I’m running my first set of tubeless tyres and they leak a bit, 2-3 psi over a week. Do they all do this or do I need to have another go at sealing them?

They are brand new EX 511 wheels with MucOff tape (fitted by LBS when they built the wheel) and Racing Ray/Ralph tubeless ready tyres. I fitted the tyres myself and they have Stans valves and sealant in.

Abracadabra – make my post appear…

Sounds about right to me. Some tyres leak more than others on the same rims, wouldn’t bother doing anything unless they start going flat really quickly

Yes, they do. IME that is.

Varies IME. I’ve tyres that stay inflated for months but others (same rim and tyre) might lose a few PSI over the course of a week.

If they are newly fitted there may be a slight gap somewhere, going for a few rides should get everything worked in good and tight and the tyre will stay inflated for longer.

I’ve been out on a few rides so they should be bedded in. I’ll live with it for now – however I might need to take the tyres off again anyway as the logo is not directly centred over the valve….😜

They do settle a bit with time but all mily standard tubeless leak some. The only one that doesn’t is a matching UST rim and tyre.

might need

No might about it. Get that sorted out! Shameful. 😉

Yeah, I’ve had bikes with tubes hanging in the garage for a year and the tyres are still firm when I get them down. Only tubeless I’ve had that came close were Hutchinson Taipans on Stans wheels. They didn’t need pumping every week. The Goodyears are pretty good too.

Yeah they do a bit. I only lose about 1psi a week on my Racing Ralphs. However on the road tubeless it’s maybe 5 a week. I’ve got used to topping them up before every ride, don’t even notice it any more. But then, I used to top up my road tyres with tubes before, cos they were at 100psi.

Sounds right. Although there’s a bike in the family, not mine, with old UST Shimano XT wheels and UST Continental Mountain Kings. Pumped to 40psi just over a year ago. Still hard.

IME almost every tyre leaks til it’s been ridden a bit to slosh it about, then most become pretty much airtight.

I would say they settle quite a lot.

I’ve found that over time, and maybe adding more sealant, they tend to improve markedly. The 6 wheels I have on the go with mtb tyres that were new last year all needed a top up if left for more than a week or so for the first few months. Now I think all of them I’m happy to leave longer. I suspect that it takes a longish time for the sealant to take care of some of the little holes or porous nature of the tyre. I have some tubeless tyres still holding air after being unused for over a year.

I have sometimes just increased the sealant quantity in a tyre and I think that’s worked. In your shoes I’d do that straight away.

In the end I think tubes do hold air better over time but I think I’d still be checking them the same.

My gravel tyres the same applies to to some extent but after more than a week they always need a top up.

Is that not a bit of a strange tyre/rim combo? XC racing tyre and Endruo/DH rim.

Anyway yeah some tires do loose a bit over time. I work away 3 weeks at a time CX bike often needs pumped up prior to a ride usually run around 30-40psi thin side walls. MTB on DD highroller/assegi barely looses any usually run aroun 18-20psi.

No might about it. Get that sorted out! Shameful. 😉

Well quite – I’ll get straight on it. Begs the question though, can I just deflate and unseat the tyre then move and pump it up again or do I need to strip, clean, replace rim tape…..?

Is that not a bit of a strange tyre/rim combo? XC racing tyre and Endruo/DH rim.

Possibly if you say so. I’ve no idea to be honest! They were the only rims I could get hold of earlier in the year and my LBS recommended them. INAE so I just went with their suggestion. 🤷‍♂️ I only ride on tracks, cycle ways etc. and a bit of tarmac on the way to the tracks.  Don’t do any technical stuff so I picked some tyres that weren’t too knobbly and would hopefully not be a PITA to fit as never used tubeless before….

All mine are pretty good across MTB and gravel bikes, can be a few weeks between adding air.

The key for me during set up is to hold the inflated wheel vertical so the sealant pools at the bottom, hands at 3 and 6 o’clock, and wobble the wheel so the sealant can slosh over the entire tyre sidewall and rim hook. Rotate the wheel a few inches, and repeat until you’ve done the whole wheel. If you can’t hear the sealant, pause so it can pool at the bottom before waggling, or add more.

I don’t think riding is very effective at covering the entire surface, they always seem to leak slowly if I don’t do this and rely on the next couple of rides.

… do I need to strip, clean, replace rim tape…..?

No, don’t disturb the tape. I’d probably refresh the sealant while I had the tyres unseated but nothing more.

I think your rims are a bit over specced for the kind of riding you do – they’re enduro / DH rims. But they aren’t the heaviest ones and dt are really good / work well with tubeless in my experience. So you should be good.

I’ve found every tubeless setup leaks a few psi in a week. Used WTB and DT rims and tyres from Maxxis / Schwalbe / Specialized / WTB.

