Guys, i recently spunked 4 co2 cartridges on a puncture and now have a new tyre on my road bike.
I didnt get it to seat properly with canisters. It is still leaking sealant out the side/rim. I assume this isn’t normal and I need to reseat.
Any recommendation on a pump for doing this? Compressor, airshot, booster pump etc?
Any tips?
Did you clean the old sealant out of the wheel before putting the new tire on?
I typically take the valve core out, use this tip on my air compressor and just blow air into the tire for 2 seconds while i hear the bead pop on. Put my thumb over the valve for maybe 5 seconds… Remove thumb, let air out, put sealant in, put core back in. Pump up to 60 PSI and slosh the sealant around inside for a few minutes. Throw it on the bike and go for a roll and you’re good to go.
I wouldn’t be wasting co2 on beading a fresh tire - those are disposable and small form factor for emergencies, not at home tire swaps.
I would get a pump that is designed to handle tubeless tires. Seems it the way all bikes are going these days. You need a high volume per stroke to get the tires to seat. My pump has a 3 position dial on top. I think it says 60, 120, 160. It adjusts the volume per stroke.
If you have a compressor that will work just fine too.
I found using the Reserve Fillmore valves made my life much, much easier when fitting tubeless tyres. Granted they’re not cheap but it’s worth it for the ease
I use an Airshot canister. You fill it with your pump and then flip the valve to dump that volume of air into the tire. At $80, it isn’t cheap, but I wouldn’t cheap out on something made to hold 160psi.
From what I have heard, co2 and sealant don’t mix well anyways, so usually not the best choice with a fresh sealant/tire change.
I swapped two tires on Tuesday and they weren’t seating as well with my compressor. I sprayed a little soapy water around the rim and they seated perfectly after that. They’ve held air without issue the last few days.
I use the technique in this video. It works quite well, even with cushcore which is notoriously difficult to seat. They get to it at about 3:30.
Most of tyres can be seated with just a floor pump. Not all pumps are equal, though. The traditional floor pumps were designed for high pressures and the air flow they can provide is not always enough for tubeless. I use a Lezyne pump that can be attached directly to the tubeless valve stem (with valve core removed), which makes seating the tyre very easy. In some extreme cases I have used the Schwalbe booster for seating the tyre.
I replaced all my valves with Reserve Filmore valves and seat all my tubeless tires from MTB to Road with my trusty old specialized floor pump. Doesn’t require much effort at all anymore.
I tried cleaning the bloody stuff on the first but it wouldnt come off. I spend an hour at it, half did it and then fumbled new sealant in. That didnt fill the hole or seat properly, so just put a brand new tyre on. I need to work on my tubeless game.
Thats really interesting. I will give this a go for this weekend b i am also gonna get an airshot I think. I didnt know about the fillmore valves or the issue with c02 so thanks for that guys.
Air compressor is the only way to go. If you have a bead that isn’t cooperating you’ll have more than just one shot of air, with a compressor it goes you time to keep the air flowing and work the tire and wheel on the ground back and forth a bit, sometimes that’s all it takes for stubborn combinations is that little bit of extra time with air moving from a compressor
I used to have a 6 pound compressor that worked fine, but a bigger one is way more useful if you’ll need it for airing up car tires as well or other things around the house
The only thing you might need a specialty pump or compressor with a tank for is to get a tire to initially start holding air. Once it starts holding air, any pump including a floor pump or even a mini-pump can be used to complete the process. There can be a big gap between the bead of the tire and rim that lets air out more quickly than you can pump it in. This can even be the case using a compressor/tank. What I find can be very helpful is to install the tire with a tube, inflate it to normal or somewhat higher pressure, and leave it overnight or in you warm car for awhile. This get the tire to conform and assume its proper shape. After unseating one bead and removing the tube, I can often get a tire to start holding air and fully seat o the rim just using a normal floor pump. Removing the valve core will help speed/ease inflation. Once seated, I let the pressure out, put in the sealant, then put the valve core in and inflate to operating pressure. Note that tires have a witness line molded into the sidewall just above where the edge of the rim would be when properly seating. Check that is this is visible and constant small distance from the edge of the rim all around both sides of the tire when it’s inflated.
As already mentioned, CO2 is generally not good for sealant as it creates carbonic acid in the tire which starts to neutralize the ammonia used in many sealants to keep the latex from congealing in the tire. This is where Stanimals comes from.
I have a Bontrager canister pump that works very well. Sometimes my floor pump alone works but if not the Bontrager always does. I have had to remove valve cores a time or two but usually not necessary.
A light bristle brush or an old piece of denim works well. You really only care about the sealant that is near the bead of the wheel and anything around the tape is fine to leave. There are some solvents out there that are used for Sealant clean up but i’ve seen them mostly advertised as working against the stain on clothing vs dried from a wheel.
I use a Makita hand compressor usually, but I have a Bontrager track pump as a backup, the one with the additional air canister (googling…) - this one, but it’s been superseded and there’s a v2 out now
I would not bother with getting one of the fancy charge pumps, why do that when one can get a totally adequate compressor for not much more money. A compressor has a lot of additional uses as well, for example, blowing grit out of bearings, and inflating car tires! I am really I got a compressor, as I never stress about mounting up any tire.
I did the same expecting easier installs. But in my experience they haven’t made seating a new tire any easier than a standard presta with core removed. They do have the benefit of once getting seated, you don’t have to replace the core. But initial seating of the bead hasn’t been any easier for me. I still have to use an air compressor. Haven’t been able to seat them with a floor pump.
Any recommendations?
Something like this?
Have been using a Topeak JoeBlow Booster pump for 6 years now, has seated every tyre I have used it on. Works like a charm. Pump the Charge up to 11 bar, release, ping ping, sorted.