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Tubeless setup issues


Sloth1987

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I am not new to tubeless but having trouble setting up new wheel. I changed my rear wheel from Stans to DT Swiss. Had the tubeless tape fitted by a bike shop. They have taped a wheel before for me and had no issues. 

This time after fitting the tyre, air is coming out the the spoke holes. I always do a dry run without sealant to check if theres a good seal.

I then took the tape off, inspected everything and found no issues.Then I fitted Stans yellow tape. Exact same issue. Redid it again. Same issue. Will this wheel require sealant to work unlike my old wheel that sealed without sealant?

 

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Was the rim properly cleaned between tape applications and is tape right width? It should hold fairly well without sealant but it's likely some air will get past the tape - linearly it's twice the circumference of the wheel that there is an edge to "secure". I reckon if you add sealant you should be good to go....

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A suggestion, one that works well for me, given on WTB rims. 

Apply a wrap of insulation tape over the spoke holes first, this will prevent the sealant getting into the spoke holes should it get under the rim tape, then the correct size rim tape, minimum of 1 wrap, starting before the valve and ending after the valve again. 

Did the DT Swiss rim come with a rim strip? 

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46 minutes ago, Sloth1987 said:

I am not new to tubeless but having trouble setting up new wheel. I changed my rear wheel from Stans to DT Swiss. Had the tubeless tape fitted by a bike shop. They have taped a wheel before for me and had no issues. 

This time after fitting the tyre, air is coming out the the spoke holes. I always do a dry run without sealant to check if theres a good seal.

I then took the tape off, inspected everything and found no issues.Then I fitted Stans yellow tape. Exact same issue. Redid it again. Same issue. Will this wheel require sealant to work unlike my old wheel that sealed without sealant?

 

You will always have air bubbles come out of the spoke holes, think about it: if you close the one side with rim tape and the air is caught between the two walls of the rim then it will escape out the spoke holes until all the air has escaped. This is different air than the air contained between the rim tape and tire. You will notice that after around 5-10min it will no longer do it 

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40 minutes ago, love2fly said:

Was the rim properly cleaned between tape applications and is tape right width? It should hold fairly well without sealant but it's likely some air will get past the tape - linearly it's twice the circumference of the wheel that there is an edge to "secure". I reckon if you add sealant you should be good to go....

Rim was super clean. No glue or dust whatsoever. I dont want to add sealant just to remove it again. My stans wheel held air for days without any sealant

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30 minutes ago, Mtree said:

A suggestion, one that works well for me, given on WTB rims. 

Apply a wrap of insulation tape over the spoke holes first, this will prevent the sealant getting into the spoke holes should it get under the rim tape, then the correct size rim tape, minimum of 1 wrap, starting before the valve and ending after the valve again. 

Did the DT Swiss rim come with a rim strip? 

The first setup had tape on the spoke holes. Didnt work any different. No the rim was bare

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1 hour ago, Sloth1987 said:

I am not new to tubeless but having trouble setting up new wheel. I changed my rear wheel from Stans to DT Swiss. Had the tubeless tape fitted by a bike shop. They have taped a wheel before for me and had no issues. 

This time after fitting the tyre, air is coming out the the spoke holes. I always do a dry run without sealant to check if theres a good seal.

I then took the tape off, inspected everything and found no issues.Then I fitted Stans yellow tape. Exact same issue. Redid it again. Same issue. Will this wheel require sealant to work unlike my old wheel that sealed without sealant?

 

My DT wheels also do this, my old Lyne wheels didnt, I eventually just added sealant and it still leaked, pumped it up again and made sure to shake the sealant around very well, and then it held up much better, but still slowly leaked, after the 3rd or 4th air up it now holds air very well, even switching tyres, it holds perfectly, just need to be very careful not to damage the rim tape when swapping tyres

 

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22 minutes ago, Sloth1987 said:

Rim was super clean. No glue or dust whatsoever. I dont want to add sealant just to remove it again. My stans wheel held air for days without any sealant

All three of my wheelsets don't hold air for days even with sealant....😬

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58 minutes ago, love2fly said:

All three of my wheelsets don't hold air for days even with sealant....😬

Some loss is Normal.

(MTB) Ok So You pump to 2.2 Wait 5 days

It will drop to 1.9 or 1.8 (Normal)

Extreme loss is not normal and usually means that you have an unplugged hole in the tyre or the Valve is too loose or the Valve Core is leaking. The Tape Seldom Leaks if it was installed properly.

Adding Roughage such as Cotton Fibers to the Sealant Improves Performance.

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1 hour ago, love2fly said:

All three of my wheelsets don't hold air for days even with sealant....😬

Which wheels do you have?

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9 minutes ago, Sloth1987 said:

Which wheels do you have?

Alex, Novatec and previously Shimano

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19 hours ago, dasilvarsa said:

Adding Roughage such as Cotton Fibers to the Sealant Improves Performance.

Where can Cotton Fibre be obtained?

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1 hour ago, Gadgets said:

Where can Cotton Fibre be obtained?

I usually cut up an Old Shoelace or Some String.

Sewing Thread will also do.

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If air is coming through the spoke holes, it's normally because it's pushing past the valve grommet.

Add sealant, rotate wheel so valve is at the bottom, inflate and bounce wheel on the floor to splash sealant onto the valve. Don't spin the wheel while doing this.

Some rims don't have a great joint seal, so if the tape doesn't go up the rim wall 3-4mm, this may cause the same issue.

Sealant will solve this too.

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On 6/25/2023 at 5:45 PM, Sloth1987 said:

Rim was super clean. No glue or dust whatsoever. I dont want to add sealant just to remove it again. My stans wheel held air for days without any sealant

All rims/wheels and tyre combinations are unfortunately not created equal.

Some hold air better than others.

While it may seem counterintuitive, sometimes adding the sealant really is the solution.

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