have been disastrous had it occurred at high speeds, so now I've entirely lost confidence in these tires. I'm going to bring it to the local dealer who is very experienced with tubeless tires and wheels to see what he has to say. I'm hoping that this turns out to be the result of some defect in the tire.

I'm just curious to know whether any others here have experienced anything similar with tubeless tires, or whether this was just a fluke. There have been a number of threads devoted to tubeless tires on other bike forums, but I don't recall anyone ever mentioning an occurrence like this.

 

[BrianA]

I had a problem with a tubeless tyre a few months ago. Coincidently I was also fitting tubeless tyres to American Classic Tubeless wheels which I had just purchased. In my case the tyres were Maxxis Padrone. The first tyre was fitted without any problems whatsoever. When I fitted the second tyre I pumped it up to 100psi (well below maximum) and put the wheel aside for the tyre to bed properly before adding sealant. About 30 secs after I had done this there was a loud bang and the tyre blew off the rim. Try as I might I couldn't get the tyre to seat again. Closer inspection of the tyre showed a distortion in the bead which was obviously a weak spot. I got the tyre replaced and have had no further problems.

 

[3WHELZ]

I had this also occur with my rear wheel, same tire (Hutchinson 28s) just prior to a ride. The source of the problem was that I used 25mm vs 21mm tape, which eventually caused a seal compromise. Not a single issue since making the change.

 

[Osiris]

I took the Vendetta to the bike store, but they couldn't find anything wrong with the tire. After a close inspection of the tubeless wheel, they noticed a small air blister with a tear in it at the edge of the rim tape. This is apparently what let the air out so suddenly once enough air pressure was in the tire. They're going to re-wrap it with new tape, so with any luck I'll have my V20 back in time for at least one ride this weekend.

 

[RojoRacing]

After my front tire flatted several months ago, I decided not to take any more chances and switched to a set of Hutchinson tubeless tires. I already had a set of American Classic tubeless wheels lying around, so I swapped those out for the stock wheels that came with my V20.

The tubeless tires gave me no trouble over the past several months, but as I was getting ready for a ride this morning, I noticed that the front tire was completely deflated. Strangely it pumped up just fine until about 80 psi, at which point I heard a loud hissing, and the tire completely deflated within a matter of seconds. I tried it again, and the same thing happened. There is no puncture anywhere, which suggests that the seal between the tire and rim has failed, but I can't determine where. No sealant sprayed out, but I'm not sure what to make of that.

Needless to say, a rapid deflation would have been disastrous had it occurred at high speeds, so now I've entirely lost confidence in these tires. I'm going to bring it to the local dealer who is very experienced with tubeless tires and wheels to see what he has to say. I'm hoping that this turns out to be the result of some defect in the tire.

I'm just curious to know whether any others here have experienced anything similar with tubeless tires, or whether this was just a fluke. There have been a number of threads devoted to tubeless tires on other bike forums, but I don't recall anyone ever mentioning an occurrence like this.

If you didn't add more sealant in all that time then you would have been or near to dry in those tires. I've never seen tubeless tape applied to a rim after the fact anywhere near as good as what I've seen from the factory on some brands like dt swiss. If you ever have this happen to you again, try rocking the valve stem a little to see if the leaks volume get louder, if it does then at least you know it's your stem of not.

 

[Osiris]

If you didn't add more sealant in all that time then you would have been or near to dry in those tires. I've never seen tubeless tape applied to a rim after the fact anywhere near as good as what I've seen from the factory on some brands like dt swiss. If you ever have this happen to you again, try rocking the valve stem a little to see if the leaks volume get louder, if it does then at least you know it's your stem of not.

I have threaded stems that are held firmly in place with a nut, but leaking valve stems are a notorious problem on tubeless setups. I know of one case in which someone tried to re-inflate a soft tubeless tire, only to push the valve stem down into the rim when trying to attach the pump. He couldn't get it to hold air after that, and had to abandon the planned ride.

As for adding sealant, the tire did look surprisingly dry inside. I don't know if the tech wiped off the sealant when looking for a possible puncture, or whether the sealant had dried out. When the tires were fitted, they told me that sealant only had to be added every six months. I'll ask about that today when I pick up the bent.

 

[RojoRacing]

6 months is what you tell someone who’s hesitant to make the swap but you want them to convert. If you want actual flat protection it’s 2 months but hey feel it out over a few years and you’ll learn the flow and ebb of sealants.

 

[Osiris]

Just got the Vendetta back. It's fixed, but I was a bit disturbed to hear that the sealant they'd filled the tire with last night failed, so they had to clean it out and try a different sealant this morning. That's not exactly confidence inspiring.

While at the shop, I spotted another Vendetta on the wall rack with a mangled frame and forks. It belongs to Blake, the only other Cruzbike rider I know of. He always insisted on riding alone on busy streets and was hit by a car, but fortunately didn't suffer any serious injuries. Now he's apparently riding a trike. That leaves me as possibly the only one carrying the Cruzbike banner in the area.

 

[BrianA]

On the subject of sealants, I got fed up having to top up the sealant on the two bikes I run tubeless (a diamond frame and Silvio S30) so I switched to Finish Line sealant. This sealant doesn't dry out and only needs to be installed once. You need to thoroughly clean out all of the old liquid and dried sealant to change, which is a bit of a pain, but worth it in the long run. While I haven't had a puncture (that I know of) since changing to Finish Line it holds pressure in the tyres as well as the Orange Seal that I was previously using.

