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How often should you top up tubeless sealant?

Published 26 September 2026

Disclosure: Pedal Brief may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. This version has no affiliate links. We have not run a sealant longevity test. This is a summary of what wheel makers, sealant makers and mechanics publish, linked where it appears. Full disclosures.

Who it's for: road and gravel riders on tubeless who would rather find out their sealant has dried in the garage than at the roadside.

Short answer: check every 2 to 3 months and top up when it is low. Hunt recommends topping up every 2 to 3 months, and Stan's says its Original formula works "over a 2-7 month period." Check monthly if you ride a lot in hot, dry weather, as Park Tool's Truman Purdy advises, and check after using CO2. For volume, Hunt's base guide is 50ml for a 28mm tire and 80ml for 40mm. Stan's gives 60ml as a general figure for road and cyclocross tires.

Tubeless gets sold as fit-and-forget. It is closer to fit-and-remember. The sealant that plugs small holes is a liquid that slowly dries out. The first time most riders notice is a thorn and a slow hiss on the one ride without a spare tube.

How often: what the makers and mechanics say

• Hunt (wheels): "We recommend topping up the sealant levels every 2-3 months depending on weather conditions." More often if it is very hot or the wheels are stored somewhere warm, because the water-based sealant "will eventually dry out." (Hunt)
• Stan's (sealant): the Original formula provides puncture sealing "over a 2-7 month period, however arid conditions may require more frequent monitoring." (Stan's)
• Orange Seal (sealant): says its Endurance formula has a "proven ability to last up to two to three times longer," without saying longer than what. (Orange Seal) That is the maker's claim.
• Cadex (via Cycling Weekly): Jeff Schneider "recommends checking sealant every two to four months, depending on the environment," and checking "before major events regardless of the service interval." (Cycling Weekly)
• SILCA (via Cycling Weekly): Josh Poertner: "I use the shake method every week or two and then add sealant every 60 days or so even if it still sounds good. Better safe than sorry!" (Cycling Weekly)
• Park Tool (via Cycling Weekly): Truman Purdy suggests replacing sealant "at the beginning of your riding season," checking and refreshing about halfway through, and draining and replacing at the end. Riders in hotter, drier climates "should be checking sealant monthly." (Cycling Weekly)

The overlap is clear enough. Check roughly every two to three months, sooner in heat, and never assume it is still there after half a year.

Why road tires need more attention

Road tires carry less sealant and run higher pressures than gravel or mountain bike tires. Schneider says that in "high-pressure road tubeless systems, where sealant volume is relatively small," the effects of CO2 on sealant "can be more noticeable." (Cycling Weekly) A small volume also means less margin. Lose some to evaporation and some to a sealed puncture, and there is not much left for the next one.

Poertner explains the mechanism. Sealant is "solid latex liquified by a high pH solvent." Some solvent evaporates into the air in the tire and slowly escapes with it. When you add air, more solvent leaves the sealant, which thickens "to something more like honey before eventually becoming hard." His conclusion: "You are aging your sealant far faster if you are adding air every two days than if you are having to add it every two weeks." (Cycling Weekly)

How much sealant: volumes by tire width

Hunt's base guide, which it says you can exceed "if you feel it is necessary" (Hunt):

Stan's help centre gives one figure for the whole category: "For road and cyclocross tires, we recommend 2 ounces (60ml)." It adds that more can be used "if a tire is particularly porous and difficult to seal." (Stan's help centre)

Hunt's rule of thumb is a good sanity check: there should be "enough to coat the inside of the tyre wall and leave a small puddle in the bottom of the tyre." (Hunt) New tires may weep sealant through the casing at first. Stan's says this "weeping" is evaporation and "does not impact the effectiveness of the sealant." (Stan's help centre)

Three ways to check what is left

All three come from Poertner, via Cycling Weekly (Cycling Weekly):

1. Shake it. Hold the wheel to your ear and shake. It "should sound like water sloshing around." This is the method he uses.
2. Dipstick. Accurate, but it "requires complete tyre deflation and dragging sealant through the valve stem."
3. Weigh it. Most sealants are "70-80% liquid solvent by weight," so if you add 50g, it is dried out once you have lost 35 to 40g. Weigh the wheel after setup and write the number down. A kitchen scale becomes a sealant gauge.

A simpler warning sign: if your tires start "losing air more quickly between rides," check the sealant. (Cycling Weekly)

What shortens sealant life

• Heat and dry air. Every source above agrees. Hunt also flags wheels stored somewhere warm.
• CO2. Schneider says "CO₂ gas can accelerate the coagulation and drying of some latex-based sealants." (Cycling Weekly) Stan's recommends letting the CO2 out after the ride and replacing it "with regular air." (Stan's help centre)
• Punctures you did not notice. Each sealed hole uses some sealant.
• Frequent re-inflation, per Poertner's explanation above.
• Age in the bottle. Continental's hookless safety notes include checking the expiry date on your sealant and replacing it if it has passed. (Continental)

Topping up versus starting fresh

If a check turns up rubbery clumps rather than liquid, our view is that it is time to clean out and start fresh rather than pour more on top. Cycling Weekly's advice for removing dried sealant: use "a crepe rubber block (often sold as a sanding belt cleaner) or a heavy-duty natural rubber eraser," and "stay away from acetone or other cleaning agents." (Cycling Weekly)

On mixing: Stan's says its standard and Race formulas "can be mixed." (Stan's help centre) For mixing different brands, check with the makers first.

Sealant level is also a pressure question. Tubeless lets you run lower pressures than tubes, and our tire pressure calculator adds 5% when you select inner tubes for that reason.

A simple routine

This is our summary of the guidance above, not a rule from any one source:

• Every week or two: the shake test, if you ride often (Poertner's habit).
• Every 2 to 3 months: a proper check and top-up (Hunt), or monthly in hot, dry weather (Purdy).
• After CO2, a sealed puncture or a big event: check again, whatever the calendar says.
• Once a season: clean out old sealant and start fresh (Purdy).

What we could not confirm

• Stan's volumes by tire width. An earlier version of this page listed per-width figures from Stan's product page. We could not find them on Stan's pages during this check, so we removed them and use Stan's general 60ml road figure.
• How long other brands' sealants last. We only list intervals the brands or mechanics state.
• Orange Seal's "two to three times longer." A maker's claim, not independently tested.

Spot an error? Email [email protected].

Sources

• Hunt, How much sealant should I use, how often does it need topping up?: https://help.huntbikewheels.com/en/support/solutions/articles/43000456170-how-much-sealant-should-i-use-how-often-does-it-need-topping-up-
• Stan's, Original tubeless sealant: https://stans.com/products/stans-original-tubeless-sealant
• Stan's help centre, Sealant FAQ: https://stans-etkmsbgxoap.gorgias.help/en-US/articles/sealant-122439
• Orange Seal, Endurance sealant: https://orangeseal.com/products/endurance-sealant-refills
• Cycling Weekly, How often should you replace tubeless tyre sealant?: https://www.cyclingweekly.com/products/how-often-should-you-replace-tubeless-tyre-sealant
• Continental, Hookless vs. Hooked Rims: https://www.continental-tires.com/us/en/tire-knowledge/hookless-vs-hooked-rims/