During our test, Stan’s No Tubes Race sealant performed well, instantly sealing the smaller hole and forming a seal on the larger 5mm puncture with minimal air loss. This seal also remained in place with no leaking.

The tyre, temperature and the type or position of the puncture all affect the sealant’s ability to seal. The quantity and size of crystals in this special formula mean that Stan’s Race Sealant can only be installed directly into the tyre. As a result of its immense sealing capabilities, the Race Sealant will clog injectors and smaller bottles almost immediately. Stans are now making their Race Sealant available to riders everywhere and is only available in 32 oz. Quiet Formulation For more than 15 years, Stan's has been creating an "off-label" version for professional cycling teams and elite athletes. That version is what the public can now buy, labeled as "Race" tire sealant. It hasn't been on the market as long as the "standard" version. Only works on tubeless tires; doesn't work on tubular tires, nor in clincher tires with inner tubes Muc-Off No Puncture Hassle 1. Muc-Off No Puncture Hassle If you want the best out there, this is it

Does tyre sealant last forever?

Stan’s Race Sealant is definitely worth the small premium over the standard blend. Our heaviest-hitting test riders swear by this stuff – a potent magic formula that heals cuts and makes holes vanish. Stan’s No Tubes Race Sealant is expensive, but contains twice as many sealing crystals and uses bigger particles that can make larger holes air tight. Latex-based and natural, Stan’s is one of the first and best-known tyre sealants. Its popular original formula is proven to work without the familiar issues of drying out prematurely or simply not being able to plug small holes and rips in damaged tyres. In our torture chamber the Pit Stop TNT sealed the 2.75mm puncture after barely one revolution and did the same for the 5mm hole initially but it eventually when we put weight on the tyre. It didn’t seal the sidewall cut either we played around with positioning the slash rotating it to the bottom where it could submerge in sealant but it didn’t help. Finish Line sealant has undergone a bit of a rebranding since Pat’s long-term sealant test, where he found the product lived up to its claim of never drying, though the liquid suspension also separated over time and wasn’t that effective at keeping a seal. In my short-term test it performed just as well as any of the others, and its properties line up pretty closely with Stans and Orange Seal, just with a bit more density and viscosity. Orange Seal is the least dense sealant tested, adding the least amount of weight to the tire setup. Most latex-based sealants also contain small particles, such as glitter or small fibres, suspended in the liquid.

We are now making our Race Sealant available to riders everywhere. Stan's Race Sealant is only available by the quart. Pit Stop TNT is a thin sealant and it retained this viscosity when chilled, however we noticed a skin had formed over the sealant when it was heated. We’ve attempted other experiments in the past and one of the most common criticisms tends to be that the test isn’t real-world enough. IMO that’s exactly the point, you know eliminating variables and all, but I also understand where readers are coming from. Mountain biking is dirty, and messy, and just because something is proven under artificial conditions doesn’t mean the same will hold true out on the trail. Under the microscope I saw what appear to be fibers of some sort. Muc-off says the sealant contains “cutting-edge molecules,” though I don’t think that’s them since my microscope was only set to 100x magnification. There’s also UV dye in the Muc-off sealant which is supposed to help identify leaks, and I’ve tried that, but haven’t found it to be very helpful compared to a good old fashioned soapy water test. In spite of all this tech, Muc-off is notably less expensive per ounce than all but Slime. I’ll continue using Muc-off at home, though I think I’ll add an extra ounce or so just to make sure it keeps flowing inside the tire. You might also call it their "classic" or "regular" formula tire sealant. Unlike the Race sealant, you can inject the Standard sealant right through removable core Schrader and presta valves.

