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After my old wheels got stolen I went ahead and got my dream wheels; a pair of used WTB ST i23 Hope Evo 2 Pro wheels for a lovely 120 GBP, they'd been run tubeless so they're all taped up. The Re-fuse 2.0 27.5 is Tubeless Ready and so is the rim, but I have a few questions.
1. Do I likely need sealant and if how much minimally? I'll be riding almost exclusively on the streets of Berlin. If I do likely need some, Stan's vs Orange endurance?
2. What vale stems to get? Stan's 35 mm? Brass > Aluminum?
3. Should I get new rim tape? Wheels are allegedly 18 months old.
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WTB do their own valves. They also do their own sealant but anything will do.
If the rim tape looks OK (not lifting, no damage) then I'd give it a go as is.
WTB also do rim tape. It's a bit cheaper than Stans.
Good tip on WTB sealant, allegedly relabeled and much cheaper Stans.
Guess I might want to get some rim tape just in case.
WTB or Stans valves both work fine, sure I got told 100ml minimum'ish each tyre but usually put more in to be on the safe side. I've always found Maxxis tyres the easiest to seat and seal too.
I struggled to seal my wtb rims especially around the valve, had to really tighten them up. Can’t remember what valves they are but they weren’t wtb or stans. Mine Came on a bike with tape on but tubes in. Had to put some duck tape over the top of the rim tape on the rear as the factory installed tape wasn’t on straight.
Wondering if I should just get tubes.. Cheaper, less maintenance, not really in a big risk of punctures anyways. Won't need a special pump..
Ok nevermind going with tubes.. almost got fooled there!
It’s not as bad as people make it out to be if you’re methodical and accurate. The ride is far better than with tubes so it is completely worth it.
The tape is to provide gas tight seal over spoke holes. Unless you find cloth gaffer tape (gorilla etc) it doesn’t degrade and only needs replacing if damaged. 25mm tape should be fine for those rims.
I’d replace the valve cores. If the valve stems are ok, try not to remove them- high risk of causing leak in tape.
Use plenty of soap when mounting tyre. Even if you don’t need it to mount the tyre it helps the initial bead seat/bang.
You definitely need new sealant unless you know the history. Expect sealant to dry up in 3-6months anyway when in use. Strictly 60ml/2floz was recommended for 26” 2.2 tyres. 100ml is pretty normal for 27.5” 2.3’s. Insert sealant through valve with core removed once beads seated. After you replace valve and reinflate give the tyre a good shake and ideally a brief ride. After, assess the tyre - shake and listen - decide if you feel you need more sealant. Some will have coated itself to the inside of the tyre to seal it but the amount cannot be predicted exactly.
What do you mean ride feels better? Ride is plenty fine on road w tubes so im not sure I'd even be able to tell the difference.
It's just a very inelegant and impractical solution to mess w refilling sealant every 6 months and having to check pressure often. Tubes are set and forget, no hours of fiddling around and cheaper.
Might revisit it if better sealant or better sealant free tire rim combos become avail.
You don’t need to refill every 6mo, the sealant will have sealed the tyre casing. Once it dries out you won’t have puncture resistance though - if that bothers you, top up. I have a wheel I haven’t added to for nearly three years.
Road riding is less clearcut than mtb, but you will still benefit from improved rolling. I haven’t been following Road Tubeless, it may still be developing. The situation is a little different than mtb due to the higher pressures in use.
Thanks, and how about air leakage compared to tubes? Personally I like to run around 60 psi so it's in the interface between mtb and road pressures.