Tubeless flat.....learn from my mistakes

17 replies · 615 views

Shaun McNally
112 posts
#1Sep 22, 2023, 1:28 PM
So I've been running tubeless for about a year now. Love it, no problems whatsoever.......until yesterday.

Just before my ride I thought "It's been since the end of May when I last added sealant, I should do that when I get back". Famous last words.
I thought I'd be fine. I had a Stans dart tool and even carry a small 2 oz bottle of sealant in my saddle bag.

Go on ride, on my way back I'm 2 miles from home when "POP and HISS" Pull over and yep, some sealant leaking out, but not quite stopping the leak. No problem, pull out the dart tool and stick it in the hole, except now I realize I don't have enough sealant for the plug to work. Again, no problem, I've got the bottle I can add some. Well, pull the valve core out.......and proceed to drop and lose it in the tall grass. Without my reading glasses it was impossible to find. So no matter what I did, without the valve core I'm screwed. ( And nope, I didn't have a tube. I figured with the dart and extra sealant I'd be fine, and I would have if I hadn't lost the valve core)

So moral of the story.........keep your sealant topped off regularly. I've also ordered some extra valve cores to throw in my bag too. And I might throw a Tubilito tube back in the saddle bag too.
1
SWGraveler
247 posts
#2Sep 22, 2023, 7:13 PM
At least you learned all the lessons in one experience! I can so relate to the reading glasses thing..

Thanks for sharing; I'm going to add sealant before my next ride 🙂
1
NormH
19 posts
#3Sep 23, 2023, 11:13 PM
Thanks for the story! Just a quick comment/suggestion: I used to ride with custom-made lined bifocals with a reading area of 6mm, roughly 1/4 inch; I experimented with tape on the lenses to get the smallest useable area possible just for looking at watch/phone/coffee shop menus--and small parts on the ground--without getting in the way of the ride. It really made an amazing difference in my ride experience. I had two pairs, one straight sunglasses and one with transition lenses for cloudy days and evening rides. Any good optometry shop would make them. (My eyes have gotten worse since then; I now use progressive lenses.)
0
TwoWheeler
177 posts
#4Sep 24, 2023, 4:35 PM
Heh. I once flatted about 57 miles into a 58 mile road ride. (I could almost see my house from where I was). FWIW, several manufacturers offer sunglasses with “cheaters” in them. I bought a pair from Tifosi for flying my drone (have to be able to look up in the sunny sky and look down and read the screen). They’re -ok-.
0
ccand51997
265 posts
#5Sep 24, 2023, 6:02 PM
I would be curious to know if 2 oz of stans would have got the job done. I have to put a lot more than 2 oz for it to be effective so if your other sealant was dry and you only had 2 oz I'm not sure it would have got the job done.
I go some places where they wouldn't find the body for weeks if I never came out so I always have a reliable pump and sometimes multiple tubes.
0
stu
646 posts
#6Sep 24, 2023, 10:51 PM
I find it hard to carry too much for repairing flats. I always carry a pump, 2 tubes, a patch kit, a tweezer, and a pair of MicroVision reading glasses. With 2 small Cygolite Dice headlights I don't need a flashlight. Even with all that I once got something in my rear tire which I couldn't find and caused a slow leak in every tube I inserted. After exhausting my tubes, patches, and vocabulary of bad words I ended up walking 5 miles. For long, isolated rides (which I don't do anymore) I'd carry a lightweight spare tire.
0
NormH
19 posts
#7Sep 25, 2023, 6:31 AM
TwoWheeler wrote:
Heh. I once flatted about 57 miles into a 58 mile road ride. (I could almost see my house from where I was). FWIW, several manufacturers offer sunglasses with “cheaters” in them. I bought a pair from Tifosi for flying my drone (have to be able to look up in the sunny sky and look down and read the screen). They’re -ok-.
I tried Tifosi, Rudy's Rydon Readers, Smith Optics, and anything else I could find. They all had the bifocal line at a half inch. I think that's standard and what you would want if you're reading a book on the beach, but while riding the bifocal line is well out in front of the bike, in my experience. Half that is about right.
0
Shaun McNally
112 posts
#8Sep 25, 2023, 8:20 AM
ccand51997 wrote:
I would be curious to know if 2 oz of stans would have got the job done. I have to put a lot more than 2 oz for it to be effective so if your other sealant was dry and you only had 2 oz I'm not sure it would have got the job done.
I go some places where they wouldn't find the body for weeks if I never came out so I always have a reliable pump and sometimes multiple tubes.
2 oz is what Stan's recommends for my tire size. But yeah, I don't think going more would hurt. The 2 oz bottle is my emergency bottle.
0
Caliper
38 posts
#9Sep 25, 2023, 10:11 AM
I'm just impressed that you got a Stans dart to work. My experience with them is that they blasted straight through the tire and ended up inside the tire leaving me to have to swap in a tube.
0
bnystrom
459 posts
#10Sep 25, 2023, 11:46 AM
ccand51997 wrote:
I would be curious to know if 2 oz of stans would have got the job done. I have to put a lot more than 2 oz for it to be effective so if your other sealant was dry and you only had 2 oz I'm not sure it would have got the job done.
I go some places where they wouldn't find the body for weeks if I never came out so I always have a reliable pump and sometimes multiple tubes.
Unless you have a huge puncture, it should be more than enough. The most I've ever had to add to any tire that was previously treated with it was one ounce. I never start with more than two ounces in a gravel tire and typically only use an ounce in road tires. I find that Stan's - and other sealant manufactures' - recommendations are more about selling more sealant than what's actually needed to seal flats.
stu wrote:
I find it hard to carry too much for repairing flats. I always carry a pump, 2 tubes, a patch kit, a tweezer, and a pair of MicroVision reading glasses. With 2 small Cygolite Dice headlights I don't need a flashlight. Even with all that I once got something in my rear tire which I couldn't find and caused a slow leak in every tube I inserted. After exhausting my tubes, patches, and vocabulary of bad words I ended up walking 5 miles. For long, isolated rides (which I don't do anymore) I'd carry a lightweight spare tire.
I don't see sealant in your list of supplies. It works great in tubes; it's not just for tubeless. I've used it in tubes since 2010.
NormH wrote:
I tried Tifosi, Rudy's Rydon Readers, Smith Optics, and anything else I could find. They all had the bifocal line at a half inch. I think that's standard and what you would want if you're reading a book on the beach, but while riding the bifocal line is well out in front of the bike, in my experience. Half that is about right.
I recently got a bifocal insert for my Tifosi glasses from SVED Optical. They positioned the lenses to work with the leaned-forward riding position and they work great.I don't see the bifocal at all until I look down at the computer. The insert I have fits six different Tifosi models.
0
TwoWheeler
177 posts
#11Sep 25, 2023, 4:08 PM
NormH wrote:
I tried Tifosi, Rudy's Rydon Readers, Smith Optics, and anything else I could find. They all had the bifocal line at a half inch. I think that's standard and what you would want if you're reading a book on the beach, but while riding the bifocal line is well out in front of the bike, in my experience. Half that is about right.
Ah, ok, you’re way ahead of me. I have never tried them on the bike. I would, but having used Oakley and Roka, I can’t get used to cheap feeling glasses like the Tifosi - they’re fine for brief periods, but over a longer ride, they might make me irrationally angry.
0
stu
646 posts
#12Sep 25, 2023, 6:48 PM
bnystrom wrote:
I don't see sealant in your list of supplies. It works great in tubes; it's not just for tubeless. I've used it in tubes since 2010.
Thanks, I had never thought of that!
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bnystrom
459 posts
#13Sep 26, 2023, 5:59 AM
TwoWheeler wrote:
Ah, ok, you’re way ahead of me. I have never tried them on the bike. I would, but having used Oakley and Roka, I can’t get used to cheap feeling glasses like the Tifosi - they’re fine for brief periods, but over a longer ride, they might make me irrationally angry.
I don't find anything "cheap" about Tifosi glasses, other than their relatively low price, and they work just fine for any riding.
Paying over $200 for glasses that cost maybe twenty bucks to make would make me "irrationally angry". 😉
1
NormH
19 posts
#14Sep 26, 2023, 6:29 AM

