Thanks for the replies! – both funny and enlightening 😀

I may have found my next ride, so will investigate further…

Thanks All

@chrishc777 – I live in the US now so even if I buy it it won’t impact your mate’s uniqueness 🙂

@ehrob – Indeed. If anything puts me off, it’s that kind of marketing crap.

If I go ahead with it, I will post some piccies, natch. Although the 2017 Surly Krampus has just caught my eye…

I am a big fan of the Sunline logo lock on grips. The thick ones.

I used to use those Slime tube protection strips before going tubeless. They work very well IME. I only ever had 1 hawthorn thorn go through one of them but it was HUGE. The only issue I found with them is that they are not all that wide so it is possible to get thorns in the tyre that miss the strips but that only happened once to me.

Oh, and they add a fair bit of rotational weight so not for racers.

Yep. Zaskar beat me too it. Not the lightest of rear lights but insanely bright!

I had exactly the same problem as the OP with two lots of tyres ( WTB Moto Raptors and Speccy Enduro's) Just couldn't get a proper seal around the rim. Swapped tyres to Speccy 2Bliss Eskars and they sealed first time and don't leak any air at all. I top up my tyres with air less than once a month.

I use super-ghetto tubless (no rimstrips or tubes, just some gaffer tape and electrical tape) so I imagine good quality, rubbery tyre rims are more critical.

My mate runs a single 34T on the front of his Reign and an 11-34T on the back. He says he never misses the granny but sometimes ponders sticking a 36T up front for more speed downhill.

I run 22-32T on the front of my Reign. I <3 my granny ring 🙂

Helsinki is an ace city. Very laid back. Great people, good bars and restaurants: I can recommend Zetor which is owned by local band "The Leningrad Cowboys" and is full of tractors and Sipuli if you want something posh. Boat ride to the zoo which is on an island – fun. Easy place to cycle around, very flat, tourist bikes everywhere. Trams everywhere if you don't want to ride. Great shopping and a great market at the weekend.

A while since I have been so YMMV but would love to go back before too long as it is where I proposed to my wife 🙂

Chuffed to bits with mine. Can't go wrong for the money. Plenty of light for everything I ride and did D2D on it with no problems. Completely outshines my old Edison.

D2D 🙂

Definitely don't want the same conditions as last year. It wasn't fun.

Yep, In a team of 4 (including Atlaz) but only 3 of us at the moment. email me if anyone is interested in making up to a 4.

I find I have definitely become more 'gnar' in my late 30's and my 'skillz' have increased exponentially since 35 😉

Maybe I take bigger risks knowing that I am getting that much closer to the end of my life anyway?

Used them plenty of times mail order, always been great service from them. I have also been into the shop on several occasions and found the guys in there knowledgeable and helpful.

Maybe I have just been lucky but I personally see no reason to stop using them based on some isolated incidences of poor service. I am sure that is the case for most mail order businesses. I have had some shocking service from a couple of the big players in the past but they resolved them satisfactorily and I have continued to use them with no problems.

Maybe I just have realistic/lower expectations?

@saladdodger

Octopus Light?

Welcome. Nice bike 🙂

Oh, you bought a torch. Sorry mate, I thought you were referring to the DX 'bastid' light (which is awesome).

@Mugboo – Sounds like you have bought the wrong light.

My DX light is easily brighter than my old Lupine Edison 5 HID. (with the Lupine on full 16w)

is this: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25149 what you bought?

19 here on my Reign X

and 0 on my GT Avalanche.

Mine took 11 working days to arrive. Well worth the wait, it's a fantastic light for the money.

I have been riding with mine for several weeks now. Very impressed with it indeed. £50 well spent even if it only lasts me the season. Easily as bright as my old Lupine Edison 5 on high. In fact, it's so bright, I mostly just use the low setting, only switching it to hight for really techie stuff.

If you have an old PC you might want to try Xubuntu as it is better on older hardware.

