Finish Line Fiberlink Sealant was released last week. And, if there is a thing bike shop mechanics are very opinionated about, it is tire sealant. Mark V, for example, only works on Orange Seal filled tires. In fact, he’ll refuse to work on a wheelset with anything but the orange stuff inside. The opinions about sealant fall along clean-up lines. Like, how easy it is or isn’t to remove used sealant from a rim and tire.
While I welcome Finish Line sealing product, no mention of cleanup was in their PR. I have no doubt it works great like all their products. I also hope Finish Line knows changing tires and sealant isn’t a thing anyone wants to do.
There has to be either a compelling reason or a failure. Fiberlink sounds promising. It combines latex with Kevlar fibers. Watch the launch video to see Fiberlink in action. The latex rapidly fills in a puncture while the Kevlar fiber strengthens and holds the seal. From the launch
We challenged ourselves to develop a tire sealant that would lead the bicycle industry in sealing speed, strength, and longevity.
Finish Line said their formula will seal a punch up to 8mm. I do have new tires from Bontrager that just came in and will mount them on the Supercaliber wheelset for the fall, as the stock tires are about shot. I’ll ask another shop to do the work because Mark isn’t having it.
An 8-ounce bottle costs $12, a 32 ounce $34, and the price for the 1-gallon jug wasn’t available at press time. After my trial, maybe I can convince Mark to try new things in sealant.