The sealant used in a tubeless tyre setup is designed to quickly plug small holes, often without you even realising.
However, sometimes the size or the location of the puncture will require more than sealant to fix it.
Here’s how to repair a punctured tubeless tyre using tubeless plugs, patches or sewing.
Tubeless punctures are often easy to find: look for tell-tale sealant or listen for the hissing of lost air pressure.Immediate Media
These days, a tubeless plug kit is a key part of any rider’s tool kit.Steve Behr
To repair a tubeless tyre puncture, you will require
For a more serious or stubborn puncture, you may need a tyre patch and/or a needle and thread.
If your sealant has dried out, you might need to refresh it.Russel Burton
You may also require:
Tubeless puncture plugs are a quick and effective solution. With these, there is no need to take off the tyre – just plug, re-inflate and go.
While there are a number of tubeless repair kits out there, most work in a similar way, using a rubber plug to fill the hole.
Once you’ve found the puncture, remove any offending items (a pick or a small pair of pliers are a useful addition to your tool bag for this very purpose).
Next, use your tubeless plug tool to make sure there’s a sufficiently large hole for the plug to enter – carefully insert the spike into the tyre to avoid damaging the rim tape, and twist to give a clean, round hole.
Thread a tubeless plug through the head of the tubeless plug tool. Most tools will come with a choice of different plug sizes to suit the size of the hole.
With the plug in the centre of the tool, insert it into the tyre, making sure you don’t push through fully.
Then twist carefully to slowly remove the tool, leaving the two ends of the plug on the outside of the tyre.
Inflate the tyre to your desired pressure, taking additional caution with high-pressure road tyres, and rotate the wheel so that the plug is at the ground for a few minutes before you get going again. This will allow some sealant to flow into the repair and fully seal things.
You may need to trim the tails of the plug that are left behind, but take care not to cut it too close to the tyre.
For more stubborn tubeless tyre punctures that can’t be fixed with a plug, it may be necessary to patch the tyre internally. The process for this is very similar to patching an inner tube.
First, you’ll need to roughen the surface that you want your patch to adhere to, using a little sandpaper, making sure there’s no debris left from the puncture. Cleanliness is key when it comes to gluing patches.
Add some vulcanising rubber solution to the area where you want to add the patch, waiting for it to become tacky as per the kit instructions.
Add the tubeless tyre patch and press down firmly. Try to avoid touching the surface that is to be glued because this can contaminate the adhesive.
Depending on the patch type, these may need minutes or hours to dry, before setting the tyre up tubeless as normal.
If successful, a patched tubeless tyre can last for many rides, often to the end of the tyre’s life.
A torn tyre can be a rider’s worst nightmare. These repair options should be viewed as a way to help you limp home before fitting a new tyre, rather than a long term solution.
A tyre boot can be placed on the interior of the tyre without any adhesive, held in place by the addition of an inner tube.
This flat boot keeps a flush internal surface to prevent the inner tube from bulging out of the slashed tyre. You can buy pre-made boots or make one out of a number of materials: toothpaste tubes, a section of inner tube or cash notes all work surprisingly well.
You’ll need a strong thread and needle to sew a tyre, such as this thick nylon or tooth floss.Immediate Media
If you don’t have a boot but you do happen to have tooth floss and a needle, you can actually sew up a torn tubeless tyre.
Using stitches perpendicular to the direction of the slash can help hold the casing of the tyre together before you insert an inner tube.
If you do use this method, it’s a good idea to add something between the sewn rubber and inner tube, such as a strip of strong tape.
If you are heading to the hills for an extended bikepacking or touring trip, packing a needle and thread is a good idea for this and any other fabric repairs.
No matter how hard you try, there’s always the chance a tubeless tyre might not be fixable on the road or trailside. Inserting an inner tube can be a mucky business with sealant already in the tyre, so it’s generally a last resort.
Before fitting an inner tube, thoroughly check the tyre for any punctures or offending items such as thorns. Just because you’ve found one, doesn’t mean there won’t be more embedded in the rubber waiting to puncture your inner tube too!
You can still get snakebite punctures with tubeless too, so make sure you’re running adequate pressures in your tyres, especially over harsh or rocky terrain to avoid a nasty double puncture from an impact on the rim. These are notoriously tricky to fix, with holes often too close to the tyre bead.
