Hi All--I see there is a new sealant out ( Black Ox) which makes claims of superiority, and of course every other sealant does the same. I understand that most are resins and others claim a different component, but does this really matter? I have used Stan's for gravel tires for over 5 years and well over 25,000 miles, and have used Orange Seal too --both with good results and no significant difference by the way. I occasionally see posts from seasoned riders who claim that they would only use one over another. Of course, there are a few head to head trials in the literature wherein one or the other is the winner, but nothing is consistent. So, is this really just a personal preference?? Or, is there really a significant difference. Also, anyone used Black Ox??
Stick with what works, stans, orange seal, I have used E13 with success...why gamble based on marketing [I tried E13 as it was dirt cheap, no flats, but kinda messy]
Thought there may be more interest in this topic, but likely most have already heeded what both of you have suggested--use what has worked for you. This means to me that all sealants work about equally well. The key to me is to use "enough "and top off often ( every few months or so). Thx..
Stans always worked for me, but it does make interesting rock candy formations when it dries in the tire. Bontrager seemed the same as Stans, without the Rock candy but dried the quickest. I would advise against Finish Line, if a tire has any tendency to weep, that one will flow like a seive, and it doesn't really seal well. Orange seal Endurance for Spring/summer/fall and Subzero for winter is what I use now. I like the way it layers a thin coat in the tire, it can be peeled off and cleaned up the easiest in my experience. It seems to last longer too.
Even with tubeless it's always a good idea to carry a tube and plug kit. I am guilty of not always doing it, and with mtb'ing it is fine because most trails I am within a few miles of a trailhead. Graveling can have us a very long way from where we have access to repairs.
Sherwin24 wrote:Stans always worked for me, but it does make interesting rock candy formations when it dries in the tire. Bontrager seemed the same as Stans, without the Rock candy but dried the quickest. I would advise against Finish Line, if a tire has any tendency to weep, that one will flow like a seive, and it doesn't really seal well. Orange seal Endurance for Spring/summer/fall and Subzero for winter is what I use now. I like the way it layers a thin coat in the tire, it can be peeled off and cleaned up the easiest in my experience. It seems to last longer too.
Even with tubeless it's always a good idea to carry a tube and plug kit. I am guilty of not always doing it, and with mtb'ing it is fine because most trails I am within a few miles of a trailhead. Graveling can have us a very long way from where we have access to repairs.
This has been my experience over the last decade, except I thought Bontrager TLR was very similar to standard Orange Seal instead of Stans...not that there's a ton of difference between the major players. I tend to use standard Orange Seal instead of Endurance, but used Subzero on my fat bike. I would like Orange Seal better if their liter bottles were easier to work with, so I tend to buy Stans. Effetto Mariposa Caffelatex is good too.
Finish Line sucks. In 15 years of tubeless setups, it's the only one I have never gotten to work well and the recommended amount is double anybody else's.
I had a really bad experience with Panaracer SealSmart. It is too chunky to go through a stem injector and seems like it would only be useful for anyone willing to break the bead to pour in sealant from the side. I stick with Orange Seal Endurance.
Speaking of too chunky to go through the valve stem, why are we still using Presta as the stem of choice on tubeless? A Schrader stem is a lot wider and easier to inject sealant. Seems like tubeless should adopt a better standard, maybe something with the width of Schrader valve with a removable Presta head to keep compatibly with all the hand pumps on the market.
dangle wrote:. I would like Orange Seal better if their liter bottles were easier to work with, so I tend to buy Stans.
That little clear tube I got with stans to seal between the bottle and the valve core seems ok.
But I have this cute 2oz bottle from bontrager's sealant. I just stir my orange seal, put it in the 2oz bottle, pop a small clear pcv tube on it and my valve, and automagically pump 2oz into my tire.
I dont know what the best is, but between Stan's, any type of Orange seal, Finish Line, and Joe's Eco Sealant, Finish Line is the worst. Joe's is a bit better but not by much.
That little clear tube I got with stans to seal between the bottle and the valve core seems ok.
But I have this cute 2oz bottle from bontrager's sealant. I just stir my orange seal, put it in the 2oz bottle, pop a small clear pcv tube on it and my valve, and automagically pump 2oz into my tire.
I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing. The Orange Seal 32 oz bottle has a different opening than all the rest of their other bottles. They all fit their injector system except for the 32 oz. It's a wide, flat cap and not easy to pour into other containers. All of their other sizes and every size of Stans has the same size of cap that you can thread an injector system or pointy ended cap on instead of cover with your finger. Shake, shake, turn upside down with your finger over the opening, then pour into your injector. There's not anything that fits on the 32 oz Orange Seal bottle to do that. It's shake, shake, unscrew the cap, hope coagulants don't settle to the bottom, pour into something else entirely, then use that to inject.
All sealants DON’T perform about the same, as someone suggested above. There are at least a couple of decent tests out there though I haven’t seen a recent one, and it’s pretty clear there are significant differences in performance Orange Seal standard, not the endurance version, generally comes out at or near the top and I’ve used that with good result, including two punctures that sealed without my even knowing about them until after the races. Ive also tried Muck-off but couldn’t tell much about it one way or the other, and the endurance version Orange Seal, which tests out as somewhat less effective than standard. Im sure it does last longer between top-ups, but for me, I put sealant in because I need it to plug holes, not last longer and MAYBE plug holes.
...It's shake, shake, unscrew the cap, hope coagulants don't settle to the bottom, pour into something else entirely, then use that to inject.
That is pretty much what I do (pouring it into the 2oz bottle above and then injecting into my tire).
I have the 8oz orange seal bottle with the injector hose, but the 2oz bottle is pre measured and easy to use. Plus, buy pouring a large (shaken) bottle immediately into a smaller bottle, I guarantee that the coagulants are evenly dispersed.
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