Tube vs. Tubeless on ebikes

Tires setup on your ebike(s) is

  • Using tube

    Votes: 28 53.8%
  • Tubeless

    Votes: 12 23.1%
  • I have both on different ebikes

    Votes: 12 23.1%
  • Nah, I use airless tires!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    52
Well, for reference its 16 oz for a fat tire. I was told by Flatout for your typical 26x2.5" tire to use 8 oz. For a portly 29er - 29x2.6 - to go somewhere in between. Say 12 oz. Yes you use a lot but remember also you want this injection to last the life of the tire and over the years some is going to come out. Also it spreads to a film that is tenacious all over the tire interior. Flatout doesn't seem to clump on one side of the tire over time like Slime does.

Back when I was using Slime on fat tires, the general community wisdom was to double the recommended dosage. I had one flat where I needed every ounce of that extra.
Thanks for the insight! It’s quite helpful. New bike arrives next week and I’m about to get the sportsman flat out ready for use.
 
flat out is good below around 50 psi. above that and it seldom works. Tried their thinner bike one on tubeless and it would just would slowly leak out over a month or so, any hole it plugged would weep every time I road.
 
flat out is good below around 50 psi. above that and it seldom works. Tried their thinner bike one on tubeless and it would just would slowly leak out over a month or so, any hole it plugged would weep every time I road.
That’s an interesting point. With tubeless setups and fat tires, I imagine many are running sub50 psi.

Anyone else used FO on 50-60 psi?
 
Anyone else used FO on 50-60 psi?
Right at 60 psi on my 26x2.5 emtb. I actually use this bike as an around-town sort of short-errand bike. Also on my 29er which is 29x2.3 and 60 psi on the back tire riding it on dirt roads.

No flats on the 26er yet so jury's out, but I have had it work fine on the 29er for goatheads. These bikes are both tubeless.

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I have heard nothing good about Flatout's formulation for bicycles. Stick to the Sportsman formula. HOWEVER, the ATV formula is sold at Home Depot and sometimes kept in stock at the store. I asked Flatout about it and they said its fine for bicycle use vs. Sportsman formula. No difference in viscosity/thickness.
 
Stick to the Sportsman formula. HOWEVER, the ATV formula is sold at Home Depot and sometimes kept in stock at the store.

I couldn't find Flatout anywhere in Canada, and they don't have it at my local Home Depot.

I had to have it shipped from the USA through Amazon.
It cost me $47

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It's sounds like it was well worth the money though.
I actually already had the Slime but hadn't put it in my tires yet.
It was only $15 at my local Canadian Tire.

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Thanks again @m@Robertson for your advice and pointing me in the right direction.
I thought all sealants were basically the same with different prices for the hype.

My Flatout should last as long as my ebike, or even me for that matter. 😂
 
Wow. At least those are Canadian dollars. 0.75:1 exchange rate so not as much to us who live south of the border as it seems. Amazon wants US$19.45 for the identical product here.
 
Wow. At least those are Canadian dollars. 0.75:1 exchange rate so not as much to us who live south of the border as it seems. Amazon wants US$19.45 for the identical product here.

I'm pretty sure that it's still well worth the money, but I guess that the only way to know for sure is to pound a nail into my tire and see what happens. 😂
 
FlatOut has changed their packaging, use to be a soft plastic squeeze bottle,
now is HD plastic bag, appears to be the same products etc.
Seems to be a very good product, so far.
 
FlatOut has apparently released a new bike-specific formula last year, beyond even the “will work on fat tire bikes” Sportsman. Seems it’s called FlatOut QuickStrike Small Tire and it says good up to 1/4” puncture with same lifespan as old FO formulas. There’s a 1/2” sealing QuickStrike Off-road variant as well, for fat tires (3” and greater). From my reading, the difference in old vs QS formulas is that the flow is quicker in the new ones and the base is ethylene glycol rather than propylene glycol.

Next time I switch tires I may give the new small tire variant a try.
 
