[Closed] Beginner tyre questions

3-4 months before you should swop out your sealant, might last longer if your lucky.

It can take a while to seal a hole, depends on how big the hole is.

If the sealant has plugged the hole it's fine to keep riding. If you still have a slow puncture you can do:

A - get it fixed at a car tyre place.
B - get some tubeless "pilchards" thicker plug type things for holes bigger than the sealant can deal with
C - keep the hole at the bottom of the tyre for longer so more sealant gets to it.

If I get a puncture, I roll the tyre around so the hole is at the bottom of the wheel so it's submerged in sealant internally. give it 30 seconds with a bit of sloshing around and then pump back to about 30-35psi. Don't pump tyres to about the max, because you have tubeless you can run much lower pressures which gives you a lot more grip (and less rolling resistance as the tyre can deform to the shape of the trail instead of bouncing you around wasting energy).

Try to get the pressure low enough that you don't feel the rim hit the ground on rocks/roots and so it doesn't squirm/roll off the rim (more a problem with wide tyres on narrow rims and if your a heavy git like me at ~100kg).

yup I agree with saccades, roll the tyre so the hole is at the bottom and the sealant runs down to seal it. It's like magic the first time it happens int it, after running tubes for years.

Yep, what Saccades says is bang on.

Getting a tubeless repair kit is strongly recommended. I've had good results with the [url= https://www.merlincycles.com/weldtite-tubeless-tyre-repair-kit-85065.html ]Weldtite one[/url]. Take it with you when you go riding. Once you get the hang of it they're quicker and less messy than sticking a tube in if you get a bigger hole than the sealant will close, and you can fix the puncture without removing the wheel from the bike or anything.

Getting tyre pressures right for you is very much trial and error and depends on how much you weigh and what tyres and rims you run, how you ride, all sorts. You definitely don't want them pumped up to the limit though, you'll ping off rocks and bumps like that, whereas you want the tyres to deform around stuff to give you better traction.

One more thing, if you get new tyres it's usually a good idea to clean the inside of the tyre when you set it up tubeless, some isopropanol or similar solvent will remove any mould-release compound in there, that can interfere with the sealant taking when you puncture.

what is the best thing to do with tubeless tyres when you get a puncture - stop completely and jump off, spin the tyre in the air, or roll it along the ground?

I think that most of the time, they seal up without you even being aware that you've had one (mostly thorns around here).

If not: stop; pull out anything that's still in the tyre and put your finger over the hole. Turn the wheel so that the hole is at the lowest point and wiggle it around a little bit to make sure there is sealant washing over the inside of the hole. Give it 10 seconds, or so, then try taking your finger off the hole. If it has sealed up, give the tyre a squeeze to check you haven't lost too much air then ride on. If not, put your finger back over the hole and give the wheel another wiggle and wait another 10 seconds, or so. If it doesn't start to seal after a few goes, then it's tube time.

It's only come close to failing me once, and that was glass in the tyre - it eventually sealed, but started leaking again once I pumped the tyre back up as there was still a shard of glass in the hole. Once I'd poked this out (trying and failing to put an 'anchovy' in the hole) it sealed up OK at full pressure, and the tyre has been OK ever since.

After trying to use an 'anchovy' in anger, I'm not sure I'd bother again - straight to a tube.

If my tubeless tyres don't seal the puncture trail side, I just usually wack a tube in and sort it out when I get home as I find those tubeless repair kits that use the sticky tyre plug strings / worms really fiddly.

To repair the tyre if it won't seal when home I put a decent quality puncture repair patch over the whole on the inside of the tyre (the ones that you have to use the glue with - park tools patches work well), just make sure you clean around the puncture well before applying, then refill sealent and reinflate.

Tyre pressure is normally personal preference and depends on tyres & rims you use, surfaces you ride on, rider weight and riding style etc. Higher pressures give lower rolling resistance and will keep the wheels turning easier, but too high and they are will just ping of everything you hit and lose grip. Lower pressure give better traction and grip but too low will increase punctures or the tyre rolling / burping on the rim. I usually start 25psi front, 30 psi rear and work from there

After trying to use an 'anchovy' in anger, I'm not sure I'd bother again - straight to a tube.

I find those tubeless repair kits that use the sticky tyre plug strings / worms really fiddly.

That's so odd. I think they're much less faff than pulling the wheel out, pulling the tyre off, pulling the valve out, putting a tube in, all whilst getting covered in tyre jizz, putting the tyre back on and then pumping it up. Put goop on anchovy, stick anchovy in hole, inflate - easy!

