Tufo Liquid Tire Sealant

I read some of the NG messages about Tufo Liquid Tire Sealant going all
the way back to 1996.

I just bought a classic old bike equipped with old sewups. I was curious
about the stuff so I tried some on these tires since they're probably
throw aways any way and it's a good chance to test the sealant.

The rear tire had a slow leak and the front wouldn't hold air for more
than a few minutes. I tried the rear one first. I followed the instruction
and put in about 1/3 of the 50 ml container. So far it's been holding 100
PSI for 2 days.

Last night I tried the front tire. It started leaking some of the sealant
out of a 1 mm cut in the thread. I pulled out about a .3 mm piece of
stone, maybe a piece of flint. The bike came from Colorado. Hey Jobst take
note!

I also removed 2 goathead thorn remnants in the tread plus I found about
4-5 other round little goathead holes. After a few minutes the 1 mm cut
stop leaking. I took it back up to 100 PSI and 12 hours latter it seems to
be still holding air OK.

I suspect that the latex sealant leaks out of the punctures in the tube
and cements the tube to the casing at those points.

Chas.

AAAAAAIIIIIIEEEE! latex sealant seals between tube and slime liner or
worser tube and inner tire CONTACT surface-other side of tread. but
maybe not the flexing sidewall. The method depends on a film squeezed
between two very tightly adjoining surfaces. The smaller the gap the
better thus the tube/slime liner.

On Dec 14, 4:22 pm, "* * Chas" wrote:
I read some of the NG messages about Tufo Liquid Tire Sealant going all
the way back to 1996.

I just bought a classic old bike equipped with old sewups. I was curious
about the stuff so I tried some on these tires since they're probably
throw aways any way and it's a good chance to test the sealant.

The rear tire had a slow leak and the front wouldn't hold air for more
than a few minutes. I tried the rear one first. I followed the instruction
and put in about 1/3 of the 50 ml container. So far it's been holding 100
PSI for 2 days.

Last night I tried the front tire. It started leaking some of the sealant
out of a 1 mm cut in the thread. I pulled out about a .3 mm piece of
stone, maybe a piece of flint. The bike came from Colorado. Hey Jobst take
note!

I also removed 2 goathead thorn remnants in the tread plus I found about
4-5 other round little goathead holes. After a few minutes the 1 mm cut
stop leaking. I took it back up to 100 PSI and 12 hours latter it seems to
be still holding air OK.

I suspect that the latex sealant leaks out of the punctures in the tube
and cements the tube to the casing at those points.

Chas.

I tried it a couple of times with mixed results. The first time it
sealed a pinhole leak in a Veloflex tubular with a latex inner tube
pretty effectively. The other times that I tried it, it stopped the
leak until I tried to pump the tire up to 115 or 120 psi, which is how
I run my rear tires ( I run 95 to 100 psi in the front, but it's
nearly always the rear tire that punctures). At higher pressures, the
sealant failed and made a heck of a mess as it spurted out of the
tire. It also has a tendency to gum up a presta valve stem. I guess it
might work OK for some people, but I would not depend on it to
permanently repair a punctured tubular, and I cannot recommend it.

On Dec 14, 6:32 pm, Mike Krueger wrote:
On Dec 14, 4:22 pm, "* * Chas" wrote:





I read some of the NG messages about Tufo Liquid Tire Sealant going all
the way back to 1996.

I just bought a classic old bike equipped with old sewups. I was curious
about the stuff so I tried some on these tires since they're probably
throw aways any way and it's a good chance to test the sealant.

The rear tire had a slow leak and the front wouldn't hold air for more
than a few minutes. I tried the rear one first. I followed the instruction
and put in about 1/3 of the 50 ml container. So far it's been holding 100
PSI for 2 days.

Last night I tried the front tire. It started leaking some of the sealant
out of a 1 mm cut in the thread. I pulled out about a .3 mm piece of
stone, maybe a piece of flint. The bike came from Colorado. Hey Jobst take
note!

I also removed 2 goathead thorn remnants in the tread plus I found about
4-5 other round little goathead holes. After a few minutes the 1 mm cut
stop leaking. I took it back up to 100 PSI and 12 hours latter it seems to
be still holding air OK.

I suspect that the latex sealant leaks out of the punctures in the tube
and cements the tube to the casing at those points.

Chas.

I tried it a couple of times with mixed results. The first time it
sealed a pinhole leak in a Veloflex tubular with a latex inner tube
pretty effectively. The other times that I tried it, it stopped the
leak until I tried to pump the tire up to 115 or 120 psi, which is how
I run my rear tires ( I run 95 to 100 psi in the front, but it's
nearly always the rear tire that punctures). At higher pressures, the
sealant failed and made a heck of a mess as it spurted out of the
tire. It also has a tendency to gum up a presta valve stem. I guess it
might work OK for some people, but I would not depend on it to
permanently repair a punctured tubular, and I cannot recommend it.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I've used it for 3 years on latex tubed-based tubulars (Vittoria
Special Pave and Veloflex Roubaix and Criterium) with extremely
effective results on pinhole leaks. Take out the valve core first.
-Mike

On Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:44:16 GMT, still just me
wrote:

On Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:15:53 -0800 (PST), "mowens61-gmail.com"
wrote:

I've used it for 3 years on latex tubed-based tubulars (Vittoria
Special Pave and Veloflex Roubaix and Criterium) with extremely
effective results on pinhole leaks. Take out the valve core first.

How do you take out the valve core of a tubular?

Dear S,

There are at least three ways.