Besides punctured tyres, there are other things that need careful maintenance to keep your tubeless set up running smoothly, including the rim tape, tubeless valves and sealant.
It can be pretty hard to sort these on the go, so that’s when you might need to pop in a tube and leave the closer inspection until you’re home.
Katherine Moore is Dartmoor-based gravel and bikepacking expert who judges her rides by stoke level, rather than speed. When she’s not scouting out the best long-distance and local off-road routes in the UK, Katherine works as a freelance writer, bike tester, presenter and guide. Katherine is the former editor of advntr.cc and has also worked as a presenter on the Global Cycling Network. As well as being a regular contributor to BikeRadar.com and the BikeRadar Podcast, Katherine has also written for Cycling Weekly, Bikepacking.com and hosts the Unpaved Podcast. If you’re out on the trail you’ll likely see her from a mile off, thanks to her rather bright colour palette!
It’s pretty rare to get a flat tire when you have a tubeless setup.
The sealant inside your tires will quickly seal small holes and cuts to keep you rolling on the road or trail. However, flats are always possible – even with tubeless. Whether you’ve discovered your tire is flat after storing it in the garage, or you lose pressure after a sudden impact with a rock, we have you covered with the tips you need. Check out our guide to fixing your tubeless flat and getting back out on your ride.
You also might need:
Check out this video to learn how to use tire plugs.
If you make sure you shift into the smallest ring on the cassette, it should make this easier. Then, remove the axle or loosen the quick release (but don't remove the nut!), pull the derailleur back and out of the way, and pull your wheel straight up and out of the dropouts.
(You may also do this with just one tire lever)PRO TIP: Opt for plastic tire levers over metal ones. They won’t scratch the surface of your rim and they are lighter and easier to carry!
PRO TIP: If the last bit is super tight, start back at the top and use your hands to wiggle the tire into the center of the rim. Just like you did at the beginning to loosen the bead from the rim, this creates extra slack in the tire and will make it easier to get onto the rim. While you wiggle the tire push down. When you get to the bottom, you might be able to pop that tire on with your bare hands!
The trick is to keep pumping until you hear a “pop” which means the tire has seeded into the rim.How to Choose the Right Saddle
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Most passenger cars are equipped with tubeless tires, which are easy to mount on the rim, reasonable price, lighter weight and easy to repair if a puncture occurs. The driver will be able to seal the tire on his own, without disassembling. To learn how to seal a puncture in a tubeless tire, it is worth considering that there are several ways to perform this procedure. Most often, tire repairs are performed using a tourniquet, a fungus patch, and special sprays that tighten the puncture site and stop air leakage.
If you want to learn how to seal a tubeless tire at home with a repair harness, you should follow the instructions:
The machine must be put on the parking brake, and a chock can be used to fix the position of the transport. Next, the car is jacked up and the wheel removed.
You need to carefully inspect the surface of the wheel to find the puncture site. Damage could occur as a result of piercing the wheel with a nail, self-tapping screw or glass shard.
In this case, the head of the nail or the edge of the glass will indicate the cut. The foreign object must be removed with pliers. If the puncture site is not visible, you can pour water on the tire, which will cause the air that comes out of the hole to attract attention with a hiss. The puncture site must be cleaned of dirt and marked with chalk or a marker.
Next, you need to take an awl with a screw tip and apply special glue to it. After that, the awl is immersed in the puncture hole and several reciprocating movements are made. The tool should not be removed from the hole.
Then, a repair harness (a strip of raw rubber) is installed in an awl with a needle hole. From two parts there should be identical strips, on which a thin layer of glue is applied. To perform a short-term repair of a large damage, you can apply two rubber strips at once.
The first awl is removed from the puncture, and a tool with a tourniquet is placed in its place.
Outside the tire, the edges of the strip remain (1-1.5 cm long). Next, the awl is pulled out of the hole after the tourniquet passes through. A strip of rubber that has folded in half will remain at the puncture site, and its ends should be cut off.
Having learned how to properly seal a tubeless tire with a tourniquet yourself, and after completing this procedure, you need to inflate the tire to the optimum pressure, after which the wheel can be returned to its place. This method is considered relevant if you need to seal a tire tread puncture, and the hole diameter is up to 10 mm. As for side cuts, the elimination of such a problem should be entrusted to professional specialists working in a car repair shop.
