Latex-based tubeless sealants are the most common, as natural latex rubber has very effective coagulating properties. Latex itself is an emulsion of extremely small rubber polymer particles in either water or a water-based ammonia solution. Further down, we also answer some of the most frequently asked questions about mountain bike and gravel tyre sealants. During our test, Stan’s No Tubes Race sealant performed well, instantly sealing the smaller hole and forming a seal on the larger 5mm puncture with minimal air loss. This seal also remained in place with no leaking. Still, 6mm is a very good performance – better than any of the other sealants we tested except Silca – and especially at these higher pressures we tested at. You can't really have too much sealant, but adding more sealant than the sealant brand recommends doesn't provide any benefit to the performance of a tubeless tyre. Putting too much tyre sealant into your tyre wastes both sealant and money and will add unnecessary rational weight to your bike, which can negatively affect the handling of your bike.

If you have set your tyres up tubeless, don't assume that you'll never have to make a roadside repair. You'll almost certainly avoid those annoying stops for small punctures from thorns and road grit, but performance on larger holes in road bike tyres is still quite hit-and-miss, as this opinion piece tells. The best way to think of tubeless sealant is as the lifeblood of your tubeless system. Its primary job is to plug puncture-causing holes by coagulating or, keeping the blood reference, by clotting. The best tubeless sealants form a seal that will ensure the tyre remains airtight. Most sealants use the coagulating properties of natural latex to clog punctures. Latex is a dispersion of polymers (long-chain molecules) in either water or a water-based solution of ammonia. Inside a hole in the tyre, the air pressure drops and there is a rush of air. This causes the water/ammonia solution to evaporate, leaving the latex molecules to coagulate (knit together), plugging the hole.Stan’s No Tubes Race tubeless sealant comes from the brand many would agree is the most well-known proponent of tubeless bicycle tyre use. No Tube’s produces two versions of tubeless tyre sealant, with the Race version tested claiming to seal larger punctures, and this may be true but other areas of the performance severely limit the overall appeal in the highly competitive best tubeless sealant space. Joe’s No Flats offers several sealant variants, from the standard version to more road-orientated and eco-based formulas. The Elite Racer version we tested is latex-based containing particles within the solution to seal punctures of up to 6mm in size. Muc-Off 's pink logo is nearly synonymous with bicycle cleaning and lubes. Many of its products have adopted the pink colourway, and this sealant is one of them. The pink colour is not just for being cool, though, but it highlights any wounds in your tyre and uniquely shows smaller sealant bungs that might have formed unnoticed under a UV light. At 7mm, the hole would seal at around 30psi, but it wouldn't hold pressures any higher than that – repeatedly inflating the tyre and the seal would break every time.

It doesn't have fancy qualities like the Silca or Muc-Off sealants; With its milky consistency, the LifeLine sealant looks like what you might call a 'normal' sealant, like that from Stan's or Orange Seal (both also on test). But in spite of that, the LifeLine sealant still performed better than most on test. There's more advice on tubeless tyre set-up from an expert in our piece on tubeless tyres: are you doing it properly? What to take with you if you're riding tubeless Pirelli says the sealant works from 15 to 100psi pressures and in a range of temperatures from -20 to +70 degrees Celsius - and we found that it lasts very well without the need for replacement. How long a sealant will last depends on the conditions your bike is kept in, the sealant you've chosen, and how many punctures it'll need to plug. To be fair, the sealant did manage to plug holes up to and including 3mm at 70 psi, which is on par with both the Stans and Effetto Mariposa. The Orange Seal Regular sealant also plugged those smaller holes faster than the Stans No Tubes sealant was able to.Therefore, we performed comparative tests in our workshop, controlling the variables as much as possible. The tyre, temperature and the type or position of the puncture all affect the sealant’s ability to seal.

The problem with real-world testing is that it’s impossible to test each sealant in the same conditions. However, the claimed longevity is significantly less than all of the other sealants we tested, which stands to saddle you with increased maintenance and cost. The temperature rating also isn't as low as some of the other sealants with equal or better sealing ability. Before you start it’s important that you shake the bottle of sealant enough to distribute the particulate evenly and ensure there is enough of it in the solution you will put in the tyre. Finance is subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. Performance Cycling Limited FRN: 720557 trading as Tredz are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We are a credit broker not a lender – credit is subject to status and affordability and is provided by Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC. Terms & Conditions Apply. The exact formula for a brand’s sealant is a closely guarded secret (just as with tyre rubber compounds) but effectively they can all be split into three types – those that contain latex rubber, those that utilise a synthetic alternative, and those that make do without. Most sealants also use small particles that gather around punctures, allowing the sealant to clog and seal larger punctures. What are Latex tubeless sealants?Stans No Tubes tyre sealant really is a classic and perhaps one of the best-known options out there. The claims of cold weather performance are quite exceptional for this sealant – not many state that they'll go down to lows of -30°F / -34°C. We are now making our Race Sealant available to riders everywhere. Stan's Race Sealant is only available by the quart. Stan's No Tubes Race sealant is available in just one size, 946ml, (Quart in US Imperial) and there are some bold claims, including that it will seal punctures “faster and better”, and has twice the particles compared to the standard No Tubes sealant. The sealant uses XL crystals as well as the standard-size particles in the Race version to give better sealant protection - and it should be suitable for use in a wide temperature range, although no exact figures are provided. The tubeless sealants that sealed the biggest holes, or held the most pressure with a given size of hole, were deemed to perform the best. There definitely is something about long stranded particles that really boosts sealing performance. Although Silca has made a lot of fuss about its carbon fibres and its research, it appears that the Muc-Off sealant works in much the same way, with very similar-looking fibres visible in the plugged holes.

It's a good idea to carry a pump or CO2 canister so that you can get some more pressure into your tyres. Sometimes the sealant plug just won't hold at higher pressures, so you might need to ride a soft tyre home. Leave it overnight and it will often have set enough to take full pressure though. The best tubeless tyre sealants are now so effective at plugging holes in your off-road tyre that the majority of the time, you won't even realise you suffered a puncture. The pros of ditching tubes and running a tubeless tyre setup are not limited to clotting and bunging holes in your rubber. They allow you to run lower tyre pressures to increase traction and grip, allowing you to ride trails faster with enhanced control with none of the risks of pinch flatting as you would rolling with a tube. Then pump to your riding pressure. A tubeless setup should normally be 10-15% lower than the tyre pressure you use if running inner tubes.

29" Tire Recommendations

Muc-Off No Puncture Hassle 1. Muc-Off No Puncture Hassle If you want the best out there, this is it In our second test, our workshop manager Will Poole used a Vittoria Rubino Pro Graphene 2.0 tyre in a 30mm width. Inflate the tyre to below your normal tyre pressure, around 70-80psi, and ride the bike for a few minutes. This allows the pores in the rubber construction of the tyre to open effectively and enables the sealant to really coat the inside effectively.