so i'm going to jump on the bandwagon and go tubeless.
i eventually destroyed my Fat Albert yesterday on a mystery rock.
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seeing as i'm going to have to buy a new tyre i figured i may as well go tubeless and save myself the inconvenience of pinch flats, ripped valves (last week in the bike park i lost two tubes as the valves had been ripped from the tube) and having to patch old tubes (and hope that the patch holds).
was thinking of Rubber Queens 2.4 in tubeless version. i've got a RQ up front (had one out back, but destroyed it last year) and have been impressed with its grip.
what about Hans Dampf?
or should i go with a set of 2.5 Minions - not the DH version, i still want to ride uphill!. perhaps 40a up front and the harder 60a on the rear?
recommendations and links to good deals appreciated.
oh, and where do i go for latex/milk stuff?
FFS! Why not just run appropriate tyre pressures?
iv just bought a highroller2 with exo sidewalls as kept ripping my old highroller sidewalls.. supposed to be halfway house between normal and dual ply.. got the 2.4 and has been ok so far, done about 50 mile on it with no punctures.. will b going tubeless as soon as i get chance with a stans kit to match the front.. both non tubeless tyres on non tubeless rims
If the valve stems are ripping off I'd try a different brand of tubes.
I do recommend tubeless though, but you can still get snakebite punctures if you really do clatter something...sometimes the holes are too near the edge of the tyre to fix properly and it costs you a whole new tyre!!!
If you're thinking of a 2.4 Rubber Queen's, check them out first as they really are massive.
go on GW... elaborate, please.... run about 30psi up front and 35psi on the rear. weigh about 75kg (max) with riding gear.
it's happened with Conti and Schwalbe tubes, always on the front and usually after a day of using the lifts. i put it down to the breaking bumps catching the tyre. have tried loading the tyre with talc to stop the tube being pulled round, but to no avail.
was running RQ on the rear and still use one up front. i know how big they are. still plenty of room on my DB Alpine for them on the rear. 🙂
alpin - Membergo on GW... elaborate, please.... run about 30psi up front and 35psi on the rear. weigh about 75kg (max) with riding gear.
it's happened with Conti and Schwalbe tubes, always on the front and usually after a day of using the lifts. i put it down to the breaking bumps catching the tyre. have tried loading the tyre with talc to stop the tube being pulled round, but to no avail.
Pinch flats from braking bumps? Think you might be kidding yourself there. As you only puncture the tyre that has the lower pressure, surely try upping the pressure first?
Is it possible that your pump is massively over-recording tyre pressure? There's surely no way you can get pinch-flats at 30 psi on braking bumps
I don't think the OP is saying he's getting pinch punctures on braking bumps? I thought he was talking about the valve stems coming away?
That makes a bit more sense (I guess). Not that it has ever happened to me....
I once bought a load of old Bontrager tubes in bulk (years ago) and the valve stem would rip off when you tried to pump them up. I put it down to a bad batch but have still never bought them again.
The ghetto 20" bmx tube method has been far more succesfull as tubeless than my stans rim strips are, non tubeless rims with non tubeless tyres, found the bmx tubes for 2.99.
En521 rims with either highroller or michelen dry xc's have been great.
It's getting them blown up that's the trick, I used the ghetto (lots of ghetto in tubeless it would appear) inflator where you use another tyre as the pressure vessel, this has allowed me to try tubeless very cheaply.
I too would suggest that your pressure checking device must be way out or a defective batch of tubes. I am 18 stone with riding kit running 35psi in the front (when I ran tubes) and never ever ripped out valves (but did rip one single ply Minnion on a sharp rock).
I have ran Minnions tubeless ghetto for the past couple of years but got fed up with short life span of the sidewalls/bead area ripping (ran at 30 psi) and only rolled the tyre off once in Scotland on a big drop off where the front landed off square against a rock.
I switched to and love a pair of tubeless 2.25 Continental RQ's in black chillli compound brilliant all round tyres again run front at 30psi and rear at 35psi ghetto tubeless with absolutely no issues so far. Any lower on the front and the tyre starts to squirm when leant over.
I always use a stand alone tyre pressure gauge that I know is accurate.
aren't fat alberts tubeless ready anyway? Just got a fresh pair and it says on their site that they are. The bead is certainly tight enough!
I've stripped valves off tubes when being a bit aggressive when throwing some air in them, and only ever had one slip (tyre was almost totally flat).
I suspect ripping valves off occurs because the tyre is able to spin round on the rim, perhaps because it's not a tight fit and/or the sidewalls are a funny shape. Doubt it's got too much to do with pressure. I've not had it happen to me though.
I'm 80kg and with tubes I got rear pinch flats pretty regularly, even with 40psi in my rear tyre. Tubeless is definitely better, I can run better pressures (30-35psi) and get fewer flats, but I'm still not completely immune - I've put a few holes in the side of a nobby nic. All I would say is don't be tempted to buy a lighter tyre. Get something with decent sidewalls and tubeless is a winner.
I'm currently running a Hans Dampf which is so far so good. It's absolutely huge though (in a 2.35) to the point where it looks a bit daft compared with my front 2.25 High Roller (Bigger tyres on the back compared with the front look wrong to me).
yo.. yes, i was refering in my last post to the tyre slipping on te rim and tearing the valve. as said, it only really occurs in the park and i put it down to breaking bumps.
i've only ever pinch flatted the rear (have pinched flatted the front on the fixie when i hit a small kerb stone) and to be fair it doesn't happen all that often. was in Zell am See and Saalbach for 14 days a week ago and only pinch flatted once and that was on the last run on the last day. i lost two tubes due to the valves being torn from the tube and got one flat when i went over some barbed wire.
