Stop Air Leaks In Tubeless Bike Tyres – Easy Solutions - video Dailymotion

Cycling Weekly

Tubeless tires are now common place with road cyclists, however, there's one issue which can still be rather annoying to deal with, and that's when they leak! In this video Sam Gupta explains and demonstrates the full diagnosis procedure for locating and fixing a tubeless leak. If you follow this step-by-step process, you'll most likely be able to find and fix any leaky tubeless set up you come across.

Transcript

00:00If your tubeless tires are leaking air then watch on because in this video I'm going to share my

00:05full diagnosis routine for hunting down and fixing those pesky leaks.

00:12We first want to start with the obvious. Check there are no punctures that your sealant hasn't

00:18been able to fill and may require a plug to seal. If you do find one and manage to successfully plug

00:25it then be sure to top your sealant back up before you carry on riding. The next important thing to

00:31check is that your tires are actually tubeless compatible. Sometimes you can see a logo on the

00:37sidewall of the tire which will let you know or alternatively you can look at your tires information

00:43online to see if they are or not. If you're unsure then just head to your local bike shop for more

00:49advice. Next check for rim damage. If your wheels have come into contact with something be that

00:55out on the road or just at home you may have a dent or ding which is keeping the rim and tire from

01:01making a clean contact and creating a gap which is allowing air to escape. A visual inspection while

01:08feeling the edge of the rim surface will suffice but be sure to use gloves because if there is any

01:14damage you won't want any carbon or metal piercing your skin. If your tires are in good health, they're

01:21tubeless compatible and your rims are undamaged then ensure your tires have a tight fit on the wheel

01:27when deflated. In some cases you will still be able to successfully mount looser tires but we want to

01:35eradicate any chance for failure. If you feel they're loose then add another wrap or two of rim tape to help

01:42make everything fit that little bit more snug. Ensure the rim tape is fitted correctly, doesn't have wrinkles

01:48and is straight and is sealing those spoke holes. Sometimes tubeless rim tape can be dislodged during

01:56fitting or changing of tires, typically when tire levers are overused in the process. So if your tires

02:03are leaking air then check the tape hasn't been damaged. When you inflate your tires you have to

02:09ensure the bead of the tire has popped in all the way around the rim. This plays a huge part in creating

02:16that airtight seal. So if you haven't heard them into place then it's unlikely this is why they're

02:23leaking. Using a high volume track pump, compressor or even something like an air shot can be a really

02:30good way to deliver the amount of air volume needed quickly enough to get the tire to seat.

02:35If you're replacing tires then there's a good chance there's going to be a build-up of old sealant

02:41gunge stuck to the inside of the rim. So before fitting your new ones take the time to clean all

02:48of this off. It can be a bit arduous but time spent here is time saved in the future. Plus who wants to

02:56be carrying around all that extra weight? It can be wise to refresh your rim tape at this point too.

03:02If you notice any damage or sealant making its way underneath the tape then now is the best time

03:08to replace it. The key thing is you don't want any old sealant left on the inside or on the top of the

03:15rim. You need that interface to be clean. A common place to lose air especially on a new tubeless setup

03:24can be the valve hole. Be sure to use a tubeless valve which makes good contact with the inside

03:29of the rim bed. Since rim beds can come in all different shapes and sizes you want to try and find

03:36one which has a shape which gives you the best chance possible of making a good seal. Personally

03:41I'm a fan of the muck off tubeless valves. I've not had a pair of wheels where they haven't worked.

03:47But if you find that the valve is still leaking air then try tightening up the valve retention nut to

03:53create a better seal with the rim bed. What you want to avoid is using a rubber o-ring at the valve

03:59with the intention of plugging a leak. The deep section part of many road wheels isn't designed

04:06to hold pressure and by using an o-ring here you may be forcing air into this cavity. You want to

04:13keep the pressure in the tyre cavity and the tyre cavity alone. At this point hopefully you have

04:20clean rims, correctly fitted rim tape and valves and a tyre which has been inflated and has popped onto the

04:26rim the whole way round. Hopefully you've added the right amount of sealant for the size of tyre you

04:32are using. So now is the time to give your wheel a shake with the objective of coating the inside of

04:39your rim and tyre with sealant so if there are any tiny leaks the sealant can do its thing and seal up

04:46those holes. Simply spinning the wheels isn't good enough as it will just send the sealant into the

04:52outermost edge of the tyre. What we want to focus on is where the tyre meets the rim so hold the wheel

04:59level with one side slightly dropped and slowly work your way around shaking the wheel to ensure

05:05the sealant is getting nicely sloshed up inside the tyre. At this point if you are still experiencing

05:12leaks then consider using a different sealant. Some sealants are thicker and can plug bigger holes

05:18and faster. Personally I've always had luck with silker sealant, stands raised sealant and orange

05:24seal. If you find your tyres are leaking air after they've been fine for a while then do ask yourself

05:30if the sealant itself needs topping up or replacing. If you've had a puncture and lost a lot of sealant

05:36then this will need to be topped back up or if left for too long sealant will naturally dry up inside

05:44the tyre. You can read on the side of the sealant bottle how often each manufacturer recommends you

05:49replace it. Lastly if you don't believe the sealant is the issue then it could just be worth trying a

05:55different set of tyres. Let me know down below though if you have any other smart ways to stop

06:01leaky tyres and if you have any questions then drop them down below and I'll do my best to answer them.

Stop Air Leaks In Tubeless Bike Tyres – Easy Solutions

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