bnystrom wrote:
I recently got a bifocal insert for my Tifosi glasses from SVED Optical. They positioned the lenses to work with the leaned-forward riding position and they work great.I don't see the bifocal at all until I look down at the computer. The insert I have fits six different Tifosi models.
I tried the inserts too. I know they work well for a lot of people, but for me, the inserts were just a hair too close to my eyes, and my eyelashes would brush against them. Not noticeable at first, but after about a half hour, I'd have an annoying contact smear on the lenses.
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bnystrom
459 posts
#15Sep 26, 2023, 6:35 AMedited
NormH wrote:
I tried the inserts too. I know they work well for a lot of people, but for me, the inserts were just a hair too close to my eyes, and my eyelashes would brush against them. Not noticeable at first, but after about a half hour, I'd have an annoying contact smear on the lenses.
I haven't had that problem, but mine do contact my eye brows.The contact area does get smudged, but it's not a part of the lens that I actually look through, so it doesn't affect my vision. A lot depends on the glasses you use and the shape of your face, so - as in your case - they're not the perfect solution for everyone.

The main reason I tried them was that I wanted frameless, photochromic lenses with bifocals (I can't stand progressives), and nobody makes them. Fortunately, the SVED inserts work for me.
0
boots2000
26 posts
#16Sep 29, 2023, 9:58 AM
The other thing to learn is that you need a set of readers in your wallet or spare bag.
I had a similar issue, but I could not see the cut well enough to plug.
I keep a set of thin optics readers in my cycling wallet. Barely take up any space.
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bnystrom
459 posts
#17Sep 29, 2023, 11:15 AM
I keep a pair of folding readers in my hydration pack. You can also get credit card sized fresnel lenses that take up almost no space and are really handy when you need magnification. They're cheap, too.
0
Frank
82 posts
#18Oct 25, 2023, 8:24 AM
The lessons here are numerous as we all know. But, I learned long ago to top off all my bike tires with sealant every 3-4 months and I record when I do so as not to miss. I ride mostly in Az, so it is a must here.
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