What was your first thought?
Well I clearly remembered the imagery.
Probably fine for a year, but it dries and bobbles around inside. Makes the wheel rotation feel weird, like an egg.
But really, You should do it each time.
Otherwise you’re adding more weight and may as well just be on TPU tubes
Yeah I was hoping some small top ups along the way ± clean the valves, then a yearly full removal and clean seemed consensus elsewhere. Guess also depends how much I ride as to whether each sealant will last 3-6 months
Sounds like good advice but Ive not messed with mine from new till worn out (winter bike) Just put in a bit of sealant top up when I think its been a while like start of season.
Coming to the end of the 2nd set of tyres.
Never knowingly had a puncute mind, might just have been lucky.
Sealant weighs as much, if not more than a TPU tube; plus TLR tyres weigh more than clincher ones. So I think weight isn’t a reason to go tubleless; rather potential ride quality and puncture ‘resistance’. In fact non TLR tyres are more supple (less reinforcement) so punctures may actually be the main reason for most amateur riders.
I have a pretty cavalier attitude to bike maintenance, so don’t take my advice.
But I have 2 sets of wheels for my gravel bike. 1 set I ride on road in winter with wide puncture resistant tyres and off road in summer. That means I’m swapping the tyres twice a year, and redo the sealant at the same time.
The other set of wheels have GP5000 road tyres on for more fun summer road riding. I set them up in the spring, and take them off in the autumn, so refresh once a year but effective usage is 6 months. Recently got a couple of punctures after 2 years trouble free riding, basically because the tyres were worn. New set fitted and all good so far.
IMHO…
Leave the tyre on. Remove valve core, have a poke about in valve to remove any gunk, then use a sealant syringe to add 30ml ish if it’s a 30mm road tyre that needs a top up. I’d avoid mixing sealant types. My fleet and my wife’s are all on Stans (not race). If you’re switching sealant type it might be worth popping a bit of the bead off the rim and sucking out the old sealant with a sealant syringe and disposing of it.
I generally just top up with Stans each Spring then bin the tyres every three years (I’ve a few bikes so mileage accumulates slowly). You could remove the tyre annually and remove any sealant balls but who can be faffed with that?
The trick here is to time it so you don’t get to this stage bad balls or semi-solid, so might need to be twice a year.