I suppose it's possible that a tyre could be holed so badly that a worm and sealant wouldn't fix it but I would suggest vanishingly rare. No system is perfect and you can't legislate for every exception and even with innertubes people will sometimes find themselves walking or phoning the missus.
Why do we accept tubeless, but not waxed chains?
- Thread starter Bio_Carbon
- Start date
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I suppose it's possible that a tyre could be holed so badly that a worm and sealant wouldn't fix it but I would suggest vanishingly rare. No system is perfect and you can't legislate for every exception and even with innertubes people will sometimes find themselves walking or phoning the missus.
Oh for sure. I always carry spare tube(s) and instant patches and so far in 10 years never not been able to get home but it could happen.
I don't think it's vanishingly rare people have had to install a tube but that may be down to how they go about putting in worm, effectiveness of the sealant used etc.
It’s very much a last resort. If a hole is too big for the sealant alone you have to plug it with something. The simplest option is worm of rubber which in my experience works at lower pressures but then pushes its way out. Next option I’ve tried is stans darts, they just snapped as I was trying to insert them so not good. I’ve now got a stash of dynaplugs which I’ve not had to use yet but have good reports. If you get back home you can patch the tyre from the inside, I’ve had mixed results but it can work. On the road it needs a tube as there is little prospect of seating a patched tyre with a mini pump.
Sea of vapours
Guru
- Location
- Clapham, Yorkshire Dales
One reason is the above comments, that a hole may be so severe that a plug won't work. Something like a long glass cut. In that case, a tyre boot combined with an inner tube might be adequate to hold air,
The other reason is to address the scenario where the tubeless tyre has popped off the rim (due to complete loss of pressure). If that's happened, it's unlikely that a small pump is going to pop it back on, so whether the hole has been plugged is immaterial. A tube, in that instance, will push the tyre back on and make it usable again.
In the latter situation, CO2 may well get the tyre back on, so people do carry CO2 delivery devices for this particular scenario. I do.
PaulSB
Squire
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
Old habits die hard, very hard. I still carry one after seven years tubeless. I suggested to a buddy recently I might ditch it, he advised not to. The reasons why have already been stated.
@geocycle - I chose Dynaplug for the reasons you mention as everything else looked insubstantial. I've used four in seven years; one solo, two in a large hole and gave one to someone who hadn't topped up her sealant.
Old habits are a bit like security blankets. I've carried a tyre boot for +/- 25 years. Never used one. Bizarrely twice in a week I had to hand out a tyre boot to people who didn't know what it was.
Mike Ayling
Mike 1942
- Location
- Melbourne Downunda
In Oz we have polymer banknotes which make excellent tyre boots.
PaulSB
Squire
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
Yes, I've heard that suggested over here as a last ditch alternative.
scotsbikester
Über Member
"We"?
Happy_Days
Well-Known Member
I have tubeless and wonder if my electric pump would work as well as CO2 in this situation???
Cycling Badger
Regular
Maybe it’s a lack of experience on my part but I’ve had mixed results with “bacon strips”. DynaPlug(?) has proven more reliable, but inevitably end up with a cut that is hard to seal.
I sometimes wonder if there is an optimal tyre material, supplied tyres seem to flex more around the cut. There’s also a question of did you refresh / top sealant or has it all just been sprayed over you and bike. I also weigh around 88kg - so pressure in tyre is set to 45/43 PSI on a 40mm tyre; again perhaps sub-optimal for plugs and sealant to work well.
Cycling Badger
Regular
Is the point where you find the valve is a bit gunked and you can’t get the flow you want?
Sea of vapours
Guru
- Location
- Clapham, Yorkshire Dales
The valve being clogged would certainly not help. With a small pump, and very probably with an electric one, the flow rate is unlikely to be sufficient to re-seat a tubeless tyre that's come off the rim. That requires a very rapid blast of air from a compressor of some kind, or a track pump used vigorously.
Re the electric pump, or indeed the mini-pump: try it at home, or somewhere where you have access to a track pump / compressor, by letting the tyre down, unseating it from one side, as might happen at the side of the road with a puncture which did not seal quickly, and then try to get it back on with either one of the mini pump or electric pump. If it works, you're fine. If it doesn't - which is more likely - carrying a tube or a CO2 inflator might be a wise move!
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Happy_Days
Well-Known Member
A Topeak Tubi Valve Cleaner weighs about 8 grams, fits in a saddle bag, and mine cost a tenner. However, I’ve not had enough gunk in a valve to need it yet.
Poacher
Gravitationally challenged member
- Location
- Nottingham
A plague on both their houses! Tubes and lubes forever!
