What tubeless sealant?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

We have two road bikes with fairly narrow tubeless tyres on tubeless rims. What is the best sealant to use for high mileage road folk?

Just used the last of a big bottle of Stans in a bit over a year and there was a big lump of latex left in the bottle. I’d like to avoid that in future. I expect that the last dose of sealant isn’t anywhere near as effective as the first dose.

[chrisbainbridge]

Under no circumstances use the Finishline tubeless sealant with Kevlar!  It is as much use as spit!

I use the Stand race sealant which is supposed to be a bit thicker but have not noticed enough punctures to be certain about it.

[andrew_s]

Buy it in smaller bottles?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Smaller than 475 ml?

[bludger]

I've got an old schwalbe 60ml bottle that I use for topping up. It's worth keeping as it has a handy spout thing. Though I have to clean it after use as the OKO magic milk seals up the hole!

[Hot Flatus]

Orangeseal Endurance.

As chris says up thread avoid Finsh Line at all costs, even though it claims to solve the problem you describe. It may indeed never dry up in your tyre or your bottle, but it also never seals punctures.

[Bobby]

I've used Orange Seal for the last year, seems good.

I know it's marketed for MTBs, but has anybody tried this? https://www.tybikeproducts.com/ (looks promising)

[andrew_s]

Smaller than 475 ml?

You did say "last of a big bottle"

[Carlosfandango]

Caffelatex, comes in a 1Litre bottle and also 60ml bottles to carry on the bike. Just remember to refill your tyres every 5/6 months.

Some of the MTB sealants are fine at lower pressures, that's what they're designed for, but above 50 or 60 psi I've found they're not that effective.

[bludger]

Magic milk is interesting in that regard. I run my tyres at around 54 psi but pump them up to 60 as there's an obvious needly mark on my pump's gauge. There's nearly always a small amount of leaking through a small hole that I plugged ages ago, but it never runs flat or amounts to more than a dot of white stuff. I've been meaning to patch it from the inside for a while now but don't seem to have gotten round to it...

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Smaller than 475 ml?

You did say "last of a big bottle"

Given it took a year to get through it, that bottle seemed pretty big to me. I didn't know that Stans sold a bigger bottle.

[bludger]

Oh I should think most tubeless fluid manufacturers will produce 1-2 litre bottles or even bigger. The stuff gets used a lot in the industry as lots of people CBA to do the conversion themselves.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Sure, big bottles for bike shop workshops but for home use? When the sealant seems to go off after a few months, even when stored in a capped bottle?

My first inclination is to buy a new bottle every 6 months and expect to bin whatever is left over by the next time a refill is needed.

[bludger]

I mean it depends on the sealant. I've had bottles of magic milk that've been opened for a year without going funny. My own bottles are 1L. At the moment I have one tubeless configured bike (another one soon....) and my dad has 2. 2x 40ml (or so - I put 50 ml in my 32mm tyres) = 80. x 3= 240. Factor in a yearly top up and/or a tyre removal, patch and re-fit, and that's a half litre gone in a year. More if you're using bigger volume tyres or MTBs. Some 29er tyres are optimised for up to 100 ml of sealant. Stans recommends 200 ml for fat bikes!

If I'm doing a really really big ride I'll take 40 ml or so to top up if I have to put a plug in after a big hole that has fluid full on squirting out, but I've not had to do that yet.

I wonder what the effect of using motorbike sealant would be... https://www.oko.com/products/motorbikes/on-road-motorbikes-mopeds-scooters/

[Carlosfandango]

Sure, big bottles for bike shop workshops but for home use? When the sealant seems to go off after a few months, even when stored in a capped bottle?

My first inclination is to buy a new bottle every 6 months and expect to bin whatever is left over by the next time a refill is needed.

Just went out to check the Caffelatex, about 300ml left out of a litre. Well over a year or even two old, still liquid, no lumps in the bottle.

It's probably past it's best, still seems to work though.

[zigzag]

while tubeless rim and tyre technology has matured in recent years, sealant still remains a weak link in the system (it will no doubt improve as the market and competition grows). i store sealant in the bottles it comes in, but squeeze the air out before tightening the lid, or pour it into several smaller containers. can't recommend any particular sealant, as i'm looking for a good one myself (that works well in higher pressure tyres)!

[bludger]

I have read all kinds of MTBer wisdom about how to get the sealant to perform better. One  is grinding peppercorns into the stuff to provide more environmentally solids against which the liquid can seal.

In less sea turtle friendly methodology, some recommend grating up plastic bags and mixing the ribbons in with the sealant. I don't know how well that works... Thankfully hi fibre magic milk has been fine for my purposes.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I’m not personally interested in MTB sealant with this particular query.

[bludger]

I don't think there's any real difference between road/touring sealant and MTB sealant. Stan's is marketed as being suitable for both.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

If the sealant can’t cope with suitable pressures for a 28mm tyre, I’m not interested in it. Some sealants are specifically marketed for MTB/ low pressures, some are not. I want the ones that can seal at high pressures.

[IanDG]

Used Orange Seal on my gravel bike down to 38mm tyres. States that it's suitable for road use and can buy it in small bottles.

[morbihan]

Plus one for orange seal endurance. We run thin side wall gravel tires (R Herse) and its pretty much the only gunk that will set them up properly. Also used it in the other tires too.

[Ian H]

I'm currently using the Orange endurance, BUT that is for 50psi or less.  I'm not sure it would be ideal for higher pressures (where I'm still using tubes, on the grounds that I'm not sure the technology is quite there yet).

[Hot Flatus]

It's fine. I use it on 100psi 25mm 700s

[zigzag]

I'm currently using the Orange endurance, BUT that is for 50psi or less.  I'm not sure it would be ideal for higher pressures (where I'm still using tubes, on the grounds that I'm not sure the technology is quite there yet).

most sealants will seal punctures from pins/tacks/wires just fine, even at high pressures. the problem is cuts from flints and glass, which are typically 2mm+. it will eventually seal after the pressure drops down to ~30psi, which is still rideable and a better scenario than stopping and faffing about on a muddy verge.
ideally the sealant should plug cuts up to 4mm, leaving tyre plugs for anything bigger. currently it's a tricky situation with ~2-4mm cuts - they are too big to seal and too small to push the tyre plug through.