Caffe Latex

I have ridden the Conti Mt kings for the last month on a Stan's rim with very good luck. The warning here is that the bead dia varies wildly from one tire to the next. Although I have had solid luck with this one tire, I have also seen other examples of the same tire that are way too loose.

We had a 29x2.2 MK that was so loose, you could put the tire and rim parallel next to each other and slide the whole tire over the rim without the bead hitting the rim at all, it was really bad.
 
Funny, I have Rampages on my three bikes and have sold many. I have never had any problems running them tubeless. Personally, I run the front at about 18psi & have never had one burp (even at Sourlands).

Not that J sells them, but all of Specialized's tires are now tubeless ready.

Chris, if you want light & fast, check out WTB Nanoraptors.


Good to see manufacturers waking up to the fact that most experienced riders are running tubeless.

I am sure that the Rampages you have work fine. This speak to the inconsistency I have seen in tire bead dia. I tried a few of these and they all sat really loose on the rim. I basically wrote them off as a tubeless possibility.

The other thing that I didn't mention was that with loads of patience and time you can always build up the inner bed of a Stan's rim with extra layers of tape an/or rubber strips to get a good tire seat.

This variability in tires is what makes me nervous when i sell someone a tubeless conversion kit.
 
We had a 29x2.2 MK that was so loose, you could put the tire and rim parallel next to each other and slide the whole tire over the rim without the bead hitting the rim at all, it was really bad.

I am not sure what in the production process creates this inconsistency, but we all need to let the manufactures (and reps) know that a tubeless ready tire bead should be on every tire.

This is a safety issue that is totally unspoken. You almost need to leave it as a given that people are running every tire tubeless. It is careless to think otherwise.

Really the same can be said for rims.
 
I have heard a thing or two about conti doing tubeless ready and road tubeless very soon.

This is an obvious and welcome step forward.

I have been running tubeless road stuff for 4 years and it is great.
 
One thing I heard/read about, CL are changing the formula, or adding a quicker sealant. I read it some where, I just do not remember where I read it..

Isn't there a CL rep on this forum?

Hi Ron, Caffelatex distributor here. Yes, Effetto Mariposa modified the formula for Caffelatex by increasing the amount of active ingredient (the ingredient that seals punctures) in the mix. The upside is that it seals punctures more quickly; the downside is that it doesn't last as long as the original formula. It still lasts longer than ammonia-based sealants but not as long as the original version. I think the trade-off is worth it. When I get a puncture, I want it sealed NOW. The modified mix was a running change made in June of this year. Anything Caffelatex purchased after September or so of this year should be the new formula version.
 
Mine is still going strong. What is the rule of thumb regarding top-offs? Should I add liquid after a certain amount of time or just wait for the tyres to start losing air?
 
Mine is still going strong. What is the rule of thumb regarding top-offs? Should I add liquid after a certain amount of time or just wait for the tyres to start losing air?

I still have 1st gen mix and do the shake to see if I hear anything, I did top off my 2nds sets about a month go and 1st set I reused in new and topped off but other then that I have had much success!
 
Mine is still going strong. What is the rule of thumb regarding top-offs? Should I add liquid after a certain amount of time or just wait for the tyres to start losing air?

You can just inject more. We've had tires last quite awhile after the sealant has dried up completely before they started loosing air. As the sealant dries up you lose the puncture preventive action of Caffelatex.

I typically just take a guess at how much more to add. The more you ride Caffelatex the better you get at guessing.

Injecting is the preferred method to topping off, as you don't have to break the seal already created by the Caffelatex to pour more into the tire. Of course breaking the tire off the bead allows you to see how much liquid Caffelatex you have left.

So it's up to you but I recommend keeping some liquid in those tires.

-- Steve from Cantitoe Road.
 
I am late to this party ............................... as always, but would like to share my thoughts.

First off, I am not a tubeless convert yet, waiting to get it all done.

Second, I think I can sort of understand where the so called 'glitter' comes into the picture.

Caffelatex does not have any aggregate in it, or atleast from what I can see.

Sealants like Slime, have a fibrous material that seems to be their form of 'aggregate' that forms a base for the sealant to sit on and quicken the sealing process.

The way i look at is in the form of Concrete. Concrete is made up of Cement and sand (aggregate). Neither cement nor sand last any sort of loading of their own, but mixed in proper proportion, they form Concrete which is stupid strong under axial loading (or weight bearing loads as they call it).

I think what cement is to caffelatex, is sand to glitter and the result forms a good sealing platform.

rather than using glitter, which can vary in size and construction, why not use craft sand? It is no comparison to glitters and I can visualize glitter forming a better seal on tire slash against stone and glass, but for punctures, the craft sand works in the same principle.

For example, 100ml of sealant, what is the proper proportion in weight would you recommend glitter (barbies out of the question) ? Too much glitter/sand, can provide a very weak sealant and if for any reason the sealant dries up inside the tire, then you got a clustered weight on the tire that offsets the wheel balance noticeably.

Any particular time frame of taking the old stuff out and putting the new stuff in? 🙂😱
 
I would stick with glitter. Glitter is essentially weightless and I would assume float/work its way around better. The thought of purposely mixing sand into a bike doesn't seem to appealing either, we usually try to keep sand out of the crevices of the bike. As I stated in your thread, measurements aren't that critical. You don't need a ton of glitter, just eye ball it and throw some in. Maybe a teaspoon or so for every 1.5-2oz's of juice.

As far as when to change/add more, every couple of months is what most recommend. If you can hear it swooshing around in your tires when you shake it, it is probably ok. I would think you need a ton of sealant to throw of the wheel balance, I've pulled Stan's boogers out of tires bigger than golf balls and would have never have known they were in there. Cafelatex I recently discovered dries up pretty uniformly around the tire, rather then boogering up.
 
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