help me go tubeless please

ok, ive got these rims……..

with this rim tape………

and a couple of normal folding tyres. maxxis ardent and a schwalbe little albert.

id heard about stans rims with yellow rim tape being tubeless tape, but looking at that i dont think it is. just normal rim tape?

so im assuming ive got 'tubeless' rims and normal folding tyres. and even if theyre not tubeless rims, i dont spose itd matter would it, if theyre not tubeless tyres? id have to do the whole rim tape and sealant thing wont i?

so what are my choices? am i right in thinking one is 'ghetto' where i get a 26" inner tube with removable valve (wheels are 29" by the way), split it etc, sealant, trim inner sticking out from rim etc etc.

or i can buy what i need from 'just riding along'. and all id need would be 2 rim tapes with valves included and 1 bottle of sealant?

i hear you can also buy valves only? or cut off valves from old inners? in what situation would you do that? is that only if you got a proper tubeless set up and only need the valves?

thanks for any info 🙂

Or you could stick to running tubes. They've been good enough for decades and are a doddle to fix/replace if the need arises. Genius!

i realise thats an alternative yes, but the clue was in the title. id like to try tubeless.

been considering for a while, but a puncture on the viking challenge yesterday made my mind up so im going to give it a go. prevention better than cure and all that.

got any advice? or was that it?

id love to help but the piccys are blocked at work……

those rims are tubeless, just put the strips/valves in and pop a tyre on.
bingo.

Buy some UST rims and tyres. Job done 🙂

(sorry, no experience of those rims so not much help).

not familiar with that tape but it doesn't look to be well stuck down

the stans tape (or any other good adhesive tape) seals the spoke holes & pin holes in the rims. You then make a hole at the vale put in a little valve (that you can buy from JRA among others) and , if you've got UST tyres, you should be good to go (I also put jizz in mine, which you're not really supposed to need for UST tyres)

Since you haven't, you may still be OK **IF** your tyres are tight enough on the rim. If not, more turns of tape might do it or else a "proper" rim strip or ghettogangstapopacapinyerass inner tube rim strip (and plenty o' jizz !)

I've done one UST tyre & one tubeless ready (1 on a flow & 1 on an arch) but never a normal one – people say the sidewalls leak a bit at 1st, so prepare for some jizz leaking out

i wont be buying new rims 🙂

id like to keep this as cheap as poss, thats why i was thinking ghetto, but if i know what i need to do it properly, and its just a few squid more, then id do that instead.

SOOBalias, which rim strips would you recommend? proper ones, or split inner tube strips?

ta

hmmmm……see, im confused again :-/

scaredypants, pin holes in the rim?

youre on about wrapping adhesive tape round and round? isnt the tape supposed to overlap the sides of the rim to help with the seal?

any links to decent pics of this being done anywhere?

ta

I did it with a Joe's kit. If I did it again I'd probably go 'ghetto'.

The two main things seemed to be using the supplied tape to cover the spoke holes, then using a rim strip of some sort to cover the rim and seat the valve in place. Make sure the valve has a removable core.

After that, I just had to inflate and then use the sealant. Simples.

I got four punctures in one ride which is what made me change, but it's also true what they say about off road rolling resistance and grip. 😀

So far, I'm really pleased with them.

dave is that proper tubeless rim tape ? if so stick a valve in bang tyre on with some sealant and jobs a good un 😉

if not get some stans strips and do it that way. i wouldnt ghetto on proper tubeless rims but i have on my mavic 321 using bmx tubes and it works well

on stans ive used stans tape and valve and also stans strips i found the strips easier to use tbh

have you started in the brigade yet mate ?

Or you could stick to running tubes. They've been good enough for decades and are a doddle to fix/replace if the need arises. Genius!

Just back from a week in Scotland, much playing on rocks (Golspie & Laggan Blacks in particular). 4 of us went, 3 running tubeless, 1 tubed.

Tubeless issues – zero
Tubed – 2 pinchflats and a badly dented rim (on a 6" travel bike)

As you already said, just buy the kit from Just Riding Along. Take off the yellow rim tape, pop the black rim strip on, mount the tyre on one side, pour in the fluid, pop the other side of the tyre on and inflate.

Remember to shake the bottle of fluid ( for a long time) upside down so the particles don't sit at the bottom.
http://www.notubes.com/home.php

mtbfix, u still using v brakes and suspension seatpost?

Dusty
I hate to tell you this but, i'd put the tube puncture down to pilot error, not inherent weakness. Sounds like they'd have lost air regardless given rim damage.

