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Fresh Gravel: Caffe Latex ZOT! Nano
Tubeless tires might be said to be the “holy grail” for cyclists when it comes to riding since the main buzz-kill for most riders is getting a flat tire. Going tubeless helps to drastically reduce the chances of getting a flat tire, and usually it works out quite well. However; there is always that story you’ve heard, or the ride you were on that was quenched by a tubeless tire puncture that would not seal up. Many times this is due to an irregularly shaped cut or tear in a tire that proves to be just too much for a sealant to overcome. Maybe it is a large hole that won’t quite seal up. Hey……it happens, right?
We’ve been testing a lot of tubeless tires here over the past year or so, and as you may know, you need sealants. We’ve been testing those as well. Check out our last post on sealants here. One of those sealants is from Caffe Latex, and by the way, you can expect a long term review on their sealant coming later this Spring. In the meantime, those fine folks behind Caffe Latex have provided us with a sample of a curious little bottle of a product dubbed ZOT! Nano.
What It Is: ZOT! Nano, (Yes- the exclamation point is part of the product name), is an ” instant polymerization catalyzer for Caffélatex”, according to Effetto Mariposa, and its purpose is to help seal up large holes or irregularly shaped punctures that Caffe Latex may not be able to handle on its own. How big? Well, Caffe Latex is said to be rated to punctures up to 5mm in diameter, which means ZOT Nano is for even bigger punctures, so yeah…..pretty big holes! It works by inserting the needle on the top of the bottle of ZOT! Nano through the puncture into the casing, and applying the catalyst at the leak source. If your tire has liquefied Caffe Latex in it yet, the ZOT! Nano will coagulate the sealant making a solid plug from the Caffe Latex and begin to heal the puncture.
Obviously, you would have to be using Caffe Latex to make use of the ZOT! Nano product, but it does bring up an interesting thought for gravel riders to consider. The ZOT! Nano bottle comes with a small, plastic holster which can be affixed to a bottle boss, or you could easily toss one of these into a saddle bag or frame pack. It is one more tool in the arsenal for Caffe Latex users to help defeat major tire failures while riding out in the rural areas where getting a ride back to town might be difficult, if not impossible in some cases. Rides like the Dirty Kanza 200, where flinty rocks can cause severe tire damage may also prove to be good venues for this product.
I’ll be carrying the ZOT! Nano along with me on rides where I am running the Clement MSO 36mm tires which are using Caffe Latex as sealant. If I run into any “big” trouble, I’ll report back on how this stuff does work, or not. For the time being, you can check out the video here, (Beware! Funky techno-trash soundtrack!)
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