[mealsonwheels]

I'm considering using Stan's No Tubes to convert my regular rims to a tubeless setup, but I'm concerned about the reliability of tubless for the abuse of DH and FR type riding. I don't hit huge drops, but I weigh 210 and hit smaller drops and I love rock gardens.

Should I even consider tubeless if I'm thinking of hitting drops/jumps?

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

do the stans/ghetto setup and you'll never run a tube again. with your weight and riding style/courses, run 2ply dh tires for sure. you will love it!

I change tires all the time for different courses and weather and i have gotten quick at the ghetto setup. It may seem like a pain at first but it is reliable. last summer i had 2-ply dh tires and ghetto tubless and never flatted all the while riding very nasty rock courses.

this year i have cut a few tires trying to get by with 1 ply freeride type tires cause they weigh so much less but have torn 2 tires. that isnt the ghetto tubless' fault.

someday, when there is a good ust dh rim, i'll buy them. aint no way im buying the 823 so i'll just keep running my 521's.

 

[mealsonwheels]

do the stans/ghetto setup and you'll never run a tube again. with your weight and riding style/courses, run 2ply dh tires for sure. you will love it!

I change tires all the time for different courses and weather and i have gotten quick at the ghetto setup. It may seem like a pain at first but it is reliable. last summer i had 2-ply dh tires and ghetto tubless and never flatted all the while riding very nasty rock courses.

this year i have cut a few tires trying to get by with 1 ply freeride type tires cause they weigh so much less but have torn 2 tires. that isnt the ghetto tubless' fault.

someday, when there is a good ust dh rim, i'll buy them. aint no way im buying the 823 so i'll just keep running my 521's.

Thanks Jimmy. Care to tell me what your ghetto recipe is and how you do the ghetto setup?

 

[El Jefe]

I've run my own version of Stan's for years and I've done a week in BC, raced DH, and done 16-18ft drops with no trouble from the tires.

 

[zane]

Okay, eknomf and I spent 8 hours on saturday trying to do the ghetto tubeless setup... we got 1 wheel out of 4 to work. The beads just wouldn't seat on the rim, we tried a few different compressors but none would work..... I think I'll make a post about this problem.....

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

Thanks Jimmy. Care to tell me what your ghetto recipe is and how you do the ghetto setup?

on your wheel, just use a standard rim strip. i have one of those thick cloth one. you just want to make sure there is nothing sharp touching the tube.

get your 20" bmx tube and inflate just enough to give it proper shape.

stretch the 20" tube onto your rim. make sure the tube is on there straight - not all twisted up. at this point, your wheel should look like it came off a road bike.

get something sharp and cut the 20" tube right down the center. once the tube is cut all the way around, lay the tube open to each side. get some soap and water and a sponge and get all the powder off the intertube.

Then with the tube clean, wet and soapy, install the tire on the rim. The idea is the use the intertube as barrier between the rim and the bead of the tire. the bead of the tire will crush against tube and create a seal. the stans will bond the tire and tube together as well as prevent flats.

use a good air compressor. use schrader valve tubes. remove the valve from the tube when first installing air into tire for the first time. I like to try to get the tire to inflate without stans initially - makes less of a mess.

Once you get the tire to inflate and get the bead to seat, pour in the stans and install the valve and re-inflate. During this re-inflation process, try not to grab the tire near the rim. dont even grab the tire at all. try to allow the tire to stay against the rim while you are pouring in the stans and installing the valve.

joel

good luck!!

 

[zane]

use a good air compressor. use schrader valve tubes. remove the valve from the tube when first installing air into tire for the first time. I like to try to get the tire to inflate without stans initially - makes less of a mess.

Once you get the tire to inflate and get the bead to seat, pour in the stans and install the valve and re-inflate. During this re-inflation process, try not to grab the tire near the rim. dont even grab the tire at all. try to allow the tire to stay against the rim while you are pouring in the stans and installing the valve.

joel

good luck!!

You can actually get the tire to mount on the bead with no sealant at all? We couldn't get the beads to seat no matter what we tried....

 

[mealsonwheels]

So Joel, you are using Stan's, but instead of buying the whole kit you are just using the sealant and making your own rim strip setup? Sounds good to me since I'm broke from buying a new fork. Thanks for the detailed info.

 

[mealsonwheels]

I've run my own version of Stan's for years and I've done a week in BC, raced DH, and done 16-18ft drops with no trouble from the tires.

No need to explain your credentials. I've lurked enough on socalmtb (before it totally sucked) to know how hard you treat your equipment...and your body. And I thought I got hurt a lot.

Do you actually mix your own goop, or do you just use the Stan's mix?

 

[Ruprick]

You can actually get the tire to mount on the bead with no sealant at all? We couldn't get the beads to seat no matter what we tried....

I had a hard time getting brand new tires larger than 2.3 to mount because the wire bead wasn't very straight so it wouldn't seal enough to inflate. I mounted the tire up with a tube, used it for a week and that was enough to straighten out the bead to be used tubeless.
I used this method http://www.nsmb.com/gear/tubeless_12_04.php

 

[Jimmy_Pop]

So Joel, you are using Stan's, but instead of buying the whole kit you are just using the sealant and making your own rim strip setup? Sounds good to me since I'm broke from buying a new fork. Thanks for the detailed info.

exactly, im using stan's sealant and that is all. 20" tubes are cheap and they work just as good and since i change tires all the time, it's the only way to go!

good idea on straightening out the wire bead!

so far, yes i am setting the bead without the stans, just the little amount of soapy water that helps the tire and tube slide into position.

joel

 

[zane]

I had a hard time getting brand new tires larger than 2.3 to mount because the wire bead wasn't very straight so it wouldn't seal enough to inflate. I mounted the tire up with a tube, used it for a week and that was enough to straighten out the bead to be used tubeless.
I used this method http://www.nsmb.com/gear/tubeless_12_04.php

That's the same method we used also, the tire just wouldn't quite reach the edge of the bead to seal the gap...