I had Fat Albert UST/Albert UST combo before. Loved them. Started ripping the side knobs off rather frequently after one season though.
Transitioning from tubes to tubeless?
- Thread starter johnbryanpeters
- Start date
You got a whole season? Phoenix tore off knobs on my WTB Prowler MX's after 5 rides. They look like Whitney Houston's upper lip after a crack binge now.
Go tubeless, you will love it or hate it. The people that hate it are the ones with crap rims/bent rims/running non-UST tires, and swearing UST tires are two heavy or expensive.
The UST standard is written to not need sealant, and to be able to put the tire on by hand. Kenda says that possibly sealant could damage the casing???? They are not all created equal. I ran all the Michelin's DH16/24/32 my DH bike with Dee Max, they were excellent, and never needed sealant! Even with VERY low pressure.
I find with Maxxis I need sealant. And with Kenda, sometimes needed sealant. I find that by keeping the wheel in good shape, and cleaning it really well before mounting, and by hand buffing the rim with some automotive wax.... that they mount up with a floor pump and stay sealed without issue.
When trying to use Non UST tires.... it can be done, and I did have some success with Conti/kenda tires on my 819's. It can be hit or miss. It takes tons of sealant and an air compressor, and some patience... so what's the point? The casing of true UST tires is made for this purpose.
The UST standard is written to not need sealant, and to be able to put the tire on by hand. Kenda says that possibly sealant could damage the casing???? They are not all created equal. I ran all the Michelin's DH16/24/32 my DH bike with Dee Max, they were excellent, and never needed sealant! Even with VERY low pressure.
I find with Maxxis I need sealant. And with Kenda, sometimes needed sealant. I find that by keeping the wheel in good shape, and cleaning it really well before mounting, and by hand buffing the rim with some automotive wax.... that they mount up with a floor pump and stay sealed without issue.
When trying to use Non UST tires.... it can be done, and I did have some success with Conti/kenda tires on my 819's. It can be hit or miss. It takes tons of sealant and an air compressor, and some patience... so what's the point? The casing of true UST tires is made for this purpose.
More...
Try the Specialized Clutch or Butcher control. 2.3 and are "2-bliss" which allows them to be run UST or with tubes. Easy to seat by hand.
Will it really though? This has been something I have bounced around quite a bit. I run some i9 tubeless enduro wheels and have never actually set them up tubeless. As a 180 lb geared up rider, I just dont get flats that often (DH or XC) and I push pressure limits quite often. Maybe it's because in the transition seasons I switch tires once a month but the hassle just doesnt seem worth it to me...
I did have a pair on a trek liquid years ago when they came out, worked well but didnt see the need for it...
The 20s for some...one guy that comes into the shop runs 19.6 psi
.I run low to mid 30s at 230lbs or so. Never could get below 40 with tubes.
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I usually run 25-30.
The 20s for some...one guy that comes into the shop runs 19.6 psi
I run low to mid 30s at 230lbs or so. Never could get below 40 with tubes.
Exactly where is there a tire gauge that'll accurately measure to 0.1 PSIG?
Exactly what I thought.
There don't seem to be very many UST Rims that can accommodate tires of these sizes either.
I'm about 160 geared up, and I run low to mid 20s.
I think 819's were made and designed to run something from 2.2 to 2.4 without thinking twice. I have 819's on my XC/AM with 2.3's, I have them on my Intense SS with 2.5's, I have them on my DJ bike with 2.2's. Love those rims. Only time I go to the bigger brothers are on the 303.
I think you're right.
In my tool box...... Probably Sherms too..... In fact these days its required for all smog techs in California to have a digital tire guages that reads to the tenth of a pound.
Oh and for the record, I weight in at 230 without gear, and I run 30 psi front and rear with tubes, same for tubeless......... I dont pinch flat.
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my favourite thing about tubeless is the immense grip they have when run at the same pressure as tubes (if you lower the pressure compared to tubes it increases unbelievably) and the fact, that you feel the lower rotational mass, which means better, faster acceleration! i had to adapt my breaking points after switching from tubes!
i actually don't care too much about puncture resistance, it's more like a added bonus...
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I don't go above 35 with normal tires. Used to be 40 for the first night to help sealing, but I had a Maxxis blow off the rim on me.
Now that I'm off my phone, let me expand on that a bit: Each rim has a max pressure (wider rims have a lower max pressure) and each tire does as well. You have to be careful when you're using regular tires (something without a special bead, like a UST or 2bliss) to not go too high or you'll blow them off the rim. And then your neighbors come running, because it sounds like you just shot yourself in the face in your garage...
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232 racing weight
32lbs front
34lbs rear.
Ran ust and non ust. experiment, be happy, **** tubes and ride.
32lbs front
34lbs rear.
Ran ust and non ust. experiment, be happy, **** tubes and ride.
Initially it starts off with the sensation that your balls are being cradled by the supple soft hands of a virgin. After that wears off it's like riding a bike with no tubes. Typically life resumes to normal after that except for the whole not needing tubes part. Just don't tell your wife about the cupping your balls sensation and everything will be fine...
Your 2bliss tires do in fact have special bead designed to be used as a tubeless tire. In fact that is exactly the design, to be used either way they designed it with a bead to be used as tubeles, yet they used a liner that would simply use some sealer. Result is a light weight tubeless ready tire, light enough that it is no waste at all to run tubes, yet beads ready to handle tubeles etup without reguards.
