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Trying to go road tubeless! Fitting Hutchinson Sector 28 tyres

Having real problems getting my front tubeless tyre to seal against the rim  2 am I doing something wrong?

I've had compatible wheels for a couple of years and when my tyres needed replacing decided to take the plunge and try them out.

After the positive reviews of the newish Hutchinson Sector 28's, including on road.cc I thought they looked ideal for the rough roads on my commute and the roads around generally.

So, after watching some videos, reading various blogs etc this was my plan of attack.

Fitted tubeless valves with removable core.
Fitted the Sectors - went on easily by hand (wheels are Easton EA90RT's)
Tried track pump to pop them on in place, this was ok with rear, not on the front.
Resorted to co2 and this worked, quick inflation, crack / snap noise as, presumably, the bead seats in the correct place.
Deflate, remove valve core, squirt in sealant (Hutchinson Protect Air) , re inflate, spin round to spread it out.

Immediately at around 80psi sealant foams out from a few places around the bead edge, Hutchinson instructions say leave for 24 hours so I do that, re-inflate, spin a few times and the same thing happens.

I noted that the road.cc blog had a similar experience, taking a few days to seal so I left them and re'inflated for a day or so with no success, loosing half the psi over night.

So this weekend I decided to try again from scratch, removing all the sealant and popping them back on with a co2 cartridge and this time trying some Caffelatex sealant instead. Perhaps a little less immediate loss of air and foaming sealant from around the rim, I actually managed a 45 min ride with ok'ish pressure but after about 8 hours it's down to 20-30psi from 85 starting point.

Now that all points to the bead not sealing / sitting in the right place but as it snaps and cracks in how do you know if it's in all the way around properly? Deflating and inspecting the bead / rim, it all looks ok to me, the tyre looks attached to the rim and different to a standard clincher.

I don't have a compressor to try it again.

The rear tyre goes from 85 psi to about 78 over night so that's not 'leave it for weeks' perfect but ok, I always check tyres before riding anyway.

Anyone have any advice or experience of Easton Tubeless wheels or Sector 28's fitting? I'm reluctant to give up and fit a tube but it's looking like that will be the outcome.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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6 comments

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uhead | 9 years ago
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Thanks guys for the advice.

The rim is undamaged. Maybe just stingy with a suitable lubricant to get it seated.

I'll give it another go!

First of all might try just releasing the tyre from rim and re - inflating without total removal and cleaning off the sealant etc, after liberal amounts of soapy water or just neat washing up liquid round the bead.

Last time I did get 2-3 cracks as I thought it seated but clearly that wasn't enough.

After some googling I saw a thread on making your own pressurised inflater using a 5 litre pop bottle and some old valves and tubing, might give that a go too!
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ghetto-tubeless-inflator-total-c...

Determined to get it working!

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SRRC | 9 years ago
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Sounds like you are doing all the right things!
Is the rim undamaged? Tubeless can be a faff to mount sometimes but it's well worth learning how to do it.
Essential to lube the bead before inflating, I use a smear of Stans.
If you get a reluctant one then remove valve core and jubilee the delivery pipe from an old track pump directly onto the valve (not through a chuck), that way you get max oomph from the pump. Failing that, do the same with a compressor, it's a very rewarding crack as the beads seat!
I use Hutchinson Fusion and they usually seat ok and stay up much the same as a tube.

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SuperG | 9 years ago
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Never have a problem with my mtb, I know I run some un-diluted washing up liquid around bead with my hand. Plus try hanging wheel up whilst inflating and keep tyre beads pushed towards centre of rim.

Never used a compressor on mtb, just pumped furiously with track pump.

Hope this helps, I'm going road tubeless later this year!

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uhead | 9 years ago
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Thanks 2 Wheeled Idiot and CXR94Di2 for replies.

I did use a smidge of soapy water but reckoned at the time this was to help getting the tyre on the rim in the first place as some posts say tubeless is really tight so I didn't use much.

It makes sense now that soapy water would help the bead to slip in place.

The rim bed doesn't need taping as they are not drilled, I guess the larger 28mm tyres makes the volume higher so seating more difficult.

Given as I haven't got a compressor has anyone tried a garage airline? Think some have a 'flat tyre' mode that gives a shot of air rather than slower stop start inflation you get when checking your car tyres?

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2 Wheeled Idiot | 9 years ago
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Soapy water is a good shout, also make sure the rim bed is sufficiently taped to help create a good seal and guide the tyres into the tyre bead channel/hook....also slightly reduces the internal vol. So makes it easier to seat.

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CXR94Di2 | 9 years ago
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I am going tubeless this summer. I have read that using a compressor(which I have) helps a great deal with seating the bead correctly. Also using soapy water on the rim just before you inflate

If mine behave like yours I will revert back to inner tubes.

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