Okay Dokey...
You're getting pinch flats because you are not running enough pressure to ensure your tyre sidewall doesn't fold and pinch the tube on square edge hits.
Your valves are ripping off because the tyre is rotating on the rim under braking.
upping the pressure will fix both issues!
there's no need for talc if you stop the tyre rotating. 😉have tried loading the tyre with talc to stop the tube being pulled round, but to no avail.
make sure you seat your tyres on the rim properly by over-inflating them when fitting, a properly seated tyre often feels almost as if there is adhesive on the bead when you remove it from the rim.
Tubeless will not help stop sidewall rips, infact quite the opposite.
and if you are happy running pressures where your valves get ripped off I envisage problems with burping air from the bead with a tubeless set-up.
for me tubeless tyres burp air at higher pressures than I'd pinch flat a tube at.
ok, thanks GW....
i always over inflate my tyres to seat them properly onto the rim and then release the air. i know what you mean re. removing the tyre.
i prefer the feel of a softer tyre. i don't like it when the rear is being thrown about by each small bump because there is too much air in there.
i reckon most people run too much air in their tyres, well, at least here in Germany. lots of people i see on tour are running 3bar (~45psi) because that is what it says on the sidewall...
Agree with just about everything GW says aside from...
for me tubeless tyres burp air at higher pressures than I'd pinch flat a tube at.
Though a lot of this does depend on the tubeless method you're using, but proper UST tyres (with a bit of sealant in) are much harder to burp than it is to pinch a tube IMO. I've burped non UST tyres now, and won't be trying to repeat that in a hurry, but proper UST tyres do make the world of difference.
They're also much thicker and have stronger sidewalls etc. The Schwalbe Fat Albert that the OP was running are fairly fragile tyres, and though they are "tubeless ready" still have fairly thin sidewalls, just a tighter bead and they seal well with some sealant in.
So actually running proper UST tyres will help stop sidewall rips in this case too, though simply just eliminating a tube does not.
Yeah. It's not like the designers and manufacturers have much of a clue about their products.alpin - Member
i reckon most people run too much air in their tyres, well, at least here in Germany. lots of people i see on tour are running 3bar (~45psi) because that is what it says on the sidewall...
I run tubeless, it just works and I can run whatever pressure I want - in fact the bigger the tyre the lower the pressure.
About 20psi feels good with 2.3-2.4 large volume tyres - plenty of grip.
Also consider how wide your rims are, too narrow for big tyres?
Yeah. It's not like the designers and manufacturers have much of a clue about their products.
usually what's printed on the side wall are min and max pressures. I assumed the OP meant people were running at max pressure assuming it was the recommended pressure (see recent roadie threads with people using 120psi).
mboy, trust you to disagree with something that starts with [b]"for me.."[/b] 🙄
From [b]my[/b] experience a front 2.5 3C dual ply minion DHF on an 823 with twice the amount of sealant recommended will burp air at anything less than 32psi (and still will above that if a rock is glanced a certain way) whereas running a 2.5 dual ply minion on the front of a 721 with a standard XC tube will not pinch as low as 25psi on the rockiest DH tracks I ride. and just to confuse matters even more on my mini DH bike I have a single ply Minion up front and don't pinch that at 30 psi
a front 2.5 3C dual ply minion DHF on an 823 with twice the amount of sealant recommended will burp air at anything less than 32psi
It's not a UST tyre though is it... And this is I think the problem.
Burped my Crossmark (on a tubeless rim) at 40psi the other day. The lesson I've learnt is that tubeless works very well and is very reliable [b]as long as[/b] you use proper tubeless tyres.
Of course normal tyres can be run tubeless fairly well for mincing, or riding round fields though still 😉
No, trust me 8) that isn't the problem! 😆
so, any recommendations as towards decent, burly tyres that can take a bit of abuse yet aren't DH specific?
Not read the whole thread but my valves ripping out was a kevlar bead that had gone baggy on a High Roller
New Tyres solved the problem
I like UST a lot, but only with UST rims and TLR / UST tyres. No burping, only had that on std tyres. UST tyres feel like 1 1/2 plys, I like that. A lighter TLR casing isn't great for harder use, feels more like a normal tyre w/o a tube, a bit foldy at low pressures.
Always liked Rubber Queen USTs, 2.2 and they did fine in the Alps. LUST High Rollers 2.35s were good casing / toughness wise but the Contis were better trail tyres, better compound probably. I have LUST rear on my high-mileage bike and it's been really good, quite flinty here and only one minor cut in a lot of miles. I think a harder DH rider would want a thicker casing than either, they were both fine for my 'non-mincy Alpine trail but not DH' riding. I rate Purgatorys as good all-round TLR XC/trail tyres but the casings are thinner.
Fat Albert has stamped min and max pressures on it.
The mftr recommended min pressure is 2.0 bar, which is about 32-34psi is it not?
Personally I'd find 34psi on a tyre of that size (2.2 or 2.4") to be a bit excessive, but its possible the mftr knows the sidewall's are a bit fragile and won't cover you for running less than 32/34psi
I run my tubed tyres @ ~28psi rear and a bit less in the front. Haven't been tubeless before so can't comment on that, but was hoping I could go even lower.
Although non-UST tyres tubeless IMO seem to offer a reasonable halfway house, yeah maybe can't run them super low like the proper jobs, BUT at a given pressure (lets say 30psi) they will offer me better pinch protection than an equivalent tubed setup*
*amaright? If so fax me a mars bar, I'm starving!
Pressure guidelines are probably more about liability and safety than good performance. They know someone will fit a 2.4" to a 17mm rim and the min pressure is probably for this kind of 'worst case' combo.
fair enough