No Mavic behind you?
This was not going to be the Race of Truth. My wife and I were descending different routes to our vehicle. I was on the route with the tooth jarring pavement and tight corners, she was not. BAM! Oh scheiße, I’ve got flat rear! The tire exhaled air and water vapor in one great blast. This race was going to be either riding back to meet my wife on a completely flat tubular tire or racing to tear off a blown tire, fitting on the spare and pumping it up. The blown tire, a Veloflex Arenberg 25mm tubular, had been reborn three times and it’s center tread was worn off. I had already been thinking about replacing it so it was without too much remorse I rode it, flat as flat can be, to our rendezvous.
The next day I peeled the tire off the rim and performed an autopsy. The casing was quickly incised and the innards were laid out on the workbench. The pathology was interesting; riding a completely flat tubular tire does not shred the latex inner tube. Nowhere was the innertube stuck to itself. Looking at the tire in cross-section, there were still many miles of rubber left. I found seven discolored places on the inner casing and corresponding spots on the inner tube. I assumed these were all punctures that had been sealed. I eviscerated further and found only four actual penetrations of the latex tube. Each seal looked like a tiny stalagmite on the inside of the inner tube, who knew? The pathology report might say the patient died too young. Had the owner bothered to keep fresh sealant in the tube, it might still be glued on the rim.
I prepped for Keepers Tour 2012 by fitting some 28mm clincher tires with removable core butyl inner tubes and sealant. I did not get a flat on the Roubaix secteurs. I was probably running the tires at higher pressure than I should have so I don’t know if the sealant ever had a chance fix a pinch flat, but I was ready for it.
I was an advocate of tubeless tires before I had ever used them (?!). Then I spent too much time cleaning dried Caffé latex spew off my frame and gruppo. A puncture would seal but only after spraying latex down to 50 psi. I was not impressed until I switched to Orange Seal, which has solid bits in it, and never have I been so happy to get a puncture on a wet road and watch it seal itself in a few revolutions. There is something deeply thrilling about seeing a puncture seal while riding. There is no stopping, no sweating on the side of the road, no man handling of tires, tubes and pumps. When it works, it’s brilliant.
I switched back to tubular tires so I could ride bitchin’ carbon wheels but I didn’t use any preemptive sealant. After noticing a slow leak one morning and I added 30 mls of Orange Seal and it was fixed, tire saved. Sealant and tubular tires are a good match. If one decides to go down this road, removable core inner tubes are a must and a nice core remover will be useful. @Mauibike treats his tubulars like tubeless; preventative sealant and ride like crazy. This same argument could be made for clincher tires, especially if a person feels like they are spending too much time on the side of the road, sweating, switching out tubes and inflating. Is it a puncture panacea? No, but these new sealants work, especially when actually in the tires.
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@Ccos
@DeKerr
You two should be thankful I didn't include a photo album with this post. And yes, always a fake cigarette hanging from the lip. A few ashes fall into the incision but it's ok, it's a dead tire.
@Fausto
I'll send you my big bottle of Caffe Latex. It sucks. Road tubeless with sealant that seals is pretty cool set up. The sealant needs some chunks in it to jam up the leak then the latex can fill the voids. A friend here puts glitter in his sealant! I asked him where the fuck do you get your glitter? From stippers? This new stuff already has the glitter in it. Forget the Caffee Latex.
@Puffy
The crap sealant does spray around endlessly but the new and better sealant seals before you know it and you don't need to reinflate.
That works too but they you have to screw around with cores and injecting and pumping. But it will work and you only need a little bit of sealant to fix the puncture. I have been doing that with my tubulars but I think I'll just treat them like tubeless and always have some sealant in there.
This need might stem from riding 23mm clinchers for decades and fixing endless pinch flats on the side of the road. Seeing that tubeless tire seal itself as one is whipping along, it's too good. No stopping, no pumping, it changes a person.
@Mike Stead
This sounds like it should have the stamp that says "used by the queen" on it.
@Gianni
I rarely get punctures, but I am tempted to give this new glitter infused stuff a go if for no other reason than to say I gave it a go. One question remains however, how long does the latex last before it goes off and won't seal a puncture? Eg; I typically get 12 months out of my race wheels before the tubs needs replacement will it still work 12 months on? My commuter get a few years out of a set of tyres...
The other thing is once you use this stuff.... you can no longer repair it right?
So, here's a sealant thing that happened to me and I still don't understand.
I'm running Vittoria Open Corsas, so a tub made into a clincher. And it gives a lovely ride with latex tubes, just like a tub would. So far so good.
i decided one day, probably after a spate of punctures, to experiment with sealant in the latex tube as a preventive measure. Removed core, inserted correct amount, commenced pumping and BLAM - exploded tube, sealant everywhere.
Ever the optimist I thought maybe the tube had been punched or herniated out so I repeated the procedure. BLAM. Exploding tubes are really loud.
Ok that's weird but third time lucky right? Again, BLAM. And not at 140psi either, we're talking 80-100 range.
After that, anxious to retain my hearing into old age, I quit but I still can't understand it. And whenever I touch the pump my cat runs to the furthest corner he can find.
I'm almost tempted to try again if these new sealants are better. First time round I had too many punctures that would not seal and tubeless tyres are a right bitch to get off/on.
@puffy I heard you should replace after 3 months. Certainly I found that after that sort of period when I tried tubeless first time round the solid bits were setting into "coral growths" after a year you just have a solid band of latex around the tube.
@ChrisO
Doesn't make any sense to me. My first thought was maybe it reacted badly to the latex tube but en the high end tubs have a latex tube...
@Teocalli
Well that's me out. Adding sealant seems like a pain as it is, let alone draining and reapplying every three months. I can't see how this stuff doesn't detract from the ride quality of a high end tubular especially as it ages and clumps etc.
In the end, are you really in that much of a rush to take 5min to swap for the spare? If you are, maybe you need to leave home 5min earlier and chill a bit.
@Fausto
I was using these but gave up after too many sealant fails. Absolutely loved the ride of the One Pro but per previous and absolute bitch if the sealant fails and they appeared not quite as durable puncture resistance wise as Schwalbe would claim. I'm having far fewer punctures running Open Corsa with latex tubes. Looks like you can't get Orange Seal in the UK at the moment.
@Puffy
Though watching the Orange seal video it seems to work differently to the previous stuff I have tried and is claimed to "last as long as the tyre". The newer Continental stuff is also claimed to last longer. I have tried Schwalbe and Bontrager sealant previously and been disappointed. Given that I have the tyres I may well try again.