Tubeless - nube question

[oddman]

Setting up a pair of wheels for gravel

DT swiss wheels tubless rims and valves and Schwalbe One tyres - so should work together

All fit together well; valve stems done finger tight; tyres seat (satisfying pings) but won't hold pressure (60psi - 20psi in 12 hours) - leaking through the valve slowly.

Is this normal? Do I just need to add the sealant through the valve or is there something else I need to fix?

[ED209]

If you have sealant in the tyre give the wheel a spin, pump it up and leave it, repeat until it stops loosing pressure.

[oddman]

ED209 said:

If you have sealant in the tyre give the wheel a spin, pump it up and leave it, repeat until it stops loosing pressure.

Haven't added sealant yet. Valve seems to fit really well the grommet is tapered so it fits the hole snugly and the thick part of it seats well in the rim bed - just not 100% airtight.

I wanted to check that this was expected before adding in sealant which would make any further faffing much messier.

Cheers

[Scoobyshue]

You need to add the sealant. Then do what is said above. Pump it up. Spin it. Check it. Pump it up. Then should be OK.

[Maximus_Meridius101]

You’ll almost certainly have to leak hunt, once the sealant is in. Put the sealant in, spin the wheel, then pump the tyre up. Look for any sealant bubbling from around the bead of the tyre. If you see it, roll that position to the bottom of the rotation, and leave it for a few minutes. Then repeat the process until you can’t see any more leaks. The final leak will normally be around the valve area, so pump the tyres up, then leave the valves at the bottom of the rotation ( over night usually does it in IME). Then move the valves up to the top of the rotation, pump the tyres up, and you should be good to go. I’d advise buying one of these too.

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-tubeless-repair-...

They are an absolute god send if you get a puncture.

[okgo]

Scoobyshue said:

You need to add the sealant. Then do what is said above. Pump it up. Spin it. Check it. Pump it up. Then should be OK.

As he seems to have actually known from his post, peculiar to wonder why there isn't a seal when the product with the word in its name hasn't been added

That said, some tyres do give an almost airtight seal straight away. But the liquid does the job, you can just pour it straight into the tyre when a section is off the rim if you prefer, makes no odds. Though if tyre is hard to get on then you might want to do it via the valve as sealant on rubber doesn't create an easy surface to grip to get the tyre on.

[Fluffsri]

I have often found that after the initial installation my tyres have gone flat, Ive pumped them back up and gone for the first ride post installation and Im back to normal with the tyres holding pressure. As said though, you do need to add sealant.

[Maximus_Meridius101]

okgo said:

That said, some tyres do give an almost airtight seal straight away.

Some indeed do.

okgo said:

But the liquid does the job, you can just pour it straight into the tyre when a section is off the rim if you prefer, makes no odds.

You’ll more than likely pretty much end up wearing it if you do this.

okgo said:

Though if tyre is hard to get on then you might want to do it via the valve as sealant on rubber doesn't create an easy surface to grip to get the tyre on

.

Quite, remember to use a pipe cleaner / cotton bud with a wet wipe wrapped around it, once you’ve injected the sealant though, or you might find de coring the valve will be a chore in future.

[okgo]

I’ve found the pour into open tyre approach much easier tbf.

[davidd]

This has happened to me, twice. It was the rim tape.

[oddman]

okgo said:

As he seems to have actually known from his post, peculiar to wonder why there isn't a seal when the product with the word in its name hasn't been added

That said, some tyres do give an almost airtight seal straight away.

I think this is what has bamboozled me a bit - the seal is very good but not totally airtight. Wasn't sure whether the sealant is required for the initial set up as well as providing puncture protection. I really didn't want to get the the messy bit if I'd missed soemthing obvious.

Value of the system brought home to me today. Mountain biking this morning with a mate - massive thorn in his tyre no problem. Didn't notice until the end of the ride. Pull it out spin the wheel job done.

Thanks All

Edited by oddman on Friday 23 April 16:29

[remedy]

I bloody love tubeless. Twice recently I've got home, gone to wash the bike and spotted sealant sprayed all over the bottom of the bottom tube or up the seat post.
The tyres are still hard and I've noticed nothing.

Once I did have a big front puncture and new it when I started getting sprayed in the face. But, it sealed fine and I got back home. My wife laughed because it looked like I'd been in a porno.