Winter Maintenance and Storage of Tubeless Wheels and Tires

Does anyone do anything special to store and/or maintain their tubeless wheels and tires? I’ve just been keeping mine inflated and rotate them to spread the sealant around. I feel like I should take the tires off, clean off the old sealant from the wheels and tires, and store them apart until ready to ride outside in the spring.

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Not a terrible idea to pull em off, if for nothing other than a good cleaning and new sealant.

That said, I pretty much only take my tires off if I need to replace or repair something. Top off sealant a few times a year. It’s probably safe to assume if you’re on here, you’ll wear em out long before they dry-rot.

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This is what I do. Not sure if it really increases longevity of wheel/tire - but I like tearing everything down to inspect the tire, bead, rim tape, rim, etc. A little like cleaning your bike - makes any problems or emerging problems more apparent.

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How do you clear sealant from the tire? I usually give up after 10m and 10cm cleaned :slight_smile:

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I don’t think it’s necessary to fully clean the sealant off - but would get rid of any big blobs that could have formed.

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I always remove the tyres in spring and mop up the puddle of sealant and wipe around the inside of the tyre with a cloth. I leave the dried sealant around the edges of the tyre if its going on the same rim. Then just re-fit it and replace the sealant. Takes 5 mins per wheel typically.

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Tubeless tyres only come off if I need to replace them or I hear a Stans monster rattling around inside. Just keep topping the sealant up at whatever interval I feel is right or before an event or big ride. The front tyre on my hardtail has been on for nearly four years and the tyres on my fat bike nearly five.

Topping up sealant is: remove valve core; attach syringe of sealant to valve; squirt the sealant in; replace valve core; reinflate tyre.

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I find installing used tyres that have been stored off the bike a lot harder than new ones. The latex layer makes them sticky, so the bead has a harder time moving tonits place on the rim. I’d really only take them off if your switching tyres or for repairs.

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When I take the tire off, I clean up the big blobs - maybe spend 10 mins per tire.

Yep. The most time consuming part is (potentially) cleaning the bead - as the dried sealant can prevent the tire from easily seating the next time through. I only do this at the time I’m remounting the tire - and clean only if necessary to allow the tire to seat. This can be a pain in the a$$ and is probably reason enough to not take tires off - although I have found some tires are better than others. Eg Nobby Nics don’t seem to get as much sealant stick to them as other MTB tires.

I tend only to clean out tyres when I replace them and just occasionally top up the winter/summer wheels (whatever is in storage) to stop them becoming unseated and leaking.

Yeah I usually take a rag or paper towel and just run it along the inside to get the bigger stuff. But I’m not scrubbing the inside or cleaning it out with soap to get it 100% clean.