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I suspect I wont get a very good answer for this, but just wanted to gauge opinion. I recently went ghetto tubeless, 317s and high rollers, got them working fine but pumped them up quite high ~55PSI.
What struck me when doing it was how much the whole thing relies on the air pressure in maintaining the seal between tyre and rim, reduce the pressure and you increase the chance of breaking that seal. It took me quite a lot of messing about to get them pumped up in the first place (using a track pump).
So I wanted to know how low people have successfully run them, just to get an idea?
Thanks....
Depends on the tyre rim combi - but 'lower' if you are running sealant.
"how much the whole thing relies on the air pressure in maintaining the seal"
Correct. Too low and hard cornering + rock can push the bead off and it will burp. It's trial and error depending on tyre. Too low and it feels too squirmy anyway.
With 2.1 Nevs on WTB Lazerdisc, I settled on 25F 30R. The front once burped in a bunny hopping misadventure. But it re-inflated with a hand pump. I can still see the scar on my left elbow.
My entirely successful efforts are documented here: [url] http://www.tubelesswheels.com/ [/url]. I run them a bit over 30 and I've not had an issue with 26" wheels.
I had one nasty off on a LHS berm in a dip on Spooky Wood on a rigid 29er. I knew at the top the pressure was "a bit low" but I left it. Doh. Land off jump, high G's into the berm, tyre rolled off the front rim & I landed on my face. Helmet cracked in half. Still, I just stuck a tube in and rode on.
Personally, it's not low pressure I'm after. It's no pinch flats, no thorn flats, better suppleness at the same pressure I used to use with a tube.
Cheers, al.
I am experimenting with them too. On the front I had a burp t'other day, not particularly low, but had a big baggy tyre on. On the back been perfect, going to get a proper stans or joes dh rim strip (in fact just won one on ebay for a tenner) and use that and sealant.
Don't think it's worth the risk on the front IMVHO.
I use Stans kit and run about 22-24 in each. 2.2 rubber queens on 717s.
Totally depends how tight the tyre is on the rim/rimstrip...
I've got 2.35 Bontrager ACX's on one of my bikes, setup Ghetto. Now these are proper "Tubeless ready" tyres (ie. they have a tight bead) and were an absolute arse to fit. I would say I've run them as low as 20psi, and trust me, there's no way those tyres are coming off the rim unless they're prized off with BIG tyre levers once totally deflated! You can have a go yourself if you want to try and dislodge them, but they're locked on there!
Other tyres I'd still be careful with 40psi in because of looser or weaker beads.
My view on the whole tubeless thing (aside from the fact it works, and I don't like inner tubes!) is that you're best off buying stuff that's been designed to be run tubeless in the first place, especially when it comes to tyres. You'll have much less faff in the end... But Ghetto can and does work with the right tyre/rim combinations.
[i]I've got 2.35 Bontrager ACX's on one of my bikes, setup Ghetto. Now these are proper "Tubeless ready" tyres (ie. they have a tight bead) and were an absolute arse to fit.[/i]
Interesting, I've got the 2.1's and they are extremely tight to fit, I use yellow tape on Stans rims but I honestly don't think you'd get them mounted with a Stans rim strip fitted in the rim. But a friend has the 2.35s and said they were very loose and easy to fit. I've seen him change tyres and he didn't even have to unseat the whole bead to get them off.
I'll agree with you in that I was put off by ghetto tubeless though after seeing the same friend burp his front tyre off on two different occasions, he was lucky and stayed on but it could easily be different. I waited til I could afford some tubeless wheels.
I run ghetto with High Rollers on 719s
25 front/35 rear works for me for trail centres & another 5 or so psi for all day rides
55psi is way too high for most circumstances IMO
I get small burps with Highrollers if I go much under 25psi
I've got 2.35 Bontrager ACX's on one of my bikes, setup Ghetto. Now these are proper "Tubeless ready" tyres (ie. they have a tight bead) and were an absolute arse to fit. I would say I've run them as low as 20psi,
i getto`d a Jones rear once and it was so tight it burped at about 35 psi in a burm and spat me off resulting in a nice tear in the tyre
the tyre was so bastid tight it sealed to the rim strip a good 5mm away from the rim bead!
the big earls i run are easier to fit and i can get to about 20psi on the front before it worries me.
im running racing ralph 2.25 on mavic xm321 with bmx tubes as the strip and set up at 24psi no problems (touch wood) 😉
thanks for the replies, sounds like it's a case of try and hope to some extent....