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When packing a bike into a case to take abroad what do you do with your tubeless tyres full of sealant?
Deflating the tyres for the plane breaks the seal & out flows the sealant. Do you bother?
Leave as they are, answer yes if they ask. Holds are pressurised.
don't fully deflate them. Never do with tubes so no reason to do so tubeless. I normally only let out a tiny bit of air so they hear me doing it then leave it largely pumped up.
Even if they weren’t pressurised the difference would be 10PSi - they’ll be fine as they are
I actually top the pressure up as I consider baggage manglers to be a greater threat to carbon rims than big pointy rocks.
1) You don't have to deflate them all the way, just a bit.
2) In reality you don't have to let them down at all, since even if you were in space it'd only add an extra 14psi to your tyres, and I don't run my tyres anywhere near their maximum. And even if I did, they'd be rated to absorb the weight of my fat carcass landing hard off a jump anyway which would probably increase the pressure more than that. But to satisfy the airlines, see 1.
I let a bit of air out but that's purely because 29 x 2.5WT is a tight fit in the Evoc bag. I certainly don't let them down to 0. It takes a surprising amount of effort to break the bead so not worried about sealant leaking even at low pressure.
I had my bike bag checked by Canadian security this year and my tyres weren't deflated and they just said let the air out but no need to fully deflate them. This was my only time my bike bag has ever been checked.
This was my only time my bike bag has ever been checked.
Yeah it's been the US ones checking it for me as it seems they are too tight/poor to pay for oversized scanners.
Thanks everyone!
There road wheels so I'll deflate to 50 psi & put them in bin liners.
You’ll have to explain the bin liners part
If the hold depressurizes, a few tyres swelling up a bit is going to be the least of your worries.
Snakebite punctures shouldn't be an issue at 37000 feet. 😉
Also, if you use proper strips the bead stays on anyway even when flat.
Yeah. Last time I flew with tubeless tires on a road bike I let them down a wee bit. The guy at the large baggage counter said "have you partially deflated the tires" and I was able to give an honest and sincere answer. Partial is of course subjective but as a rule don't ever lie to airport officials.
Also, if you use proper strips the bead stays on anyway even when flat.
Bit like modern tubless ready rims and TR tyres? 😉