MTB and tubeless

[El Dodgius Bastardo]

Tyre liners are a great way of adding weight to a tubed wheel, should you need that.

They are to puncture prevention what crochet is to contraception, to misquote and old quote.

 

Love that quote!

[Robrider]

Yeah I have. I install it as recommended with using the inner rubber strip and valve as well as the rim tape. I'm sure there isnt any leakages as everything is sealed up well, but the beads seem to not stay on the edges of the rim and air leaks out while pumping.

 

Have you put soapy water along the bead of the tyre? I couldn't believe what a difference it made. Just popped in to place.

[WhuYu]

Have you put soapy water along the bead of the tyre? I couldn't believe what a difference it made. Just popped in to place.

Does the "soapy water" not have an adverse affect on the sealant?......."watered down"??

[Headshot]

I would say its awesome but I am busy having mo*rse hassles intalling my UST tubeless set. The bead just wont take and I cannot pump mine up

 

Change your tyre brand then - maxxis ust tyres on a proper UST wheel rim eg XT, pump up as if theres a tube in them. Conti RK's etc are soft and fit loosley on the rim when empty making them a biatch to inflate...

[Robrider]

Does the "soapy water" not have an adverse affect on the sealant?......."watered down"??

 

Shouldnt. You not putting that much on and you only putting it on the outside of the tyre. If a bit mixes with the sealant I recon it won't make much difference.

[cst68]

Shouldnt. You not putting that much on and you only putting it on the outside of the tyre. If a bit mixes with the sealant I recon it won't make much difference.

 

I agree.

[kosmonooit]

Stans recommends the soapy water checks - also just wipe the beads as well with soapy water b4 pomping - helps them p0p

[SwartAlbert]

An alternative to the commercial conversion kits is a bmx tube.

I came up with this as a stop gap when I had to replace the Stan's tape on the back wheel at last year's Sabie experience and the bike shop didn't have any kits left.

You cut the 20" bmx tube in half along the circumference which produces a rubber 'rim tape' with a valve. It should be wide enough to cover the entire inside of the u shape of the rim's outside. i.e up the sides to just below the thicker edge where the tire bead usually seats.

Fit the tire, my case it was a Crossmark LUST, so that the tire bead sits inside the rubber tape 'u', I.e.the 'rim tape' is sandwiched between the tire bead and the rim wall.

Lightly coat the surface between the bead and the rim tape with sealant, add sealant to the tire and inflate.

 

This stopgap is still the back wheel setup on my hardtail which has been through 8 weeks of very hard mostly offroad Pioneer training with no leaks or hassles.

[cst68]

An alternative to the commercial conversion kits is a bmx tube.

I came up with this as a stop gap when I had to replace the Stan's tape on the back wheel at last year's Sabie experience and the bike shop didn't have any kits left.

You cut the 20" bmx tube in half along the circumference which produces a rubber 'rim tape' with a valve. It should be wide enough to cover the entire inside of the u shape of the rim's outside. i.e up the sides to just below the thicker edge where the tire bead usually seats.

Fit the tire, my case it was a Crossmark LUST, so that the tire bead sits inside the rubber tape 'u', I.e.the 'rim tape' is sandwiched between the tire bead and the rim wall.

Lightly coat the surface between the bead and the rim tape with sealant, add sealant to the tire and inflate.

 

This stopgap is still the back wheel setup on my hardtail which has been through 8 weeks of very hard mostly offroad Pioneer training with no leaks or hassles.

 

The 20" bmx tube trick is commonly known on the internet as the ghetto/gorilla tubeless conversion....and it can work well with tubeless tyres too.

 

The really good thing about the ghetto tubeless trick is in particular it enables you to convert "tube only" tyres to tubeless.

 

There is one limitation though...bmx 20" tubes come in Schrader type valves so if your rims have small holes for Presta valves the holes can be drilled out to Schrader size holes.

[SwartAlbert]

The 20" bmx tube trick is commonly known on the internet as the ghetto/gorilla tubeless conversion....and it can work well with tubeless tyres too.

 

The really good thing about the ghetto tubeless trick is in particular it enables you to convert "tube only" tyres to tubeless.

 

There is one limitation though...bmx 20" tubes come in Schrader type valves so if your rims have small holes for Presta valves the holes can be drilled out to Schrader size holes.

 

Gorilla tubeless conversion :lol: My wife would agree with that one.

 

Good point on the Schrader/Presta valves. I was lucky enough to get Presta valve tubes so hadn't considered the necessity of drilling bigger holes.

[live2ride]

Hi all,

 

I wonder if you can assist me with these questions.

 

I am new to MTB and have 2 questions about tubeless wheelsets

 

 

1. What is the advantage if any to tubless wheels?

 

2. I have heard that you can convert a tube wheelset to tubless, is this a good or bad idea

.

Thanks in advance

 

Check this for general puncture prevention options for MTB

 

Tubeless is definitely the most effective tyre sealing system providing the best possible tyre performance properties. Any other system will start to compromise tyre performance and puncture resistance.

 

The most effective method is tubeless rims + tubeless tyres, these will usually seat without sealant but you should still use sealant for puncture prevention.

 

The lightest option is tubeless conversion on std rims with a choice of tyre UST or non UST foldable. This system works depending on rim and tyre compatability and your skill at getting the conversion done. Using a decent sealant and conversion kit together with compressed air you should be able to seat just about any combination.

Edited September 19, 2011 by live2ride