OK, I’ve got a new commute, it has thorns, and I’ve been fixing several punctures a day so I want to go tubeless with sealant to remove this ritual from my evenings.

My rims are Mavic XM719 so not tubeless. I’m soaping the rims and tyre.

I’ve tried yellow tape and valves – no worky
Tried yellow tape, and rim strips – no worky

I’ve tried a CO2 inflator and a leyzne track pump.

Tonight I’m going to hack together one of those ghetto inflators and see if that helps.

I’m thinking if that doesn’t work I’ve no chance. Can anyone think of anything I’ve missed?

Last resort is new rims, so does anyone know of any cheap(ish) tubeless rims with the same ERD as the XM719s? I was thinking that I could simply relace the wheels to new rims.

Please help :'( I’m starting to think tubeless is an internet myth designed to upset people like myself.

If it’s not a ‘tubeless ready’ rim I guess that’s a big part of it. Is there a Stans rim strip kit for that rim?

Otherwise perhaps a rim from Superstar if you go down the route of a new wheel.

what tyres BTW ?

http://www.notubes.com/help/rimstripfinder.aspx

If it’s not a ‘tubeless ready’ rim I guess that’s a big part of it.

I’ve got stans, xm819 and dt5.1 rims running tubeless there is virtually no difference in them setting up except for the mavics as they don’t use the yellow tape.

non-UST rim with non-UST tyres that are a bit old ?

little chance of success there, if so

I used to think like that. Then I bought an Airshot and some rolls of Gorilla tape. Everything’s gone up, no 719s tried but all manner of oe cheap stuff.

Most with one wrap of gorilla tape and inflated core in
Some with soapy lube and core out
One needed a second wrap of gorilla tape, soapy lube and core out.

as rtd but you may need a new tyre I’ve got a rbber queen that wont stay up no matter what, newer tyre on the back on same old en321 rims went up easy

With just yellow tape though? And no rim strip or alternative to build it up so the bead seats? It’s early, perhaps I misunderstood the OP 🙂

Is there a Stans rim strip kit for that rim?

I’m using a Jo’s kit – I am not with the bike at the mo but I can post an image up later of how it fits.

This is just a pic from the internet but it looks a bit like:

That. I’m a little concerned there’s no room for the bead to seat.

what tyres BTW ?

tyres that are a bit old

I bought new tyres because my old ones were knackered.

HR2 front, Ardent rear.

Some combinations just don’t work (or can be made to work with rim strips and building up the rim bed that it’s just not worth it).

I used to think like that. Then I bought an Airshot and some rolls of Gorilla tape. Everything’s gone up, no 719s tried but all manner of oe cheap stuff.

Now I’m confused – old rims and no rubber rim strip? How many layers of tape?

A compressor makes life much easier, I’ve never had an issue using just yellow tape on any combination of rim and tyre when I’ve used a compressor. Had all sorts of trouble using track pumps etc.

Some other tips I’ve found help:-

– Make sure the tyre walls are either side of the valve, you dont want to be blowing air into the valve only to have it go straight out past the tyre. Sounds obvious, but just check.
– If I have a stubborn tyre, I find that pulling the tyre walls so that they are as close to the edge of the rim as possible helps a lot. work your way all the way round the tyre pulling it out as if you were trying to manually seat it on the rim.
– Sometime two or three layers of yellow tape are needed to help the tyre seal, but most of the time one is enough.

A compressor helps loads – but I know is expensive.

Yes, non tubeless rims. Giant SXC2, PXC2, Other OE stuff I can’t remember, very almost as easy as tubeless ready Flows Crests and DW Swiss somethings.

Tyres, Smorgs, CM, Maxxis Exos (non UST), Geax TNT (Would happily go non TNT next time) , Spesh 2bliss, and a few sets of CX tyres.

For the non tubeless Giants the Bontrager strips fit but only take matching valves and are a faff to fit. Other sets went up easier with just tape.

I don’t rate Stans yellow tape at all btw, horrible stuff compared to Gorilla.

Like I said, I always thought easy tubeless was a myth. Bought an Airshot and I’m busy converting all my mates wheels for beer 🙂

i’ve done XM719s.

One wrap of gorilla tape and a ghetto inflator. no bother at all!

Like I said, I always thought easy tubeless was a myth. Bought an Airshot and I’m busy converting all my mates wheels for beer

i’ve done XM719s.

One wrap of gorilla tape and a ghetto inflator. no bother at all!

OK, I have a renewed sense of optimism… Tonight is the night…

A compressor makes life much easier,

This.

New tyres and rim + Joes should work.

gorilla tape

P.s. This may be a stupid question but is gorilla tape just duct tape?

That rim does look a bit crowded. I trim my tape so its level with the ‘base of the wall’ if you get me.

I trim my tape so its level with the ‘base of the wall’ if you get me.

I considered doing that but since I don’t know what it’s supposed to look like I decided not to mess with it. I’ll try that later as well if the ghetto inflator + yellow tape fails

P.s. This may be a stupid question but is gorilla tape just duct tape?

I’m not sure, i got hold of some of the waterproof duct tape and it didn’t seem to work as well. Admittedly it was with a different rim tyre combination but, empirically I had a much better success rate with the gorilla tape and i’ll be buying some more of it when I have to do my next set of wheels, make of that what you will 🙂

Gorilla tape in 25mm wide 9m Handy Rolls @ Homebase, £2.99.

