Végétalex is a revolutionary tyre sealant, biodegradable and totally plastic free: great for the environment, long lasting, and providing a high degree of puncture protection for tubeless, tubular and inner-tube applications.
- Unique plant-based puncture repairing ingredients (winner of Design and Innovation Award 2021)
- Extremely durable
- Adds little weight to wheels, following the suggested quantities
- Compatible with the use of CO2 cartridges
- Biodegradable and totally plastic free
- Being very low maintenance (in most cases, it will last a full season of riding) it’s ideal also for e-bikes
- Easy to clean
- See resourses for the correct amount you will need
Charateristics:
Sizes: Végétalex is available as bottles of 1000 or 250 ml. Bottles come with a flexible tube, to allow sealant injection straight through the valve.
Why we developped it: Our tyre sealant Caffélatex has a strong palmarès of victories to demonstrate its performance, together with a solid and constantly growing base of happy users, worldwide. As we should all do our best to reduce our impact on the environment, we started working on a plant-based sealant that was both good with nature and very effective – similar to Caffélatex - against punctures. It took us more than two years of development, but we can now say Végétalex has exceeded our expectations.
Plant-based puncture repairing ingredients: Most tyre sealants employ slowly biodegradable liquid polymers (like natural or synthetic latex) to repair punctures; Végétalex instead contains only plant-based particles and fibers - finely ground olive stones and cellulose fibers - to deliver a tremendous puncture clogging effect. This mix, held together by xanthan gum (produced from simple sugars), fixes punctures ranging from small tyre porosities to bigger cuts (up to 5 mm) fast and in a permanent way.
Extremely durable: Durability was one of the priorities for the “Végétalex” project. As it doesn’t rely on the solidification of a liquid polymer to fix punctures, rather on a sophisticated mix of different shapes and sizes of natural particles with xanthan gum, Végétalex has a long ‘active’ lifespan inside tyres. Starting at 3 months in worst-case scenarios (very porous tyres in hot weather and small quantity of sealant), Végétalex will keep repairing punctures for more than 6 months inside most tyres. This makes it also suitable for inner-tube applications.
Lightweight: Végétalex has been finely tuned to obtain a high mobility, so that a small quantity goes a long way in terms of coverage of the inner surface of the tyre. For Végétalex, we suggest using about 20% more than the quantities recommended for Caffélatex. As an example, for a 29x2.10 (54-622) tubeless-ready tyre iCaffélatex recommends a minimum of 70 ml (approx. 2 1⁄2 oz.) of Caffélatex or 84 ml (approx. 3 oz.) of Végétalex.
Compatible with the use of CO2 cartridges
Végétalex isn’t damaged by the use of CO2 cartridges.
Biodegradable and totally plastic free
Végétalex doesn’t contain ammonia or other aggressive chemicals, nor is it toxic or corrosive. Végétalex doesn’t contain macro or micro plastics, no rubber particles (please note: recycled rubber decomposes very slowly!), no aramid fibers (that will remain in the environment for a long time...): all the ingredients of Végétalex are highly biodegradable. Végétalex doesn’t trigger allergic reactions in people who are allergic to products made with natural rubber latex. However, it may contain traces of nut.
Note: As with all other sealants, oxidation of aluminum rims can happen (because of the water content) if the metal rim surface is not painted/protected or covered by tubeless rim strip or tape.
Low maintenance: Being able to ‘forget’ about tyre sealant is the dream of tubeless tyre users. Especially those of us who don’t ride too often, wondering whether the sealant is still liquid inside our tyres (or not) is a worry that can spoil the pleasure of a ride. We say that Végétalex is ideal for e-bikes because e-bikers often have to deal with more complex machines, batteries, and electronics; a sealant that’s low maintenance is surely a welcome change. Using more structured tyres, like those specific for e-bikes, Végétalex will easily last a full season of riding, so that you can spend less time doing bicycle maintenance and more time riding.
Easy to clean: Végétalex doesn’t contain pigments or quickly solidifying polymers so it is very easy to remove from surfaces. Even when dry, Végétalex can be cleaned with soapy water and a brush.
Usage and storage temperatures and tips
Usage: -20/+50°C (-4/+122°F) Storage: -15/+30°C (+5/+86°F)
Végétalex will last 2 years after the bottle is first open, provided the bottle is closed properly, stored away from direct sunlight, and the storage temperature is within the range stated above.
It’s important to shake Végétalex bottle well before injecting the sealant into tyres. If extra protection is needed - for example taking a multiple days ride on rocky, thorny terrain – we suggest adding 30 ml of product to the recommended quantity.
Made in Italy.
