tFUnK

Have ran a set of tubeless tires for a while. Over time, one tire developed a puncture such that anything above 40psi will cause sealant to spray out. It seals at ~20psi but that's too low of a pressure for the tire width and my weight.

So I took the tire off to go back to tubes, but the inside of the tire has a bunch of dried sealant stuck to it. It does come off with effort and patience but I want to devote neither to it as I thought tubeless was supposed to make my life simpler, not more difficult.

So, curious to hear what options there are and what you would do in this situation. Here are a few thoughts that came to mind:

• Toss the tire - it doesn't hold air without leaking down to a too-low psi. This defeats the purpose of going tubeless.
• Patch it from the inside using a tube patch. This requires cleaning out the dried sealant and locating the puncture - not easy to do when the tire isn't mounted to the rim anymore.
• Plug it from the outside with a plug. The issue with this is I'm having a hard time locating the hole if it's not actively spewing out sealant (which it's not, as I've already removed the tire from the rim)
• Clean out the dried sealant and run tubes - is there a hack to this?
• Don't clean out the dried sealant and run tubes - I don't mind the mess or even the potentially lumpy ride, but the thought of those extra single digit grams trigger something in me.

tempocyclist

Assuming the tyre is in otherwise good condition, I'd spend a little time locating the hole and then patch it from the inside.

If the tyre were still on the rim I'd shove a tubeless plug in the hole to seal it, so the other option is to re-mount it, whack in new sealant, pump it up and find the hole that way, then plug it.

Koyote

Dude, I'm currently running a rear tire with two plugs in it, and it holds air just fine. Instead of pulling the tire, you should've just put in more sealant, pumped it up to 45-50psi, and then jammed in a plug wherever you saw sealant burbling out of it.

SoSmellyAir

I did not know that sealant also bonds the plug to the tire!? (As detailed in my other thread, I am a tubeless noob.)

Koyote

Assuming there is adequate sealant in the tire, then it helps if, after plugging, you turn the tire until the plug is in the 6 o'clock position...i.e., on the ground. Let the sealant get at the plug. Any residual air loss will help seal things up.

(Now, this is all in theory, assuming all works properly. Sometimes a hole of cut is too large [you can add a second plug, then], or perhaps there isn't enough sealant in the tire, etc.)

Eric F 

I would take the time to find the hole and patch or plug it. The advantages of tubeless are worth it…and tires aren’t cheap.

As for removing the dried sealant, pull off the tire, turn it inside out, and scrub it with a stiff wide brush (commonly found for house-cleaning work). It takes a little work, but again…tires aren’t cheap.

tFUnK

Yeah, when it first occurred the choices were either as you suggested or put a tube in it. Opted for the tube but was then put off by the mess and the globs of dried sealant. May remount to try this. But may first try to clean out the tire.

Koyote Eric F tempocyclist thanks for chiming in.

staehpj1

That is what I would have done at that point. The times I have done that, it has always worked. Since you have a tube in I might consider mounting it as tubeless again without sealant to find and fix the hole from inside with a patch before adding sealant since it is already dry and you have a tube in it now. Then again I might just take the tube out, add sealant, and plug it.

In theory the patch is a more sure thing for larger holes, but the hole you describe sounds like one a plug will handle fine. I have actually never needed to resort to a patch in my tubless setup and in fact have seldom even needed to even use plugs despite riding where before going tubeless have to patch tubes very frequently.

Koyote

People get kind of obsessed about cleaning the sealant out of tubeless tires, but it’s not really very critical. You can clean as much or as little as you want….and it’ll work fine with or without a tube.

Koyote

​​​​​​The other night, a couple friends and I were heading out on a ride, and one friend's rear tire immediately starting going flat. We rode back to his house, he injected some Orange Seal, pumped it back up, and gave it a spin. 35 miles later, the tire was still holding air just fine.

bbbean 

Find the hole and patch from inside. A little time spent now will buy months of confident riding.