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FlatOut has apparently released a new bike-specific formula last year, beyond even the “will work on fat tire bikes” Sportsman. Seems it’s called FlatOut QuickStrike Small Tire and it says good up to 1/4” puncture with same lifespan as old FO formulas. There’s a 1/2” sealing QuickStrike Off-road variant as well, for fat tires (3” and greater). From my reading, the difference in old vs QS formulas is that the flow is quicker in the new ones and the base is ethylene glycol rather than propylene glycol.

Next time I switch tires I may give the new small tire variant a try.
tired it in my tubeless tires it sucked. all holes t plugged I would see wet spots every ride. it would all leak out of the tire within a month or so.
 
tired it in my tubeless tires it sucked. all holes t plugged I would see wet spots every ride. it would all leak out of the tire within a month or so.
Which variant did you use? Off road or small tire? I’m not running tubeless currently, so in tubes maybe it functions better?

Not to discount your awful experience, but since theres a lot of folks who’ve had great luck with FO (presumably the old formula not the QS) and I wish I knew what the deciding factors were.
 
Which variant did you use? Off road or small tire? I’m not running tubeless currently, so in tubes maybe it functions better?

Not to discount your awful experience, but since theres a lot of folks who’ve had great luck with FO (presumably the old formula not the QS) and I wish I knew what the deciding factors were.
that was the one for bikes. I didn't to try in a tube but it sure sucked as a tubeless sealant. where the regular stuff works fine.
 
Looks pretty cool. How long is the probe going through the tire? Are going to hit the rim tape?
Dave
The plug goes inside the end of the probe, it is inserted just past the end and the domed head pops out of the probe when using the Allen wrench to push the plug out of the probes end, when you pull the probe out, the domed head/shank catches on the inside of of the tire casing, pulling out the glued dome and the head pull up tight against the inside of the tire casing, seals and plugs the hole.

Inside air pressure helps, refill the tire with the required pressure needed and on down the road you go.

I don't know if a fat tire bike casing would be strong enough to keep it's shape while inserting the probe? I would believe that with any amount of tire pressure, that would be the deciding factor, I have never had a flat fat bike tire in my hands to play with yet......

With a bike tire, I think, I'll pump the tire up with as much air as possible with the probe in the leaking hole, when pull the plug out, should help............?

They have several different lengths of plugs, and plug head diameters,
I always used largest diameter and the long stemmed plugs,
then pulled the head up tight inside the tire casing, to make sure I got a good seal, then cut off the shank end flush with the outside of the tire.

The shank end is pretty stiff and the domed head is very soft/ flexible and seals very well when pulled right up to the inside the the tire casing. When you clean the hole and insert the probe, I always applied some extra glue into the hole/around the probe, and I spun the probe when removing, to make sure the head flared out, and sealed, was easy to insert/spin etc.
 
I haven't use these tire plugs on my e bike yet, but have used several of these plugs on my ATV/trailer tires, worked very well.
I used something very similar a few years ago called Dynaplugs. Very effective but also very expensive, and these seem to be just as pricey. I think for an ATV/trailer tire they'd be a much better fit.

I've been using the 'side of bacon' style plugs and they are cheap and effective. If one doesn't work you just put another one in and that does it. I use a Lezyne plug tool these days ($10.99), and Lezyne refill packs for the plugs that are sold in lots of 10 for another $9. The tool comes in a little plastic box and the 10 plugs fit in that same little box so the whole $19 solution fits in a little bag under my saddle.

The original Side of Bacon (tm) plugs are cheaper, but the Lezyne ones have done their job and saved my ass so I'm sticking with them.
 
I used something very similar a few years ago called Dynaplugs. Very effective but also very expensive, and these seem to be just as pricey. I think for an ATV/trailer tire they'd be a much better fit.

I've been using the 'side of bacon' style plugs and they are cheap and effective. If one doesn't work you just put another one in and that does it. I use a Lezyne plug tool these days ($10.99), and Lezyne refill packs for the plugs that are sold in lots of 10 for another $9. The tool comes in a little plastic box and the 10 plugs fit in that same little box so the whole $19 solution fits in a little bag under my saddle.

The original Side of Bacon (tm) plugs are cheaper, but the Lezyne ones have done their job and saved my ass so I'm sticking with them.
I have the Lezyne bacon strips and the Stans Darts.
 
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