Can a tubeless sealant be "too" good?

I have always run tubeless for CX and MTB, and had pretty much always used Stan’s no tubes sealant. About 6 months ago I read good things about Finish Line Sealant, so I thought I’d give it a go.

With Stan’s I rarely had problems, but over time there was always a need to add more sealant.

With the finish line, I have never had to re-inflate from flat or had a failure, to the point where I wore all the tread off the tyre.

On going to change the CX tyre today - could I break the seal between the tyre and the rim??? … it was stuck fast… no amount of pressure with both thumbs would break the seal.

In the end I had to cut the tyre and pull it off the rims with a pair of pliers. This was fine at home, but imagine having to put a tube in on the trail :frowning:

So - I guess the fact I’ve worn the tyre down before having any sort of flat has to be a recommendation for the sealant, but it sure was a pain today getting it off the rim

Anyone else with similar issues ??

WOW!! I have never had that issue, but I’m a Orange Seal user…

Oh and never mix Stans with Orange seal…its nots pretty…

2 Likes

Finish line is awful. IMHO of course.

Stans or orange seal + glitter for me

2 Likes

@Jonnyboy

Yup, we all have different experiences with tubeless setups - it’s all dependent on the rim/tyre combo- glad you found something that works for you :slight_smile:

You might have got lucky and not actually had any punctures, I do know that when I had even a small puncture it just sprayed out everywhere and failed to seal. Ended up removing it and going back to stans. But obviously your experience of it may be a lot more positive,

That issue you have is strange though, it’s not supposed to cure or dry out so I’m a bit stumped

+1 Finish Line is garbage. Stan’s or OrangeSeal.

Agree with the comments above… Stan’s is good, and topping up every 6 months or so isn’t so bad.

When I was living in Japan I had my local bike shop build a pair of tubeless wheels for my XC bike (Velocity Blunt SS/Hope Pro 4 hub/WTB Trail Boss 2.4). The tire goo held in the back tire for 18+ months (including a month in a shipping container going across the ocean when we moved back to the States). The front tire was still holding air at 20+ months but I had to get the wheels re-tensioned, so I will never know how long it could have held…

My new local shop techs spent three days trying to get nipples to break free on the front wheel with no luck. Thankfully the wheel tension is not too bad on the front so they just left it as is… When it is time to tension the front wheel though I am afraid that I will have to cut the spokes. I have no idea what tire goo the shop in Japan used but after reading this thread I bet it was Finish Line. I was starting to wonder if maybe they had used tubular tire glue as it held for SO long…

1 Like