This test is in response to many reports of tire casings failing from the inside when used tubeless with liquid sealants. Kenda has announced they will not warranty any tire - tube type or tubeless - that has been used with fluid based sealants. Kenda press release.
Schwalbe has recently posted the following disclaimer to their web site:
Stans Notubes sealant is the most commonly used product. Stans is latex based and contains ammonia. Pennzoil Fix a Flat Tire Sealant & Flat Preventative is also being tested as it is a different base (propylene giycol).
Note: This was a static test. The tires was new, never ridden, carried no load and were not flexed/compressed during the test period.
Cost
- Stans Notubes Sealant: 16 oz, $10.00; 32 oz $15.00
- Pennzoil Fix a Flat: 16 oz, $4.79
- Maxxis TS (Tubeless System) rim strips, $5.00 each
Tires used
- Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 Tubeless System (2)
- Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless
- Continental Gravity ProTection 2.3
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Click on images to open a larger pic in a new window
Stans Notubes sealant; Pennzoil Fix a Flat sealant |
Test wheels and tires |
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Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS tires, Ambrosia CC22 rims |
- Tires mounted with sealant on August 1, 2005. Test will run for at least two months and up to four months
- Pressure to be maintained at ~36psi, checked and spun in a truing stand at least every couple of days
- Stored upright with the valve stem in the top in an uninsulated shop (50-95 degree F temperature range)
- All new tires. May have been mounted before
- None have been ridden
- All tires mounted following Stans instructions
- Sealant type and mounting date marked on tire sidewalls
- Tires will be punctured with blackberry thorns and staples to simulate trail use damage
- Tire probably will not be ridden during the duration of the test to assure that all tires are treated the same
- Using Maxxis tubeless rim strips to seal standard rims
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Maxxis 26A2 tubeless rim strip |
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August 1, 2005
- Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS mounted on Ambrosia CC22 rims with Maxxis 26A2 tubeless rim strips
- One tire with 2 oz of Stans Sealant
- One tire with 4 oz of Pennzoil Fix a Flat sealant (as recommended on bottle)
- Was somewhat difficult to mount tires and keep the rim strip in place
- Both inflated easily and are holding pressure
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Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS tires, Ambrosia CC22 rims |
Maxxis 26A2 tubeless rim strip |
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Inside of Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS tire |
Inside of Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS tire |
Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS tire tread |
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Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless tire, Mavic XM819 UST rim |
August 1, 2005
- Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless on Mavic XM819 UST rim
- 2-3 oz of Stans sealant
- No issues with mounting or sealing
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Mavic XM819 UST rim |
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Inside of Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless tire |
Inside of Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless tire |
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August 1, 2005
- Continental Gravity ProTection 2.3 on Mavic F219 rim with a Maxxis 26A1 tubeless rim strip
3 oz of Stans sealant
- Mounted and inflated easily. A bit of air leakage around the bead. Almost none through the casing
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Continental Gravity ProTection 2.3 tire, Mavic F219 rim |
Maxxis 26A1 tubeless rim strip |
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Inside of Continental Gravity ProTection 2.3 tire |
Inside of Continental Gravity ProTection 2.3 tire |
Tread of Continental Gravity ProTection 2.3 tire |
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August 2
Conti deflated overnight. Reinflated fine with a floor pump. Minor leak at the seam in the rim. The Maxxis strip should prevent that. Hmmm.
Other tires holding air.
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| First Punctures - August 2, 2005 |
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Puncture Test
- Each tire is punctured twice in the tread area on each side of the valve stem with a large green blackberry thorn
- A separate thorn is used for each tire
- First hole is made and thorn removed
- The thorn is left in the second hole. Will leave the thorn in for the duration of the test
- Wheels are spun in a truing stand before and after the punctures are made
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Continental Gravity ProTection |
Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless |
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Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Pennzoil Fix a Flat |
Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Stans |
Continental Gravity ProTection |
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Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless |
- All the tires sealed quickly and are holding air
- The Nevegal leaked the most - but still a very small amount - of sealant
- The Maxxis tires leaked almost no visible sealant
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Continental Gravity ProTection |
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Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless |
Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Pennzoil Fix a Flat |
Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Stans |
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- Needed to press the thorns back in the tires after ~15 minutes
- Thorn in the Maxxis/Pennzoil tire fell out after a couple of hours. It will not be replaced
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Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Pennzoil Fix a Flat |
Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Stans |
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Continental Gravity ProTection |
Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless |
Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Pennzoil Fix a Flat |
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Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Stans |
- All tires punctured in the sidewall just below the tread line with a blackberry thorn. Location at the 5th spoke from the valve.
