I admit im late to this party but currently have Mavic XM317 rims with tubed tires, and starting to get fed up of pinch flats but haven't looked into tubeless as I thought I'd need new rims, tires etc.
But having looked at Stans website it looks like all I need is the No Tubes conversion kit and I can use existing rims and tires (non ust)? Is it as simple as that? (faffing with setup aside)
Pretty much yes.
Conversion kit so you get the yellow tape, rim strip & sealant, or the ghetto approach of insulation tape, BMX inner tube cut down & some liquid latex.
*edit*
Don't blame me if it doesn't work-I'm not a fan of tubeless & still use good ol' fashioned tubes (albeit light ones)
what don't you like about tubeless?
To make life easy.
Buy the Stans rimstrip kit, follow all instructions plus use new tyres (its just easier).
Enjoy.
Kind of as simple as that.
Some rim/tyre combinations don't work as well as others and sometimes a well used tyre doesn't seal well when used tubeless (so I'd suggest newish tyres for a conversion).
For me though, all my offroad bikes are now tubeless - no flats, no pinches, the latter of which was a real problem for me previously.
I certainly can't imagine ever going back to tubes now.
in a wallnut shell..
some dont like tubeless as they find them harder to inflate, initially. This can be due to a couple different issues, like, tyre/rim combo, pourous tyres, rubbish pump, weedy skinny arms etc
also, they dont like the idea of adding messy goo inside the tyre as it can have a habit of getting everywhere.. if you are a) unlucky b) ****less c) a+b
some love tubeless as
a) you can go for years without a flat tyre, including pinches
b) if done properly the set up can be lighter than running a tube
c) handling feel is improved
d) it makes you sexy mr lover man.
I need new tires soon anyway and was going to try the Continental Rubber Queens Black Chilli (non ust), think i read on here somewhere that someone used these with conversion kit (dont know which rims though).
I have tubeless ready wheels but normal tyres.
Put the tubeless valves on, bought some Stans fluid and after a bit of swearing, sweat and vigorous pumping (oo-er) managed it.
It's a bit of a pain getting the tyres to seal onto the rim, then sloshing the sealant round to seal the tyre but saved a fair chunk of weight which was my main goal!
Right, I'm moving towards having a bit of this as well. My questions
Is the difference between the different stans kits just the width of the molded rim? and what's the spoke tape for? Just incase you don't already have any, or does it serve a special purpose?
Thanks
Is the difference between the different stans kits just the width of the molded rim?
IIRC yes - different with strips for different rims (not sure what you mean by moulded though) - the website tells you which strip to use for a give rim.
and what's the spoke tape for?
If your existing rim tape is fairly thin or the well in your rim is deep then you don't necessarily need the stans tape - it's there because if say you're using a velox rim tape which is fairly thick, using that with a stans rim strip will probably make fitting the tyre a real nightmare.
It just says moulded on the website I read, I don't know what I mean by that either... 😳
on the rim tape - Ahhh, I see that makes sense.
Thanking you sir.
Stans vs Joes vs other brands any recomendations/ones to avoid?
I've used Stans and Joes based on price of what was available at the time - both work well.
great thanks guys
I've had good results just using electrical tape and an old valve in some rims. Others i've needed electrical tape and a strip cut from an old BMX tube. Others needed a whole roll of tape and the cut up tube as the rim was so deep the tyre wasnt sealing.
For a first attempt I'd recomend the kits and soem tubeless ready tyres (eg spesh 2bliss or bontranger TLR) that way it'll be the minimum of faffing.
Sealent lasts ~6months before drying out, I leave it untill I eventualy get a thorn puncture and have to top it up. If the tyre's not worn out it's worth scrubbing the inside every other time to remove the aaccumulated dried latex, takes 10min with some cleaner and a scouring pad.
The only punctures I've had in the last 2 years have been a couple of thorn punctures when the sealents dried out, and one incident of the tyre 'burping', but that was with a very old high roller that's been fitted and removed more times than I can remember.
