Sticky tire boot + sealant

[Jeff Barber]

I tore a sidewall on my tubeless tire the other night and fortunately a friend had one of those sticky Park Tool tire boots. The only problem is my tire had a ton of fresh Stans in it and the boot wouldn’t stick. Tried wiping the sealant around the patch area but it still didn’t stick very well. I threw a tube in but didn’t get very far before the sidewall tear caused another flat.

Do some sealants work better than others when it comes to sticky tire boots? Are some boots better than others? Or should I just start carrying around a roll of paper towels with my emergency tire boot? 🙂

[Patrick Goral]

Most sealants are going to make it tough for a boot to stick.  I try to not rely on the stickiness, but rather to pressure from the tube to hold the boot in place.

[bigdrop46]

The key to a long rip and adding a tube is to be carrying a small roll of 2″ climbers tape.  put in your tube and inflate to normal tire size then wrap climbers tape around your rim and tire at the point of the tear then fully inflate the tube to desired pressure.  Climbers tape looks like ordinary adhesive tape but it is super strong and will not stretch.  Got my wife down 23 mile trail from the top of Porcupine Rim in Moab as the most extreme use of it, the stuff is tough and works.  Personally used it in two other tire rip situations and also have used it to tape a saddle back on a seat post when one of the seat post bolts broke.  That saddle was on for the season if the rider was too lazy to get a new seat bolt.  It’s the one must carry item for bike repair and first aid kit all in a little $3 roll.

billgill

[Jeff Barber]

I try to not rely on the stickiness, but rather to pressure from the tube to hold the boot in place.

So I was banking on this, and in the end the boot did stay in place. That is, it successfully covered the cut the entire time. It just didn’t hold the tear together like it would if it had adhered all the way around the cut. So when I went down a set of stairs, it seems the tire deformed such that it opened the tear more and let the air out.

I like billgill’s idea of wrapping the outside of the tire with non-stretch tape, assuming dry conditions on the trail.

 

[Framebreaker]

Jeff,

You likely know this but on the preventative side: Maxxis Minions DHR and/or DHF (I’ve used both) with the Exo protection are simply hard to beat. I’ve put about 3k on my rear tire from Pacific NW roots and rocks to Prescott and Sedona. I replaced after about year when sidewall showed abrasive wear (slanted fatigue lines and a few threads showing) HOWEVER the sidewall never failed. I’m heavy at about 250lbs and ride over everything on my hardtail 29er. I run low pressure (10-25lbs depending on trail). My front tire is showing cracks in rubber but is still running strong (no bulges, or significant abrasions). Front tire has about 4.5k on it. I’ve got a new Maxxis for it but will replace when time comes.

It seems these heavier tires have significantly stronger sidewalls which equals crazy performance and longevity

Anyway, over all this dangerous terrain the Maxxis are simply insanely strong and dependable and I hope you and my fellow MTB brothers can benefit from my hard-won advice on keeping the rubber rolling.

Framebreaker

[Jeff Barber]

Thanks for the note Framebreaker. The tires were due for replacement anyway so no sweat. Just want to be prepared for the next time it happens in a few years. 🙂

[Author]

Posts