Breadfan

So, is there any solvent that will clean the sealant out? Two ounces every couple of months will add up eventually. I just made my bike tubeless so I am curious to what everyone does.

Koyote

You could try water, since tubeless sealant is water soluble. Beyond that, do you really want to introduce a stronger solvent to your rubber bike tire?

More to the point: don't make this harder than it needs to be. You're not adding sealant...You're replacing it as it dries (to an almost weightless residue) and/or gets sprayed from punctures while doing it's job. You don't need to "clean" it out.

Eric F 

I have cleaned dried sealant out of tires before, but it's not generally necessary. For the most part, you can just peel it off. A stiff-bristle brush can also be helpful, as can a little bit of water. As Koyote said, using any kind of solvent stronger than water is probably not a good idea.

tempocyclist

Warm water, a stiff brush, and your fingers will do the trick. Nothing stronger is required.

SoSmellyAir

Better than a stiff brush: Amazon.com: 4" Natural Loofah Exfoliating Body Sponge Scrubber for Skin Care in Bath Spa Shower Pack of 4 : Beauty & Personal Care

pbass

I've never removed old sealant. Maybe it's because of my tire choices and the terrain here, but I think my tires would be worn out before enough sealant built up to be noticeable weight-wise. Plus, if you rip the old sealant out, aren't you potentially opening/re-opening porous areas in it again? I know the sealant gets into the teeny holes but it could still get destabilized by pulling all that settled-in gunk out, no?

Breadfan

Cool beans. Thanks Everyone. Water or nothing is what it will be.

tFUnK

This was my worry as I began to peel off the dried sealant. I paused because it was taking a lot longer than expected and now I'm having second thoughts about continuing to remove all of it. In my case I probably will continue removing it and go with TPU tubes for these specific tires. Tubeless is great until it isn't and since I'm tinkering on both of my gravel bikes currently I'm likely to swap tires around for a bit and tubes make that much easier. Once I settle on tire choice I'll revisit whether to go tubeless again.

t2p

I have tires that were previously run tubeless on two bikes

I run tubes (including Aerothan) - so I removed all existing sealant / residue from the inside of the tire and beads before installing the tires with tubes

some of the residue peeled off by hand fairly easily - some residue removal required soap / water with the rough side of a small 3M dish sponge

after all residue removed I applied baby powder to the inside of the tires before mounting

grolby

I once tried using a patch on the inside of a tubeless tire. It seemed great, until it failed catastrophically on the start line of a gravel race. Maybe there are some patches specific for this job, but a standard tube patch isn’t reliable. Plugs are the way to go.

Leisesturm

I don't know ... you really think so after this thread and so many others like it? I mean, are y'all's really having fun? My idea of fun ... slapping on a pair of Marathon Plusses and not having to think about anything having to do with tires (except to put some air in whenever you remember) for the next 5 to 7 years ...

tFUnK

My hands can affirm that they were not having fun. They've been blistered after chipping away at the dried sealant residue stuck on the tires last week. About 1/3 of the tire left on one, and 1/2 of the way left on the other.

Then when I'm done with this there's the other tire I've set up tubeless that I need to pull to swap tires. Basically once I get this pair of Conti Terras cleaned up they're going back on the XO2 with TPU tubes. So the Schwalbe G1s currently on the XO2 need to come off (and the rear is set up tubeless with fresh sealant just a few weeks ago 🤦‍♂️). Not really looking forward to any of it, but it is what it is.

Kai Winters

Dawn is your friend. We use Dawn in a bucket of warm water and a sponge with a scrubby side to remove dried sealant. A lot will just peel off but this makes is a bit easier.
Patch the hole from the inside.
I'm not sold on tubeless and still use a tube but that is me...you do you.

Koyote

Why do people have such strong opinions about things they've never even tried? It's weird.

As has been explained, there's no need to remove the dried up old sealant. In other words, you're doing it wrong...That's not an indictment of tubeless.