3

1 Kriega Hydro 3
1 Dakine Apex
1 Lidl unbranded el-cheapo special.

I have mostly been wearing mud in a lovely red-clay shade.

Contemplated doing the Viking Way sometime from Barton-upon-Humber to Oakham (147 miles)

Bourne woods is good for the occasional blast.

I have a pair of 3/4 Merstons. I only use them if the temp is going to be below 10 degrees though and always wear baggies over the top of them.

I also have a full length pair for those really cold winter rides. I have always found them to be plenty warm and wouldn't want to wear either pair if the temp was going to get into double figures.

I live in Grantham and a bunch of us ride in the Vale of Belvoir several times per week. Sherwood Pines at weekends.

we're a Kenda family, Nevegals and Blue Grooves. I read in another post on here that they'll be OK tubeless, which is nice – anyone care to second that?

Never tried them but have also read that they work well ghetto.

Mrs F's bike has On One Reetard rims – they've been great rims, but don't look likely to work tubeless because I can see through the weld on both rims

Sounds like you will struggle if the weld is not sealed. You could try sealing it with some epoxy or something. Dunno really.

My bike has 717s, and the only place I can see through them is where I'm supposed to, spoke holes and valve – OK for tubeless?

I don't see why not. There is a thread here where someone posted saying they had issues with a 717 tubeless and then subsequent replies saying that they have been fine: http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/my-first-ghetto-tubeless-ride-not-good

Best thing I can say is give it a go. It's not really all that expensive to give it a try. You can dip your toe in the water by just doing one wheel first and take a tube with you. Any isues, just pop the tube in and inflate.

Most of the issues I have seen with ghetto tubeless are down to people either using tyres that are known to not work well or when they try to run at ridiculously low pressures. One thing I have found with tubeless is that you don't need to run your tyres at such low pressures as they are more compliant anyway when there is no tube present.

Good luck!

NC17 Empire Pro. Seriously strong post. Much cheaper than a Thomo (not as light though)

@Wally – Nice find. Pretty similar to what I do except I don't tape over the top of the valve and I use one layer of two different kinds of tape.

I have heard that some people then put a rim strip over the top of the tape and the valve. Specifically the yellow plastic Michelin ones. These are very tight and I assume hold it all together nicely and protect the tape. Never found the need to do this though.

Just found this: http://messageboard.notubes.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=66 so it looks like Stan's dont recommend using CO2 except for an on-the-trail fix.

Doesn't change the fact that in my experience it has had no detrimental effect on the sealant that I have been able to detect. As always though, YMMV.

Knog Skink ticks the boxes here. Easy and quick to attach/remove and very bright.

+1 for disposable nappies.

Lanesra – Member

CO2 kills the sealant – once seated you should deflate then pump up with a compressor/track pump

I can't find any evidence that it does and I have certainly not experienced any issue using CO2 with sealant. I usually use CO2 to inflate the tyre and leave it at that. I would be interested in hearing about any of your experiences of sealant being "killed" by the CO2. Anything I can find online seems purely anecdotal with no real evidence to support it. TBH it reeks of "urban myth" to me.

I concede that in very cold conditions, there is the possibility that the initial rush of very cold CO2 could temporarily freeze the sealant but I believe Stans is designed to have a very low freezing point indeed. If it didn't have then riding in winter would freeze your sealant. I have never had my sealant freeze nor has it been "killed" using CO2.

sv – Member

Does the CO2 not affect the latex – quicker curing times?

Not that I have noticed. Maybe it gives a slower curing time?

If it concerns you, you can evacuate the CO2 from the tyre once it is seated and sealed properly and then pump it back up with your track pump.

You do this anyway when you need to add new sealant via the valve.

For me it would be a compact light unit that could be mounted on bars or helmet. 3 power settings: ~1000 lumens max, ~500 lumens for less technical trails and give longer battery life and maybe ~100 lumens for commuting. Battery life should be about 3 hours on max on a "standard" battery pack (whatever that may be). Bar mount should be nice and simple but effective. I always thought the Lupine Edison rubber ring method was perfect. Battery should also be unobtrusive and easily mountable on stem/bars/tubes. No proprietory connectors for cable and batteries. A range of battery capacities. It must be waterproof. Ability to charge batteries from a 12v car source.

