Evening…

Got myself a new bike and it has Sun Ringle Black Flag Pro wheels with it – look rather nice and they apparently are Stans NoTubes rims…what would I need to make them tubeless? I’m assuming new UST tyres, but would I need rim tape and sealant?

Just wanting to check so I can price it up and get something as a birthday or christmas gift…cheers.

if they are the notubes rim range then just tubeless tyres are required.

You’ll need some stans yellow tape (if not already included), tubeless valves, and some sealant.

What tyres have you got currently? UST tyres aren’t always necessary, they’re undoubtedly more reliable in a tubeless setup, but you don’t necessarily need them.

Ah ok, thanks…and what about valves? I’m assuming the tyres are tubed and there is an inner tube inside…I’ve got some Mavic tubeless valves – they appear to have some sort of sealing piece at the end of the valve (which I’m assuming ‘seals’ the valve hole once the tyre and air is in there!).

Some tyre sealant as well? If so, how much?

Bike is a 2011 Whyte 146 S and the wheels are Sun Ringle Black Flag Pro with Maxxis Ardent 26 x 2.25″ 120 TPI with Kevlar Bead Front, Maxxis Crossmark 2.1″ 120 TPI Rear – I’m assuming the higher tpi means the tyres are foldable…

All you need is tubeless valves and sealant.

I converted my 146 and it has been fine, same wheels as yours, using the standard tyres

The rear exception series crossmark can loose a little pressure over time due to the thinner side walls, but just takes a minute to top up

Never worry about punctures again

I generally use tubeless or what they call tubeless ready tyres. Youll need a tubeless valve, this has a rubber plyg on its end when screwed to the rim seals the whole. I think youll need two cups of stans sealant for 2.25, itll say on the sealant how much to insert. Depends with the yellow tape whether the rim is already sealed, it is on my xt wheels, but I needed the yellow tape on my stans flow rims.

As a rule on sealant, 60ml minimum for a 2″ XC tyre, up to about 100ml for a DH tyre. Stans sealant is by far the best.

Personally, the exception series Maxxis are way too thin to run tubeless reliably. They might work for a bit, but will be very porous and tear easily. I’d buy some tyres more suited to being used in a tubeless setup myself.

And yes the valves are as you describe, stans valves are available readily too, as is the yellow tape and the sealant.