Silca Ultimate Tubeless Sealant

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

FlatlandClimber
Posts: 2491
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 3:37 pm

by FlatlandClimber

They really need to get this sorted...
Cervelo P5 Disc (2021) 9.1kg
Factor Ostro Gravel (2023) 8.0kg
S-Works SL8 (2023) 6.3kg

*weights are race ready, size 58/L.
Sold: Venge, S5 Disc, Roubaix Team, Open WI.DE, Émonda, Shiv TT, Crux, Aethos, SL7

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



AJS914
Posts: 5392
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

wickedstealthy wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 9:05 am
MikeD wrote:
Tue Jun 14, 2022 11:39 pm
wickedstealthy wrote:Mmmm I'm almost jumping the tubeless bandwagon.
If I read how much faff it is finding the good combination tire-sealant I wonder why I should ride tubeless. Bought the silca stuff but will likely return it. Typically only have one or 2 leaks in a season of 12km and simple replace my tpu tube and fix it home.
After years of using tubeless, my opinion is if you aren't getting many flats it isn't worth it.
Thx for the honest reply. Im seriously intrested in tubeless as I see some advantages. But for me basically a tubeless tire should only flat once every 3 years :)
That is for me just the point of using sealant giving your the option to run fast tires and still dont have the major risk flatting.
My major frustration is that an end user needs to find out what tire and what sealant work ok.

I haven't had a flat in 3+ years - I've been through 3 or 4 GP5000TL tires. Using Orange Seal.

I know I've been lucky. I've been with other riders who had a total tubeless failure on the side of the road. Those riders though probably weren't topping up sealant, and one particular rider didn't even have the stuff to repair his flat.

wickedstealthy
Posts: 423
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2021 3:16 pm

by wickedstealthy

whataboutEee wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 10:36 pm
wickedstealthy wrote:
Tue Jun 14, 2022 11:01 pm
Mmmm I'm almost jumping the tubeless bandwagon.
If I read how much faff it is finding the good combination tire-sealant I wonder why I should ride tubeless. Bought the silca stuff but will likely return it. Typically only have one or 2 leaks in a season of 12km and simple replace my tpu tube and fix it home.
As someone who just went tubeless, I can say I am never going back. The ride quality is just too good. I usually only punctured once a year or so with tubes, so the puncture protection wasn't a big deal for me. Our roads are terrible, so the low pressure makes a meaningful difference, but if I lived somewhere with awesome roads then I can see the argument going towards tubes.
A very good argument 😉 Belgian roads are also not known for their quality. Also one of the reasons I was eyeing on it.
Regular maintenance is not really a big deal as I wax my chains once a week for example and the advantage is so obvious that I will never go back to oils. I'm running now already 20k and no wear.
So for tubeless I would have expected that all this mix and match would be by this time cleared.
It's a bit the same with the Ertro std now where actually customers are used as test case.
Maybe I give it a try on my Canyon training bike but I will use something else then Silca reading all this till the cleared their stuff. Need to send the stuff back today 😉

User avatar
ipaul
Posts: 231
Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 2:06 am

by ipaul

I just received a new bottle after order was delayed due to making more sealant. Deciding if it's even worth trying with the hope this new batch is improved in some way or just return and call it a peaked interest moment.
:P

kode54
Posts: 3740
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 9:39 pm

by kode54

bobones wrote:Perhaps manufacturing is just not able to (consistently) produce the sealant Silca designed. It's the first sealant to come with a separate "replenisher" fluid. Was that seen to be necessary because they knew the original formula was prone to drying out, or as I belived, to make it easier to top up through the valve?

The product I have does not live up to the claims on these counts:
1/ it doesn't last 90-120 days: mine had dried up in 2 weeks
2/ it doesn't exist as a foam in which carbon filaments are suspended
3/ carbon filaments do not help to plug punctures: they just clump into little balls that roll about inside your tyre.

It's a massive fail for me. I have had one puncture in the time I have been using it and there was no liquid sealant in the tyre to do anything useful, and in a little over 2 months, I have just about ran out of replenisher and I'm 3/4 of the way down on a 24 fl.oz bottle of sealant.

The lesson for me is never to stray away from Orange Seal. The only question is whether I can be bothered trying to get a refund on the Silca stuff I bought.
I also strayed from Orange to try this out. I didn’t have a puncture but changed tires after a few months. Completely dried inside. It typically takes Orange about twice the time to dry out using the same amount. So could be more prone to evaporating than Orange. I did end up with balls of sealant/carbon fiber material.
- Factor Ostro VAM Disc
- Factor LS Disc
- Specialized Aethos Disc
- Sturdy Ti Allroad Disc
- Guru Praemio R Disc

MikeD
Posts: 995
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:55 pm

by MikeD

FlatlandClimber wrote:They really need to get this sorted...
Maybe the can't. That maybe the nature of the carbon fibers; to clump together.

FlatlandClimber
Posts: 2491
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 3:37 pm

by FlatlandClimber

Well, then the product would require a complete overhaul. I am currently just hoping that this is a bad batch. I have not had an issue with the sealant drying up quickly, and most of the carbon strings have stayed relatively soft from my first batch.
Cervelo P5 Disc (2021) 9.1kg
Factor Ostro Gravel (2023) 8.0kg
S-Works SL8 (2023) 6.3kg

*weights are race ready, size 58/L.
Sold: Venge, S5 Disc, Roubaix Team, Open WI.DE, Émonda, Shiv TT, Crux, Aethos, SL7

bobones
Posts: 1259
Joined: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:19 am

by bobones

FlatlandClimber wrote:
Thu Jun 16, 2022 3:55 pm
Well, then the product would require a complete overhaul. I am currently just hoping that this is a bad batch. I have not had an issue with the sealant drying up quickly, and most of the carbon strings have stayed relatively soft from my first batch.
Where did you get this other batch?