I ride several times a week over the winter and ride D2D every year. Something that does the above would be a winner for me. I think the key is having a light that I can use on-road as well as I have to ride on them to and from the trails near me.

I would also like the moon on a stick 😉

Thanks,

Daim

@Sailor74 – What uplink says 🙂

Since going tubeless I have not had to worry at all about punctures and the tyres are much more compliant. When you first go tubeless it feels like you are running on under-inflated tyres, they feel so plush.

With repect to the weight query: The amount of tape you use in my method along with a scoop of latex weighs WAY less than an inner tube.

Trust me, I was a serious tubeless skeptic before giving it a go. I would never go back to tubes now. The only disadvantage is if you are a tyre-tart and are forever swapping tyres. Unless you have a compressor it would be more hassle for you.

Right, this is my method. I didn't invent it, it's just what I use and has worked flawlessly for me. No air loss, no burping, no punctures.

You will need:

1. Some very fine sanding blocks. Preferably those sponge ones. Available from any DIY shop.

2. Some strong, clear cross-weave or mono-filament packing tape. The cross weave stuff is usually very wide but can easily be torn lengthwise (like duct tape) to get the right width for the bottom of your rim.

3. Some PVC electrical (insulation tape)

4. Some washing-up liquid and water

5. Some Stans solution or similar latex based sealant.

6. A CO2 inflator or compressor. (I never have any luck with the initial inflation and seating using a track pump despite what other folks claim. Maybe I just have weak arms.)

7. The presta valves from some Schwalbe tubes or similar. Basically, ones with removable cores so you can easily top up your sealant.

The method:

1. Remove tyres and rim strips from wheels.

2. Wash wheels and dry well.

3. Sand the inside of the rims to make sure they are perfectly smooth and clean. Use some very fine sanding blocks. You can get these from any DIY shop.

4. Get packing tape to fit the width of the base of your rim. It should ideally be slightly narrower than the insulation tape although I have used this method very sloppily in a hurry and had no issues whatsoever. Stick the tape around the circumference of the rim with an overlap of about 100mm. Make sure it is pressed down well and completely covers all of the spoke holes.

5. Do exactly the same with the insulation tape. It should ideally be slightly wider than the packing tape and again press down well.

6. Cut the valves from the tubes so that they will seat well and make a good seal against the tape.

7. Carefully cut a hole in the tape so you can insert the valve into the rim and do it up nice and tight.

8. Put your tyre on the rim as you usually would, get loads of nice foamy washing up liquid mixed with water around the bead of the tyre.

9. Add your sealant to the tyre.

10. Use your compressor or CO2 inflator and just blast the air into the tyre. It has always inflated and seated for me first time. Get it up to a good high pressure. You can always let some air out once it is well sealed.

11. Swill your solution around the tyre, getting it up to the beads to make a good seal. Hold the tyre vertically, side on and swill using a forward-backward motion whilst rotating the tyre.

12. That's it. You are done. Do your other wheel and go and have a nice cuppa.

I have successfully used the Schwalbe presta valves for well over a year but recently I splashed out on some of the Stans Valves to replace them. These work just as well, no better, no worse. They are the "standard" ones, I bought them here: http://www.justridingalong.co.uk/?product=58

The tapes I bought from here: http://www.tapes-direct.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=148_193

Daim

If it is any help, I run Ghetto tubeless on my Halo Freedom Discs. I use the tape only method using 1 layer of reinforced packing tape and 1 layer of PVC electricians tape (no faffing with 20" inner tubes) and run Specialized Eskar 2Bliss.

I have never burped a tire and get zero air loss. Last time I added any air to either tyres was about 6 weeks ago.

Can't recommend it enough.