Should I go tubeless?

Take the plunge? Justridingalong has a kit for 54quid- best to go ‘Ghetto’ or another? Rear wheel is a Mavic 321/front DTSwiss 5.1.

Do you get lots of pinch flats? If yes then go ghetto! I’ve had great success with £2.50 20″ inner tubes and a bottle of sealant. Wouldn’t pay £54 for a kit. Would sooner buy two UST rims if I was spending money!!

I dont tend to get pinchflats however I run alot of air in my tyres to avoid this (hardtail)- would prefer a slightly comfier ride..

Tell me more about your method- do your tyres need to be new?

Have a look here it really is quite simple. Apparently its better if you do use new tyres but not necessary.

New tyres with strong side walls are best, but I’ve converted old Highrollers with no problem. You simply fit a 20″ inner tube, split it open with scissors, fold it over the rim. Fit your tyre as normal (use soapy water to help). Fill tyre with 100ml of sealant through the valve. Inflate with air compressor or CO2 cart! And hope for the best…

Got it!: http://www.allankelly.info/tubeless.html

Yes

yes hora thats what my link was too.

It depends. I’d converted a bike last year, and TBH had mixed results. It IS a faff compared to just sticking in an inner, and it didn’t give me any more protection from thorn punctures than regular tubes and tyres (first three rides with tubeless resulted in three deflated tyres, and messy inner tube insertion trailside) I’ve torn off 2 valves from rim strips, and have struggled, like many, to inflate various tyres. I’ve gone back to inner tubes as I can’t be arsed with all the goop and faff anymore. Having said that, one of the very valuable lessons tubeless taught me was to not put too much air in my tyres. The extra grip, speed, and comfort that tubeless gives was almost worth all the hassle.

I’d say fit if: You get loads of pinch flats, you don’t change tyres that much, and spending 5 mins. changing tubes when you do get a puncture is a complete hassle for you (oh, and you really have nothing else to spend your cash on)

don’t fit: If you’re a tyre swapper, you don’t get many punctures, and you’ve got better things to do with your time.

I_Ache soz- didnt see the change in font colour (hard to see on my monitor).

I dont tend to get many punctures- I would say that normally but my bike is next to my desk with a sodding FRONT puncture on a thick Maxxis tyre at the moment 👿

I’ve always been a fan of tubes for minimum faff / mess however I’ve moved to a VERY thorny area and gone ghetto tubeless.

I used Allan Kelly’s instructions, they really are great, especially the advice about using Schwalbe tubes for their removable cores. All in a big bottle of Stans sealant, and 2 tubes was about £20. For what it’s worth I used Mavic 717 disc rims with an old 2.35″ Nevegal and a new 2.35″ Blue Groove, both tyres work fine despite the fact that neither tyre is designed to be tubeless.

I think you should do it purely for the comedic value of this here forum

seriously though – ghetto has to be the best value way to go & it’s no more difficult or less effective than any other method

I’ve run tubeless on all my bikes for 4 years and wouldn’t go back. Yes you need to change the sealant once in a while, but you can do it at home not on the trail side. Last time I did this I found 5 thorns that would have mean five trail side repairs with tubes

you need to stop being a gay-icon and move to a farm, and watch Rosie & Jim. Only then can you go tubeless.

Was about to do the same until I watch a couple of downhillers at Cwm Carn.
Heavy landing knocked the tyre off the rim. instant deflation and crash. Tubes don’t do this anywhere near as much.

mattsccm – Member

Was about to do the same until I watch a couple of downhillers at Cwm Carn.
Heavy landing knocked the tyre off the rim. instant deflation and crash. Tubes don’t do this anywhere near as much.

I beg to differ, I’ve seen as many inner tubes pop out the side of a tyre when crashed as tyres that have burped tubeless in the same type of crash. Personally, I think the success of the tubeless system you are running very much depends on your choice of equipment. For instance, DT rims are a tigher fit with the tyre than Mavic in general, though Mavic UST rims (819, 823) are of course a tigher fit still. Maxxis and Bontrager seem to be about the most reliable tyres to use, though have seen people have good results with Michelin and a couple of other brands too. But anything with a loose bead (ie. the tyre is easy to get on or off the rim) is pretty much going to be useless.

I’ve run UST rims for years, and have yet to have a puncture since I changed over from running tubes! I ran them dry with UST tyres for a while, but have since taken to putting some sealant (Stans, it’s the best by a country mile, especially if you don’t want to have to keep topping it up every week or 2) in too now. I’ve now got Mavic 819 rims on one wheelset, and DT 5.1 rims with the DT/Eclipse tubeless kit installed on the other wheelset. Not a problem with either setup so far.

For what it’s worth though, from what I’ve seen of people running normal (i mean non UST) Mavic rims, the ghetto method whilst more of a faff has generally been more effective and less likely to burp.

And to the serial tyre swappers who won’t go tubeless cos of the “hassle involved”. Well, once you’re used to it, it takes perhaps an extra 2 or 3 minutes per tyre to swap over than normal tubed tyres do. Big deal!