I've just bitten the bullet and ordered a Stans kit from JRA.
Heading to Spain (with Switchbacks) in a few weeks and didn't fancy fixing loads of punctures, but I'm unsure whether I should fit duel-plys or just stick with my normal single-ply Maxxis 😕

Sorry for Hi-jack 😉

Bigyinn – how come I went from 2 punctures a ride to none in 2 years after going tubeless then? No change in pilot or style 😉

swavis – I was fine with jeyer tyres than single ply maxxis at Switchbacks a few years ago – I did run downhill tubes though.

Cheers Mr Bread, single ply it is then. Didnt really want the extra weight of the duels, they're well heavy.

ooh thanks for the replies 🙂

just off out for a couple of hours so wil catch up in a bit.

mick, ill mail you later dood 🙂

cheers

Just out of interest, those who are antitubeless, why are you?

Admittedly I know plenty of people who never have a problem with punctures with tubes. Unfortunately I'm not one of them. The puncture fairy has come to stay at my place.

i'd put the tube puncture down to pilot error, not inherent weakness

Ha. If you are referring to style, then I suffer from innumerable "pilot errors" on every ride. If you ride hard or anywhere with pointy rocks or thorns you will puncture eventually. More often with certain rims and tyres.

I'm guessing you have not actually experienced tubeless working, or not working, so I politely suggest you're talking out of bum 😉

When I relaced my wheels with olympic rims, I used 3 layers of electrical tape to seal the rim (you only need to seal the spoke holes), rather than stans tape(ran out!!). Get a tubeless valve from JRA (V good) along with some Stans sealant (the best ime) and your good to go. Soapy water and a track pump and half an hour and all done.

hmmmmm just been looking on the JRA site, and its irrelevant now really. £67 for the kit?? £20 each rim strip?? cant afford to splurge that on saving a few punctures. so ill be going ghetto i reckon.

with that in mind, i take it i just need a couple of inner tubes with removable valves, and a bottle of milk? and hope for the best?

then if its a FAIL, at least it hasnt been an expensive fail 🙂

tubeless is def worth it unless you like changing tyres every few weeks. I've found UST easier to get up and as the tyres tend to be thicker they should be better for knarly duties but the range of rims and tyes is much more limited. I would say the secret of tubeless whether UST or Stans (I've both) is lots of latex. Firstly cos it seems to get spilt alot; secondly because it is the latex / wheelmilk that makes tyres stick to the rim, thirdly it makes the whole thing air tight and fourthly because when you do hit a thorn its the latex that reseals the tyre (often w/o you being aware of the incident).

The Stans website has a video download of the fitting process.

You do need some patience as they rarely go on and inflate first time or without a bit of spilt latex. I wouldn't want to fit a tubeless in public!

"pinholes" – IIRC there were a set of holes in the stans rim that I assumed were from pinning/welding or else where they were held while being machined

might be wrong, was a while ago

(I did both my tyres using just soapy water & then, once seated on the rim, deflated & added the jizz – they were tubeless ready/UST though)

Correction – second wheels I did tubeless was a mavic 517 or 519, not a stans (that's still tubed at the moment). sealed with stickytape then fIlled in the central well with draught excluder & taped over that. No special rimstrip – went up fine & still up after 2 wks (tubeless ready mud-x)

Here is a picture of the stan's sealing rim tape which is different to yours but cheaper than the rim strips. This is supposed to work with Stan's rims and sealant, there are "ghetto" alternatives. You will also need valves and sealant.

You don't need the "rim strip" with your rims (which are 'tubeless compatible' rims), only the "rim tape" (yellow stuff, about £4 from JRA) and valves, which were about £6 from JRA. Then sealant to seal the tyres/punctures.

Jon Taylor is correct. With those rims you need Stan's 25mm yellow rim tape, an Olympic valve and some sealant. That's all. Should work fine.

Dusty
I hate to tell you this but, i'd put the tube puncture down to pilot error, not inherent weakness. Sounds like they'd have lost air regardless given rim damage.

Well, I am the above tube running pilot, and so thought I would add my voice… One of my pinches was definitely pilot error whereby I hit a large and very square edged rock, damaged the rim and got a pinch puncture. The other on the other hand was just a landing from a rock drop at Golspie which the three tubeless guys followed me over, so I don't consider that one to be pilot error, and it has convinced me to also try going tubeless.

Speaking of which, does anyone know how I convert Bontrager Rhythm TLR Wheelsets to tubeless?

Benn

Bontrager do their own tubeless rim strip kit for an equally extortionate price. Not sure if for that wheelset though. JRA were selling some cheap old stock Eclipse rim strips which may fit.. These are what DT now sell as their own brand.

My experience with 355 rims is that mine burped on the first ride out, but re-inflated fine with co2. That was with bonty tubeless ready tyres and the thin yellow tape. I added a layer of gaffer tape to give the tyre less wiggle room, and 300 miles later they've been good as gold.