The bike I bought in November is my first one with a tubeless tire setup. My wife’s new bike has the same setup, so I figure I should learn a bit about it. At the moment mine hold air decent but will lose a bit over time. The sealant isn’t dried up yet, I can still hear it sloshing around.What is your go to sealant and how often are you topping up? Any need to run inserts? I don’t think I ride hard enough to warrant them.
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As for Sealant. I generally don’t “top up” its bad practice imo. You should be cleaning your tire and rim, and valves before adding new sealant. For me personally I just do it every time I swap a tire. Replace tape if required.
I think everyone’s go to used to be Stans, but there is a-lot of great options out there. I have had really good luck with DT Swiss, Orange seal and Dirt Care.
As far as inserts go, its not just about rim
Protection or Run Flat. It can add another layer of compliance to your traction. There is a weight penalty but IMO it’s worth it in the rear.
I personally run a tannus with exo+ in the rear only. If I was to run a DD casing I would take the liner out.
There are differences between brands though with run flat options. Vittoria being the main brand who offers that.
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^this man knows his stuff, so listen to him. But for the kitchen mechanics (I don’t have a garage, okay), I’ve topped up leaky tires before by popping off the bead on one side (maintain the seal on the other side to help with reinflation) and pouring some new sealant in if the current stuff looks okay and isn’t murky. I’ve heard you should not mix sealant brands, so if you’re unsure of what’s in there, you might as well clean out the gunk & start fresh.
Inserts are largely personal preference and rider/terrain-dependent. I’m a lighter rider, and inserts feel like my tires are slow and caked on with mud. I don’t suffer many rim strikes and prefer the snappier feel of insert-less. I would recommend trying without first, getting your tire pressure right for your riding style and preference, and if you are rim dingin’ then try either a lightweight insert (before a heavier weight insert, I went straight to heavy) or a larger tire (wider also means taller tires, which give you more vertical leeway to avoid rim strikes). If, however, I lived at a bike park, I would probably just run an insert in the rear anyway for peace of mind—that’s also where the extra dampening of an insert would shine.
I’ve only used Stans and Orange, both work well. I found Orange Regular to dry up silly fast. No issues once I switched to Orange Endurance.
Also also note, since you’re new to tubeless: Tire and rim choice can play a big part of how easy it is to get them suckers reseated. Most modern rims/tires play nicely with just a floor pump these days, but I’ve had my fair share of pump-until-your-arms-fall-off, which is where a compressor (or a modified garden sprayer!) comes in handy for that first burst of air to get the tire reseated.
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