Tubeless tires and S&S hard case

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Mike Sturgill

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Feb 9, 2023, 6:45:04 PM2/9/23
to randon
Hello randos!

I'm contemplating going to tubeless tires on my Ti coupled travel bike. I have an S&S hard case that is 26x26x10 inches. I've traveled with it at least 50 times and am very familiar with the packing with tubed tires.

What I wonder is whether anyone with 700C tubeless tires has traveled with a hard case like this. From experience, my tubed tires must be totally deflated and then squished into the case to fit. With tubeless tires, that would seem to be an issue. Having zero experience dealing with tubeless tires while traveling, I'm hoping that someone has done it and can offer some advice or warnings.

Thanks!
-Mike in Phoenix

Pamela Blalock

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Feb 9, 2023, 8:06:29 PM2/9/23
to Mike Sturgill, randon
Ah, an advatage of 650b. My wheels fit without deflating. I have traveled multiple times with tubeless in s&s case

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Pamela Blalock
Conway, MA

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Felkerino

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Feb 10, 2023, 1:32:31 PM2/10/23
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Hi Mike! Good question.

I deflated our 650b tandem wheel tubeless tires for S&S packing last summer, leaving sealent inside and wrapped in big clear plastic bags. The tread was compressed against the rim inside the cases, but the beads were still sealed upon arrival after a domestic USA flight. On our Velocity Cliffhanger rims the tires are pretty resistant to breaking the seal in general. I figured I'd use tubes to get to a shop if needed where I would use a high-pressure pump and potentially get more sealant.

I'd think you'll discover when packing whether the tire bead will unseat from the rim. Next time I might remove the sealant before flying and then refill at our destination.

Good luck!
Ed Felker
Washington, DC

Russ Loomis

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Feb 10, 2023, 1:41:25 PM2/10/23
to randon, Felkerino
Mike, I use a syringe with a filler tube that fits through the stem. With this you can suck the sealant out of the tire without unseating the bead.

Russ
The not yet ready for prime time cyclist
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Bill Gobie

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Feb 10, 2023, 2:50:57 PM2/10/23
to Russ Loomis, randon, Felkerino
What about sealant in bottles? Will TSA steal it? Do you have to plan to buy sealant in France?

Bill

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/randon/efa43a77-e5d4-44e7-9987-1c1e72156dc4%40Spark.

mickeg

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Feb 11, 2023, 6:13:03 AM2/11/23
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Asking if TSA will confiscate it, you never know what they might do.  A TSA employee is more likely to be disciplined for not being strict enough than for being too strict.  And they would more likely be looking for compressed gasses (CO2 cartridges) or Li Ion batteries in your bike box.

There are rules against flammable liquids.  If you are concerned that they might suspect that it is flammable, get a copy of the MSDS and put the MSDS and the bottle in a zip lock bag.  The MSDS would say if it is flammable or not.  Examples:

anothe...@gmail.com

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Feb 28, 2023, 4:17:40 AM2/28/23
to randon
I'm late to your post, but just got home with my S&S case from Hawaii so thought I'd comment.    I'm a big proponent of tubeless (both MTB and road) and have been traveling with an S&S'd MTB since 2007 and Break-Away road bike since 2008.  While I run the tires tubeless at home, when they're used for travel I switch to tubes (and best to tires that have never had sealant, as the tubes will do their best to get glued into the tire even on well rinsed tires).

There are very few tire/rim combos that I've been reliably able to seat with a hand pump (modern Schwalbe Pro's and the first tubeless Conti 5000's work), and many more that are absolutely impossible, like a Compass/Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass (casing is too floppy, and I reliably need a compressor).  While some tires will keep the bead seated when deflated, don't expect it'll hold once the mounted tire has been squeezed into the S&S case.  And even if the sealant is removed from the tire, there is enough left in the tire that you'll have a mess in the case when the bead breaks.

Best of luck,
Brian




Bill Gobie

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Feb 28, 2023, 11:59:32 AM2/28/23
to randon
I have had good success seating tubeless tires with the method in this video. Skip to "the secret" at about 3:00.


This method using a tube to seat one bead looks promising, too.


Disclaimer: I also use an air reservoir. But without these techniques it is inadequate.

Bill

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