Silca

As others have mentioned, clogs my stems quickly, does not last very long. I've gone back to primarily using Orange Endurance sealant. I think this would be best used for a big event where you need good sealing for a short period of time. Big fan of other Silca products, think this is one I won't use anymore once I finish.

It's really just a crock pot with a thermostat, temp gauge and chain hanger but it seems well designed and definitely makes waxing a much easier and less messy job. Previously I was using an ultra-cheap crock pot, and it was hard to figure out the right temperature and when to remove the chain so that it got adequately waxed without becoming a big gooey mass as the wax cooled. This product eliminates those problems and is very convenient and easy to use. I bought it on sale at BTD otherwise I probably wouldn't have shelled out the cash, but I think it would be worth the full price especially if you have more than one bike, ride a lot or need to rewax frequently.

First ride of the season and I was washing my bike afterwards. Found a good sized wood splinter sticking out of my tire sidewall (not the usual pin prick like a thorn or something). Never even noticed it during the ride. I pulled it out and it sealed immediately. Amazing stuff.

I also change out my sealant every season so I can see that it's still in good shape from the prior season. Unlike the first gen Silca ultimate sealant which was completely dried out and useless within months.

I finally decided to take the plunge with TPU tubes and since BTD had a sale and I've been a long-time happy user of many Silca products, I thought, why not? Well, it's been a steep and frustrating learning curve. Right off the bat, one of the tubes popped a leak at the junction of the valve to the tube as I was installing it. So much for the hoopla about how Silca has improved this particular area of TPUs that are so prone to failing. Fortunately I'm local and was able to swing by BTD and they swapped the tube for a new one, with their usual outstanding customer service. Several rides later I encountered a slow leak from a tiny pinhole puncture which was a mystery--the tire showed no signs of a puncture or any debris inside or out. These mystery punctures are apparently a known "feature" of TPU tubes--check out a recent GCN youtube video where they mention this. So I used the supplied adhesive patch and it seemed to fix it...for a couple of days, after which the adhesive gave out and it started leaking again. Mind you I had followed all the instructions and precautions up to this point. My tip for what eventually sealed the puncture: a small, thin layer of contact cement, and a patch of electrical tape over that. It's been solid ever since and I've ridden over all sorts of broken pavement and some gravel too. So forget using the included adhesive patches, they simply don't hold up. I'm a long-time user of latex tubes but I wanted to go from 28mm to 30mm Conti GP5k tires and I would've had to move up to the next size in my fave Vittoria latex tubes, which would have been much heavier. The only thing these tubes have going for them IMO is the low weight, which really helps with larger tires (no road tubeless for me, thanks). They ride harsher than latex and lose air quicker than butyl, but not as much as latex. I wouldn't even use one as a spare at this point, even though they take up little room, as I'm not confident about their reliability, and the last thing you need is a finicky spare tube prone to mystery leaks when you're stuck on the side of the road.