Hello,
I've only ever gone tubeless the ghetto BMX tube & sealant way. Aside from struggling to get them to inflate without CO2 or a compressor I'm happy with them.
Does a 'proper' tubeless rim strip, e.g. Stan's, make tyres any easier to inflate?
Cheers!
The bonty ones I've just recently fitted certainly do but they're quite different to stans and noflats ones in that theyre hard plastic but they worked great once fitted and I reckon they'll be more secure than the others because of the way they lock the bead in place and don't interfere with the rim/bead fit. That said my joes noflat rim strips with
Bonty mud x were a doddle to fit and have been reliable so far.
Having done some ghetto conversions the biggest difference to proper rim strips is that the rubber is more supple and therefore easier to seat the tyre though that will depend on the exact parts used. Also cut tubes tend to be awkward round the valve as the rubber is thicker which makes seat the beads more sensitive around the valve hole. I solved that by cutting the tube open on the middle of the part that usually is in contact with the rim, then punch a tiny hole in the resultant rim strip for the valve (separated from the rest of it obviously) which seals nicely. This solves the issue of the valve interfering with the bead at that point. Made it much easier to fit.
Thanks clubber
I had stan's initially, then after looking at them decided to make my own form BMX tubes, both worked fine with conti UST tyres. If I did it again I'd probably just use the BMX tubes and cut them to make 'stans' strips.
BMX tubes are thinner than stans though, so maybe add a few runs of electrical tape under it to push it up a little bit.
I have come up against this issue just today. After taking off my tubeless HR on stan's flows to put studded tyres on for the puffer I tried to put them back on today. Could I get them inflated? Could I eckers like. It seems that used stretched tyres just won't inflate with just yellow tape. Buy some rim strips then I thought but call me tight but there is no way I am paying £32 for 2 valves and bits of rubber. That is ridiculous and I'm not going to create the demand that allows them to charge it. So, therefore, I have ordered some presta valved 20" Schwalbe tubes off JE James for 3.89 each and will make my own rim strips. I've done loads of ghetto wheels and never had a problem getting them inflated so I'm hoping that will sort it. It's a shame my stock of schraeder bmx tubes were no use. Aye it's all a bit of a faff but at least it's a faff at home and not out on the trail. I was amazed last week that due to sleep deprivation and adrenaline how rubbish I was at getting tyres off. I ended up getting my steel levers out of the pack. I haven't used any kind of lever for years. Today with the same wheels and tyres I had both tyres off in seconds without a lever in sight.
Just wasn't impressed with BMX tubes myself, they sealed up fine but burped a lot then gave me a couple of total abrupt deflations in corners. I love tubeless with the right kit but this really wasn't a patch on tubes. Perhaps I could have made it work better with more fannying around though.
Wasn't very impressed with the bonty one either, after a tyre got stuck between the rim strip and the rim and wouldn't come off at all, eventually managed to muscle it off but not without damaging the strip.
but burped a lot then gave me a couple of total abrupt deflations in corners
My theory on this is what I was touching on above - the the sealing on ghetto is very marginal around the valve - or at least it can be depending on the tube.
In the image below I've circled the valve reinforcement - this bit is usually pretty wide/thick and I think it interferes with the bead/rim fit making it easier for it to burp or blow off completely - particularly if you're using narrower rims as it means that you have a thick section of rubber (tube) between the rim and tyre which makes it less secure.
This was what I found when trying out some ghetto setups and it was noticeable that combinations of rim/tyre that were a nightmare with normal ghetto (eg either wouldn't seal/inflate or blew the tyre off the rim at 20psi ish) worked easily with the second method of separate valve/rimstrip (still ghetto).
You'll see that systems that provide a separate valve to the rim strip are all pretty narrow to avoid this problem
Wasn't very impressed with the bonty one either, after a tyre got stuck between the rim strip and the rim
How did that happen? Once fitted, there's no way that the tyre bead could get between the rim strip and the rim.
I've used stans and dt. Stans worked well but dt was a mare but easiest of all for me was ghetto works first time every time and with only a track pump
I used a Stan's strip with a Mavic 717 and a Maxxis LUST tyre. Inflated no problems with a track pump and has not caused any problems since.
Just my experience but it may be helpful.
I use ghetto with some added foam tape underneath. Goes up easily with a track pump.
clubber - Member
"How did that happen? Once fitted, there's no way that the tyre bead could get between the rim strip and the rim."
You're right, I must have imagined it 
clubber - Member
"My theory on this is what I was touching on above - the the sealing on ghetto is very marginal around the valve - or at least it can be depending on the tube."
Nah, there was sealant everywhere round the rim where it was burping. It was the lack of a bead hook, the tyre was too free to move away from the edge of the rim. I'm sure building up the tyre a lot with tape could have helped but it all starts to become a titanic faff after a while and I'd wasted enough time on it tbh
OK, then you must have fitted it wrong 
Mine was a right bugger to fit but once fitted it's completely fixed in place by the rim hook so there's nowhere for the bead to get round it - sounds to me like your strip wasn't flush which would no doubt then cause problems.
As to the ghetto, can't think of a good way to explain so I'll try to draw a diagram 
Right, shonky pic
First shows the bonty strip - the sides in contact with the 'braking surface' of the rim are very thin and in direct contact as you actually have to tuck them under the rim hook when fitting so I just don't see how the tyre could get between it and the rim. If it wasn't fitted that way (eg so that the rim strip wasn't tucked under the hook then I can see that'd lead to problems.
Second is ideal ghetto where the rubber is thin (like most of the tube) and therefore there's minimal interference in the way that the bead and rim hook fit (and this is how stans/joes rim strips are made - no heavy reinforcement at the valve hole).
Third is ghetto at the valve where it's much thicker and you can see that this affects the bead/hook fit making it much more likely to pull apart from eachother under load.
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