I know. That was bad use of a comma by me. I was trying to say that I'd be fine going above 35psi on a UST or 2bliss tire (because of the reinforced bead they have) but not a regular meant-for-tubes-tire.
Gotcha, tires and wheels in the bike world scare me. In automotive max pressures are pretty straight forward and listed all over. What scares me the most with bikes is the fact that the max pressure varies so much with different wheels.
Wull, I managed to get a couple of Conti Trail Kings mounted last weekend with a certain amount of cussing. The front tire wound up on backwards; I realized that they're somewhat directional after the fact, which I'll address another day.
I'm starting out with about 25 PSIG pressure, since I have been running a hair over that with tubes, and it's a starting point. The bike still seems to move from point A to point B if I pedal and/or point it downhill. They don't seem to be leaking.
So far so good...
I'm starting out with about 25 PSIG pressure, since I have been running a hair over that with tubes, and it's a starting point. The bike still seems to move from point A to point B if I pedal and/or point it downhill. They don't seem to be leaking.
So far so good...
Trail Kings take to a conversion quite nicely.
Not a conversion - the Mavic 823s are UST rims. Got a decent ride in today, ledgey and rooty, occasional mud. They seem to work just fine.
The Trail Kings worked fine on everything my neck of the woods has to offer, and on the Kokopelli trail until...
...pigboy visited with his two stepsons and we wound up at a skate park in Bristol. I have been eyeing all the jumps and whatnot for years but was too embarrassed previously to show up there among the kiddies. One of Ben's kids is 14, and wanted to go, so we did. He started on the BMX, I watched for a while, then dragged out the Heckler.
The park has two quarter pipes separated by maybe a two foot gap. which I managed to get the front wheel across, but the rear wheel hit the edge with a hell of a bang and actually pinch flatted the sidewall. Lots of exercises with the floor pump and sealant convinced me it wasn't about to seal - it gets up to twenty something pounds, the thin sidewall expands, emits a cloud of sealant until pressure drops some. The hole's too close to the bead to patch.
As a stopgap, I put in a tube. Seemed to work until the next morning, when I found the tire was flat. Took the tube out, no holes. Pumped it up again. I think that air's trapped between tube and tire, and slowly making its way out past the valve stem, but haven't worked very hard to confirm the hypothesis.
Sort of a pain in the ass, but it's part of the learning process. Overall, I'm pleased with the tires and the tubeless system.
...pigboy visited with his two stepsons and we wound up at a skate park in Bristol. I have been eyeing all the jumps and whatnot for years but was too embarrassed previously to show up there among the kiddies. One of Ben's kids is 14, and wanted to go, so we did. He started on the BMX, I watched for a while, then dragged out the Heckler.
The park has two quarter pipes separated by maybe a two foot gap. which I managed to get the front wheel across, but the rear wheel hit the edge with a hell of a bang and actually pinch flatted the sidewall. Lots of exercises with the floor pump and sealant convinced me it wasn't about to seal - it gets up to twenty something pounds, the thin sidewall expands, emits a cloud of sealant until pressure drops some. The hole's too close to the bead to patch.
As a stopgap, I put in a tube. Seemed to work until the next morning, when I found the tire was flat. Took the tube out, no holes. Pumped it up again. I think that air's trapped between tube and tire, and slowly making its way out past the valve stem, but haven't worked very hard to confirm the hypothesis.
Sort of a pain in the ass, but it's part of the learning process. Overall, I'm pleased with the tires and the tubeless system.
Congrats - there aren't a ton of people that have pinch-flatted their tubeless. There ARE a bunch which will tell you that you *can't* pinch-flat tubeless.
You could try the Hutchinson Rep'Air Kit on it. It might be too close to the bead, as you said, my our shop owner ran a tire patched up with this stuff for over a year with no issues. It totally fixed a good pinky-fingertip sized-hole in his sidewall.
Thanks. I ordered a new tire, but may try this just to see if it works.
So just before this month's trip I put a brand new Trail King on the rear. At Douthat, I hurtle through a stream crossing, Hear a big bang, rear tire goes flat, same damn thing - bright spot on the rim from a rock hit, pinch cut so close to the bead it'll never seal.
I weigh 160#, have been running maybe 20 psig rear, 18 front. Kick 'em both up by five pounds?
I weigh 160#, have been running maybe 20 psig rear, 18 front. Kick 'em both up by five pounds?
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20 psi? That's pretty low (though I bet you get great traction)
I'm about 190 geared up and run 28-30psi f/r.
I'm about 190 geared up and run 28-30psi f/r.
Doesn't it feel squirmy cornering with pressures that low?
2.35's on my trail bike running 26f/28r.
edit: Love those mach 2 downhills at Douthat
2.35's on my trail bike running 26f/28r.
edit: Love those mach 2 downhills at Douthat
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Are they UST spec tires?
I believe so.
Odd - those would generally have significantly beefier sidewalls...
Have you considered Oliver's YesTubes?
I use Maxxis tires, non-UST with their EXO sidewalls, and have had excellent results. I think the only flat I've ever had since going tubeless was with a UST High Roller which suffered a sidewall tear (leaving me to walk down a killer trail which I just suffered up)