# WTB NANOs setting up tubeless - leaking through side wall - normal?



## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

My first experience with a Tubeless set up here, putting a pair of WTB NANO TCS Light (tubeless) on Pacenti tubeless rims, and one leaks to zero in about 12 hours, the other in about 2 days with no sealant in them yet. So I poured soapy water on the bead to see where it was leaking so I could make sure I could seal it up following the Stans directions for sealing new tubeless tires, and neither are leaking at the bead, but one has air coming through the side wall in quite a few spots. The other is leaking at the lip on the tire in several spots by the bead but not the bead itself. These are both brand new tires, I put about 40lbs in each. Is this normal? Should I just put the sealent in and slosh it around to seal them or is this something to be worried about?


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## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

The one with the slow leak should be fine to add stans via the valve stem core now. 
The other one 'sounds' to me like the bead hasn't seated completely, but if that were the case I don't think it would last 12 hours so I'm a little stumped there.

I usually use an air compressor for a quick burst of air to seat the beads, add sealant, then top off psi and go ride. Repeat in 8-12 months or so. 

Have you tried a little soapy water on the beads before mounting? That sometimes helps with stubborn tires.


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## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

Yeah, I soaped the beads and rims, they are both seated. The one that leaks more makes suds on the sidewalls in some spots when soapy water is put on them. It's not leaking at the beads, it's coming through the sidewall - no holes or blemishes in the sidewalls.


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## Enoch562 (May 13, 2010)

10 minuete ride usually seals up most all tires. It helps distribute the sealant while the tire is flexing. Very important step that is mentioned on Stans website.


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## rcb78 (Jun 15, 2008)

My Nano's leaked out the sidewall also. It took a good bumpy trail ride before one of them completely sealed up, road a gravel/smooth dirt wasn't enough. After the first couple of 'normal' rides, it would leak down about 10psi each day. I wouldn't say that is normal for tubeless setups, but it seems to be common with these particular tires. That said, after it did finally seal up, it's been perfect even with removing and re-installing. If you want to speed up the process, add a little extra sealant than you normally would, say 4oz, and go for a hard trail ride. Once it's sealed up, you can drain off the excess.


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## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

Alright, I'm feeling much better now. I'll put some sealant in them and run them. Thans folks!


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## November Dave (Dec 7, 2011)

Yeah, this is kind of becoming the new normal on the current generation of tubeless tires. Sidewall porosity is increasing as weight decreases. It seems overall a bit of a net improvement in weight (though small) and ride quality (somewhat more significant). I wonder about durability, though. Be a bit generous with your sealant, as the sealant that goes into sealing the sidewalls is then not available to seal punctures.


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## Wines of WA (Jan 10, 2005)

November Dave said:


> Yeah, this is kind of becoming the new normal on the current generation of tubeless tires. Sidewall porosity is increasing as weight decreases. It seems overall a bit of a net improvement in weight (though small) and ride quality (somewhat more significant). I wonder about durability, though. Be a bit generous with your sealant, as the sealant that goes into sealing the sidewalls is then not available to seal punctures.


Exactly my experience, most recently on my cyclocross bike with the new WTB Cross Boss tires. They leak sealant (and air) through the sidewalls and need reinflation pretty much every time I ride it, but are reliable while riding - in other words, like average clinchers. I do wonder how they will hold up in September during races. But the ride is absolutely sublime with those tires on wide Pacenti SL25 rims.


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## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

I am running Specialized Turbo Tubeless on HED Ardennes + rims. I have found they leak down ~ 10 psi per day...similar to latex tubes. The thicker/heavier Hutchenson Fusions held air much better but were not much of a performance tire.


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## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

November Dave said:


> Yeah, this is kind of becoming the new normal on the current generation of tubeless tires. Sidewall porosity is increasing as weight decreases. It seems overall a bit of a net improvement in weight (though small) and ride quality (somewhat more significant). I wonder about durability, though. Be a bit generous with your sealant, as the sealant that goes into sealing the sidewalls is then not available to seal punctures.


well I'm about to find out on durability when I get to Dirty Kanza- hopefully a non issue. Good point on the extra sealant, so how much sealant do you think for a 40mm tire on Pacenti 25s? 3 or 4 oz?


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## Carpbum (Feb 10, 2015)

I've gone through 4 Nano Races in the past year, and every one of them leaked out of the sidewalls when new. Orange sealant made quick work of the problem and I've gotten excellent service from the tires, almost. I had a gravel race this weekend that included loooong downhill sections of 30+mph washboard roads. Toward the end I noticed a strange noise but I rode it out. Got home and checked it out- the rear Nano was rubbing the front derailleur lever arm. The wheel was still perfectly true, but the 40 mm Nano now measures close to 43mm in width. That's the first time I've had a tire grow so much in such a short period.<object type="cosymantecnisbfw" cotype="cs" id="SILOBFWOBJECTID" style="width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block;"></object>


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## November Dave (Dec 7, 2011)

Somewhere around 3 or 4, yeah. I'm not so super precise with sealant that _either_ 3oz _or_ 4oz makes a big difference to me.

Good luck at DK.


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## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

Well the rear was still leaking down pretty fast after a few short rides and taking the wheel off and laying it on the side multiple ways for over a week. After 206 miles of Kansas flint hills rolling they are sealed up tight, not leaking any more than a tube tire would so the riding on rough stuff did the trick like rcb78 said! 

No flats on the ride, very glad I didn't have tubes in for DK after seeing rider after rider fixing flats into the post sunset hours.


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## Hiro11 (Dec 18, 2010)

To repeat what others have said, the key is to ride the wheels and then put in another ounce or so of sealant. 

To me, weeping tubeless tires are yet another example of the pointlessness of weight weenieism for the vast majority of people. I'd much prefer slightly heavier tires that were easier to deal with, personally.


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## Wines of WA (Jan 10, 2005)

Reviving this year-old thread: I got a new CX bike with Knight 29 Race rims and Nano 40c tires. They leak air. I have long experience with tubeless systems and ride them on my MTB, CX, and one road bike. This set of WTB Nano 40c set up reasonably easily despite very tight bead diameter. I added sealant and inflated them, administering the shake technique to distribute the 2 ounces of sealant I added to each tire. I saw no evidence of sealant leaking at all. Despite no evidence of leaking, the tires lose air at a rapid pace, going from 50 psi to about 20 psi in just several hours. I tried numerous fixes and nothing worked. They just leak air. After the fact, I searched the web for evidence of others having the same problem, and sure enough, lots of people have and no one seems able to figure out how to fix it. My guess is that the tubeless casing WTB uses is not really air tight (including my experience with WTB Cross Boss a year ago), though not porous enough to show sealant leaking. In any case, I will switch to Maxxis Ravagers instead and hope that the reliable Maxxis casing from their excellent MTB tires is included in those. I also hope Schwalbe comes up with ore monster cross-ish tires soon.


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## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

They will seal up if you ride on them long enough - do 20 miles of gravel and they should be fixed.


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## jeff400650 (Mar 29, 2014)

I put on a pair of the newly available Compass Tires, Barlow Pass tubeless compatible tires on Stans Arch EX rims. The front keeps losing air too fast (from 45 to 10 over night). 

As an experiment, I un-seated the beads, and smeared a little sealant on them, so that where they contact the rim, there will be sealant enhancing the seal. Is this a good idea? Common practice? Will it seal better and help hold the bead in place, or will it make the bead more likely to pop off in a hard turn?


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## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

I haven't tried smearing sealant on the rim, but I have smeared it on the inside sidewall and then let them air dry before installing. That's helped seal one of the 2 new WTB Nanos I just mounted. 1 of 2 weeped air out the sidewall a lot, like flat over night and this helped. The other one sealed up right off the bat even before putting in sealant.


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