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When to replace latex tube filled with sealant
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I do most of my riding indoors on the wahoo wheel off trainer. Had my first sprint race about a month ago so put some sealant(orange if the brand matters) in the latex tube that came in the bike from the factory. The sprint race had some pretty bad roads with a lot of bumps, no flats that I could tell and immediately after getting home took the wheel off and put it back on the trainer. I've kept the tire pressure the same since then as I heard if you let it get too low the sealant can fuse the tire together.

Anyways, fast forward to today as I'm doing steelhead 70.3 this weekend I took the bike off the trainer, went outside for a short ride to make everything is in good working order. 45 minutes into the ride I stop to switch from my road to aero helmet to see if the visibility is any better as I had to crane my neck a ton to see barely anything up the road. When I take off again I hear a noise that sounds like what getting a flat sounds like for about 20-30 seconds. Stop check my tire, it's fine. Ride for another couple minutes everything is still fine. As of now a couple hours later the tire is still fully inflated. But I'm worried, was this some sort of flat the sealant 'repaired'? Should I top up the sealant, or is that even possible with latex tubes? Should I be replacing the tube just to be safe? I've heard that changing latex tubes can be a pain so if it's fine I'd rather not mess with it but curious what some of the experts here think.
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Re: When to replace latex tube filled with sealant [habbywall] [ In reply to ]
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Take the tyre off if it punctured you should see some sealant.
Also the tyre would need inspecting if you punctured and better to do that with the tyre off.
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Re: When to replace latex tube filled with sealant [habbywall] [ In reply to ]
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habbywall wrote:
I've heard that changing latex tubes can be a pain so if it's fine I'd rather not mess with it but curious what some of the experts here think.

The difficultly of changing latex tubes has been way overblown. It's the same as installing a butyl. Just make sure there isn't exposed tube sticking out of the tire bead before you inflate it fully. FWIW, I've goobered more butyl tubes than latex tubes during installs.

As to whether to change the tubes, It's cheap insurance. If you're concerned, I would do it for the peace of mind. Personally, I would also skip the sealant.
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Re: When to replace latex tube filled with sealant [habbywall] [ In reply to ]
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Tough because you're on the verge of a race but personally I think using sealant with latex tubes is just wayyy overkill. Just run the tubes as they are meant to be.

My honest suggestion would be to just ditch the tubes and sealant you have, and get some fresh tubes for the weekend. Installing latex tubes is, as other poster said, not harder you just have to be a bit focused instead of blindly cramming it in. Use the rim center channel, baby powder the tube a bit so it's easier to slide around, check for protrusions before inflating fully.
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Re: When to replace latex tube filled with sealant [PBT_2009] [ In reply to ]
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This year I’ve started to run sealant in latex tubes. I don’t know that it’s saved me a flat yet (as it seems it did for you) but I really love that it reduces the pressure loss of latex tubes. I pumped one to 85 psi and checked a week later, still had 55 psi. That’s like 1 day worth of loss for latex without sealant.

On the other hand, I feel that to make this work long term, you need to get comfortable throwing away $15 tubes. I don’t change a tire or let a tube get to zero pressure without changing it, and certainly wouldn’t leave a tube in after hearing a puncture during a ride.

To make this work you definitely need to feel comfortable changing tubes out. I agree with other posters, installing/removing latex tubes is not bad, just make sure that the tube is fully inside the tire when you get your levers in.

Sealant in latex may not be right for you, maybe it is and you just need to get more used to the extra steps. I’m undecided myself if it’s worth the hassle. It’s not a lot but it’s definitely not nothing.
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Re: When to replace latex tube filled with sealant [Rob84] [ In reply to ]
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fwiw, I ran sealant in latex for 2-3 years, and my ultimate conclusion was it's not worth it. For whatever reason it doesn't seem to seal punctures as well as with tubeless tires (which I use now). Maybe seals 50% vs 90%. Maybe something to do for an A race if not running tubeless-friendly tires - because why not - but I gave up on full time use.
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Re: When to replace latex tube filled with sealant [trail] [ In reply to ]
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trail wrote:
fwiw, I ran sealant in latex for 2-3 years, and my ultimate conclusion was it's not worth it.

Pretty much my experience too. I've always raced with latex tubes, and racing short course, a puncture means your chances of a good result are zero if you flat. I had never had a puncture in a race, but started running sealant as an extra precaution. Ironically, my only puncture in a race did happen while using sealant, but it was actually on the rim side of the tube (rim tape just a little off and the tube found a spoke a hole) so the sealant didn't really do anything, centrifugal force being what it is.

But it meant that I was throwing out tubes every year, which just seems wasteful. I also run latex on my road bike and have run the same tubes for years without issue. So I stopped bothering with sealant.
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