I have Zipp 808 Tubulars and flatted while out on a ride from a small shard which I removed from the tyre. I used Vittoria Pit Stop Anti-puncture Foam which worked for a little while but I still have a slow leak.
My question is can I use a tubless tyre sealant in a tubular tyre to help protect against punctures and to also fix this slow leak? and if so what brand recommendations do you have?
These are my race wheels and don’t want the stress of starting an ironman with a tyre that could slowly leak.
This is part of the reason why i like tufo tyres. They are basically a tubeless tubular. As such, the sealant they make is suitable as a permanent fix and works pretty well
I use Continental Revo Sealant in my Contiental Tubular tyres (Conti Competitions and Podium TTs). As a test, when I tore the tread off a podium TT (locked rear wheel) but it was still inflated I decided to try an experiment. So I got a 1" pin nail and hammered it into the inflated tyre. No loss. Pulled it out, some hissing. Rotated wheel once. It was sealed!!!
Tried again - SIX more times with six more pin nails. Sealed each time, once rotated. So I got serious. I hammered a 2" round nail into the tyre. Again no immediate air loss. Pulled it out and it hissed. Rotated wheel once and it sealed.
It seems to me that the fresh sealant moving around when the tyre is rotated does the job.
Personally I was impressed. It is in all my TT bike Tubular tyres.
However last week I had a sudden blow out from my front Tub (an almost new one) and the sealant did not work. Air would simply not stay in tyre even with track pump. Completely flat. I can only assume when I hit the hole it split the inner tube. Fortunately I was only 400yds from home. I hope this helps.
I used Effeto Mariposa latex sealant in my Conti tubulars last race season. Like anything else, it can gum up some of the internals and is a little bit of a pain to use, but it worked (sealed one puncture during a ‘B’ event on a crappy course) and is definitely better than flatting in your ‘A’ race. That said, my next major bike purchase is going to be a set of clincher/tubeless aero wheels. I’ve been dealing with tubulars for 14 years, and that’s long enough for me!
You hear (and see pictures) of tubeless sealant drying up and turning into little rubber balls after 6 months or so. I’m not sure I’d want them inside an expensive tubular.
I am talking about the sealant that Conti recommend for their Tubular tyres. it does gum up teh valves a bit for sure. It also needs to go in BEFORE any valve extender is fitted as it tends to block the narrow valves.
Don’t know specifically about Conti’s recommended sealant, but the Effeto Mariposa put in prior to the extensions worked well for me. The valves are shot now after the season, but I probably wouldn’t be re-using the tire anyway.
A final thought - get a sealant that suits the innertube material of the Tubular. For instance Continental use Butyl innertubes but Vittoria use latex inner tubes. I understand that you need a different sealant for each type. Just check beforehand with teh tyre manufacturer and the sealant.