I wanted to see what people are using for road and MTB/gravel sealant. I’m running tubeless now on both my road and gravel bikes. I’ve only used Stan’s regular sealant. Either through luck or s great product, I’ve never had a problem. But always looking for “upgrades.” Which sealant do you like or dislike and why? Thanks

[image] Which tubeless sealant? Equipment Any recommendations on which tubeless sealant to go for? It will be my first time converting to tubeless and no idea which sealant to choose. Are they all pretty similar? some seem to be way more expensive than others so assume not.

I’ve just used Stan’s also, and have had good luck with it. One thing I don’t like however is when I take the tires off the wheels - there is a lot of dried Stan’s on the inside of the tube, including on the bead, which makes getting a successful seal the next time more difficult. I usually spend 20-30 mins picking off the biggest chunks which is annoying. Anyone have any tips on how to get dried Stan’s off a tire? I’m too cheap to just buy new tires :slight_smile:

I have used the regular StansSealant with great success but have had some issues with Stans Race Sealant. Anytime I have taken the tire off when using Stans Race there has been a buildup of small balls of the particles used for sealing. See the photo below. [StansRace-IMG_9655]

The technical term for these little coagulations of sealant are “Stanimals”. A local bike shop here keeps them and gives them names :joy:. I have never gotten a stanimal with Orange Seal, but I have had Orange Seal clog my valve stems, which can be a pain. I’ve recently switched back to Stan’s normal sealant for anything that isn’t a high consequence race, and have yet to collect a stanimal, and my valve stems remain unplugged! That said, when it’s a race that matters, I use Stan’s Race Sealant. Something I’ve found that has been super helpful with this process has been the Sealant Injector from KOM Cycling (podcast listeners too!). A simple but SUPER nice tool to have. Valve stems no longer get a chance to clog :raised_hands:. As far as tubeless tape, I like gorilla tape. I’ve had too many puncture problems with strips and rim tape-specific solutions. Gorilla tape let’s you easily get the right width for different rims too. :+1:

@Jonathan I have taken to approaching it pretty much the same way as you have and just live with the “Stanimals”. I haven’t had a flat using the Race sealant but I also haven’t had a major puncture or sidewall tear with the race sealant in place though. I’m hoping if that is ever the case that the “stanimal” will be the first line of defence against large holes :wink:

Those stanimals gotta start making themselves useful! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: Anybody home brew sealant? Not something I think I want to do, but a friend of mine has made his own with liquid latex, glitter and the lint collected in the dryer trap :joy:. Actually worked well!

Man, just picked my mud tires clean today so I could set up for a race tomorrow. Definitely interested in tips to clean that up faster.

A vote for Stan’s Race Sealant formula here. Never had an issues. I’ve used Orange Seal Endurance and like it to, it’s just hard to find here (in Poland) and I save it for winter because I believe it’s the only one rated to go to 8F and they have a subzero one that goes down to -20F. I guess I’ve been lucky that I’ve never had a valve clog with it yet.

You don’t necessarily need to clean the tire of all remnants of sealant. You’ll want to make sure you clean it around the bead, but if there is a sealant coating on the inside of the tire, it’s not absolutely necessary to remove it. I leave the coating in there and usually find the tire will need replacing before that layer gets so thick it causes problems.

I use the Stans sealant, both normal and race. So far so good, the race sealant does dry up quicker so it needs to be checked a little more. I’m also going to try the new Muc-Off sealant on the road bike at some point.

TrainerRoad

Tubeless tire sealant

Equipment

dbf October 7, 2018, 12:27am 2

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