What does the 2nd lot of tape do? (yellow). Is it to pad out the rim so the bead is tight enough to seal?
what don't you like about tubeless?
I've tried Stans on Mavic & DT rims & Bontrager wheels & TBH, the Bonty's were a heavy wheel, so never going to offer the weight advantage people speak of.
The Stans I got one tyre to seal properly out of two wheel sets, the others would last for 2-3 rides before needing re inflating due to leaking sidewalls.
That I could just about live with, but I could never get a narrow mud tyre to seal. If it's really claggy when I'm racing, I like to run 1.8's or even narrower & just doesn't seem possible tubeless, regardless of system.
Combine that with the faff of changing tyres if conditions change somewhere like Mayhem or SITS & it was enough to put me off & go for the easy life.
So my current system tends to be:
Schwalbe Racing Ralphs/Rocket Rons/Nobby Nics or Maxxis Medusa 1.8's or Conti xc 1.5's if it's really sticky.
Combined with Schwalbe xx lite tubes & means I end up with about the same weight as running rim strips & sealant, but without the fuss.
Pressure wise, I can usually happily run around 25psi without pinch flats unless I'm in the Peak District, but then I've usually got bigger tyres on anyway.
If you are a chubber thats prone to rolling tyres off rims with tubes fitted. Will going tubeless help reduce this or not?
I tried stans on Mavic 717's and couldn't get it to work
XT tubeless rims were a piece of piss, just a track pump and a bit of sealant, didn't even need to soap up the bead
In action tubeless is great, the tyres really do roll better, plus you are well protected against punctures.
But some ways of achieving tubeless are easier than others
Just gone tubeless with proper tubeless wheels and tubless ready Rons. Really like it....do I just check every now and then that I can still hear sealant slopping around and leave alone? What happens when after 6 months or so the sealant is dried inside? Do I need to clean it out or can I just pour a bit more in?
I need new tires soon anyway and was going to try the Continental Rubber Queens Black Chilli (non ust), think i read on here somewhere that someone used these with conversion kit (dont know which rims though)
I did, not the Chilli compound ones but the regular rubber non UST ones with Stans flow rims, stans yellow tape, stans valves and stans fluid.
They're a pig to seal, very pourous sidewalls but got there eventually and now they hold for a couple of weeks at a time before getting a little soft.
If you are a chubber thats prone to rolling tyres off rims with tubes fitted. Will going tubeless help reduce this or not?
Worse (or better).
If you've got baggy tyres they wont work tubeless so you'll be forced to buy better/tighter tyres.
But tubeless is always going to be easier to roll off the rim than a tube tyre. I've only manged it once mind, and that was landing a small drop cross rutted and straight into a corner. And it still retained enough air to get me to the bottom of the hill.
Just gone tubeless with proper tubeless wheels and tubless ready Rons. Really like it....do I just check every now and then that I can still hear sealant slopping around and leave alone? What happens when after 6 months or so the sealant is dried inside? Do I need to clean it out or can I just pour a bit more in?
Just put more in, I usualy top it up every 6months or so and scrub it out once every year if the tyres haven't worn out in the meantime. It's only going to be 20-30g once the liquids evaporated, but it's easy enough to remove and save some weight.
I've had tubeless for the last 18 months or so, really like it. Improved ride quality and lack of flats.
I used a Stans kit the first time. It took a bit of work but was OK. the best bit of advice I can offer is carefully watch the instructional vids on the notubes website and give yourself plenty time to get it to work (i.e. not on the morning of the ride!). If you need to use old tyres & rims make sure everything is nice and clean to start with at least.
I've also used stans rims with just yellow tape, and bonty rims with their own sealing strip and got on fine with all of them. I can change tyres quickly now but that's just having the practice.
Its a fad for people who like to run their tyres that soft the rim is part of the suspension. Having said all that converted the rear wheel using ghetto method. Not had any problems or noticed any difference. Marginal weight saving?. (waits for flaming)
I'm not bothered about the weight saving. I want to reduce/eliminate pinch flats which happen too often these days even though I run my tyre pressure quite high compared to most on here.