Hey guys, can you explain some of the ways you run "ghetto tubeless". Just wanted to see how many ways there are of doing this.
someone on MTBR said:I just converted my wheels & standard tires to tubeless and it rocks. Easy and cheap. Stans-style only with locally available and cheap stuff (I'm sure not as good/slick/etc as Stans). I have been running the front tire like this for a week (about 6o trail miles) and the rear finished conversion today. Here's the scoop.
Wheels: Sun DS2-XC rims, these were brand new
Tires: Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1 kevlar 127tpi, tires had about 50 trail miles on them (NOT UST tires!)
Stuff you'll need:
1. Pair of tubes you don't mind cutting up (size etc doesn't matter but must have a good valve!), $free
2. roll of Scotch "Strapping Tape", $1.50
3. roll of 3M vinyl electrical tape (I got a high-quality roll), $3
4. Tub of liquid-latex molding compound from Michaels, $10
5. Little 4 oz shampoo-style bottle like you'd get in travel-size shampoo, $1
6. Coupla shop towels, dish with dab of dish soap, $free
7. Tools: air compressor with tank or pressurized air tank (must have presta valve adapter), bike pump, scissors, pliers, rubbing alcohol, acetone
Total parts cost $15.50
Steps to convert:
1. Take tire/tube off of the rim and pull off rim strip/tape. Clean the inside of the rim real well with acetone or alcohol etc.
2. Peel up the edge of the strapping tape from the roll and cut a little cut in the end with scissors about 12-15mm (1/2") from the edge. Stick the "wide" side back down and begin peeling the tape off the roll with the "narrow" side. It should come off in a straight line strip 1/2" wide. Stick this tape over the spoke holes on the rim pulling it tight as you apply it. Run one continuous strip of tape all the way around the wheel and overlap about 3-4". Stick it down REAL GOOD.
3. Starting in a different spot on the rim, stick electrical tape over the strip of strapping tape on the rim. Stick this down real good! It does not have to be tight, but has to be "airtight". Overlap about 3-4". Poke a hole from the inside out where the valve hole is. Don't make this hole any bigger than the valve.
4. Take the salvage tube and cut out the valve. Leave a piece of the tube around the valve making a 3/8" by 1" rectangular patch with the long side running the direction of the tube.
5. Take the tire and clean the inside and bead of the ture with rubbing alcohol. Mount one side of the tire on the rim, leave the other side off.
6. Install the valve loosely with the little "nut" on the outside. Don't tighten! Leave 1/2" of slack in it.
7. Mount the other side of the tire bead. Get the bead set pretty well around the valve area. Pull the valve and finger-tighten the nut. This should kind of "pinch" the tire bead between the little valve patch of rubber and the rim near the valve.
8. Pull the bead loose from the rim on one side at the spot on the rim directly across (opposite) from the valve. Make an opening about 6-8" long. Now hang the rim with this opening at the bottom. Use a bike hanger hook, work stand, saw horse, whatever. Hang the wheel upright.
9. Mix up your sealant. Use some kind of disposable spoon to spoon out about an ounce of latex into the little shampoo bottle. If you have a 4oz bottle, then fill it 25% of the way up with latex. You'll see it has to be approximate at best. The stuff makes a big mess. Fill the bottle the rest of the way with water, then install the cap, seal it up, and shake it vigorously to mix all the latex and water.
10. Mix up a little bit of dish soap and water in a bowl and use a rag or shop towel to coat the tire beads (both sides) with soapy water.
11. Squirt the contents of the little shampoo bottle into the open spot on the tire bead. Re-mount the tire.
12. Connect the tire to an air compressor and fire it up. It may seat and begin to inflate right away, if not then you may have to kind of wiggle the tire and monkey with it to get it to seat the first time. Adding a bit more soapy water can help.
13. Once the tire seats and you get some air in it, put like 30 psi of air in the tire and then unhook from the compressor. Pick up the wheel and shake it all around, spin it, turn it over, flip it, etc. Try and get the liquid sealant to evenly coat the inside of the rim & tire. You'll probably see some of the sealant leaking from the bead in some spots, seeping through the sidewall. That's ok.
14. Most likely it's leaking like a sieve from the valve hole. Take pliers and tighten the nut until it quits leaking from the valve hole. Don't torque it to death, but you'll need to get it pretty tight.
15. If the pressure begins to leak down, put some more air in there. Keep shaking, flipping, etc., adding air, wiping away leaked-out sealant, etc., until the tire quits losing air. Once it seems pretty much stable, pump it to 40 psi or so and let it alone for a while.
16. Keep an eye on the tire for the next few hours, checking the pressure and re-pressurizing as needed. The sealant will continue to seep around. Flip it around from time to time. Let it sit overnight and check to be sure it's holding air. Then pump it to about 80% of the pressure you ran in it with a tube, up to about 45 psi, and go ride. Bring your pump to adjust pressure while on the trail. It'll feel way different.
It's only ghetto though if you leave the valve stem attached to the bmx tubethere is only one way. using a bmx tube to crush/seal between the rim and tire. use stans to prevent flats from punctures.
Duh!It's only ghetto though if you leave the valve stem attached to the bmx tube
that's the only way to do it.We will see how they hold up with the Bmx tube method
Thats how I roll.It's only ghetto though if you leave the valve stem attached to the bmx tube
is presta a must? im considering trying this method simply because stans strips are overpriced and so many people have had success with bmx tubes.Just threw in a 20" presta valve tube.
presta is a must unless you can find a schraeder valve that has a threaded valve stem w/ the little ring that tightens down (like the Stan's rim strips). w/o this ring to hold the valve stem in place, when you try to inflate the tire you just push the valvestem into the rim.is presta a must? im considering trying this method simply because stans strips are overpriced and so many people have had success with bmx tubes.
ah right i didnt think about that. who makes a presta bmx tube, is kenda the only one?presta is a must unless you can find a schraeder valve that has a threaded valve stem w/ the little ring that tightens down (like the Stan's rim strips). w/o this ring to hold the valve stem in place, when you try to inflate the tire you just push the valvestem into the rim.
doesnt stans use presta?DO NOT use presta tubes for ghetto tubless!!!! Often times, presta can't deliver enough volume of air to seat bead.
Not mine- and I have used many tubes with schrader vavles that are not threaded all the way down, to prevent the valve from pushing into the rim, pinch it with your fingers (just like everyone does when they fill up a flat schrader tube).doesnt stans use presta?
who knows.doesnt stans use presta?
you just sold mePlus, having a schrader bmx tube allows you to thread on that adapter and hose and re-fill your ghetto wheel with stans without breaking the seal.
That sounds totally reasonable but it worked ok for me when I did it. I've only tried it once though. But you can also buy Stan's rimstrips w/ a presta valve. They worked well for me too. What rims/tires were you using when you couldn't get it to work?DO NOT use presta tubes for ghetto tubless!!!! Often times, presta can't deliver enough volume of air to seat bead.
Some do, some dont, all depends on which kit you get, as far as the difference in air volume, i have used both Presta and shraeder stans kits, both of them seat up just as easy as the otherdoesnt stans use presta?
Word, 50 bucks for those strips, ROFL.who knows.
anyone who buys rim strips instead of a bmx tube is a marketing sucker.
Use a 24" tube, I had major twubble getting the 20" tubes off again, which is sometimes necessary!I Might actually try this 20in Bmx method, i tore my Stans strip last night, the valve broke loose from the rubber, I alread ordered replacements, seems like good life seeing how they are three years old now. We will see how they hold up with the Bmx tube method
No, just make sure the rim strip is lined up right so the tire sealswhen your changing tires, do you have to use another bmx tube?