Alrighty! I know you can do a google search for "ghetto tubeless" and find a plethora of information, but I converted my Raleigh RAM3 this weekend, and managed to take a couple pics. Thought you monkeys might find it useful.
It's best if you use new tires (and ones recommended by Stans - see below) but the Panaracer Dart and Smoke I had on the Raleigh were barely used, so I went for it anyway. Rims were Mavic 717 non-tubeless.
What you'll need:
- Tires (either recommended Non UST or UST tires.)
- 2 20" BMX tubes (presta or schraeder, whatever you need).
- tire levers
- Stans sealant
- sharp scissors (or razor blade)
- rags and cleaner (I used Simple Green)
- electrical tape
- bucket of soapy water & brush
- floor pump or air compressor
What You'll Do:
1) Remove tire and tube from rim, and clean inside of tire. On the first tire, I found and removed ALL needles, sticks, etc poking through. On the second tire, I just broke them off but left them IN the tire. You'll find out why below:
2) clean rim well with simple green and let dry. Run electrical tape around rim, stretching it SLIGHTLY. It fit perfectly in the Mavic wheels. Just make sure that it covers the entire width of the rim and don't stretch it too much, as the tape does get affected by heat/cold. Poke a hole through the tape at the valve opening. Note: some folks leave their old rim strip and you can try that, but mine was beat up and (I thought) too thick, so I removed it.
3) Take 20" BMX tube and using the scissors, cut around the OUTSIDE diameter of the tube (opposite the valve). Cut the side that would be against the tire if mounted. Cut as cleanly and centered as possible. Once done, clean the powder thoroughly and let dry.
4) Insert valve through rim and tighten nut to hold it (presta). Then proceed to stretch tube around rim, centering it. It will (and should be) a snug fit. I put a rag down to keep me from pinching/damaging the tube between the rim and the ground. Clean any remaining powder. I'm not sure you need to, but I gently pushed the tube down into the rim a bit (right side of wheel in pic).
5) Mount tire one side of rim. Be very careful not to damage the overhanging tube! The BMX tube should always be poking out from between the tire and rim.
6) Mount 2nd side of tire, leaving a large enough section unmounted to pour Stans into it. (Alternate: You can mount entirely and pour Stans into the valve if you have a valve core remover and injector). In open section, pour in 2oz (1.5 of the little cup provided) into open area. Carefully rotate tire so open area is at the top... the Stans will run to the bottom. Mount remaining section. Again, be careful with the overhanging rim strip!
7) With palm of your hand, smack the tire tread as you rotate to help seat the bead.
8 ) Lie tire flat on box or similar and apply soapy water mixture around rim/tire where it meets... on BOTH sides. This helps form a temporary seal.
9) While soapy mixture is still there (work quickly), attach pump and pump up FAST. I could do it with my floor pump but an air compressor would work better. Because it wouldn't seal, I had to hold/press the tire tight against the rim where the valve stem was. But I just held it tight and used the floor pump with the other hand. If you're doing it right, it should seal up fairly quickly. The point is to get air in there as quickly as you can!
10) Pick up tire with hands at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. Rest a moment so the Stans runs to the bottom of the wheel. Shake the tire so the top and bottom swing toward you and away. You'll hear the Stans splashing around in the base. Gently turn the tire a couple inches and repeat shaking. Do this ALL the way around the tire. Listen for leaks and continue until you don't hear any more. You can apply more soapy mixture on sidewalls/edge to see if any leaks appear.
10b) Note: This is where I noticed the air leaking out of the tread area on the first tire. Because I went and removed all needles, etc the Stans had to find and fill all those holes. On the second tire, no problems, since I didn't remove the needles, I just broke them off. Obviously, if you're using NEW tires, you won't have this issue at all.
11) Pump up to full pressure (I did 35psi).
12) VERY carefully trim the excess tube flap from the tire. I found that the soapy water mixture helped the scissors blades glide without catching. See how clean you can make it! The first wheel I did is pretty ragged looking, but did better on the second.
13) Go back to step 1 for the second tire.
I mounted these immediately and rode around my neighborhood, trying my best to get them to unseat. Riding on hard angles, hitting rocks and curbs, cornering hard, etc. They stayed seated wonderfully!
They DON'T recommend the following NORMAL (non-UST) tires because they have weaker beads and are more prone to coming unseated: Michelin, WTB, Intense, IRC, Hutchinson.
