[orange_julius]

pmt not sure how you were so successful but a friend and I tried putting on a tire and we were averaging at least 30 minutes. Found it very hard to seal the tire without any air in it, and even when using a syringe and some tubing the sealant was coming out of the bottom of the tire. Perhaps hanging it would help. Did you use the soap method to get the bead on? I found that the little granules in the sealant actually seemed affect the seal of the bead.

Martin are you using a 2 piece Presta valve as I can't imagine being able to snug the valve back into a Campy wheel without access to it from the inside rim.

I have the same problem with my new set of Campag Shamals 2-way and Hutchinson Fusion 3 tires. The front one was installed with little hassle, except for me over-worrying about using a plastic tire lever (actually, two). But, with a little soapy water the tire set in and sealed on first try with several nice little 'pop's.

The rear one was trouble, though. I used soapy water, noticed only little leaking, so Ieft it at 100 psi overnight to find it totally flat in the morning. I uninstalled the tire, and re-installed again, noticed still some bubbly leaks, filled it to 110 psi, and a few hours later it's completely flat again.

While doing all this, I noticed that if I deflate the tire through the valve, then some creasing appears in-between sections that are still seated in the rim. Is this normal? I took the entire tire off a few times to make sure that it is all uniform and there is no crease when the tire is off.

So I then got some Stan's, took a small section off of the rim after the last attempt to seat/seal the tire, and pored some Stan's in. Of course, this made a mess when I tried to pump the tire up, but after the tire finally seated/sealed properly.

Throughout all this I had hang the wheels on my repair stand, as I have read in many posts that this is important.

Now I have a few questions:
1. Is it common to need sealants just to properly seat/seal the tires?
2. Is this a more common problem with new tires? I read on several MTB forums that the recommendation is to first run new tires with a tube for a week or so to stretch the tires. Then running it (esp. the install) is much easier.
3. Should I have checked even more thoroughly for creases from the folds while the tire was packaged?

Also, I tried using Hutchinson's Fast'Air. There are two models. One has the rubber hose thingie and the other does not. I highly recommend the former, and to avoid the latter like the damn plague. In the latter version, the bottle is activated by pressing down on the top portion. Unfortunately, the top portion has a rubber stopper which job is to connect and seal with your presta valve. So while you are trying to get the rubber to connect, it's hard to keep from not applying pressure on the top portion of the can. Basically the same button is for aiming and firing. What a stupid design.

Thanks in advance.

 

[pmt]

While doing all this, I noticed that if I deflate the tire through the valve, then some creasing appears in-between sections that are still seated in the rim. Is this normal?

Sure, I've seen that.

1. Is it common to need sealants just to properly seat/seal the tires?

Yes. Not everyone or every wheel/tire needs it, but there are going to be manufacturing imperfections that require sealant.

2. Is this a more common problem with new tires? I read on several MTB forums that the recommendation is to first run new tires with a tube for a week or so to stretch the tires. Then running it (esp. the install) is much easier.

That couldn't hurt, but I've not needed to do that.

3. Should I have checked even more thoroughly for creases from the folds while the tire was packaged?

Nah, they're all going to have folds.

 

[purdyd]

Interesting read. Surprised to hear about your preference for the Caffee Sealant as it got a horrible review in this month's Mountain Bike Action (Sept) magazine. But each to their own and glad to hear you like the tubeless!

as a sealant for mountain bike tires the caffeelatex is pretty thin - stans seems thicker and probabaly seals better although i haven't done a comparative test

for most roadbike punctures, caffeelatex will get the job done and because it is thinner you can inject it through the presta valve without removing it

i had also read some conflicting reports in regards to corrosion of aluminum rims, specifically the dura ace with Stan's - i have no direct experience with that

i can only say that the caffeelatex, so far, has not had any affect on my wh7850 wheel set