I’ve now got a couple of Spesh “2Bliss” tyres – these have a butyl bead which apparently seals better. My rims are Mavic 521s.

Is there a cheap and easy way of trying out tubeless? Is it worth me bothering? The tubes I use weigh 180g and I don’t get masses of punctures.

Deffo, look for ghetto tubless on youtube. :-)You will wonder why you haven’t done it before.

Or just buy some stans rim strips someone on the classifieds is selling a pair for £20 with rim tape

i run stan 25mm yellow tape and valves on DT5.1 with stans fluid worked out pretty cheap. Surprise how well it work even with “normal” tyres (having a compressor really helped though).

+1 rim tape and stans valves 🙂 About £8 for 2 valves and not much for the tape and about say £10 for the fluid? – or you could get the whole kit (valves, tape, milk) for about £20?

Isn’t it tricky without a compressor? I’m tempted to go back to tubes.

Isn’t it tricky without a compressor? I’m tempted to go back to tubes.

No, if you are lucky a good track pump will do it, if not c02 will definitely do it.

No, if you are lucky a good track pump will do it,

Really? I failed to get a seal on my XT rims with a track pump, not tried co2, although I was told co2 and sealant don’t mix.

Really? I failed to get a seal on my XT rims with a track pump, not tried co2, although I was told co2 and sealant don’t mix.

Yep a track pump can do it, but it can be hit an miss.

You only use the co2 to seat the bead before you add the sealant, once it’s seated and you have added the sealant a track pump is all you will need.

Thanks, will give it another go.

Recommend knocking up the DIY inflator from here. It’s brilliant. Can sort out a set of tubeless wheels in minutes now instead of hours!

Link?

Here. There’s a photo of mine there somewhere. Very easy to do and works a treat. Much better than using canisters as you can have a few goes at it without it getting expensive.

Tend to do it once without the valve core to get the tyre seated. Then deflate, add some sealant, put the core back in and do it again. Sometimes skip the first step, sometimes need to take the core out if it doesn’t go up on the second step, then try it again with it in. Never taken me more than about four tries to get it seated. Don’t even bother with the soapy water.

Are the tyres folding or wire bead?
The 2Bliss tyres that came with my bike are wire bead & went up ridiculously easy. I bodged the conversion using electrical tape to seal the rim & tried inflating with a track pump. It was my first time trying tubeless & I was expecting a nightmare, but the tyres went up without sealant after only a few rapid blasts on the track pump. They weren’t air tight until I added sealant (they were leaking around the bead), but were fine once sealant was in them & I had no problems since.

I have just had to replace my rear tyre with a new one as I damaged the sidewall. The replacement is a folding version of the 2Bliss tyre & is proving tricky to inflate. Even having left it on another wheel with a tube in & inflated to 55psi for a day or so, it still didn’t want to seal. I think it’s ‘cos the bead doesn’t have the stiffness of the wire version to get the initial seal.

Found this too with folding tyres until trying the DIY tubeless inflator.

I’ve got a compressor, so getting tyres blown up shouldn’t be a problem.

The bit that gets me is the rim strip – some say get Stan’s strips, some say you can use a BMX tube, some say use electrical tape.

Do I use the electrical tape in conjuction with a rim strip made out of a BMX tube, or do I literally just pull a valve off a tube and cover everything else in leccy tape?

Can I use a BMX tube and not trim it off outside the tyre?

I’ve tried:

Stan’s rim strips proper on Mavic rims – PITA
Stan’s rim strips on WTB rims from the late 90s with commuter tyre – ace
Stan’s with electrical tape – worked but felt a bit anxious
Stan’s with ‘proper’ Specialized/Roval rim tube for tubelss fun – neat and worked
Stan’s with the yellow tape – ace
Bonty with Bonty rim strips – ace
UST – ace

CO2 – expensive but saves pumping like a madman.

2 Bliss I found to be a nuisance, but that might be my ineptitude.

I should have done something else with my life over the last 5 years.