Can be reluctant to remove though after a while.

I’m going to B&Q later to get some tube for my inflator so I’ll see if they’ve got some gorilla tape.

Thanks all 🙂

Don’t think B&Q sell it. Homebase, and it’s now on Halfords web site too so might be in store.

Now I get that for some, it’s the rolling resistance, weight, feel and lack of pinch flats that appeal, but for commute and milder offroad, would the OP not be better off with a tube with the sealant in there?

OK, a Homebase is not too much of a detour on the way home so I’ll nip in there. Thanks a lot.

Now I get that for some, it’s the rolling resistance, weight, feel and lack of pinch flats that appeal, but for commute and milder offroad, would the OP not be better off with a tube with the sealant in there?

Fair point, I’d considered this as well, but I do ride my mtb round the peak, have had many a pinch flat and thought this would help in that regard as well. Admittedly I missed that bit out of the OP because I didn’t want to rabbit on too much.

Fair enough, I’ve just put a slimed tube in the back of my town bike. With hub gears and a full chain case, it’s good to not have to take it to bits by the roadside very often, and it’s not the sort of bike for mincing down Jacob’s Ladder so pinch flats aren’t on the menu.

I got my CX tyres (Vittoria XG Pros) up fine on Mavic 319’s with a few wraps of Gorilla tape cut to the rim internal width, valves from a set of schwalbe tubes i had lying around, Stans sealant and my Joe Blow.

Did the first ride the other night over lots of rocks, roots, horse hoof rutted bridleways and some proiper off camber stuff and they stayed on / up just nicely.

Just make sure the rim is tapped enough to make the tyre tight on the rim when you put it on i.e. no movement once it’s sat in the well

bmx tube to make a ‘tape’ works on mine well. the tube sticks to the tyre wall.
had to change a spoke and nipple yesterday. i was able to lever the tyre, tube and rim tape all up together, get the old nipple out and stick the new one in, and re-inflate no bother.

I’ve had 719’s seal tubeless using conti tyres, gorilla tape but had to use a garage compressor on flat tyre mode. My big track pump will seat tyres on my newer rims 75% of the time but not those.

Have you tried seating the tyre using a tube first, then unseat one bead to get the tube out, put the valve in and then reinflate..?

Ghetto tubeless with a bmx tube. If it’s good enough for Jared graves it’s good enough for you.

Another for 25mm Gorilla tape – works well. 3 sets of wheels now setup like this, and only 1 pair was marked tubeless ready. Using Schwalbe Evo or SuperGravity tyres though, which are all either Tubeless Ready or Easy.

Pull the Gorilla tape TIGHT as you put it round! Then firm it down with something curved, but be careful not to rip it. Also make sure the tubeless valve is done up tight.

The Giant P-XC2 rims I converted were a b*gger to inflate, even with my Airshot, but a large strap all the way around the tyre to compress the middle, and plenty of soap on the bead finally persuaded them to seat. (I use the Schwalbe can of soap with a sponge dabber at the end). That lovely ‘pop’ sound is like music, especially after pumping up the airshot about a half dozen times…

Thorns – begone!

I’ve converted a couple of sets of 717 rims using Stans rimstrips – I found that building up with tape under the rimstrip was key (I used cloth rimtapes that I had lying around) – if you can rotate the tyre around the rim at all once its fitted, add more tape.

Also, I found using neat washing-up liquid was the difference between being able to inflate with a trackpump and not. Take the core out of the valve to start with, check that you can inflate and get a seal, deflate and add the sealant through the valve, reinflate and then put your finger over the valve when you remove the pump and put the valve core in.

Hope this helps.

My first tubeless efforts were on 719s – I used the Stans rubber rim strips with built-in valves and it worked well.

Ghetto tubeless.

I use this exact technique on all my non-tubeless Mavic rims and it works with any tyre (Maxxis, Scwalbe and Specialized seem to work best).

I did it for exactly the same reasons you did as I was fed up with Gorse/Hawthorn punctures every ride.

Only had a tyre burp once and that was because I’d let it get really low without checking it.

This is the guide I followed/follow:
http://www.ridemonkey.com/threads/ghetto-tubeless-conversion-diy-tips-and-tricks.240026/

Tom KP

Ps – BMX tubes are cheaper than Stams Rim strips but essentially the same thing. I’m running lightweight Scwalbe ones at the moment, but usually just use cheap Tesco BMX tubes.

Success!!!! I can’t quite believe it.

The Ardent went up first time when I made the ghetto inflator with just yellow tape and a valve. I realised afterwards it was tubeless ready so that might be why

The HRII was a bit more effort, I tried yellow tape and gorilla tape with no success so got the rim strip out. I cut it down quite a bit so that it fitted flat. Struggled at first with that but got there eventually when I got the valve seated properly.

I’m not counting my chickens yet, I’m expecting both to be flat in the morning but this is progress at least.

Haven’t read all of this, but in case no-one else has suggested it….
Try inflating the tyres with a tube in, then removing the tube, leaving one bead seated. Add sealant and inflate.

I have 2 well used Stans Crest rims you can have for £20 + postage. They have slight dings and are scratched/marked, but always take tyres pretty easily. Not sure of ERD comparison.

Edit: rims are 29er

Once you have put the stans in and inflated, make sure you go for a short ride rather than just leave it there overnight to see if it deflates.