Wanting to try a tubeless set up at some point. Watched a few videos and seems straight forward enough. A couple of things though.

If a rim says tubeless ready, does that mean it’s taped and ready to go?
Is any tyre able to be set up tubeless or are they specific?
Is there a particular sealant better or will they all do the job?
Same for valves, any make better?
Is it easier to pour the sealant in or syringe it through the valve?
How much sealant do you need per tyre? Or does it depend on size and width etc.
I have a Topeak Joe blow track pump. Will this seat the tyre or will I need a better/higher capacity or whatever pump?

Sorry for all the questions, started searching for the answers and got muddled up completely. Hoping I’ll get all the advice I need here 😊

Thanks.

1) Not sure about tubeless ready rims, but I don’t use tape, I use rim strips which are made for the rim you have. I think sometimes tubeless ready rims mean they make strips for them.

2) You can set up almost any tyre, but use tubeless ready ones – it’s a far better experience and they aren’t porous so most of the hassle is removed.

3) Stans

4) Valves are valves

5) Not a lot in it, syringe is nice and easy tho. Get syringes from eBay.

6) It says on the bottle, usually 30-60ml for small/big tyres.

7) Inflating the tyres is the hard part. Some tyre/rim combos work with a track pump, many do not. I use an airshot, but you can also use CO2 cartridges – I’ve never had any issues with them, despite some people saying it ruins the sealant. But then, I don’t bubble the CO2 through the liquid, which apparently some people do… seems like a silly thing to do 🙂

Tubeless ready rims need to be taped.
Tyres – look for TLR or TLS or similar.
Much of a muchness.
I’ve used Stans and cobbled a valve from an old tube, both work.
I remove the valve core, get the tyre seated then add sealant through the valve then replace the core and inflate to required pressure.
A syringe full for standard MTB tyres.
What pump you need depends on the individual tyre, some are easy with a track pump, the next tyre of the same model needs something like an airshot.

1 – No, not usually. Check to see if the tape is loose (no) or stuck down (yes).
2 – Tyres – most work, but it’s easier with tubeless ready tyres.
3 – Only ever used stans or stans race. Both work.
4 – Any tubeless valve is fine.
5 – Pour it in. Usually 2 stans cups per 29er tyre. A bit less for 27.5.
6 – it might do depending on the tyre/rim combo. Give it a go. You can always add an airshot later to make things easier.

Hth

My first attempt failed, side walls of the non tubeless ready Nobby Nics leaked like a sieve.
Got some cheap tubless ready Hans Dampf, and it was ridiculously easy. Managed it all with just a track pump.

1 – I always use gorilla tape
2 – I’ve used all sorts but as said above TLR tend not to be so porous
3 – Stans but it dries out currently using oko which seems good so far.
4 – i stick with one brand of valve that seem to be ok for me. Dont think there is much in it.
5 – done both but injecting through the valve core is cleaner. My wifes hair colourant comes with a nice little pointy bottle that is perfect size for the core and holds the right amount for a 29er.
6 – Airshot for me. I have used CO2 to seat the tyre then replaced with air so it doesn’t react with the Stans. If I was on the trail I wouldn’t hesitate to use CO2 then change when it suited me.

Every time I’ve failed has been when I’ve forgotten to spray the rim with washing up liquid.

Gnusmas – don’t you have a Bird Aeris? If so then they come set up tubeless… Unless this is a different bike.

If so then they come set up tubeless

I am reading the thread with interest on the grounds that a)I recently ventured into the world of full sus and b)it was a 120lt whic, as you say, comes with tubeless as standard which results me in being interested in this tubeless malarkey and how to mess around with it.

If you’ve poured the sealant in can you put soapy water on the bead of the tyre to get it to pop into the rim or does that damage the sealant

Joemmo – yes, I do have an aeris but didn’t realise it was set up as standard. Not something I’d considered and assumed otherwise, my bad. Must have missed that point somewhere along the lines. Hoping to get out on it from next week when the little one starts full time school.

What tyre pressures should I start off with as a benchmark before adjusting til it’s ‘right’?

But still interested to learn the ins and outs of it, in the event I need to change tyres or set up another wheel/tyre combo.

Yup, all Birds fly the Nest set up tubeless 😊

As for tyre pressures, on standard 2.3-2.4 stuff, I start with weight in stone x2 then add 2psi rear and subtract 1psi front.

Clearly I don’t read the instructions, I tend to use 100ml a tyre (stans with some glitter added) seems to work well, tubeless isn’t all about weight saving, it’s definately more to do with feel/grip, after running tubeless for a good few years, you realise just how sketchy inner tubes feel on a bike

Ps. What Whitestone said, some tyre and rim combos just work, otherwise are slightly more troublesome, even the same manaufacturer tyres and same model.
If you have Hope rims, don’t even bother :0(

Cool. I would definitely recommend getting an inflator of some type, either built into a pump or separate like an airshot. It makes the whole thing pretty painless and I’ve never failed to seat a tyre using mine.

either built into a pump or separate like an airshot

On the behalf of the ignorant, which doesnt include me honestly, what sort of pump?

If you have Hope rims, don’t even bother

Not my experience, we’ve four bikes with Hope rims and they are just as easy (or sometimes as hard) as any other make.

I’ve even set up cheap supposedly non tubeless ready Gipiemme wheels from On-One up tubeless – one was dead easy and held pressure overnight without sealant while the other took about four attempts to get to seat and hold pressure. This with the same tyres.

IME the thing to get right is the taping, get that right and it’s then a matter of ensuring that the tyre beads can slide out to engage with the rim when you start pumping air into the tyre.

