Recently went tubeless, now always flat.

[lump_a_charcoal]

Hey all -

Just converted my MTB to tubeless about a month ago, but due to work and injury, haven't been able to ride it since the conversion.
The tyres will not hold air more than a couple of days, is this normal?
Conversion was done properly, also using Stans goop.

Will it affect the bead if the tyres go fully flat and I just re-inflate them, I mean that when they go flat, does the bead come away from the rim?

Thanks,

Linc

 

[spinner]

The bead will lock in using tubeless specific rims and tyres but they will still lose pressure gradually even with latex in them. Once a week , check the pressures.

Using non ust rims and tyres with rim strips and latex , the bead will possibly break if they go completely flat and they will lose pressure also , possibly faster than mentioned above. I'd expect them to stay up longer than a couple of days but it depends on the combination of tyre , rim strip , rim and latex.

 

[ride_29er]

yep, that's pretty normal. They need to have a good ride straight after doing the conversion so that the sealant coats the inside of the tyre so that they seal. even then they will go down in a day or two if you dont ride it as the sealant runs to the bottom of the tyre, so until you can ride it you'll probably have to keep pumping them up, but hopefully that's not to far away!

 

[ChopSticks]

would help if you state the tyres you are using.... might just be the paper thin sidewalls of the nonUST tyre giving you problems.... prime example are Small Block 8's..... took me at least 8 cups of stans to seal all the pores !

next.. it could be your rims.....

best way is to submerge the pumped up wheel in water and see where the bubbles come from.

 

[pistonbroke]

Yep. It's normal. Unless your using UST tyres on UST rims you will usually have issues like this. What sort of tyres are you using?
Also it's common to have leaks from around the valves. I know use silicon sealer around the valves which works quite well.
My racing Ralph's took weeks to seal.
My Continental X-Kings were perfect straight away. But they are the heavier Protection series.
Have a read if the tubeless thread. There is a huge amount of info there.

 

[Genius Josh]

Even if you can't get out for a ride every other day just give the wheels a spin just to recoat the inside of the tyre mine took a bit to seal. I found leaving it in the shed with a higher pressure than I would ride 45 to 50 psi helps too if you leave it a little longer than you should. On a side note I rode mine after months of not riding and not changing the goop and found this little lump of latex coral stuff rolling around in there, has anyone else had this? Also, is it ok to top up the stans or are you meant to peel out all the old stuff?

 

[teK--]

did you shake the Tyres all around circumference then sit wheel flat on both sides to seal the sidewalls and beads?

 

[markusm]

I found this happening with certain tyres when I had non tubeless wheels. I couldn't get a maxxis ardent to seal but I got the maxxis crossmark to seal. Since fitting tubeless wheels I've had no dramas.

 

[mxdame]

My wicked wills go down overnight, but I just run tyre (non ust) on rim (ust), no goo so I can live with that & as most DH rides are under a couple of hours its never been a issue

 

[mxdame]

took me at least 8 cups of stans to seal all the pores !

Sounds like you will save weight by running a tube

 

[ChopSticks]

Sounds like you will save weight by running a tube

Possibly.... But At least i won't get any flats

 

[wotsis]

This doesn't sound normal to me at all. When I ran tubeless (stans strip, fluid, non-UST Minions on Arch rims) I would go at least for a couple of weeks without needing to repressurise my tyres.

 

[frensham]

Hey all -

Just converted my MTB to tubeless about a month ago, but due to work and injury, haven't been able to ride it since the conversion.
The tyres will not hold air more than a couple of days, is this normal?
Conversion was done properly, also using Stans goop.

Will it affect the bead if the tyres go fully flat and I just re-inflate them, I mean that when they go flat, does the bead come away from the rim?

Thanks,

Linc

What tyres,what rims, what type of tubeless setup? Either way you have done something wrong.

 

[lump_a_charcoal]

Thanks to most for their replies. Sorry for taking so long to reply also.


I am running fairly new Sun Ringle Inferno 25s with Schwalbe racing ralph performance tyres, as well as Stans tape, and sealant.
The conversion was done by my LBS.

If I reseat the tyres with a CO2, they hold for about a week, which is fine by me I guess, a bit annoying, but still OK.

Oh, and Frensham, since you seem to know it all, maybe you can tell me what I did wrong?

