[Closed] Going Tubeless

I don't run low pressures

Normally a wrap of tape should do it over the spoke holes. As long as the tyre is tight enough once it is out of the well in the middle you should be ok. Worst case, put a nother wrap of tape on (although I've not had to do this before on stans or LB rims). My top tip is to use gorilla tape instead of the Stans tape. It's way cheaper, and actually what Enve sell for their branded tape.

IME electrical tape is fine for MTB wheels, just use 2 layers. Some rims are easier than others, some take a whole roll of tape (still only 30g or so) to built up the rim enough that it seals against the tyre bead whilst inflating (this will also make it harder to get tyres on/off).

Valve can be cut from an old tube as long as it has a locknut on it.

Or get a BMX tube and carefully and accurately cut a strip from it that fills the inside of the rim.

Specialized tyres are IME the easiest to inflate on non-tubeless rims, followed by kevlar beaded maxxis.

My advice, from experience, would be don't bother unless you've got the wheels for it.

By all means do it on 'proper' wheels with tubless ready tyres but a conversion on wheels not designed for it might be a huge PITA. My conversion was an absolute nightmare to seal and inflate, and then the tyre burped off the front wheel a couple of times, throwing me off the bike and meaning I had to put a tube in the (sticky) tyre anyway to get me home.

That was with a conversion kit, not an electrical tape bodge (although the kit is still a bodge, just a more expensive one).

FWIW, I've gone tubeless on 'tubeless ready' wheels with 'tubeless ready' tyres and it works well, I'd recommend it.

Went tubeless on mavic321 rims using a layer of duct tape and a 20" tube and standard tyres. Not had any trouble with it at all. Only issue was the initial inflation, for which I had to make a ghetto inflator.

Agree with Bails, there's too much "ymmv" with nontubeless rims unless you've got a rimstrip designed for it. I converted my Mavics, it never worked adequately, held air etc but the burping was too bad. Maybe it could have been made to work but that's kind of the point, it needed to be made to work and that all meant hassle and spoiled rides and a couple of surprise crashes when the tyre dropped all its air midcorner. My DT5.1s with the DT rim strips were perfect (though a pain to fit tyres) but then, that was a pretty heavy and expensive fix so still not great.

With tubeless rims, I am a total convert. But even then, if I didn't have a puncture problem and I didn't want to run lower pressures I'd be less of a fan.

My advice, from experience, would be don't bother unless you've got the wheels for it.

+1

Not saying you can't convert to tubeless but there are so many threads on here with people asking for help as they've been huffing and puffing and can't [s]it[/s] the tyres up.

I've got two sets of tubeless wheels, one Shimano UST and one Spank's own tubeless standard both are easy to get inflated.

My converted set are a pain. There are so many combinations of rims, tyres, conversion methods etc etc.. so if you do have a problem it can be hard to find the route cause. It could your XXX brand tape is crap or YYY brand tyres are too baggy for ZZZ brand rims.

Thanks. I wont bother then until/if I trash my rear wheel - which I can't see happening soon as it seems to be built like a brick shithouse. I've go no real problems with tubes, and IF tubless does really ride better, well it doesn't matter as what I don't know wont hurt me! I don't fancy lowering pressures as I don't like bashing my rim on rocks and don't want the increased rolling resistance.

Are the problems not due to people trying to make their own rim strips? Rim strips are expensive for what they are but I have found they make the conversion much easier.

My advice, from experience, would be don't bother unless you've got the wheels for it.

Not saying you can't convert to tubeless but there are so many threads on here with people asking for help as they've been huffing and puffing and can't it the tyres up.

Perhaps that's because those convert without any issue don't come here asking questions?

Another non-tubeless rim/non-tubeless tyre success story here. Mavic and Stan's tape again.

I'm running sunn ringle inferno 27s with a stans strip(Rhino Lite) with maxxis high roller wire bead tyres. The tyres are a little loose and I need a compressor to get them to seal but they have never burped or given me any problems in 2 years. Just ordered some folding high roller 2s (€61 for the pair from HiBike, bargain!)which hopefully will be a little tighter on the rim and easier to inflate when mounting up.
2 flats in 2 years compared to 2 pinch flats every ride speaks for itself really.

I don't fancy lowering pressures as I don't like bashing my rim on rocks and don't want the increased rolling resistance.

On the first point, it's not a problem as it won't (unless you get it right through the tyre) pinch a tubeless tyre as theres no tube.

On the 2nd, tubeless decreaces rolling resistance, even at lower pressures.

If you pick a sensible tyre (i.e. a tubeless ready tyre) and build up the rim with sufficient BMX tube or electrical tape, there's no reason it won't inflate as easily as a tube. It's actualy easier as there's no tube to pinch during instalation!

The only combinations I've had trouble with are non tubeles tyres on non tubeless rims. As long as it's at least 50% 'propper' then it's fine. And even then there's plenty of non-tubeless tyres that work just as well (kevlar maxxis for one, stell not-so).