Shoot me if this has already been asked a million times or if in fact it is a stupid question that no one has dared ask before but has anyone tried running a tubeless rim or conversion with standard no tubeless tyres and what was the success/failure of such an experiment?? want to try tubeless and don’t mind paying for the conversion kit but can’t quite justify spunking another £50 per tyre on tubeless tyres too. All help is welcome!

Tubeless ready (not UST) is the best option but standard tyres work almost as well IME, as long as you stay away from ones that don’t fit (ie, do some research).

All my succesful tubeless experience is with proper tubeless rims- UST, Stans, and Rovals. I gave BMX tubes a good crack but it was never as reliable as a tube, or as light as a tube, and it soaked up too much time and caused too much hassle for me to want to continue.

Depends on the rim and tyre.
I ran stans rims with regular (non UST) Maxxis tyres for years without any problems.
Mounted easy and maintained pressure.
Tubeless ready tyres are heavier due to thicker sidewalls.
Its not always that easy with all tyre and rim combinations though.

I have used regular (not-UST, non-2bless, or anything else) tires with regular (non-UST) rims using Stan’s rim strip conversion kit and sealant since at least 2005 IIRC. I started using it after I had a total of 5 thorns in 2 tubes one Friday evening. Of course, the LBS was closed and I was meeting friends for a ride Sat AM, so stayed up till midnight finding and fixing leaks. I may get one flat per year now, usually if I haven’t topped off the sealant in over a month. One pint of Stan’s sealant easily lasts me for a year. I’ve used several different wheelsets and different tires as well. Current tires are Tioga Psycho Genius.

Only issue that I ever had was with some old Panaracer Trailraker tires. Mfr did nor recommend running them tubeless but I tried anyway. The beads were rather loose and they blew off the rim. I’m pretty sure that new Panaracers are tubeless compatible though.

Worked ok with some Michellin All-Mountain’s & the ghetto tubeless idea on some Mavic 717’s, with BMX tubes cut up. Burped all the sealant on a small bump on Cannock’s FtD so had to stick a tube in. Will be giving it another go this summer when the SmallBlock8’s go back on my 29er.

Only issue that I ever had was with some old Panaracer Trailraker tires. Mfr did nor recommend running them tubeless but I tried anyway. The beads were rather loose and they blew off the rim. I’m pretty sure that new Panaracers are tubeless compatible though. 😀

Currently ghetto tubeless with a High Roller and a Minion. Not so long ago I was ghetto tubeless with Continental Verticals and before that Hutchinson summit or other. I have also been ghetto tubeless on 2.5 dual ply High Rollers too.

none of the tyres have ever been tubeless or tubeless ready, just normal tyres for use with tubes.

Mavic 729’s and Spank Oozy rims BTW.

Not sure I’d actually bother with a tubeless conversion kit to be honest. 20″ BMX tube per wheel at about £2 from a supermarket, stretch over rim with a bit of air in, centralise tube and ensure its pretty straight ( not rotating ), slice along the top, fold over rim, clean the dust out, put tyre on, leave a bit of the wall off and pop a load of sealant in, put tyre on, pump up with a compressor and try to get the tyre wall to seat. Swish it all about in the tyre and seal the walls.

Last lot took me about 40 minutes per wheel and cost me a mug full of sealant and two 20″ inner tubes at £2 each.

Lots of ghetto tubeless videos on you tube.

All this talk about tyre burp, topping up sealant and compatible tyres makes me wonder if going tubeless is really worth the effort. I know that this will stir up a hornets nest but it may be of interest to the OP.
I have one bike and change my tyres regularly to suit the conditions. To stop punctures I use Slime tubes

Yes Slime tubes are a heavier but so are tubeless tyres and sealant when compared to standard tyres and no sealant. The weight of the tube itself is more than a rim strip but I can change tyres when I like and haven’t had a puncture for 8 months.
For me and my circumstances it is the perfect solution.

Get the right combination and you’ll be fine. I think the motives forum still has a list of what works.

I’ve done a number on magic 317 rims with stans rim strips. Specialized normal tyres, advantage and nevegal were all spot on. I did try some maxxis advantage tyres but for my weight and riding style in the peaks, it was a bit too much of an ask.

Now all my bikes, including the 700c commuter, run notubes rims. Most also have ust tyres.

Your mileage may very.

I’ve had mixed results, but got it nailed fairly quickly. You can use any rim but you need to be wary about the tyres you’re using. I’ve tried Kenda, Panaracer, Maxxis and Specialized. The 2bliss ready Spesh tyres have been by far the most reliable but they’re a pig to get on the rim.

20″ BMX tubes work as well as the Stan;s strips with the bonus that if you’re careful with a craft knife they’ll fit the rim perfectly. I’ve heard of people using duct tape and loose schrader valves too but I’ve not tried that method.

If it all goes pears then at the very least you should run some sealant (eg Slime, Stan’s or Joe’s) in your inner tubes. I’ve endured the rigmarole of daily punctures after the council did some trailside maintenance and it stopped being funny very quickly.

Oh and you need a compressor. If this is impractical then you should narrow your choice to a tubeless ready tyre – like Spesh’s Captain for example otherwise you’ll waste your time and energy trying to get the bead to seat.

I did the ghetto tubeless conversion a couple of weeks back with my 721s and Hans Dampfs. The rear inflated straight away. I cannot get the front to take air at all. I’ve decided to run it with a tube for a bit in the hopes of giving it shape.

Anyone got any tips for getting it to bead?

Matt24k – hans dampf tyre is 850g. Schwalbe AV7C tube is 95g (50 when cut down) with two cups in the tyre. Ghetto tubeless is not necessarily a heavy option. My back wheel is considerably lighter than it was (without slime tubes).

It’s the only way to go IMHO. Tubeless tyres are expensive and the choice isn’t as good. I always use non-tubeless tyres and I have 819 and 823 rims. I find it to be virtually faff free until the tyres get worn and then it’s time to change. I wrote some stuff about what I tried and what worked on my blog if you want.
Tubeless wheels with non-tubeless tyres!

+1 for regular Maxxis.

I’m using wire and folding bead Minions and both have been fantastic.

hugor – Member

Tubeless ready tyres are heavier due to thicker sidewalls.

Sometimes, but not always. In fact these days a lot of tyres are tubeless ready by default.

Shoot me if this has already been asked a million times

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