Stan's No Tubes enters the tubeless tire repair kit game with DART

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — By the end of Eurobike last month, an abused mountain bike tire still held air. A multitude of tubeless tire sidewall and tread punctures were sealed quickly and efficiently with Stan's No Tubes' new DART Tool that will be available later this month.

Unveiling its new tubeless repair kit behind closed doors during the four-day international show, Chris Currie, Stan's creative director, punctured a mountain bike wheel to show how the Dual Action Repair for Tubeless (DART) tool works. A barbed tip distributes the DART, a ribbon-like laser-cut material into the tire that, when reacting with Stan's sealant, fills punctures 5mm or larger in mountain, road and gravel tubeless wheels.

"My poor tire left Germany with over 50 DARTs in it, and we conducted about 30 demos," Currie said. "Everyone was pretty stoked about the DART. The phrase 'game-changer' was uttered many, many times."

DART is unlike many conventional bicycle tubeless plug tools on the market. In most cases, a piece of rubber or similar material is pressed into a puncture, much like a car-tire repair. Long applicator tools can be pressed too far into the tire and damage rim tape, according to Stan's. The company also notes that many traditional plugs expand punctures, relying on a tight fit to seal.

The Stan's applicator is designed with a plastic barbed tip that holds the DART and cannot be inserted too deep to affect rim tape. When inserted and with the required amount of Stan's sealant already in the tire, DART quickly fills the puncture and in effect becomes part of the tire's compound, Stan's said. Because of that, the DART doesn't require trimming after sealing.

"We'd been discussing this for more than two years, and it's just extremely rewarding to see everything finally becoming available to the public," Currie said.

Stan's designed the DART tool, which also has a built-in valve core remover, double-sided to hold DARTs on each side, allowing both to be deployed quickly in succession to seal large slices.

While guaranteed to seal with Stan's regular or Race sealants, Currie could not offer that assurance when used with sealant from other brands. The tool with two DARTs weighs 15 grams, featuring a carbon rod that presses the plug into the tire.

The DART Tool with two DARTs ($25) and refill kit with five DARTs ($20) will be available where Stan's products are sold as well as from notubes.com. Like Stan's other products, Currie said its distributors will be ensuring dealers around the world can offer it.[video]