Recommended tubeless accessories

If you have a true tubeless set up with good valves and a decent tape job then you do not necessarily need a “glue in a bottle” ie latex based sealant, you want a sealant that it going to do a great job of sealing holes and cuts as you have no dodgy beads and porous side walls to worry about – this is where Tyre Yogurt excels as the fibres and rubber particles are held permanently in suspension and will not separate. Because it has no latex it will not dry out, however as you collect and seal micro punctures on every ride eventually the sealant will be used up so it may appear that it has started to dry when in reality it has sealed hundreds of small punctures. All of the sealants claim to be able to seal punctures up to about 6mm. Stans and Orange Seal claim they can do a bit better, at 6.35mm and 6.5mm, respectively. The quantity and size of crystals in this special formula means that Stan's Race Sealant can only be installed directly into the tire. As a result of its immense sealing capabilities, Race Sealant is not compatible with injector or other valve installation methods. Race sealant should be inspected every 2-3 weeks for best performance. Be sure to rinse race sealant out of used tires intended to be stored/reinstalled.

It's easier to "top off" (add sealant) with the Standard version compared with Race, since you can inject it through the valve Stan’s No Tubes Race tubeless sealant comes from the brand many would agree is the most well-known proponent of tubeless bicycle tyre use. No Tube’s produces two versions of tubeless tyre sealant, with the Race version tested claiming to seal larger punctures, and this may be true but other areas of the performance severely limit the overall appeal in the highly competitive best tubeless sealant space. In the first test, we used two Michelin Wild Grip’R 2 tyres, and tested three sealants with each tyre. Race formula is only available in bigger tubs (just under a litre for just over thirty quid), but the extra price over No Tubes standard sealant is worth it since it’s worked extremely well for us on multiple occasions; plugging big holes fast before we’ve lost all air, which is something that rarely happens out on the trail with other sealants.

Customer Reviews

may not be precise; use as a relative measure **based on price of 32oz size Slime “All Tire” Sealant Green smoothie, anyone? For the test, 75ml of the fluid was used for the 650x47mm tyre, which makes this one of the lowest quantities recommended across the group test. Stan’s No Tubes Race tubeless sealant - Performance The larger crystals are very evident in the fluid, categorised by long strand-like shapes. This will mean the only option for installation is to pour directly into the tyre and not through the valve. This is something I would always recommend, and there are various other sealants that also require this. One worrying fact given by Stan’s No Tubes is to inspect the sealant every 2-3 weeks for best performance. Slime is the most viscous of the bunch, and forms a nice coating on inside of the tire. However that also makes it slower to seal punctures. The problem with real-world testing is that it’s impossible to test each sealant in the same conditions.

Orange Seal is a familiar sealant choice to most mountain bikers, second perhaps only to Stans. As you can see from the drip test, Orange Seal is the least viscous of the five sealants I tested, running completely off the plate. As measured, the specific gravity of Orange Seal is basically 1.0, the same as water. Like I said at the beginning, my measurements weren’t all that precise and the true specific gravity is probably a bit higher. The point is, it’s the lowest of the bunch and that doesn’t seem to negatively affect performance, so weight weenies take note. Some riders are not aware, however, that NoTubes actually makes two different, and distinct tire sealant formulations: The first, "Race" and the second, what might be called the "Standard" version. Depending on your terrain and riding style, one of these two options will likely be a better choice for your bike. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of each formula. Stan's Race tire sealant - pros and cons After switching sharp implements, he reinflated the tyre to 80psi. Between sealants, Will cleaned and patched the tyre. Can I convert my non-tubeless mountain bike rim to tubeless with tape and valve only or will I need a rim strip?

When we first squirted the full 140ml there didn’t seem like much left in the bottom of the tyre, but we needn’t have worried because this luminous pink gunk sealed the 2.75mm puncture in barely a revolution. It also sealed the larger 5mm almost instantly and, while most sealants on test only sealed the sidewall cut temporarily, NPH sealed it permanently and we even managed to re-inflate the tyre after about an hour. Orange Seal Endurance 3. Orange Seal Endurance Really effective at sealing small and medium sized punctures The tubeless sealants that sealed the biggest holes, or held the most pressure with a given size of hole, were deemed to perform the best. After we’d finished testing a sealant, we cleaned the tyre thoroughly with water and rags, plugged the existing holes in the tyre with tape, and tested the next sealant on a different section of tyre.