If you are looking for an option on how to seal a tubeless tire with a repair kit yourself, you can perform this procedure using a patch fungus. For this method, you will need to remove the wheel and tire from the disk. You also need to purchase patches in the form of fungi, sandpaper and glue.
The repair procedure is as follows:
It is necessary to clean the puncture site, rinse it and remove dirt, as well as foreign objects that damaged the tire.
Next, the puncture site is cleaned from the inside to give it a roughness. For this task, you can use sandpaper or a drill with a special nozzle.
At the next stage of work, a fungus of the required diameter and size is selected (patches can be purchased at auto parts stores), based on the size of the puncture.
The patch is covered with glue and placed on the puncture site, after which it must be firmly pressed.
Then the patch must be allowed to dry, after which the wheel can be assembled.
If you are looking for an answer to the question of how to seal Michelin tubeless tires or tires from another brand, you can use the easiest and most effective way. You can use a spare in a can.
Sealant allows you to quickly seal the wheel. To apply it, you need to unscrew the nipple (this action is not always required). The contents of the vial must be squeezed into the opening of the nipple and returned to its place. Within 10 minutes after inflating the tire, you can continue on your way.
To see how to seal a tubeless tire in a video, you can watch a YouTube video with detailed video instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpnKzfpkeoQ.
Based on the method of repair, certain tools and fixtures will be selected. To repair a tire with a tourniquet, you will need a repair tourniquet, two awls (one of them with an eyelet) and glue. When using a patch fungus, you will need a patch, sandpaper (or a drill), and glue. Among other things, repairs can be carried out with tire sealant. Also, when repairing tires, it is worth using a portable compressor (for inflating tires), a repair kit, a jack, pliers, a wheel wrench, a knife and anti-recoil fixing auto devices.
When choosing a repair method, take into account the degree of damage to the tire and follow the instructions so that the work is done as efficiently as possible and the wheel returns to its previous operational state.
esportby.com
An easy way to quickly restore tire tightness and continue your journey. True, for this you need to have the right wheel repair kit with you.
Maxim Stroker
“Catching” a nail, screw or piece of wire on the track on the track is a trifling matter and somewhere even everyday. However, it turns into a serious "trouble" if this happens, for example, at night or a couple of tens of kilometers from the nearest tire fitting point. In theory, in this case, you need to put a spare wheel and go further. Although, in the case of a family trip on vacation, the process of digging it out from under a pile of junk in the trunk can turn into an adventure that deserves a separate story.
Be that as it may, often the trouble does not come alone and the spare tire can be broken literally on the next kilometer. After all, where one carnation fell on the road, there may well be another one, and another, and another ...
With a couple of crippled wheels, you'll either have to wait an unknown amount of time for a tow truck to be sent down by the Conductor, or fix it yourself. Therefore, in a not particularly urbanized area, it makes sense to carry a repair kit with you to eliminate punctures in tubeless wheels. In principle, it can be of any manufacturer. The main thing when choosing it in the store is to make sure that the “drill” included in the repair kit is not very toothy and sharp. After all, his task is simply to clear a puncture hole in the tire, and not to break its metal cord. The second recommendation: the flagella, which are supposed to close the puncture hole, should be plump and reinforced with thin wire or plastic threads.
n-i.kiev.ua
And the third criterion for choosing a wheel repair kit is the obligatory presence of a tube of glue in it.
Yes, yes: there are also “glueless” sets on sale, which are essentially useless.
So, we notice that the wheel is flat (or has already blown off) and proceed to eliminate the problem. Most often, the hole in the rubber is not visible. Therefore, to begin with, we hang out the damaged wheel by raising the car on a jack, and inflate it with a pump or compressor to 3-4 atmospheres. If even after that it is not possible to detect damage by the whistle of escaping air, we methodically and consistently wet the entire surface of the wheel and look for bubbles at the puncture site.
Having found a puncture, we take the “drill” from the set and pierce the damaged area several times with it. So we clean the surface of the hole before gluing. Next, we smear the “drill” with glue from the set and again immerse it in the hole. We repeat this operation and, leaving the “drill” sticking out in the hole smeared with glue, we take out the flagellum and insert it halfway into the eye of another tool - the “overgrown needle” (sometimes called the “awl”), also available in the repair kit.