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Continental Gravity ProTection Pre-puncture |
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Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless Pre-puncture |
Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Pennzoil Fix a Flat Pre-puncture |
Continental Gravity ProTection Post-puncture
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Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless Post-puncture |
Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Pennzoil Fix a Flat Post-puncture |
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| Aug 3 AM
- Pressure check
- All tires are holding air
- The Maxxis/Pennzoil and Conti had dropped to ~28psi
- Bead on the Conti seems to have sealed
- The other two dropped to ~ 34psi
- All brought back to 36psi
- All spun in truing stand
- Tires are being left outside for the day
PM
- Conti lost about half its pressure. Reinflated and spun before putting all tires away for the night
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Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Stans Pre-puncture |
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| Aug 4
AM
- Conti still losing pressure. Reinflated and found an preexisting hole in the sidewall. Shook tire several times and was able to get the sealant to ooze out the hole.
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Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Stans Post-puncture |
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Aug 5
PM
- Conti is still losing air. Spun and shook tire and found another small spot in the sidewall oozing a small amount of sealant.
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| Aug 8
AM
- Conti mostly flat. Still finding small leaks in the sidewalls. Thorn came out while shaking wheel. Did not replace. Sealed quickly after shaking.
- Both Maxxis had dropped to ~28 psi. Kenda was at ~32 psi.
- All tires inflated to 36 psi and spun.
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| Staple Punctures - August 9, 2005 |
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Aug 9
Noon
- Conti nearly flat again. Reinflated, shook and spun. A few pinhole oozes in the sidewalls.
- Spun all wheels.
- Punctured all tires with a 13 mm staple fired from a staple gun in the area of the edge knobs at the valve.
Shook and spun wheels to seal. The sharp, flat staple should puncture/damage the casings in a different manner than the thorns.
- None of the tires had a audible leak with the staple in place.
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Continental Gravity ProTection |
Conti:
- Hissed when staple removed
- Did not seal until shook
- Sealant oozed out both holes
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Continental Gravity ProTection |
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Kenda:
- Hissed when staple removed
- Did not seal until shook
- Minor amount of sealant oozed out both holes
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Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless |
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Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless |
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Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Pennzoil Fix a Flat |
Maxxis/Fix a Flat:
- Hissed when staple removed
- No sealant ooze until shook (one hole only)
- Still bubbling after spun and additional shaking
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Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Pennzoil Fix a Flat |
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Maxxis/Stans:
- No hiss when staple removed
- No sealant ooze even after shaking and spinning
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Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Stans |
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Maxxis HardDrive 1.95 TS / Stans |
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Aug 9
PM
- Reinflated Conti again. Can hear the sealant sloshing inside. Looked for leaks with soapy water and by immersing in water. Found none.
- Maxxis/Fix-a-Flat still bubbling slightly from one of the staple holes.
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Aug 10
AM
- Conti holding pressure much better. Lost ~8 psi over night instead of 25
- Maxxis/Fix-a-Flat has sealed
- All tires are being left in the sun for the day (high 85F+)
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Aug 11
AM
- The Conti is still deflating. Found air escaping at the rim seam. There must be a hole in the rim strip
- Leaving all tires outside for the day
PM
- Reinflated Conti - down slightly
- Put tires away
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Aug 14
PM
- All tires holding air fine
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Aug 23
PM
- Conti: 10 psi
- Kenda: 26 psi
- Maxxis/Stans: 20 psi
- Maxxis/Fix a Flat: 24 psi
- All tire reinflated to 36 psi
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None show any external problem
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Aug 27
AM
- Conti completely flat
- Reinflated to 36 psi
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| Nov 6
PM
- Conti: 5-10 psi
- Kenda: 22 psi
- Maxxis/Stans: 20 psi
- Maxxis/Fix a Flat: 20 psi
- All tire reinflated to 36 psi
- None show any external problems.
- All tires are now stored inside a heated space
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Dec 3
AM
- Thorn popped out of the Kenda while moving the wheel. A foot-long jet of sealant shot out of the hole for several seconds (5?) before sealing. Spun the wheel after the hole sealed. Pressure several hours later was 20 psi (do not know the pressure before leak). There is a thin coating of dried sealant around the puncture site.
- Conti: 5 psi
- Kenda: 20 psi
- Maxxis/Stans: 28 psi
- Maxxis/Fix a Flat: 28 psi
- All tire reinflated to 40 psi (oops slightly over inflated).
- None show any external problems.
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Dec 13
Noon
- Conti: 14 psi
- Kenda: 30 psi
- Maxxis/Stans: 36 psi
- Maxxis/Fix a Flat: 32 psi
- All tires reinflated to 36 psi
- None show any external problems.
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| End of Test Period - January 2006 |
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| Sealant Test Main | Kenda Results | Continental Results | Maxxis Stans Results | Maxxis Fix a Flat Results |
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| Jan 4 2006
Noon
Kenda Nevegal 2.10 Tubeless (UST)
- No visual external problems.
Kenda Results with Pictures
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Jan 5 2006
Noon
Continental Gravity ProTection 2.3
- Duration of test: Five months, 5 days.
- No visual external problems.
Continental Results with pictures
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