I had to use two tubes on one ride the other week cos I'd run out of anchovies (shit tyre, binned it now), god it was messy. Yeah, you need to practice it a couple of times but once you get the hang of it it's much easier and quicker and less messy than dicking about with a tube.

Put goop on anchovy, stick anchovy in hole, inflate - easy!

I couldn't get the anchovy into the hole. The forked stick thing would go through, but not the anchovy 🙁

(Thinking about it now, I hadn't put any goop on the anchovy - I was expecting the sealant to do the job.)

@mintimperial - maybe I just haven't got the technique, but have tried it 2-3 times at home and found it a faff. Trying to get the anchovy stay on the bradle in the first place then trying to get it through the bloody hole has been a pita. Doesn't work first attempt. Stop, anchovy falls off bradle, make hole in tyre bigger, try and dust off sticky gluey anchovy, reapply more glue, try and squeeze into hole again. Stop, swear for a while. Pick up anchovy again, yet more glue, apply more force this time, push anchovy all the way through the hole so now fully in tyre. Stop, swear some more and reach for patch kit. And that's in my kitchen. Doing it in the trail side mud seems impossible. Using the wedlite kit that people recommended, so I suspect user error.

^^^^^
When I first went tubeless I had a really stubborn hole that wouldn't stop hissing. It wasn't big enough to justify using a tubeless repair anchovy on it so I dropped a dab of super glue on it and it instantly sealed it. Its still sealed 200 miles later.

Higher pressures give lower rolling resistance and will keep the wheels turning easier, but too high and they are will just ping of everything you hit and lose grip. Lower pressure give better traction and grip but too low will increase punctures or the tyre rolling / burping on the rim. I usually start 25psi front, 30 psi rear and work from there

Higher pressures do not give low rolling resistance on a mtb off-road.

Higher pressures do not give low rolling resistance on a mtb off-road.

How's that then? Higher pressure = smaller contact patch = lower rolling resistance due to decreased drag. However higher pressures give less traction (smaller contact patch) and traction is often more important off road and can make a softer tyre climb better than a harder tyre for example. but that's traction & grip not rolling resistance

From Schwalbe.

On a completely smooth surface the following applies: The higher the inflation pressure, the inferior the tire deformation and thus rolling resistance.

[b]Off road it is exactly the reverse: The lower the inflation pressure, the lower the rolling resistance.[/b] This applies equally on hard gravel roads and soft forest tracks. Explanation: A tire with low inflation pressure can adapt better to a rugged surface. It sinks into the ground less and the whole rotational mass is held back much less by the uneven surface.

Tires with a smaller diameter have a higher rolling resistance with the same inflation pressure, because tire deformation is proportionally greater. The tire is flattened more and is “less round”.

Wider tires roll better than narrower tires. This statement generally invokes skepticism, nevertheless, with tires at the same pressure a narrower tire deflects more and so deforms more.

Obviously, tire construction also has an effect on rolling resistance. By using less material, less material can be deformed. And the more flexible the material is, such as the rubber compound, the less energy is lost through deformation.

Generally, smooth treads roll better than coarse treads. Tall lugs and wide gaps usually have a detrimental effect on rolling resistance.

[url= http://www.schwalbe.com/en/rollwiderstand.html ]website link[/url]

Thinking about it now, I hadn't put any goop on the anchovy - I was expecting the sealant to do the job.

First time I used one on the trail I forgot the goop, and the hole sealed but it popped out a few rides later. You need the glue to secure the repair strip in there properly. Shouldn't have affected fitting it though - you do have to push the pokey thing in pretty hard to get it to go through, especially if the hole's on the small side.

Using the wedlite kit that people recommended, so I suspect user error.

I dunno, there definitely is a knack to it, and it took me quite a few goes to get the hang of it. But once you do get it it's way easier and quicker than putting a tube in.

anchovy falls off bradle

I dunno how that can happen. They're a bugger to get in the loop bit sometimes, but once they're in there they're well wedged. It's like threading a big needle with a fat rubbery thread, once it's in there it's not coming out until it's wedged in the tyre.

All this has reminded me I need to restock my pack with anchovies...

I got a puncture in a Nobby Nick this morning too! I stuck a tube in. I don't think Schwables are manly enough to run tubeless.
So, my question for the assembled throng, to save starting a new thread, is this -
How do you find 29er tyres which are decent tubeless? Only found Mavic tyres on CRC that say they are "UST compatible", but you have to go into the description of each tyre to find this out! Do I just have to research thoroughly to find out, or are there any pointers to go on..?