On some tubes, you can unscrew the whole valve assembly (not just the
core), leaving a hole in the tube--the upper valve he

http://www.yellowjersey.org/JBPV1.JPG

On others, your can unscrew the upper half of the valve stem, which
comes out with the valve core (Slime tubes do this)--the lower valve
in the same picture has been unscrewed from its valve stem:

http://www.yellowjersey.org/JBPV1.JPG

And on ordinary tubes, you can clip the end off the valve stem,
unthread the Presta lock nut, let the valve core drop down inside the
tube, press the sides of the tube against it with your fingers to
catch it, fill the tube with stuff, fiddle the valve core back up into
the valve stem, get the lock nut back on, and remember not to loosen
the nut too far next time. That's the Tufo site's ship-in-a-bottle
trick, which is more trouble than it's worth for clincher tubes, but
might seem practical to tubular users:


https://secure.techxpress.net/slime....PRESTA_doc.pdf

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 Dec 2007 23:44:16 GMT, still just me
wrote:

On Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:15:53 -0800 (PST), "mowens61-gmail.com"
wrote:

I've used it for 3 years on latex tubed-based tubulars (Vittoria
Special Pave and Veloflex Roubaix and Criterium) with extremely
effective results on pinhole leaks. Take out the valve core first.

How do you take out the valve core of a tubular?

Dear S,

There are at least three ways.

On some tubes, you can unscrew the whole valve assembly (not just the
core), leaving a hole in the tube--the upper valve he

http://www.yellowjersey.org/JBPV1.JPG

On others, your can unscrew the upper half of the valve stem, which
comes out with the valve core (Slime tubes do this)--the lower valve
in the same picture has been unscrewed from its valve stem:

http://www.yellowjersey.org/JBPV1.JPG

And on ordinary tubes, you can clip the end off the valve stem,
unthread the Presta lock nut, let the valve core drop down inside the
tube, press the sides of the tube against it with your fingers to
catch it, fill the tube with stuff, fiddle the valve core back up into
the valve stem, get the lock nut back on, and remember not to loosen
the nut too far next time. That's the Tufo site's ship-in-a-bottle
trick, which is more trouble than it's worth for clincher tubes, but
might seem practical to tubular users:



https://secure.techxpress.net/slime....PRESTA_doc.pdf

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

The Tufo 50 ml kit comes with a little plastic wrench that fits over the
flats on removable presta valves. They also include a piece of flexible
tubing to slide over non removable presta valves.

So far the stuff is holding OK. I have a bunch of old sewups that still
have some miles left on them but aren't worth taking the time to patch.
This looks like a good solution.

As I mentioned in my first post, along with the tips of several old
goatheads I found what appeared to be a piece of light tan colored flint
about .3 mm long lodged in the tread. It worked its way about 1mm under
the tread (I'm Brandt baiting now).

Descartes: "Cogito ergo sum" - I think therefore I am....
Brandt: I've not experienced it therefore it can not exist.....

Chas.

"mowens61-gmail.com" wrote:
I've used it for 3 years on latex tubed-based tubulars (Vittoria
Special Pave and Veloflex Roubaix and Criterium) with extremely
effective results on pinhole leaks. Take out the valve core first.

still just me wrote:
How do you take out the valve core of a tubular?

You don't need the 'special' valve core wrench, a two inch Crescent or
similar works fine.
http://www.yellowjersey.org/PV2PART.JPG
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 13:20:41 -0600, A Muzi
wrote:

"mowens61-gmail.com" wrote:
I've used it for 3 years on latex tubed-based tubulars (Vittoria
Special Pave and Veloflex Roubaix and Criterium) with extremely
effective results on pinhole leaks. Take out the valve core first.

still just me wrote:
How do you take out the valve core of a tubular?

You don't need the 'special' valve core wrench, a two inch Crescent or
similar works fine.
http://www.yellowjersey.org/PV2PART.JPG

Dear Andrew,

Heck, needlenose pliers grab the tiny flats just fine.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

"mowens61-gmail.com" wrote:
I've used it for 3 years on latex tubed-based tubulars (Vittoria
Special Pave and Veloflex Roubaix and Criterium) with extremely
effective results on pinhole leaks. Take out the valve core first.

still just me wrote:
How do you take out the valve core of a tubular?

A Muzi wrote:
You don't need the 'special' valve core wrench, a two inch Crescent or
similar works fine.
http://www.yellowjersey.org/PV2PART.JPG

wrote:
Heck, needlenose pliers grab the tiny flats just fine.

Sorry, Carl, a professional mechanic cannot turn wrench flats with a
pliers. Just can't do it (shudder).
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:13:50 -0600, A Muzi
wrote:

"mowens61-gmail.com" wrote:
I've used it for 3 years on latex tubed-based tubulars (Vittoria
Special Pave and Veloflex Roubaix and Criterium) with extremely
effective results on pinhole leaks. Take out the valve core first.

still just me wrote:
How do you take out the valve core of a tubular?

A Muzi wrote:
You don't need the 'special' valve core wrench, a two inch Crescent or
similar works fine.
http://www.yellowjersey.org/PV2PART.JPG

wrote:
Heck, needlenose pliers grab the tiny flats just fine.

Sorry, Carl, a professional mechanic cannot turn wrench flats with a
pliers. Just can't do it (shudder).

Dear Andrew,

Just think of them as pliers apartments, not wrench flats, and they'll
come off effortlessly.

Worst case, you damage the half-threads for the Presta valve cap a
little and maybe end up stripping the threads on the corresponding
plastic valve cap.

This potential danger should not worry professional bicycle mechanics,
who hoard valve caps stolen--

Er, who hoard valve caps liberated from customers like Beowulf's
dragon hoarded--

Never mind. That simile started to strip when I leaned on it.

You can use a torque wrench like this to remove and install removable
Presta valve cores professionally:

http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com...p.aspx?id=9264

At a penny a valve cap, it costs only 36,000 valve caps, probably only
a month's worth for a high-volume LBS.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel