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Pirelli Cinturato Sealant

7
£9.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Has a tendency to stain fabrics if things go wrong, but performance on the 'hole' is good
Effective in a range of temperatures
Seals cuts and holes up to around 4mm
Yellow liquid can stain
Weight: 
35g

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Pirelli Cinturato Sealant will certainly let you know you have a puncture thanks to its vivid yellow colour, but thankfully it'll most probably be sealed before you need to worry about it. Don't get any on your clothes, though, as it won't be washing out in a hurry.

Cinturato Sealant is designed for low pressure, large volume tyres like those found on urban, gravel, and mountain bikes, and just to make sure that you don't add the road version instead, the Cinturato is a striking yellow colour.

I've been using it on my gravel bike for a good few months now, from the final warm throws of autumn into the freezing depths of winter, and even with the temperature dropping down to -5°C some nights in the shed it still remains in the tyre as a liquid rather than a clumpy mess.

> 9 things they don’t tell you about tubeless tyres

During the course of the review period I've picked up quite a few intrusions into the tyres, a lot of them being small thorns and the like, which have been barely noticeable until I removed the tyre before writing this up.

A couple of others have been cuts from the sharp edges of rocks and flint from my local gravel trails. One measured about 3mm in length, right in the middle of the tread, while another was about 4mm long and a bit more of an opening than just a cut, just on the edge of the rubber near the sidewall.

Both sealed themselves out on the trail and I didn't lose a huge amount of pressure from the tyre. Pumping it back up to where I wanted it didn't see the sealant 'blow' back out again, helped no doubt by Pirelli's claim that Cinturato will work between 15psi and 100psi.

Stain potential

One issue, which could be a big one, is that it stains. On the bigger of the two cuts the sealant sprayed out as it was sealing and as I'd carried on riding I ended up with the sealant on the back of my leg and over one of my socks.

The sealant soaked in and there was no rescuing the socks. Thankfully, it did wipe off the bike frame and wheel rim, but it did stain the sidewall of the tyre a bit as well.

Like I say, this might or might not be a big issue, but if it was to spray on some expensive kit then that is going to be annoying. (See Matt's pics in his review of the Scorpion sealant on off.road.cc, link below, for an idea.)

Not in the mix

Rather than list what's in it, Pirelli focuses more on what isn't, which is good if you suffer from allergies. In the Cinturato mix you won't find any ammonia, latex or protein.

Size & price

Cinturato is only available in a 125ml bottle; if you want a bigger serving you'll want to buy the Scorpion sealant as it's the same mix but available in 240ml, 1 litre and 5 litre containers.

Price-wise, it's £9.99 for the 125ml bottle, which will comfortably fill two gravel tyres. That's more expensive than others – CST's Tubeless Sealant (which I tested in 2021) is £10.61 for 200ml, while Momum's Gum sealant is £11.99 for a 200ml bottle. Both of those two offered a similar performance to the Pirelli.

Conclusion

Overall, I've been happy with the results of the Cinturato sealant. It has sealed all of the punctures I have picked up in the last few months of riding and is still working, even after the huge range of temperatures we've had during the testing period. That staining issue could be a problem if you get a big puncture, though.

Verdict

Has a tendency to stain fabrics if things go wrong, but performance on the 'hole' is good

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Pirelli Cinturato Sealant

Size tested: 125ml

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Pirelli says: "Non-aggressive, Ammonia and Latex free sealant for Gravel, MTB and Urban use."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

From Pirelli:

Designed to protect against flats and air leaks

Ammonia free - won't damage the rim.

Latex free and protein free reduces risk for allergic reaction

Won't leave sticky residue in the tyre

Compatible with a wide range of temperatures (-20°C to 70°C)

Compatible with a wide range of inflating pressures (15PSI to 100PSI)

Compatible with CO2 only for an emergency repair

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10

This sealant has a different formula to the P-Zero range of sealants, as it doesn't need to cope with such high tyre pressures.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
4/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

The yellow colour does show up any holes quickly, and it sealed small cuts and thorn holes quickly and easily.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Does a good job of sealing holes whatever the weather.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

It can stain your clothing and sidewalls.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It's pricier than most at a tenner for 125ml. Those mentioned in the review give you more sealant for the money.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes – apart from consigning a pair of socks to the bin.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

It's a competent sealant that fixes a range of hole sizes and isn't affected by temperature changes. Watch out for staining, though.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 44  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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1 comments

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huntswheelers | 1 year ago
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That's a fair assesment of a sealant.....  I'm trade and sometimes I get customers who supply sealant to me for when I do tubeless set up's so see quite a few different one's. Some are okay some pretty nasty....in my real world trials on my own bikes (road and gravel) the only one which seems bombproof is Joe's Eco Sealant. I had a spoke break a couple of weeks ago and on removing of the tyre there were several huge thorns around 30mm long and 2mm thick still in the tyre. Anyway did the job on the wheel and refitted the tyre with thorns removed and the usual "Hiss" from the holes.... so once it was seated... usual slug of Joe's and 2 rotations of the wheel and all sealed...  I had a puncture yesterday, happend to see the blue sealant give a small spurt then the next rotation it was sealed. Great stuff that Joe's and the inside of the tyre was  clean as if it was new. If customers don't specify a sealant, they get Joe's eco. Ride Safe

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