e*thirteen tire plasma is an acrylic polymer tubeless sealant that claims to seal punctures up to 4mm. The low-viscosity solution should make installation through a valve possible but in our testing it did not do well, underperforming considerably when compared to other options in the best tubeless sealant category.
Tire Plasma is available in 100ml, 500ml, and 1-litre bottles. The 100ml bottle would be enough for a smaller cross-country tyre, and we used the full bottle in our test with a 47mm gravel tyre.
e*thirteen Tire Plasma Tubeless Sealant - Performance
To test sealant performance, we created a standardised puncture test to assess each contender. The same exact tyre on the same rim for each sealant. The tyre used was a Halo GXC, measuring 47mm. Tyre sealant was added in the amount suggested by the manufacturer, and the tyre was inflated to 40psi. This pressure was chosen to give a realistic tyre pressure for all areas of off-road riding. A digital tyre pressure gauge was used to ensure that the pressure was identical on each test. After that, the tyre was rotated sufficiently to ensure that it was distributed evenly throughout the tyre. The tyres were all punctured by driving a 3mm nail through the carcass. The wheel was rotated to assess if the sealant had successfully sealed the hole. If the sealant worked, the test was repeated using a 5mm diameter nail, and if successful on the larger hole the remaining air pressure was measured with a digital pressure gauge and the result was recorded.
The e*thirteen plasma sealant appeared to perform well initially, with sealant spray from the tyre that stopped quickly. But on both size punctures it did not form a permeant seal, and despite both continuing to rotate the tyre on one occasion and leaving the sealant to pool above the puncture on another, on both occasions all the air leaked out.
Should this happen when out riding, I would have no confidence in the sealant working and, at best, it would give limited riding time between inflations.
Tire Plasma is available in three sizes, 100ml (£9.99), 500ml (£10), and 1 litre (£18), which makes it good value compared to many other brands. Compared to some of its rivals we have recently tested, the WTB TCS is really hard to beat boasting impressive performance and costs £15 for a similarly sized 473ml bottle. In terms of value alone, the e*thirteen Tire Plasma trumps the Silca Ultimate Tubeless Sealant on price, the latter of which comes in at a hefty £28 for the 473ml size.
e*thirteen Tire Plasma Tubeless Sealant - Verdict
While e*thirteen plasma might represent good valve in general, the results of our puncture test gave a poor result, and I would have little confidence in it working well when the inevitable happens. With so many other sealants available - and really good options at that - it's difficult to recommend.
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