My bike's rear tire finally deflated fully today. I had been seeing signs that it might need new sealant as early as this weekend.
I've already blogged about my experience before and I'll be using that knowledge to refill my tires with sealant. Basically filling the tire directly with sealant before setting the beads, then applying just a little bit of sealant via the valve stem. That seems to have worked because my front tire holds air way better than my rear tire.
I've been using Sagmit's Tire Sealant since I got the bike last year. This is the third time I'll apply the sealant. It also seems to be the trend that after two months of use you will need to replenish the sealant in the wheel. The last time I poured sealant was early in January 2022.
I'm not bummed out to be honest. The sealant I've been using is relatively cheap (PhP66-ish per 330mL bottle versus over PhP500 for a 240mL bottle of Zefal tire sealant). Based on what happened last January I was expecting this to happen. It's just par for the course of using tubeless tires, I guess.
I'm just glad the sealant I use is cheap. I've read that other sealants also need to be replenished from two to six months so I guess this is just par for the course.
So I'll be taking the wheels off my bike either later today or early tomorrow morning so I can clean them up real nice and remove the crusty old sealant before reapplying new sealant. I might even re-apply tubeless rim tape just to be sure.
Would I ever consider switching to inner tubes? I honestly don't know. I've got two inner tubes right now for emergency purposes but I don't think I want to use them.
It's more likely I'll buy tubeless ready rims than using inner tubes if you ask me right now.
Out.
