I’ve recently finished a carbon hardtail 29er build but am totally exasperated with the tubeless ready Racing Ralph that I’ve got on the rear wheel. It is no exaggeration to say that it’s been over a week and it still hasn’t sealed!

My now daily routine consists of going to the garage to check what I already know – that the tyre is soft and has once again failed to seal. I pump it back up to 35psi, submerge it in my now semi-permanent wheel bath to find where the air is escaping and do the tyre-sealant-jiggle to plug the pin-prick hole. There’s more white dots on my tyre than a motion-captured face of Andy Serkis! It then sits flat in the garage to allow the sealant to do its job and that’s how it continues. Every. Day. Of. My. Life!!! I’m beginning to wonder if it’s me, the tyre, the Joe’s sealant I’m using or just plain bad luck.

Any suggestions?

stans sealent or try another tyre. however i’ve always found schwable tyres seal really easily

Go for a ride. Only way to get the sealant properly circulated

Have you tried going for a ride on it to really spread the sealant about?

Edit: Beaten to it!

You do have your special tubless shorts on, it’s not going to work without the correct outfit.

Try pumping up to a higher PSI to start with.

EDIT: Oh yeah, a ride would be nice.

I had this with some Ralphs. They did seal…eventually.

as above, have you been for a ride? If not go for one.

Take a pump just in case 😉

Had this with Schwalbe tyres before. One odd one never really held air properly. Go for a ride as other have said and take it from there.

As an aside….

motion-captured face of Andy Serkis

Ooohhh… a MOCAP reference… Lord of the Ring fan or in the industry?

I’ve had similar myself, many moons ago when tubeless tyres were much more of a black art and sealants weren’t as good I was advised to daub UPVC wood glue around the bead of the tyre.

It worked, for me…… Back then as I said sealants weren’t that good.

If it were me I’d sit with them for half an hour in the garden holding them on their sides sloshing them about a bit, then go ride it, the more you ride the less they need topping up, mine have seemed to found their happy medium hovering just under 20PSI ?

Thanks for the help peeps. I’ve been out for a half hour ride after finishing the build, but have been loath to go back out since. I’ll give it another blast and see how it goes.

Sofaboy73, I’ve got a Nobby Nic on the front and that sealed perfectly first time. As for the tubeless short…I’ve clearly forgotten about purchasing a pair – do you think I can get a pair in Wiggle’s dhb range 😛

DanW – was actually thinking about his work generally, but The …Apes movies in particular 🙂

Here’s a photo of the bike if anyone’s interested.

http://i942.photobucket.com/albums/ad267/sean_a_h/image.jpg1.jpg

Lawn needs some work! (because it’s the law).

All that effort getting tubeless set up and you didn’t remember to get the tyre logos and valves lined up! Start again 😀 Also needs more stem spacers 😉 Great looking bike though!

Sweet, I like that frame a lot but would have to change that saddle, the yellow underside with the orange frame decals just look wrong.

Much higher pressure and a ride. Nice looking bike, but the rear tyre looks flat.

It then sits flat in the garage to allow the sealant to do its job

That’s your problem. Sealant wont’ be doing its job when it’s pooling at the bottom of the tyre.

Thin walled tyres need to be ridden to seal – and a proper ride not a spin around the block. If they are really thin, it’ll be maybe a month before they hold all their air. But I’ve only had that with super thin non tubeless ready tyres.

Add more rim tape for a tighter seal – is the correct answer.

Id make sure you have 100ml of sealant in there (or so), throw in a heaped teaspoon of glitter and go ride at normal pressures. That should sort it out.

As others said, if a tyre doesn’t seal pretty much immediately, then nothing else but riding will do it. Basically all you’re doing is repeating the failure then getting annoyed that you’re repeating the failure. Do something different.

Throw a tube in there, far less hassle.

Thanks to all for the sage words of advice. A proper ride it is then and I’ll see how we go from there.

Sandwich – you’re right the lawn needs work but I’m too busy buggering about with bikes to worry about it 😉
DanW – didn’t know there was a tyre logo/ valve protocol! I’ll hang my head in shame and try and remember for next time! Nice to hear that you like the bike 🙂
unovolo – yes you’re right as well. There’s a very long story attached to that saddle and a different frame (it would have looked great). Suffice to say it’s a present from some close family and I don’t want to disappoint them.

Thanks once again to all who’ve taken the time to respond. If anyone’s up for a cycle with an over 40 in the Hertfordshire area, drop me a line. I’m a bit of an off road noob but am looking forward to clocking up some miles on my new bike 🙂

deviant – Member

Throw a tube in there, far less hassle.

Tubeless can be more hassle than tubes. But it’s hassle when you choose- in the kitchen, or the garage. Tubes are hassle when they choose- up a mountain, in the rain.