I replaced my very worn rear TLR tyre with a fresh but used one. The fresh one was only 2k km old but i had 3 tyres so i could take my time with any repairs. The fresh one has a patch repair. it went on fine but won’t hold air. If i pump it to 80 or 90psi at lunchtime (i don’t ride at that), it seems to be 20-30 the next morning. When i inflate there’s no hissing from any tyre damage, around the rims or valve. It seems ok. When i changed tyres i inspected the rim tape which seemed ok. I also rested my wheels flat for 3h per side to make sure sealant gets into the side wall and bead area.
I don’t mind inflating often but i do like to inflate the night before a morning ride so i’m not messing about early am. Currently i can’t do that.
Wheels are roval rapide CL II and vittoria corsa next TLR 28mm tyres. Using stans race sealant and 55ml portion (rec is 50ml). Same selant as before. The front set up is identical and fine.
Anything i can try? Normally when i’ve had pressure loss i can either hear hissing, or laying flat for a few hours sorts it out.
The only time I’ve had pressure loss that wasn’t solved by laying flat/shaking/etc. to distribute sealant it was a very slow leak due to a clogged valve core. Slow enough that I didn’t hear any hissing. Replacing the valve core fixed it. No way to know if that’s your problem but a valve core is cheap so might as well try replacing it.
I’ve got Fillmores too, and whilst I still much prefer them over standard prestas, they are not entirely immune to clogging issues. In particular, I have had instances of little clumps of sealant preventing the actual little valve mechanism (which is inside the wheel) closing fully. And unlike standard prestas (for which replacing the valve core is a quick and easy fix), to fix it on Fillmores, you have to unseat the tyre and get at the valve from the inside.
That said, I would follow a three-step process:
Ride more. With tubeless leaks, hopefully the sealant will block it up sooner or later. Riding is a good way to keep the sealant moving around and hopefully bringing it into contact with the leak.
Troubleshooting. In an ideal world, you would be able to identify the source of the leak, which would enable a targeted fix.
Start again. A bit annoying in the short term, but hopefully it solves the issue and probably overall less faff than constantly pumping and never ending attempts at troubleshooting. Tyre off, rim tape off, valves out; clean everything; start again.
Thanks. I think ill deflate and have a look at the valve from the inside of the wheel - and give it a clean. Can’t do any harm! Then try the start again strategy, if needed.
Took the fillmore valve out. There was a bit of gunk around the inside wheel bit potentially meaning it wasn’t 100 flush when inflated. Also gave it a clean with the blast pump and took 3 blasts to clear it. for some reason i intentionally overinflated to 120psi to seat it properly and then a previously sealed hole popped. It re-sealed quickly and i put some rubber CA glue on the tyre outside to reinforce.
Who knows, i might have made it worse! i do think the valve cleaning should help me. I’m guessing a small amount of gunk would be enough for a very slow air leak. There’s no other obvious cause.
I would suspect rim tape, or more specifically the rim tape right around the valve. I’ve had more problems with air leaking around where the valve seats with the rim than I have with the valve innards. As fast as it is leaking you should be able to see bubbles if you immerse the tire in water.
I would use a whole lot of soapy water before I overinflated a tire trying to get the bead in place.
I have definitely had Reserve valves clog and have slow leaks. Perhaps this is from injecting sealant through the valve. It is Orange Seal Endurance if that matters.
They are quite easy to clean once you remove them from the wheel. The valve base takes a tiny hex key (2mm IIRC) and the flange has wrench flats. Unscrew the base and it comes apart. There is a tiny rod that connects the long valve stem to the base that will fall onto the shop floor and roll away if you aren’t careful. Ask me.how I know
I would not inflate any tubeless tire to 90 PSI under any circumstances. Many tires have a max pressure of 72.5 PSI, and rims frequently have similar maximums. Carbon rims can fail dangerously and catastrophically if they are over inflated. I can’t really see a reason to put that much air in them. You don’t need to stress them system that much.
Thanks all. Haven’t tried the water trick yet. I seemed to have a puncture now. Not sure if it’s new or the cause of my recent trouble. Need to patch this. Ill try the take valve apart thing as well. I don’t inject sealant through the valve as it’s not recommended with stans race.
An easier trick than putting the wheel in water is filling a spray bottle with some soapy water and spraying the wheel/tire. You’ll quickly see suds appearing anywhere you have a leak.
Another fix for a slow leak for me recently was a bit of grease around the valve stem where it seals to the rim. Normally sealant takes care of those but this time it wasn’t for whatever reason
New / extra layer of rim tape, doubling over valve hole
Cleaned valve (couldn’t disassemble)
Puncture repaired with rema patch
Fresh sealant
Wheels laid flat for a couple of hours per side
A couple of 90min rides
Not sure which action saved me but thanks for everyone’s tips. I didn’t get to soapy water / bucket step and i only saw the valve grease / tape tips after it seemed to be ok. I’ll do those when i next pop the tyre for sealant maybe.
I had Fillmore valves and I had the same issue. I replaced them with OEM style valves and the type of air loss you experienced was resolved. In my case the Fillmore valves were installed by my shop’s mechanic so the DIY mechanic consideration wasn’t a factor.