 

[MrCove]

........
Conversion was done properly, also using Stans goop........

what rims, what tyres, how did you do it?

i run full ghetto on one set and non specific tyres on ust specific rims on another, tyres don't go down but loose a little bit of air over time
have to give them a top up every few weeks

i always massively overinflate when i first do them, up to about 60psi, spin them, wobble side to side, repeat a few times
usually run about 30psi

if your tyres have gone completely flat a few times you are best taking them off and cleaning all the excess goop off them before trying again

 

[Vedsy]

On a side note I rode mine after months of not riding and not changing the goop and found this little lump of latex coral stuff rolling around in there, has anyone else had this? Also, is it ok to top up the stans or are you meant to peel out all the old stuff?

I had this on my demo last week. Been running standard minions, on MTX31s with a rimstrip and stans. I only ride downhill maybe once every month or two, and my tyres are always flat when I get the demo out. They had a full wobble to them this time after pumping them up, when i took the tyres off to check them there was a blob of dried out stans roughly the size of an egg when you crack it into something. I've now decided for the amount I ride it, I'm going back to tubes. All my other pushies are tubeless and have been fine since day one

 

[XYGTHO]

I have the sunringle black flags mate. They shouldn't go down that quick. My front wheel is fine for a week or two and only looses a couple of psi. I am using the stans valves and thin tape (should be using the wider stuff). Also running Maxxis Ikons and you can see the material in the side they are that thin.
The rear however goes down slowly. Better if I ride more. If I don't ride it will be down to 5-10psi after a week. It is leaking around the valve I think or a spoke.

If I were you I'd redo them yourself. New tape. New stans and do it as per their website. Need to coat the inside of the tyres. I love it never any flats in about 3months now. No burping and I run 28psi rear and 25psi front, rolls great and grips great. Way better then tubes so far.

 

[frensham]

Thanks to most for their replies. Sorry for taking so long to reply also.
I am running fairly new Sun Ringle Inferno 25s with Schwalbe racing ralph performance tyres, as well as Stans tape, and sealant.
The conversion was done by my LBS.
If I reseat the tyres with a CO2, they hold for about a week, which is fine by me I guess, a bit annoying, but still OK.

Oh, and Frensham, since you seem to know it all, maybe you can tell me what I did wrong?

OK. Stan's sealant goes solid when in the presence of CO2. So, by using a cartridge you have prevented the sealant from doing what it is supposed to. Take the tyre off, remove the solid stuff. Add a heap of Stans (since you aren't even using a tubeless ready tyre) and inflate with air. You will need a lot of sealant to finally seal it up. I suggest you get a tubeless ready tyre - much less sealant needed. Stan's has a great website with very good videos showing how to get the tyre sealed up etc. Oh, and just because your LBS set it up for you doesn't mean they did it right in the first place. If you want to know/see where the air is escaping, fill a bathtub full of water and immerse the wheel. If air is coming from around the spokes then the tape is not sealing. From the valve, ditto. From the bead/sidewalls, add more sealant.

Hope this helps.

 

[pistonbroke]

It's also the heat. It's been a long hot summer.

 

[wotsis]

OK. Stan's sealant goes solid when in the presence of CO2. So, by using a cartridge you have prevented the sealant from doing what it is supposed to. Take the tyre off, remove the solid stuff. Add a heap of Stans (since you aren't even using a tubeless ready tyre) and inflate with air. You will need a lot of sealant to finally seal it up. I suggest you get a tubeless ready tyre - much less sealant needed. Stan's has a great website with very good videos showing how to get the tyre sealed up etc. Oh, and just because your LBS set it up for you doesn't mean they did it right in the first place. If you want to know/see where the air is escaping, fill a bathtub full of water and immerse the wheel. If air is coming from around the spokes then the tape is not sealing. From the valve, ditto. From the bead/sidewalls, add more sealant.

Hope this helps.

I think you're confused on this one.

CO2 is not recommended for use with Stans in case you freeze the liquid when the cartridge gets really cold, not because CO2 somehow reacts chemically with the Stans fluid. The problem of cold is easily avoided if you hold the valve away from the fluid during inflation (i.e. away from the a 6 o'clock position).

I have always used a CO2 cart to seat Stans, as I don't have a compressor and couldn't be arsed faffing about with a pump. All other tubeless riders I know use a mix of CO2 and floor pumps. None of us have problems with CO2 causing Stans to go solid.

The reason Stans goes solid is that over time the liquid evaporates and the solids (latex and whatever else that is used) congeals into a weird alien booger shape.