Good luck!!!!
It's best if you use new tires (and ones recommended by Stans - see below) but the Panaracer Dart and Smoke I had on the Raleigh were barely used, so I went for it anyway. Rims were Mavic 717 non-tubeless.
What you'll need:
- Tires (either recommended Non UST or UST tires.)
- 2 20" BMX tubes (presta or schraeder, whatever you need).
- tire levers
- Stans sealant
- sharp scissors (or razor blade)
- rags and cleaner (I used Simple Green)
- electrical tape
- bucket of soapy water & brush
- floor pump or air compressor
What You'll Do:
1) Remove tire and tube from rim, and clean inside of tire. On the first tire, I found and removed ALL needles, sticks, etc poking through. On the second tire, I just broke them off but left them IN the tire. You'll find out why below:
2) clean rim well with simple green and let dry. Run electrical tape around rim, stretching it SLIGHTLY. It fit perfectly in the Mavic wheels. Just make sure that it covers the entire width of the rim and don't stretch it too much, as the tape does get affected by heat/cold. Poke a hole through the tape at the valve opening. Note: some folks leave their old rim strip and you can try that, but mine was beat up and (I thought) too thick, so I removed it.
3) Take 20" BMX tube and using the scissors, cut around the OUTSIDE diameter of the tube (opposite the valve). Cut the side that would be against the tire if mounted. Cut as cleanly and centered as possible. Once done, clean the powder thoroughly and let dry.
4) Insert valve through rim and tighten nut to hold it (presta). Then proceed to stretch tube around rim, centering it. It will (and should be) a snug fit. I put a rag down to keep me from pinching/damaging the tube between the rim and the ground. Clean any remaining powder. I'm not sure you need to, but I gently pushed the tube down into the rim a bit (right side of wheel in pic).
5) Mount tire one side of rim. Be very careful not to damage the overhanging tube! The BMX tube should always be poking out from between the tire and rim.
6) Mount 2nd side of tire, leaving a large enough section unmounted to pour Stans into it. (Alternate: You can mount entirely and pour Stans into the valve if you have a valve core remover and injector). In open section, pour in 2oz (1.5 of the little cup provided) into open area. Carefully rotate tire so open area is at the top... the Stans will run to the bottom. Mount remaining section. Again, be careful with the overhanging rim strip!
7) With palm of your hand, smack the tire tread as you rotate to help seat the bead.
8 ) Lie tire flat on box or similar and apply soapy water mixture around rim/tire where it meets... on BOTH sides. This helps form a temporary seal.
9) While soapy mixture is still there (work quickly), attach pump and pump up FAST. I could do it with my floor pump but an air compressor would work better. Because it wouldn't seal, I had to hold/press the tire tight against the rim where the valve stem was. But I just held it tight and used the floor pump with the other hand. If you're doing it right, it should seal up fairly quickly. The point is to get air in there as quickly as you can!
10) Pick up tire with hands at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. Rest a moment so the Stans runs to the bottom of the wheel. Shake the tire so the top and bottom swing toward you and away. You'll hear the Stans splashing around in the base. Gently turn the tire a couple inches and repeat shaking. Do this ALL the way around the tire. Listen for leaks and continue until you don't hear any more. You can apply more soapy mixture on sidewalls/edge to see if any leaks appear.
10b) Note: This is where I noticed the air leaking out of the tread area on the first tire. Because I went and removed all needles, etc the Stans had to find and fill all those holes. On the second tire, no problems, since I didn't remove the needles, I just broke them off. Obviously, if you're using NEW tires, you won't have this issue at all.
11) Pump up to full pressure (I did 35psi).
12) VERY carefully trim the excess tube flap from the tire. I found that the soapy water mixture helped the scissors blades glide without catching. See how clean you can make it! The first wheel I did is pretty ragged looking, but did better on the second.
13) Go back to step 1 for the second tire.
I mounted these immediately and rode around my neighborhood, trying my best to get them to unseat. Riding on hard angles, hitting rocks and curbs, cornering hard, etc. They stayed seated wonderfully!
They DON'T recommend the following NORMAL (non-UST) tires because they have weaker beads and are more prone to coming unseated: Michelin, WTB, Intense, IRC, Hutchinson.
Good luck!!!!
