Tubeless Sidewall Puncture

O

Olbert

Squid
IMG_1962.jpg

I was out riding yesterday and I got myself a sidewall puncture from a loose rock the size of a golf ball - see above picture. The tyre didn't go flat but it did leak to the point of it being too low to ride properly. I got out my pump and pumped it up, but I found that it hadn't/wasn't sealing properly with the sealant inside. Not knowing what to do I washed the area with some water to try and remove the grit and then covered the hole with my finger (not sure why I did that but I figured it couldn't hurt). It seemed to seal and hold pressure when I pumped some more air into it.

Later I thought I'd put a bit more air in it because it was still a little low. When I was getting to about 25psi (my usual pressure) the hole re-popped and air came out again. I put my finger over it once more and this fixed it. It still had plenty of pressure so I rode home.

Today I pumped the tyre up properly to 25psi but I'm nervous that the puncture is still weak and as soon as I get a big hit or have something brush against it, it will re-pop. I have a spare tube and pump, so a flat won't be catastrophic, but I don't have any sealant fluid (yet) and so I don't want to take the tyre off to repair it with a patch if I don't have to.

Does anyone have any similar experiences or advice?
 
mtb101

mtb101

Likes Bikes and Dirt
yes it won't be reliable with just sealant. you will have to take tyre off rim, glue a patch on the inside of tyre (after you clean with metho/soap water). and of course redo tubeless.
 
teK--

teK--

Eats Squid
Get rubber fortified superglue. (not normal superglue)

Clean out the area then drop the glue in and flex the tyre back and forth a few times to work the glue into the rubber and leave overnight before remounting tyre with sealant.

I had a pinch flat about 3mm long cut in the sidewall right at where the bead is. Repaired per above and worked just fine for months more usage until the tread was worn enough to bin the tyre.
 
slippy

slippy

Likes Bikes and Dirt
While you wait for some sealant to arrive, try pumping the tyre up and then lying the wheel on it's side so the puncture is submerged in sealant. The problem with sidewall cuts is that not alot of sealant actually makes it to the hole when the wheel is upright.
 
Jim Junkie

Jim Junkie

Used to sell drugs, now he just takes them
Bah, that's nothing. I managed to punch a 1cm-ish gash straight through the tread of my Hans Dampf 15km into using it, complete with a branch on the tear to make it a 3-pronged deal. That thing was pissing out sealant like no-ones business.

Got out of there with a spare tube and when I got home I got the tire off the rim, cleaned it and patched it up from the inside (with a vulcanising patch). Put it back together & went tubeless again. That held OK for about 100kms, although it did start to leak again eventually, I figure from the constant deformation around the patch working it loose.

Next time I tried something different & pumped the gash full of Araldite, mostly just because that's what I had lying around and I was pretty much ready to bin it anyway. Surprisingly though, that held on for another 200-300kms or so, right up until I was away on holiday at Stromlo with it. Did a fast run down Old Duffy and decided to wrap it up with a big skid in front of the ladies in the carpark (who had been so kind to shuttle us that day). Naturally, my juvenile behavior was rewarded with ripping open the gash and letting loose a geyser of sealent and a flat tire right in front of them. I was laughed at, rightly so.

So, you can fix it. Just remember, skids are for kids and Araldite will fix anything, for a while.
 
outtacontrol

outtacontrol

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Sidewall tears never seal properly with sealant because they flex so much. I can usually get it seal until I try and ride it and the deformation causes leakage again. Best method is internal patch. If desperate try external patch. I did that once on a roadtrip and it ended up lasting lifespan of tyre. Looks proper dodgy but...
 
mitchy_

mitchy_

Llama calmer
whilst we're on the topic... i've got a tyre that i cant for the life of me get to seat, and i think it has a hole somewhere...

I have two of the exact same tyre, one will go up with a track pump no issue at all; the other i can't get up with a pump or compressor. hell, i have 8 maxxis tyres in the garage at the moment and seven are fine, just this one is doing my head in...
 
ctguru

ctguru

Likes Bikes and Dirt
mitchy_ said:
whilst we're on the topic... i've got a tyre that i cant for the life of me get to seat, and i think it has a hole somewhere...

I have two of the exact same tyre, one will go up with a track pump no issue at all; the other i can't get up with a pump or compressor. hell, i have 8 maxxis tyres in the garage at the moment and seven are fine, just this one is doing my head in...
Click to expand...
New or old tyre?
 
teK--

teK--

Eats Squid
outtacontrol said:
Sidewall tears never seal properly with sealant because they flex so much. I can usually get it seal until I try and ride it and the deformation causes leakage again. Best method is internal patch. If desperate try external patch. I did that once on a roadtrip and it ended up lasting lifespan of tyre. Looks proper dodgy but...
Click to expand...
The problem with using a patch is that it adds extra rigidity and reduced flex in the sidewall. I'd only use a patch on big cuts and only then if desperate to salvage the tyre.
 
outtacontrol

outtacontrol

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Yeah if you are desperate enough to patch externally, reduced performance of sidewall doesnt really come into equation :)
Does the job but.
 
mtb101

mtb101

Likes Bikes and Dirt
and over time no matter what you do that sidewall will eventually fail at the worst possible time, like mate last year in a 100k race, I kept saying put the new tyre on - its a race you've trained all year for this, nope patches it, stans, all good until first climb - rolling in and out of ruts patch bubbles out and blows. what does he do, tries pumping it up, of course with stans it goes up for 50 metres, then down again, pump again, no good, put tube in finally, by now race is gone and he rides at back with new riders, all this hassle for a fuking patch.
 
ctguru

ctguru

Likes Bikes and Dirt
mitchy_ said:
it's got a few hundred km's on it.
Click to expand...
I sometimes find that old tyres have stretched a bit and are harder to mount than new ones

when you mount the tyre on the rim without inflating it, does it spin easily on the rim?
 
teK--

teK--

Eats Squid
mtb101 said:
and over time no matter what you do that sidewall will eventually fail at the worst possible time, like mate last year in a 100k race, I kept saying put the new tyre on - its a race you've trained all year for this, nope patches it, stans, all good until first climb - rolling in and out of ruts patch bubbles out and blows. what does he do, tries pumping it up, of course with stans it goes up for 50 metres, then down again, pump again, no good, put tube in finally, by now race is gone and he rides at back with new riders, all this hassle for a fuking patch.
Click to expand...
Is his middle name Tightarse ? Lol
 
O

Olbert

Squid
So - it turns out that the tyre blew within 200m of riding it along a road. So at least I know now.

Next question: Do I have to get a special patch because it's on the sidewall - or can I just use my old inner tube patches?
 
O

Olbert

Squid
So the tyre popped within 200m of leaving home on a road.

Next question: Do I need a special patch or can I just use run of the middle inner tube repair patches?
 
S

SaabG

Likes Dirt
Piss that crappy enviro friendly stans sealant off and use some of joes sealant and it'll fix that tiny hole for sure.
 
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