Muc-Off's No Puncture Hassle Tubeless Sealant Kit is ideal for use in the garage or out on the road thanks to its small, easy-to-use package. It certainly does the job, sealing small cuts and holes, and the UV light is a neat way to check for small punctures and leaks you might not have noticed. It is very pricey in this guise, though.
- Pros: Package fits in a pocket or rucksack, measurement marks let you know how much you are putting in, impressive perfromance
- Cons: Expensive in this small package
This sealant kit is for the rider who already has everything else for the conversion from tubed to tubeless, as there are no valves or tape included.
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What you do get in the box, alongside the 140ml pouch, is a 15ml scoop should you need it, a valve core removal tool and a neat little ultraviolet light which picks up any leakages of sealant from the tyre or valve.
Installation is a simple affair provided you are running Presta valves, which on the road virtually all of us are. Ideally your valve will have a removable valve core too, which to be honest is most of the tubeless valves on the market. If you haven't got removable cores then use the scoop to add the liquid to an unseated tyre before installation to the wheel.
To use, first of all give the pouch a good shake. I found it best to first undo the lid to remove any air from the pouch and then tighten it back on.
Next, use the included tool to remove the core and then with the valve at the 12 o'clock position, attach the pouch of Muc-Off. Rotate the wheel so that the valve sits at the 6 o'clock position and squeeze the sealant in by rolling the bag over from the bottom up, until you reach the desired amount of liquid. You'll know this by the helpful marks on the side of the pouch.
Muc-Off recommends 30-45ml for a road tyre so you can easily do two tyres from the pouch, leaving plenty for the occasional top-up if needed.
Whack the valve core back in and give the wheel a spin to spread the sealant around and then pump up to your desired pressure. Job's a good 'un!
The tyres I was using for the test already had a few nicks and cuts in them from previous rides running them tubed, and the Muc-Off did a quick job of sealing them up. Some were quite a decent size – 3-4mm slices – so I don't see any worries with Muc-Off's claims of sealing gaps up to 6mm.
A quick spin over with the UV light and I could see that nothing was leaking out of the valve or around the sidewalls of the tyre.
At first glance a price of £9.99 for the 140ml pouch doesn't look too extreme; true, you can get slightly cheaper with the likes of Hutchinson's Protect Air Max costing £5.95 for 120ml, but the Muc-Off is a much simpler setup to use.
You can buy the Muc-Off in a 5 litre bottle for £120 (£24/litre) or a litre bottle for £29.99, so the pouch at just over £71/litre is very pricey indeed. It does have the added bonus of being able to be carried with you out on the road or trail, but as Muc-Off reckons it'll last a rather vague 6+ months before you need to replace it (we'll keep an eye on that and update the review) or at least top it up, even one bike will get through two pouches a year. It would be much better to buy in bulk.
Verdict
Very good sealing properties and ease of installation but small pouches are a very expensive way of buying
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road.cc test report
Make and model: Muc-Off No Puncture Hassle Tubeless sealant Kit
Size tested: 140ml
Tell us what the product is for
Muc-Off says, "Looking for a super lightweight but badass tubeless sealant? Boom, you've just found it my friend! No Puncture Hassle performs under the most brutal race conditions. The cutting-edge microfibre molecules fill the bigger holes and tears, whilst the advanced latex forms a strong seal instantly. Our formula also contains a unique UV detection system that highlights any punctures you haven't seen during your ride.
"Developed with the world's top downhillers and pro peloton teams, to give you the finest tyre sealant available. It's non-corrosive, biodegradable and easily washes off with water. Compatible with tubeless ready and full UST wheels/tyres, No Puncture Hassle works from 15psi-120psi and temperatures from -20°C to +50°C. Our pouch is designed to fit your Presta valve perfectly and is ideal to add to your toolkit or ride pack for emergency top ups on the go!"
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
From Muc-Off:
For Downhill/Enduro/Road
Seals tears and holes up to 6mm
Seals porous tyres and bead/rim gaps
Lasts up to 6+ months in temperate climates* and won't ball up
Contains cutting-edge microfibre molecules to fill large holes and tears
Includes unique UV detection system that highlights any punctures
Biodegradable, non-corrosive and easy to wash off with water
Ammonia free
CO2 Compatible
MINIMUM AMOUNT PER TYRE:
(add up to 30ml extra for increased protection)
Road: 30-45ml (2 to 3 scoops)
26" MTB & 27.5": 60-75ml (4 to 5 scoops)
Cross 700c: 60-75ml (4 to 5 scoops)
29" MTB: 105ml-140ml (7 or the whole pouch)
Downhill: 120-140ml (8 or the whole pouch)
*If using in extreme heat (+35°C) simply top up if needed.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Simple to use and worked on holes and cuts.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Its sealing performance.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Cost per litre.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? I'd go for the 1 litre option.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes but highlight the pricing.
Use this box to explain your overall score
As a sealant, the Muc-Off stuff scores highly but when you break down the price its high cost per litre takes the shine off rather. Buy in bulk.
About the tester
Age: 39
I usually ride: This month's test bike My best bike is:
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed
With 20 years of road cycling and over 150,000 miles in his legs it's safe to say Stu is happiest when on the bike whatever the weather. Since writing his first review for road.cc back in 2009 he has also had a career in engineering including 3D-CAD design and product development, so has a real passion for all of the latest technology coming through in the industry but is also a sucker for a classic steel frame, skinny tyres, rim brakes and a damn good paintjob.
His fascination with gravel bikes is getting out of control too!
3 comments
Having just used a pouch of this, I like the concept, it's possibly the easiest way of adding sealant so far I have come across, expensive as a first time purchase, but they do suggest you keep the pouch to re-fill, just don't get it confused with anything you get out of the chill section in the supermarket!
For the sealing ability, this is where it fell down a bit, using Hutchinson Fusion 3 Tubeless 25mm's, I got a small slit tear in the centre of the rear tyre , no more than 2.5mm long, and all that happened with the sealant, was it ended up leaving a trail on the road, it would seal occasionally, then leak again, till I stuck a tube in, and the tyre which had had almost half a pouch in the night before was almost empty.
According to the instructions (which were followed for installation), this sort of tear should have easily been coped with by the product, that was running at approx 70-80psi, maybe on a MTB it would have been a different story at a lower pressure.
thanks
Interesting that the August issue of MBR raves about this tyre sealant whilst Road.cc are less Enthusiastic.
In terms of value you can buy the pouches for £7.99
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FGKWJ2R/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp...