Can we talk about the way we talk about tubeless sealant

So last week, a guy brought in a gravel bike with a tire that just would not seal. He had that orange sealant everyone uses, and it was a mess. I was about to tell him the tire was junk, like I always do when sealant fails. But then he said, 'My buddy in Bend just uses the cheap stuff from the auto parts store, says it works better in the cold.' I was sure he was wrong. I mean, we all know the bike brands. But I tried it. I put that $8 bottle of Slime in a different tire that was weeping, just to see. It sealed up in maybe two minutes, no bubbles. I've been telling people for three years to only use the fancy bike shop sealants. Now I feel like maybe we just repeat what we hear. Has anyone else had a sealant work that they thought would be trash?

3 comments

3 Comments

abby_martinez7d ago

Bro the whole bike industry runs on vibes and guesswork. We all swore by that green goop for years until it started eating sidewalls. Now it's the orange stuff, until someone finds a cheaper bottle at AutoZone that works better. Next year we'll probably be telling people to use toothpaste mixed with glitter.

davis.olivia7d ago

How many other bike shop truths are just things we keep saying?

danielm806d ago

The whole "never use WD-40 on a bike chain" rule is a perfect example. It's fine for cleaning, you just need to re-lube after. I feel like @davis.olivia is onto something, half this stuff is just old mechanics repeating what they were told. We treat basic maintenance like it's rocket science.