[haspok]

> The bike was taken in to a mechanic for a full tune-up seven times, and for small things a few more visits.

Considering this, a tubeless sealant top-up at each of these visits would have been no extra chore. Just sayin' :)

[peterispedaling]

Gotcha! It was impressive how fancy gear mountain biking is popular in all the big cities along the Andes. They "road bike" on MTBs a lot. In Colombia they are nuts for cycling and have some seriously pricey rides. Definitely the sealant is in all the big cities. Some of my tune-ups were in small towns.