Stan's No Tubes

Joe_Pineapples

Hi folks,
Anyone got any thoughts on Stan's No Tubes?
My rims are Mavic EN521's and tyres are Michelin All Mountains.

Cheers.

Anonymous

i am a big fan of no tubes, i have them on my enduro and think the strips are miles better than joes no flats which i have fitted to the stumpy.

i think your rims will require the wider stans strips but a word of warning, after having tried loads of tyres, i strongly advise that you use ust/tubeless ready tyres and dont try to convert regular tyres.

SPROCKET30

Second for Stans converted my bontrager rims and Michelin XC AT's with little fuss. Although my standard tires are ok I may go for tubless next time.

hucking_fell

Used Stan's No Tubes kit with Mavic 729 rims and 'tubeless ready' Bontrager Jones ACX tyres. Needed to use the work's air compressor to fit them. No bother with them 'til I got a large cut from broken glass which wouldn't seal. No probs since I had a spare tube with me.

If you haven't already, watch the installation video on the No Tubes website:
http://www.notubes.com/support_movies.php

The Northern Monkey

what happens if you need to remove air from your tire with notubes? can you run different psi?

Anonymous

yeah, you can run pretty much any pressure you like, once the tyre is seated the psi can be varied to suit whatever conditions

The Northern Monkey

sheepsteeth
Ahh ok, i just figured that if you tried to let air out, the sealant would try to block the hole..

Anonymous

funny you should say that as it has happened to me before. the way to do it is to keep the valve at the top so the sealant is at the bottom of teh wheel

pilsburypie

I converted my Bonty wheels and Mud X tyres with Stans No Tubes. Read loads of reviews and that was the suggested brand. I have had no problems with air loss at all. I'd recommend it.

A word of caution. Do loads of research, watch the no tubes videos on the stans site and youtube, read the posts here and ask questions. When you are mid flow with tyres and wheels off, saopy suds all over the place trying to pop the tyre over the bead with the sealant slopping everywhere, that is not the time to think how do I do that!

Good luck, it is fairly easy if you do follow all the advice. My 1 main tip, If they are new tyres, fit them with tubes at 50psi for a good 24hrs. My first attempt was a balls up because the tyres wouldn't pop over the rim properly. The inner tube trick streched them that little bit so the went on a treat.....

Joe_Pineapples

Thanks folks

HandjobDan

I've just converted a few days ago, bought the freeride strips as I have Mavic ex721 rims, I also treated myself to a new pair of Conti Vertical Pro UST tyres, and initially tried to fit and seat them without the soap water solution, was not happening.

But if you don't cut any corners and follow the instructions to a T you'll have no problems, I don't know how the soap and water works or how it makes so much of a difference but it does.

Good luck, oh there's a really good tips/grimetime in issue 226 July 2008 of MBUK that I used as well.

ESHER SHORE

we (at freeborn) were the original importers of Stan's over 8 years ago, so have plenty of experience with fitting it to all different kinds of bikes

there are a number of "tricks" that can be done if having problems getting Stan's to inflate on certain rim and tire combinations

preparation is the key, make sure you yellow tape or electrical tape the spoke bed to stop air leakage if the rims strips shift slightly during installation or riding

you can use yellow tape or electrical tape to "build up" the rim height which will make the Stan's rubber strip more proud, if you are having problems getting your tire to sit in the rim bead interface (on some installations, the tire beads may sit towards the centre of the rim, allowing air leakage whilst inflating)

for a wire bead tire that is buckled (often happens in transit) you can install an inner tube, inflate to 60psi and leave overnight to force the tire to decrease and take a more regular shape, before doing the Stan's installation

using a CO2 cartridge is a good cure for a stubborn installation that doesn't want to inflate with a track pump, the CO2 can even work better than an air compressor at times, as its more 'explosive'

for difficult installations with lots of leakage, you don't want soapy water, you want really neat detergent with litterally a "spit" of water (or spit) in there, this usually works

have a friend pump the trackpump whilst you manipulate the tire to secure any leaks

sometimes, its just not going to happen, try another tire (even the same brand/model) as they are all slightly different in terms of moulding and bead straightness

I have had situations where 1 High Roller would not inflate, another from the same batch inflated straight away

tubeless ready tires like UST or Specialized 2 Bliss range usually inflate very easily

I also find kevlar beaded tires are made to a higher quality and tend to inflate very easily, the bead is also more pliable and does not tend to get "bent" in transit like a wire bead

this may all sound like a load of grief, but its just tricks and situations we have encountered over the year, once its installed its an awesome system, let just say if I could get Stans to fit my 700c (cyclocross) and 20" (bmx) I would install it without any delay

good luck!

Joe_Pineapples

Cheers.