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12443
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

This is the best free advertising for Orange Seal.

FlatlandClimber
Posts: 2491
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 3:37 pm

by FlatlandClimber

bobones wrote:
Thu Jun 16, 2022 4:08 pm
FlatlandClimber wrote:
Thu Jun 16, 2022 3:55 pm
Well, then the product would require a complete overhaul. I am currently just hoping that this is a bad batch. I have not had an issue with the sealant drying up quickly, and most of the carbon strings have stayed relatively soft from my first batch.
Where did you get this other batch?
There is no fact to my assumption of this being separate batches, just an assumption. I have placed 3 orders, early on (the moment it was released), 3 weeks later, and just now. The first was great, the one later was trash, the new one is great.
Cervelo P5 Disc (2021) 9.1kg
Factor Ostro Gravel (2023) 8.0kg
S-Works SL8 (2023) 6.3kg

*weights are race ready, size 58/L.
Sold: Venge, S5 Disc, Roubaix Team, Open WI.DE, Émonda, Shiv TT, Crux, Aethos, SL7

whataboutEee
Posts: 117
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:55 pm

by whataboutEee

Had to replace my rear tire today and there was still plenty of liquid left in it (pirelli p zero race tlr, brand new tire when I mounted it). However, all the carbon was in one big clump stuck to the tire. The best I can tell it wasn't a puncture. Now I'm wondering how effective it is long term with the added replenisher. If the carbon is basically non-functional after a few weeks it really seems like it might not be worth the hassle of not being able to inject it into the valve.

cat4forlife
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:42 pm

by cat4forlife

whataboutEee wrote:
Fri Jun 17, 2022 6:02 pm
Had to replace my rear tire today and there was still plenty of liquid left in it (pirelli p zero race tlr, brand new tire when I mounted it). However, all the carbon was in one big clump stuck to the tire. The best I can tell it wasn't a puncture. Now I'm wondering how effective it is long term with the added replenisher. If the carbon is basically non-functional after a few weeks it really seems like it might not be worth the hassle of not being able to inject it into the valve.
How had the tire been inflated? Air compressor? I had been exclusively using an air compressor to inflate my tires. Introducing moist acidic air into the tire - because of moisture in the air compressor tank - and lowering the pH of the sealant was one of the reasons given by Silca when i emailed them with photos of lumps of pellets. The other given reasons were the sealant having too much carbon fiber or the sealant losing some of its carrier. The sealant having too much carbon fiber does not make sense to me. If pH of the sealant being lowered was the reason, then sensitivity of the sealant to changes in pH worries me.

whataboutEee
Posts: 117
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:55 pm

by whataboutEee

cat4forlife wrote:
Fri Jun 17, 2022 6:17 pm
whataboutEee wrote:
Fri Jun 17, 2022 6:02 pm
Had to replace my rear tire today and there was still plenty of liquid left in it (pirelli p zero race tlr, brand new tire when I mounted it). However, all the carbon was in one big clump stuck to the tire. The best I can tell it wasn't a puncture. Now I'm wondering how effective it is long term with the added replenisher. If the carbon is basically non-functional after a few weeks it really seems like it might not be worth the hassle of not being able to inject it into the valve.
How had the tire been inflated? Air compressor? I had been exclusively using an air compressor to inflate my tires. Introducing moist acidic air into the tire - because of moisture in the air compressor tank - and lowering the pH of the sealant was one of the reasons given by Silca when i emailed them with photos of lumps of pellets. The other given reasons were the sealant having too much carbon fiber or the sealant losing some of its carrier. The sealant having too much carbon fiber does not make sense to me. If pH of the sealant being lowered was the reason, then sensitivity of the sealant to changes in pH worries me.
Standard track pump. Never used CO2 or compressor for inflation or daily use.

cat4forlife
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2020 7:42 pm

by cat4forlife

whataboutEee wrote:
Fri Jun 17, 2022 6:58 pm
cat4forlife wrote:
Fri Jun 17, 2022 6:17 pm
whataboutEee wrote:
Fri Jun 17, 2022 6:02 pm
Had to replace my rear tire today and there was still plenty of liquid left in it (pirelli p zero race tlr, brand new tire when I mounted it). However, all the carbon was in one big clump stuck to the tire. The best I can tell it wasn't a puncture. Now I'm wondering how effective it is long term with the added replenisher. If the carbon is basically non-functional after a few weeks it really seems like it might not be worth the hassle of not being able to inject it into the valve.
How had the tire been inflated? Air compressor? I had been exclusively using an air compressor to inflate my tires. Introducing moist acidic air into the tire - because of moisture in the air compressor tank - and lowering the pH of the sealant was one of the reasons given by Silca when i emailed them with photos of lumps of pellets. The other given reasons were the sealant having too much carbon fiber or the sealant losing some of its carrier. The sealant having too much carbon fiber does not make sense to me. If pH of the sealant being lowered was the reason, then sensitivity of the sealant to changes in pH worries me.
Standard track pump. Never used CO2 or compressor for inflation or daily use.
Well, there goes that Silca explanation of lowering the sealant pH due to the introduction of acidic air via an air compressor.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



spartacus
Posts: 1048
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2011 6:53 pm

by spartacus

So you can't put it through the valve and you're not supposed to use an air compressor? wtf?

Post Reply