[Closed] Please explain what tires can be used tubeless

Most tyres can- almost all decent quality ones. Panaracer used to be notoriously badly toleranced and slack, maybe that's improved, likewise Schwalbe used to be badly toleranced and sometimes too tight! Thin XC tyres tend to work less well as they're harder to seal up and more likely to flat. Wire bead for most manufacturers points at low quality in general, except for dualplies, and maxxis.

Most of my tyres are non-tubeless, IIRC I've only ever had 2 that didn't work out and one of those was just plain faulty. For ease of fitment, tubeless ready tyres are generally a good compromise, and these days doesn't tend to have a downside- specialized frisntance made their entire main range tubeless ready.

Ones that have worked for me
Old style single ply minions
Old style single ply HR's
Ardent EXO's
HRII's EXO

Very few issues, some of the thinner sidewalls are very porus on other brands though and just seep fluid/air

Nowt stopping you AFAIK - it will work for some tyres, be a disaster for others. Best off getting specific recommendations for tyre / rim combinations that others have found to work.

My personal preference is for tubeless reliability above all else - if TLR tyres work for you (they do for me) then I wouldn't be looking to change them to an inferior tyre to save 10 quid a wheel. When you plant your front wheel down the top of a rocky descent it shouldn't be an experiment - you need total confidence in your gear.

When you plant your front wheel down the top of a rocky descent it shouldn't be an experiment

This is my view too and so I never take unnecessary risks with tyres. For that reason I've always used UST tyres on UST rims and never had a problem. I would also be equally happy with tubeless ready tyres/rims but wouldn't risk experimenting with any that weren't even if someone on the internet said it was okay!

Nothing stopping you, but FWIW I have converted some non-TR Maxxis tyres before, and found they work but do lose air more quickly than TR versions. Fenwicks have a special goop thats supposed to be better for no TR tyres FWIW.

Ghetto Tubeless Experimenter here.

The only tyres I've had trouble with so far have been Kenda Nevegals. They seem to put ridges around the bead which leave lots of tiny spaces for air to leak out.

Saying that, once I got them to seal which involved a lot of leaving the wheel on it's side waiting for various leaks to close up with sealant they now hold their pressure very well.

At least they did until I ripped a hole in the sidewall.

Ghetto using Sun something rims and Panaracer Fire XC Pro. I used a split BMX tube as rim tape and then trimmed the excess off after the tyre was seated and sealed.

I don't suppose I have saved any weight. I did it just to see if I could do it. And to cut down on punctures. On both points it's been a success.

I've done various non-tubeless-ready Maxxis, Kenda, Conti and Schwalbe. Conti take a while to seal, but the only ones I've ever had proper trouble with were tubeless-ready Schwalbe. They had to be at silly pressures not to burp, or even not just pish out all their sealant over the slightest rock or root. All the others have been great.

I'm currently using racing Ralph's in the cheap performance compound. Sealed tubeless really easily. Great tyres actually.

You'll die.
Explode.
Then burst into flames.
Or not.

I'm running wire bead Ardent tubeless on WTB i23 rims (tubeless ready) and Specialized 2bliss tyres on non-tubeless DT Swiss rims.

The Ardents do need topping up now and again.

all sorts work, had no problems with nevegals and got two summer seasons out of the baggiest floppy specialized OEM that came on the wifes bike. Though I think the real difference is with the racing ralph UST i'm using at the moment is the really low pressures you can run them at (when you need to e.g. a wet welsh rocky weekend).

120tpi Surly Knard went up with no issues on a Dually last night, ghetto method with a split 24" tube. Had a slow leak, so put 4oz of Stans in, which seemed to have sealed it but had gone down this morning, so more air added.

Not used Stans before, do they take a few inflations to effect a decent seal ?

[quote=takisawa2 said]Not used Stans before, do they take a few inflations to effect a decent seal ?

In my experience, yes. Best thing for them is just to top them up and go for a ride. Otherwise do the whole shaky procedure again. If it takes more than a couple of goes then more sealant could be required.

I dicked around with tubeless ready for a while. USTs work so much better, they go on easier, dont burp and just keep going. At least this is my experience.

Sealant is key. The deal with UST tyres is they can seat and stay up without sealant... until you get a puncture, then there's nothing to seal the hole. So you stick sealant in anyway and you've got a very heavy tyre as UST is already heavy.

So regular tyre, TR or not, if a decent bead and not too porous sidewalls, will work fine but you do need plenty of sealant. Plugs tiny porous holes in the walls and also seals the gaps along the bead, and job done.

Well, the other key thing is the rim profile. Some are better than others. A UST rim is fine, though the main advantage there is if you get one that is sealed inside with no need for rim tape. A TR rim also fine, like Stans rims, as is any similar profile. Though I've ghetto'd old rims with no problem also. The ones I've seen people have issues with are skinny XC rims while running with 2.3+ tyres and then landing heavy and burping them. I've never had that myself, though I'm not a heavy rider (in weight or style)...

Thanks guys, I appreciate your collective wisdom 🙂

Ive only ever used non tubeless ready tyres. But something i found that helps with initial set up i paint some sealant on to inside of tyre before I fit it and i seems to seal much quicker with less sidewall seep