Overview
Tru Tension has a unique back story, originally focusing on motorcycle products such as the Chain Monkey, aid to be the world’s first chain tensioning tool. The company’s founder, Chris Frappell, started the business in 2015, then in 2018, Chris appeared on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den show (kind of like our version of Shark Tank), where he secured £75,000 from retail guru Touker Suleyman.
Since its success on the Dragon’s Den, Tru Tension has expanded its product line in both the motorcycle and bicycle industries. We have previously looked at its Tyre Monkey Tyre Lever and Tungsten All-Weather Lube.
Now we have some of the company’s tyre sealant in for testing. Other than smelling like bananas, the sealant also claims to seal holes up to 7mm, last for longer than six months, and not gum or ball up. These are some big claims, and we have only just started using the sealant, so the jury is out on whether it can back up these statements.
Tru Tension Sealant Features
Tru Tension’s formula is infused with carbon fibre strands and graphene and is designed to create a strong bridging surface for the sealant to adhere to. Once the sealant has adhered to the tyre walls, the strands are designed to weave into a robust puncture plug — a bit like a hairball in a shower drain.
Graphene is a bit of a wonder material that is used in everything from tyres to chain lube and even some carbon frames. The material itself is a single layer of carbon atoms, and if you could manufacture a one m² sheet, it would theoretically weigh 0.77mg and hold up to 4kg, according to the Nobel Prize-winning paper written about its discovery.
TrueTension says the addition of graphene to the mixture helps to create a more permanent fix, and the sealant is ammonia-free, non-toxic, non-corrosive, and CO2-compatible.
Tru Tension states the formula is suitable for both high-pressure applications such as gravel bikes and low-pressure setups found on mountain bikes. The sealant has an extensive temperature effectiveness range, with the brand claiming it can be used from -20° up to 50° Celsius.
Looking at the sealant, you can see the carbon strands mixed in amongst the liquid, and there appears to be a good ratio of strands to liquid. Only time will tell how effective these are in plugging holes.
We’ve currently set up the banana-scented orange sealant in a pair of mountain bikes that frequent Nerang’s infamous loam — AKA rocks — and a gravel bike. Once we’ve had enough time to test some of the brand’s claims, we’ll report back.
On paper Tru-Tension’s tyre sealant has quite the feature list for something designed to plug a hole in your tyre. It is priced well at $34.99 AUD for 500ml and comes with a surprisingly enticing banana smell. It is still early days in our testing, however we kind of hope not test our the brands claims to soon, we have just fitted new tyres.
