New from Effetto Mariposa is a new tubeless setup system called CaffeLatex. While not as delicious as a Venti Latte, it seals up tubeless tires a lot better and doesn’t cause corrosion to your rims after time.

The latex itself has no ammonia and contains a foaming agent which is activated when the wheel turns. The second you start riding, the latex foams up to completely seal up the tire.

Installation is slightly different from other systems on the market, so guess what? Read the instructions – or re-read this blog entry. Believe me, it will save you a lot of frustration.




First up, get yourself some CaffeLatex Tire Sealant. Available in 250 and 1000ml, this baby is the 1000ml. Running a 26er rim will require about 50ml of sealant, running a 29er will require 100ml. In my experience, I always put a little extra in (about 15-25ml) as somehow I always spill a little bit and to factor in some of the sealant squirting out as the tire seats.




Then, you will need the CaffeLatex injector. On the side it will have an ml indicator and also a picture how to on how to hook up the injector to the valve.




And you’ll need the CaffeLatex Tubeless valve with replaceable inner core along with valve core remover. The CaffeLatex valve is really beefy – and works with all tubeless rims. Overall, nice design that holds up awesome.




Next, you need CaffeLatex Tubeless Tape – and install it to a nice clean rim. When applying the tape, take your time and squeeze out any air bubbles. You should start the rim tape about 10mm before the valve hole and finish up about 10mm after.

Additionally, if want to be 100% confident you got out all the air bubbles under the rim strip, mount the tire with a tube. Inflate up to about 30-35 pounds and let sit overnight. The pressure from the tube should squeeze out any air bubbles under the tape.




Once the tape is on, punch a hole through the tape at the valve hole and finger tighten the valve onto the rim.

Remember to get it as tight as you can with ONLY your fingers. A loose valve will leak sealant.




Next, install the tire WITH NO SEALANT and using a pump or air compressor, inflate the tire to 30-40 pounds until the tire is completely seated.

THIS STEP IS CRITICAL!

Once seated, completely deflate the tire.

No air in the tire and the tire is 100% completed seated.




Next, hook up the injector to the valve. For my setup, I took out the valve core from the valve stem and also took off the end of the injector that attaches to the valve core.

I then attached the injector hose directly to the valve stem.




Next, with the valve core at 12 o'clock, fill up the injector with the CaffeLatex sealant.




And then insert the plunger into the injector.




And then slowly inject your tire with the sealant.




After taking off the injector, install the valve core with your valve core tool.

I would also suggest picking up a few spare valve cores too, just in case a core goes bad on you. Better to spend a few extra dollars and save your race or ride.




Then inflate your tire, shake it up to activate the sealant and spin the wheel around a few times to make sure the tire seals up good. Then wipe off any sealant that happens to creep out while you inflated.

I would also suggest a light spin on your new tubeless setup before your first big ride and/or race on them to make sure the tire is seated and sealed up 100 percent.

Complete tubeless conversion kits are now available at the ‘goat and includes everything to convert one bike to the CaffeLatex system: sealant, the injector, rim tape, 2 tubeless valves with removable cores and a presta valve key.

Check it out HERE.