Only found Mavic tyres on CRC that say they are "UST compatible"

They don't have to be UST. UST is Mavic's proprietary tubeless system, I believe UST tyres will inflate and stay up on UST rims without any sealant in them, which is cool, but not necessary for a functional tubeless set up.

If you look for things like "tubeless ready" and "TLR" in the description then those should run tubeless very well. To be honest though if you stick most modern tyres on decent tubeless rims with enough sealant they'll take and stay up, sometimes they need a few top ups of air and sealant but they'll stick eventually. I run Conti X-Kings and Trail Kings on my 29er, they stay up just fine and they weren't advertised as being tubeless ready or anything. I've had no insurmountable problems with Conti, Schwalbe, Bontrager, Maxxis and Surly (29-plus) tyres run tubeless over the past few years (well, some of them have suffered from excessive punctures and whatnot, or were just rubbish tyres, but they all went up tubeless just fine).

If you're going anywhere remote (OP) then you need to take a spare tube or two. There are a few worst case scenarios that an anchovy won't deal with - like a side wall gash, or pinch flatting the actual tyre v close to the bead. Or if you flat and the tyre comes unseated - be impossible to re-seat it with a mini-pump and prob 50/50 with a cartridge.

All unlikely, but I've done each of them at least once over the years. A tube will always work, but check for thorns in your tubeless tyre before you put it in! Also periodically check that your tubeless valve can come out - some designs used to get absolutely welded on to the rim if you didn't unscrew them now and again.

DezB - Member

I got a puncture in a Nobby Nick this morning too! I stuck a tube in. I don't think Schwables are manly enough to run tubeless.
So, my question for the assembled throng, to save starting a new thread, is this -
How do you find 29er tyres which are decent tubeless? Only found Mavic tyres on CRC that say they are "UST compatible", but you have to go into the description of each tyre to find this out! Do I just have to research thoroughly to find out, or are there any pointers to go on..?

Saying that I've ran tubeless for beards, loads of schwalbe tyres over the years, and not had many problem cases - don't think spesh tyres are uniquely reliable or owt. All TLR tyres outside of the really lightweight ones should be really solid.

Cool, thanks mintimperial and Garry - not new to tubeless, far from it, but always went for USTs (Hutchinson or Maxxis usually) on my 26ers. Didn't mind the weight, but the sidewalls on USTs are always nice and strong and hardly ever got punctures.
Just doesn't seem so easy to find for 29ers, despite there being a huge choice these days.

Hi OP here, thanks everyone for all the information.

So I hope I have this right.. My current Nobby Nic tyres are 27.5x2.25 (1,8 - 3,7 bar/26 - 54 psi)... If I was riding on tarmac roads I would want to pump my tyres fully to the limit because the road surface would be smooth or at least fairly well maintained.

But because I am mostly riding on dry, dusty, fairly compacted single tracks (enduro, all mountain and uphill technical etc), as well as rutted fire roads and sandy/gravelly roads, it is better in the future that I maintain the tyre pressure right down at the lower limit (around 2,25 bar). My goal is more off road speed, plus better traction on corners and obstacles etc.

Also, is it worth running the front and rear tyres at different pressures, or switching one of the tyres for a model with even more grip? I have read some suggestions about this but I am not very clear on which way round etc.

Thanks in advance!

Pretty much spot on - but i'd never run mtb tyres near top pressure even on the road, the gains are marginal.

I'm not too anal about pressures (the kids bust the gauge on the track pump) as I mentioned earlier, go for as low a pressure as works for you.

You don't want to feel roots/rocks hitting the rim through the tyre and you don't want to be close to rolling the tyre off the rim (much easier to do with stuff like a 2.25 on a xm819 say if you weigh 100kg like me).

I run a fat albert up front and a nobby nic on the back generally, little more pressure in the back to cope with the amount of weight I have.

Edit to say - I normally run more traction at the front, I'm quite happy for the back end to slide about a bit - but it unnerves me when the front starts sliding out or I'm struggling to brake. I only have the nobby nic on the back because that's what was on the wheels when I got them (Swopped out the front to regular fav).

By anchovies/pilchards, the guys mean this bit of kit. Used mine loads, saves a load of far (and you can buy spare anchovies)

https://www.merlincycles.com/weldtite-tubeless-tyre-repair-kit-85065.html?utm_campaign=googlebase-GB&utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=shopping&utm_term=Bikes+%26+Frames&ucpo=23150&gclid=CP3Khdi78ssCFRUW0wod9KEB0g

anchovy falls off bradle

I got a puncture in a Nobby Nick this morning too! I stuck a tube in. I don't think Schwables are manly enough to run tubeless.

I've had a set of spesh ground controls