# Tubeless tires oozing sealant through sidewalls?



## dir-t (Oct 14, 2005)

I run tubeless tires on my MTB. Some sort of Maxxis tire, I forget which model. This is their second or third season and the tread is like new.

I love the tires but lately the Stan's sealant oozes through the sidewalls. I'm not talking a couple pinholes that could be explained by thorns or other small punctures. I mean oozing from about 40% of the sidewall surface to where you can't place your palm ANYWHERE on the sidewall without getting wet.

The sidewalls don't look scuffed up or damaged in any way. It's just like they have become more and more porous over time.

The tires work fine and I don't need to pump them up any more than usual but it's getting to be a mess.

Any ideas what's going on?


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## SauronHimself (Nov 21, 2012)

This can be normal on new tires. If you go really light weight tires, it's also the norm. If the tires aren't TLR/UST, it happens every time. It does get worse with higher pressures. It's really noticeable if bike is stored somewhere that's not climate controlled when humidity gets really high like a rainy day. The other option is sidewall damage.


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## duriel (Oct 10, 2013)

Are you sure they are 'tubeless' tires? 
Many MBikers run regular tires as tubeless, that is where my money is. I am running my moto non-tubeless tires as tubeless right now, but that does not relate and only added to confuse the situation.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

3 seasons on one set of tires? Are they dry rotted? Given they still have tread, I presume these tires seldom see use...


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## zephxiii (Nov 22, 2013)

If u want to keep using the tires, try something like Orange Seal which will apply a latex layer to the inside of the tire. I've found it to seal up leaky thin wall tires better. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk


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## dir-t (Oct 14, 2005)

Marc said:


> 3 seasons on one set of tires? Are they dry rotted? Given they still have tread, I presume these tires seldom see use...


Probably about 500 miles per year. My mtb season is only from June until late September and that coincides with my field season - so after work rides sometime get missed. Then there are CX, road, and tandem bikes to ride...

I'm guessing they're not tubeless (Maxxis Minion DHF) and maybe the hot garage has something to do with it.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Marc said:


> 3 seasons on one set of tires? Are they dry rotted? Given they still have tread, I presume these tires seldom see use...



Dry rot after only 3 seasons? Those would be some really cheap @$$ tires!

I'm guessing the problem is these aren't tubeless specific tires.


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## November Dave (Dec 7, 2011)

Totally normal, just add sealant as needed.


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## Enoch562 (May 13, 2010)

November Dave said:


> Totally normal, just add sealant as needed.


We have a winner


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## crit_boy (Aug 6, 2013)

May want to dig the stanimals out and switch to orange seal. 

But, any sealant will still dry up over 6+ months of fall/winter/spring storage.


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## sasquatch16 (Feb 7, 2013)

Would this be considered normal for a road tire with latex tubes? I just replaced my tires with a pair of Continental GP4000's. For no reason other than being curious I decided to put in latex tubes. I also read that people are putting sealant into the latex tubes so I put an ounce of Orange seal in each tube. Did a long ride on the 4th with no problems. Today tires were about 15 lbs low which I expected but I noticed sealant sweating out of sidewall in both the front and rear tires. Cleaned of tires and went for a ride and a little while ago I noticed this again. It am assuming this will eventually stop.
anyone have any experience which this?


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## duriel (Oct 10, 2013)

I will guarentee that if you go into a high speed corner, and you have sealant shiet all over your tire, you are going to regret it!


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

sasquatch16 said:


> Would this be considered normal for a road tire with latex tubes? I just replaced my tires with a pair of Continental GP4000's. For no reason other than being curious I decided to put in latex tubes. I also read that people are putting sealant into the latex tubes so I put an ounce of Orange seal in each tube. Did a long ride on the 4th with no problems. Today tires were about 15 lbs low which I expected but I noticed sealant sweating out of sidewall in both the front and rear tires. Cleaned of tires and went for a ride and a little while ago I noticed this again. It am assuming this will eventually stop.
> anyone have any experience which this?


No first hand experience with latex tubes. Though from what I've read, latex tubes are more porous than butyl tubes and it is normal for them to lose air faster. My guess is they are weeping the sealant.


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## dir-t (Oct 14, 2005)

Just an update.

The tires (which are sold as tubeless) have gotten worse over the course of the season. I now need to wipe them off before loading the bike onto my car rack or else I get goo all over myself. 

Interestingly, my friend with the same tires has the same problem but not (yet) as bad.

My LBS mentioned that sealant actually does degrade rubber over time so maybe that is going on - although that seems like stretch.

I guess I'll look into the Orange Seal stuff or maybe run some tubes until the tire tread is worn out. Also wondering if a photo/email to Maxxis would be worth the time.


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## ceugene (Jun 20, 2015)

I have never experienced weeping sidewalls with any of the tires I've used (Mavic, Zipp, Schwalbe, IRC, Hutchinson.) I do know it is a problem with Compass tires like the Bon Jon Pass and its superthin sidewalls.

Schwalbe Pro Ones don't even have a butyl liner and their woven microskin hasn't wept at all, and they are the lightest tubeless tires I've used.

Switch to Orange Seal as others have mentioned. Can't believe it's 2017 and people are still using Stan's. They really need to come out with a new formula. Orange Seal does not react with rubber or metal.


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## harryman (Nov 14, 2014)

Back in the ghetto tubeless days, all my tires would weep at first, but Stans would seal up the sidewalls after the first ride or so. I've ridden Maxxis tires for the past decade, and never had an issue with Stans degrading them, or other sealants, although it could happen. The fact that both tires are still weeping is just bizarre, I'd wash them out and switch to Orange Seal, which I also use now, or slap tubes in. I'm a bit of a tire nerd, would most likely replace them anyway since they're likely pretty hard and new mtb tires are like Christmas morning for me.


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