 

[RojoRacing]

On the subject of sealants, I got fed up having to top up the sealant on the two bikes I run tubeless (a diamond frame and Silvio S30) so I switched to Finish Line sealant. This sealant doesn't dry out and only needs to be installed once. You need to thoroughly clean out all of the old liquid and dried sealant to change, which is a bit of a pain, but worth it in the long run. While I haven't had a puncture (that I know of) since changing to Finish Line it holds pressure in the tyres as well as the Orange Seal that I was previously using.

I’ve heard unfavorable reports that finish line may not dry out but it doesn’t like to seal punctures as well ether. Makes sense that if it doesn’t dry out that it wouldn’t want to dry in the puncture as quickly as wanted.

If in 4-6 months you hear a loud hissing and see white spray coming out of your tire before complete sealing the hole then you know the stuff works, until then I wouldn’t hold my breath.

 

[rx7mark]

Speaking of sealant, I have switched from orange endurance to TruckerCo sealant cream, and can't believe how much better it seals. A nail in my rear tire sealed after I pulled it out and I finished my ride only losing 5psi. Also used to have to top off the front tire before each ride, now they both hold pressure for at least a month, though I still check before each ride.

I don't work or represent them in any way just a happy customer.

Mark

 

[RojoRacing]

Speaking of sealant, I have switched from orange endurance to TruckerCo sealant cream, and can't believe how much better it seals. A nail in my rear tire sealed after I pulled it out and I finished my ride only losing 5psi. Also used to have to top off the front tire before each ride, now they both hold pressure for at least a month, though I still check before each ride.

I don't work or represent them in any way just a happy customer.

Mark

I can confirm I'm the only recumbent dork who has any affiliation with the staff at TruckerCo and that mainly extends to us beating each other up during 12hr mtb races :lol Glad to hear my words aren't falling on deaf ears and someone is giving their products a shot, I'll pass this along to Greg and let him know you're happy.

 

[3WHELZ]

I wish I had come across this thread about TruckerCo a few days earlier. I just purchased another 8 oz of Orange. Everything on TruckerCo's site seems to be very reasonably price. Has anyone tried their rim tape?

 

[rx7mark]

I can confirm I'm the only recumbent dork who has any affiliation with the staff at TruckerCo and that mainly extends to us beating each other up during 12hr mtb races :lol Glad to hear my words aren't falling on deaf ears and someone is giving their products a shot, I'll pass this along to Greg and let him know you're happy.

Thanks Rojo,
I bought some of there brake pads also. But have not installed them yet. My decision to try TruckerCo was solely based on your glowing recomendation, and the fact that my LBS does not reliably carry the orange in stock when I need it.

I am really glad I switched, now I am a believer. It's a great product at a great price. Thanks!

Mark

 

[RojoRacing]

I wish I had come across this thread about TruckerCo a few days earlier. I just purchased another 8 oz of Orange. Everything on TruckerCo's site seems to be very reasonably price. Has anyone tried their rim tape?

I have and it works about as good as everyone else meaning that it requires a special left to right rocking motion to apply it correctly because it's not very flexible. I like it because it the same as other but cheap enough that if you didn't like how it turned out on your first application you can do it again without having to go buy a new roll.

 

[BrianA]

RojoRacing - Finish line sealant doesn't rely on the sealant drying to seal a puncture. The puncture is sealed by small fibres contained in the sealant tightly blocking the hole. The promotional videos certainly give the impression that it works as well as other brands (but I suppose that is to be expected). Hopefully I won't have to find out the hard way how effective it is in real life

 

[Osiris]

RojoRacing - Finish line sealant doesn't rely on the sealant drying to seal a puncture. The puncture is sealed by small fibres contained in the sealant tightly blocking the hole. The promotional videos certainly give the impression that it works as well as other brands (but I suppose that is to be expected). Hopefully I won't have to find out the hard way how effective it is in real life

Finish Line sealant is what my tires were originally filled with. This is the stuff that failed to seal the tire properly. Fortunately the shop had several bottles of the orange sealant that everyone uses, and that's what finally did the trick. I completed 32 miles today on the Vendetta, and was relieved to see that the tire held air perfectly.

 

[chicorider]

I had nothing but trouble with the Finish Line stuff. It oozed and sprayed everywhere, but never sealed even small punctures. It creates a viscous coating inside the tire, but not enough of one to fix a puncture in a long-term way. I got the impression that you'd have to use a lot of it for it to actually work, and who wants to load their tires with all that weight? After six months of struggling to make this gunk work, I threw a half a bottle of it away and went back to Stan's.

 

[DavidCH]

Totally pissed. I've tried almost everything to seal a valve. I even filled the bath checking out the rim underwater and somehow the water gets in. The beads stay on and it never drops below 60psi .... I tried tightening with pliers and the valve has been skewered onto a piece of inner tube ... a dime size... so the only thing for me to do is take it apart ... clean it up ... pour more orange sealant in it again and put some caulk around the valve. I'm so pissed off... you can't imagine.

Is orange sealant more viscous than orange endurance sealant? I guess I might have to put 4oz in ... instead of the 2. 700c 23mm tire.

 

[RojoRacing]

what kind of valve? Don’t over tighten the nut or risk your rim cracking at the hole over time. What kind of tape did you use?