I'm TUBELESS! ... so do I really NEED sealant?

Ricko · Apr 7, 2013

I laced up a pair of Mavic XM819 UST rims to my King hubs and and mounted up some Maxxis Ignitor UST tires. I went for a little street spin last night after I got the bike back together and just to expiriment, I aired up the tires and didn't use any of the Stans sealant that I have here. The tires held air and I just checked this morning and they're still holding air. I'm just wondering if sealant is really necessary with a UST setup like this and if anyone else out there runs without. I'm all about keeping things simple and not using sealant is one less step.

Any thoughts?

Dazed · Apr 7, 2013

Ust doesn't require sealant, but it can be useful for puncture resistance.

77charger · Apr 7, 2013

Reason i went tubeless was for small puncture sealing.I rode over goatheads last year and i flattened both tires very fast.There werent enough patches in a kit to repair it either.

Tubelss with no sealant wouldnt have been any bette.Tubeless with sealant would have sealed the thorn holes as i rode away

LMN · Apr 7, 2013

You don't need but it does improve a UST setup. Obviously sealant is going to help with small punctures. The other side benefit, is your tire will not lose air as quickly. Your standard UST, without sealant, can lose air fairly quickly (like over night). Adding sealant slows this process down.

One down side to sealant is it adds weight, if that matters to you. Two scoops of Stans comes in at 120grams, or 240 grams for two wheels. You got spend a lot of money save 240 grams.

Dazed · Apr 7, 2013

Ust tires and tubes add weight too, btw.

Ace5high · Apr 7, 2013

Im not a fan of UST myself because the additional weight doesn't seem worth it to me. Especially if you are using sealant.

I wouldn't run any type of tubules without sealant since puncture proof is nice to have

LCW · Apr 7, 2013

I ran tubeless with Stans for about 3 yrs. The ONE time I punctured and NEEDED the sealant, it failed me. And it was a small puncture in the tread area, not a sidewall gash. Luckily was only a 2 mile walk back to the parking lot (I didn't have a tube with me).

I've recently switched to full UST (my wheels were always UST as I dislike the whole strips deal) with some Maxxis High Roller 26x2.35 UST. Not using sealant and not looking back either. I switch tires often and the sealant is just plain messy. The HR's are a tad heavier (~890g) but not bad - especially for trail/AM. Insanely easy to mount and inflate with a floor pump (I used a Joe Blow Mountain pump). Literally a couple minutes to mount and inflate. No compressor needed. The JB Mountain pump is a big bore high volume pump - so that helps.

My UST setup has held air for MONTHS so I'm not worried about leak down. I've had worse leak down with tubeless ready tires (Contis) and Stans than with Maxxis' UST. Different tire/rim combinations might lead to different results but that's my experience so far.

Millfox · Apr 8, 2013

Many people ride UST without sealant. They're usually much more puncture resistant than TLR or standard tyres. And if you make a hole you can just patch it up from the inside same as you do with Tubes and ride on.

RadBartTaylor · Apr 8, 2013

So you can run UST tires without tubeless, doesn't mean it's a good idea. It takes 2 minutes to dump some Stans/Etc. You only have to remove 1 bead.

I see no reason NOT to do it.

Dazed · Apr 9, 2013

UST is older than TR/Stan's etc, and was designed for use without sealant, so it's OK, but as I said, a little sealant for puncture resistance is a good thing.

Mt.Biker E · Apr 9, 2013

weight weenies crack me up lol.
sealant is a good thing for punctures.
I also carry rubber roof repair tape for rv's in my pack.
It seals up larger sidewall issues and its easy to use & sticks to rubber easily.

I'm TUBELESS! ... so do I really NEED sealant?

Ricko

Dazed

77charger

LMN

Dazed

Ace5high

LCW

Millfox

RadBartTaylor

Dazed

Mt.Biker E

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