@dissonance There’s a load of them with an air tank built in which you pressurise so it can dump a lot of air into the tyre quickly, just search for tubeless pump. They’re not as expensive as they used to be

I put new tyres on with an inner tube at high pressure overnight to force any folds and crimps out from a stored tyre first. It also gets it hard on the rim on one side. Then pop out the tube, reseat the tyre, drop some fluid in via the valve with the core out and inflate with a normal track pump.

Inner tube can also be used on newly laid rim tape to force it into all the nooks.

Lots of good advice above.
Definitely use TLR tubeless ready tyres. My first attempt was with non tubeless ready Nobby Nics on Roval tubeless rims. I got them seated with a track pump but they leaked through the sidewalls until I added more Stans.
Don’t assume factory fitted tape is good . My rims leaked until i re taped them.
More recently I got a pair of Mavic Ksyrium UST wheels with UST tyres for the road bike.
With these I simply added sealant and pumped them up and they barely lose air at all.

@tails

Re washing up liquid and sealant I use car shampoo (Halfords do a nice gloopy one) and I’ve never noticed any adverse effects on the sealant.

I have tubeless running on

– proper UST rims
– tubeless ready rims with tape
– ghetto, split tube tubeless

And it’s been used on all those.

I’ve used tubeless ready and non tubeless tyres. Tubeless ready will be easier (I tend to use Specialized 2Bliss for cost/value).

This weekend I will be attempting a non tubeless ready tyres and taped ghetto setup. Curious to see how that goes!

I use a track pump 9x out of 10 and CO2 for stubborn tyres / trail side emergencies.

…..stans with some glitter added….

learn something new everyday – presume to help seal punctures? interested because had problems with relatively high pressure and narrowish gravel tyres getting (not huge) glass cuts that won’t seal or seal then reopen

@whitestone you must have the patience of a saint, them Hope rims made me so so angry,

Ive found mavic, Dt swiss and stans rims just work (with a track pump) I ended up with a compressor, which I now use to dry my bike off after a wash, and tubeless if a simple track pump doesn’t work..

@antigee, I’m sure I read it on here, i’ve Had some bigger 4-5mm tears on mtb tyres and it seems to always work, for medium-long term,
short term it’s been a limp home with the tyre re pumped a few times,
But once home stick 50-60psi in and next day the tyre is 99% of the time solid

It is very straight forward if you use the correct parts with no bodging. Tubeless specific rims, tubeless specific tyres, tubeless specific rim tape.

I changed my track bike to tubeless last night and took 25 minutes to have both wheels off, tubes removed, new tyres on, sealant added etc,. Checked the pressure this morning and still as high as when I left them last night.
Tried last week with a non tubeless tyre and it would not work at all, the bead really didn’t want to know. This was with 28c tyres at fairly high pressure.

you must have the patience of a saint

@whatyadoinsucka – not really, just methodical. Might be a tyre/rim combo that doesn’t work, I run with Bontrager XR tyres and they are just a doddle to set up.

I’ve one rear wheel that currently isn’t holding air but I dinged the rim last year and one of the spokes in that area is loose. I think it pushes on the tape if I happen to hit an edge at that point on the rim and eventually the tape isn’t sealing. The tyre has seen better days as well. The hub’s still fine so I’ll get another rim for it.

@whatyadoinsucka cheers will give it a go – got a wheelset to sort now just took the glasscut tyre off to patch the inside – think a mavic tubeless specific tyre – 2 minutes to get off front just used thumbs to push (hooked) beads into spoke channel – nearly 2 hrs for rear and thumb still swollen…watched a guy on youtube put a big volume tyre in a vice and not damage the carbon fibre rim! eventually found pair of pliers that could twist tyre with and not catch rim

Things that will help…

Use a tubeless specific tyre.
Tape the rim with gorilla tape (its far better and easier than rim tape)
Use an airshot
Soap the tyre
Filling via valves is the same as filling the tyre first if you use an airshot cos the tyre goes straight on with no messing about. If you are going ghetto or trying with a track pump it can get a bit messy so filling via the valves is a better option.

Following with interest, after reading the tips on here think I might splash out next month and try it myself

I intend to get mine set up tubeless – I’ve got last years (2008) Canyon Exceed – its got Mavic AC light wheels, and Rocket Ron and Racing Ralph tires. None of this says TR in the specs unlike the 2019 model.

Have seen people say the RR can be hard to get set up tubeless as thinner side walls – any thoughts?

I need to get:
Gorilla tape
Valves + valve core remover
Stans + something to apply stans with through the valve
Airshot to go with my track pump

Anything else I need?

I have Hope Tech Enduro rims, and first attempt with a track pump the tyre seated perfectly! I just went and put the tyre on the wrong way around!!

I have a WTB Ranger tyre if you’re wondering what the combo was.

I just did another set today. Lifeline valves were cheap and seem ok.
Also get the weldtite repair kit or similar for trailside fixes. Works well.

Have seen people say the RR can be hard to get set up tubeless as thinner side walls – any thoughts?

Racing Ralph is a tread pattern, and even that’s changed over the years. The carcasses have changed hugely. In the old days every lightweight tyre had paper thin sidewalls. Then they started making tubeless ready tyres which were thicker, with various names. Now they make Snakeskin and Liteskin – the former is what you want for tubeless, the latter for tubes.

I have Snakeskin RR evolution, and they are super easy on my Bonty Rhythm TLR rims.

Thanks molgrips. I reckon I’ve probably got Liteskin as it came with tubes.

All of my rims are Hope and never had any issues with them. Any failures have always been down to my stupidity.