I’ve got a couple here that haven’t lost a single psi in 3-4 months without being ridden, some will lose 3-5psi in a week and need a quick pump every now and again. I don’t see it as a massive issue, it takes 20s with a gauge and a pump to resolve.

Not all.

Specialized however, yes. Like sieves.

Our Michelin, Schwalbe, Vittoria and Continental on a variety of rims don’t lose much at all – they maybe need a touch of air every month or two.

IME loss is usually the taping of the rim.

Unless you are specialized and then it just pours through the sidewalls. I’m back to tubes until those tyres wear out.

matt_outandabout

Not all.

Specialized however, yes. Like sieves.

I’ve currently got 3 wheels with Specialized 2Bliss tyres on, set-up tubeless. None of them lose pressure faster than I would expect a tube would.
Over the years I’ve had Specialized Ground Control, Purgatory, Sauserwind & The Captain tyres (mainly because they are reasonably priced & inflate easily IME). None of them have had sealing issues.
I seem to remember you having a problem a while back with some Specialized tyres but from my experience, this isn’t the norm.

I’ve curtrently got a Schwalbe tyre (Rocket Ron) that I’ve just set-up; that won’t stay inflated although I think that is down to air leaking from the valve; not really had the time to investigate & fix.

Yes, they do…mildly annoying but it very quickly becomes the norm to have a quick check of the tyre pressure and may need a wee top up.

As someone who doesn’t change tyres until they are worn, I’m not convinced of the benefits of tubeless over tubes – both work well in their own way, but I’ve not found the thing that makes one or the other outshine.

Yes, some worse than others. It’s always nice to get one of my bikes out of the shed having not ridden it for weeks and finding it still has fully pumped up tyres, doesn’t often happen though

As someone who doesn’t change tyres until they are worn, I’m not convinced of the benefits of tubeless over tubes – both work well in their own way, but I’ve not found the thing that makes one or the other outshine.

For me it’s lack of punctures. Without wanting to jinx myself I went tubeless into 2017 and on both mtb’s I haven’t had a single puncture since. And that’s despite riding harder / riding more / running tyres at a lower pressure for more grip.

I’m not sold on road tubeless though – seems like the higher pressures make sealant less effective and most punctures for me have been glass and that probably wouldn’t seal as the hole would be too big.

Yes, they do. IME that is.

This.

In my opinion it is pretty much inevitable when you compare the two ‘systems’.

Adding a small top up of sealant after the first month (30-50ml) usually helps when this happens to me.

Yes. They also leak faster as the tyre gets more worn and/or the sealant dries up.

m not convinced of the benefits of tubeless over tubes

Yes indeed, there is no benefit to a tubeless tyre sat in a garage.

Depends on the tyres and the tubes (and sealant and tape)
I’ve got crappy tubes in the SAS on DJ that go down faster than the Maxxis DHF I just took off the Spank Race Rim. It’s now got a more appropriate tyre on… yet to see how that works out.

My EX511’s have a MM on the front and currently a HD on the back… the back deflates (and weeps).. front I never seem to have to touch.

Commuter has tubes… always need topping up but it doesn’t get used often (currently it’s sat on turbo)

Anyone else miss proper UST?

Ironically the tyre/rim combo that leaks the least for me is a 12yr old non-tubeless 26″ HR on an original Stans Flow rim. Sits there barely leaking another over the course of weeks.

Maxxis, Goodyear and WTB tyres on Stans and Hope rims have all been good for me.

Non tubeless Maxxis and some allegedly tubeless specialized tyres needed pumping up every ride.

kiwijohn
Full Member

Anyone else miss proper UST?

Nope, it was heavier (or if you prefer, made for weaker wheels and tyres for the same weight, made building wheels a pain in the bum, and didn’t really have much benefit.

I mean, I have an UST wheelset in use right now and the only major difference it’s made to me, is that it has a broken spoke nipple and it’s going to be a relative bollocks to fix it, while if it were TLR I’d have done it already in a couple of minutes work.

pfft try some latex road tubes then marvel about how you have only lost 3psi over a week rather than 3si before you first cake stop.

I’m going to re-seat mine and add a bit more sealant. I like the idea of making sure it gets sploshed around the bead at the edges so I’ll give that a go too.

FWIW I really like the EX511s they discs don’t rub on the pads when I go round corners any more like they did on my Shimano MT wheels… 🙂 I still have them as well  but I have put some Hurricane tyres on as I use them when I go riding with my friend who has a road bike.

I just went out to the garage to give my dh bike a quick once over since I’ve not ridden it since 2019. Still had 15psi in each tyre, I don’t think they’re even officially tubeless ready tyres. Not bad…