Tubeless conversion won't stay inflated

I have used a DT conversion kit on a DT 4.2 rims with the new tubeless ready Mountain King Race Sports. They inflate nicely and easily but won’t hold air for more than a couple of hours. So do I add more sealant or start again?

Are you swilling the sealant around enough to make sure it seals between the tyre and rim ?
Can you find a tub of water big enough to dunk at least part of the wheel in to see where the bubbles are coming from ?
Maybe try just riding it as soon as you’ve inflated it. That’s usually a good way to get the sealant spread around inside.

add sealant, infate, shake, find where air is leaking from.

It took my nobby tubeless ready tyres a week or two of pumping up before rides. (even now I dont think theyre totally sealed. keep with it, ridding does help.

Try letting them down to a few PSI, just enough so you aren’t riding on the rims. Then ride around for 10 mins, re-inflate and see how it goes. I had similar issues on my DT 5.1 with the DT rimstrips. They aren’t a patch on Stans IMO, they are quite a hard platic rather than rubber with some bad join/moulding marks, I was suprised they worked at all.

According to Stans, riding around doesn’t distribute the sealant very well.

See here for their method…jump to 6 minutes.

stick them in the bath to see where they are leaking, probably through the side walls. If, as above, so add more sealant and swill it around they will seal in the end. I’ve found that the proper ust tyres I have used have been worst for this. 😕 If its leaking from the bead you may have to check the rims for issues.

I will stick them in the bath tonight and see where the leak is. Cheers.

Yeh – Prob either bead leaks / sidewall – unless you have checked it with soapy water or under the rim strip if you are using one – i.e. internally or around the valve hole?

If the sealant is properly distributed, a leak will be visible as you will see it leaking/bubbling. No need for the bath.

If the sealant is properly distributed, a leak will be visible as you will see it leaking/bubbling. No need for the bath.

not so, I’ve had air coming through the sidewalls with no sign of sealant.

You have to actually ride it immediately after inflating. No amount of spinning and sloshing will work – it has to be a ride, at least 2 hours long. Don’t try doing it the night before a ride and expecting it to still be up in the morning.

Don’t ask me why, but that’s how it’s always been for me.

Molgrips…I’ve had the opposite. Tyre will keep deflating despite riding, until doing the Stans shakey thing. With tubeless ready tyres, you can normally see the sidewalls are sealing as you get pinpricks of sealant on the sidewalls. Do the shakey thing, then put wheel over a bucket so its on its side for a while, then shakey again, replace on bucket to do the opposite sidewall.

Klunk…how did you seal it? Either the sealant will seal the leak without leaking after getting it evenly distributed, or it will fail and you will seal the sealant bubbling?! If its leaking and no sealant is coming through, then the sealant hasn’t got to the right place.

You have to actually ride it immediately after inflating. No amount of spinning and sloshing will work

Cobblers. Granted, riding them to work the sealant into the sidewalls is a not insignificant factor in properly sealing tubeless ready (and non-tubeless) tyres, but its perfectly possible to get them to hold air until you’re ready to ride them.

Have you put them on a bucket lying flat so that the sealant rests on the sidewall? Do each side for about 30mins to an hour to seal most of the larger holes.

You want me to actually ride the damn bike?

lay them on there side

Conti RaceSports are known if be dodgy in terms of them retaining air, especially through the sidewalls. Have had long conversations with them and despite them ‘not knowing of any issues’ they have changed their website to include quite a heavy caviate for something that’s sold as tubeless

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/general/innovation/racesport_en.html

a sealing period of several days

Oh cock.

I am no way an expert but this way works for me:

http://www.cyclistno1.co.uk/features/maintenance/stans-no-tubes-guide.htm

It’s sounds to me as though you don’t have enough sealant.

if they’re not obviously leaking anywhere, then it’s probably the sidewalls.

pump up, give them a shake, lay them on their side on the open top of a bucket or similar overnight. repeat.

what sealant are you using??

I agree with hamish unless proven otherwise.

I’ve never tried the laying the wheel flat over a bucket method.
If it’s not perfectly level, then doesn’t the sealant pool at the low point ?
Even if it is level, the tyre is wider at the mid point, leaving the tyre to rim join above the level of the sealant.

It doesn’t seem that critical, I think as the sidewalls have had the sealant sloshed over them, they probably retain a film that doesn’t run off too quickly, whereas if you stand the wheel up, it will run down the vertical surfaces.

Yeah, I see what you mean now.
I guess in that case, being almost level is near enough.

All that fuss! Stick a tube in it! 😯

Its easy. Just sounds like a fuss 🙂 There is an easy-to-acquire knack to it and it takes me no longer than using a tube.

Only once had a proper struggle, and thats as I was using a brand new folded tyre with a trackpump.

In this case, I think its the sidewalls that are the problem, rather than the bead/rim interface, so lying it on a bucket should do the job.