contie mountain king tyres tubeless?/ frame protection

lugsey2k5

hello
After discovering yesterday after receiving 8 punctures in one go my new zesty 514 doesn't have a tubless set-up.
first question is has anyone had experience running mountain kings as tubeless? do they work?
secondly does any one have any tips on how to prevent the glue sticking all up the back of the frame when i do get a puncture as it seals. the bike is white so i don't want mud permanently stuck to the back of it
thanks for any help.

Mccraque

I run MKs tubeless. Relatively impressed so far.

Assuming you have the XT wheels and the Tubeless MKs, just go for it. They work brilliantly. I put a little bonty Superjuice in mine (find it a little less gloopy than stans). I noticed a thorn on Sat. But sealed with the superjuice very quickly.

Are you seriously worried about getting a little on the frame? My bike is scuffed, scratched, covered in mud and crap every weekend! You wouldn't know it's white at the end of a ride! Always lovingly polished up after though...

But remember, do not tumbledry, 40c wash. Do not bleach.

lugsey2k5

my mum nearly tumble dired it till i pointed out the sticker.

And on my old kona the glue stuck to the back of the bike then basicaly welded the mud to the frame. iv never managed to get it off but lucklily the frame was a dark colour.
im still in the overly protective stage of owning a new bike

timmys

A Zesty 514 should have come tubeless from the factory - are you saying there are tubes in your tyres? Arne't we talking Mountain King' / Speed King's with TUBELESS in huge letters down the side on XT rims? How did you repair the punctures? Patch the type or put in a tube?

Assuming this is a 514, that did come tubeless, what won't have been supplied from the factory is any actual sealant in the tyres though. You will need to deflate the tyre, pop the bead off the rim enough to pour some sealant in and pump it back up.

I've never had sealant squirt all over the place but I would assume being latex based (if it's something like Stan's) it would go rubbery rather than super-solid and you'd be able to peel it off easy enough.

There are other sealants, such as Bontrager Super Juice, that aren't latex based and work more on the principle of containing tiny fibres which clog up the hole. They might be cleaner if sealant starts flying round? Mind you many people say they don't work as well as Stan's so you pays your money makes your choice.

Mccraque

Bike racks and a couple of offs have put paid to me being overly careful now. I find you can try too hard and then get so upset when it gets scratched.

I have only had tiny amounts of sealant come through the tyre...not full on porn star splurts.....the only time I got an eyeful was when popping the raceking off the rim to put the MK on for winter....

lugsey2k5

the bike came with race kings front and back i asked for the speed king to be swapped due to all the mud at the time. neither tire says tubeless down the side and the back when i opened it had a tube in hence all the punctures. put a new tube in after giving up fixing the old one when i reached the 7th hole in it. Strangly there was a blue bit of plastic that had broken off something (not my bike) and was insde the tyre when i opened it.

i intened to make a home brew selent in the next few days for selent and i have some spare UST valves stans set me for free.

Should i talk to the bike shop i got it from about there not being tubless or is it at his discretion to fit it kind of thing?

timmys

I'm getting very confused between Mountain/Race/Speed King's now!

The 2010 Zesty 514 should have come with a tubeless UST Mountain King on the Front and a tubeless UST Race King on the rear (I said Speed King by mistake previously). Are you saying you asked for the rear Race King to be swapped to a Mountain King? If so I guess it's kinda between you and shop what was agreed, but if they were doing it for free I don't think you can really complain if they fitted a non-tubeless Mountain King (+ tube) to the rear. What I don't understand, if I am reading what you put correctly, is why the front Mountain King, which shouldn't have been touched by them, is not a tubeless one? I would at least ask them what's going on if that is the case.

I've only had experience with UST tubeless Conti tyres (Race Kings and Rubber Queens) and, in combination with the XT rims, were a doddle to seat/inflate. As to how non-UST conti tyres work tubelessly I don't know. They will have less strength in the side walls, but I don't think they are a tyre that I have heard anyone having nightmares with in terms of getting the tyre sealed and on the rim.

lugsey2k5

you are correct both front and back are mountain kings. Neither are a UST tyre so can only assume its set up as non tubless. think ill give them a ring and find out
thanks

Mccraque

Should most certainly be a Raceking on the back (UST) and MK on the front (UST).

last years was two Racekings back and front. Nippy as fk but not so good when the porridge arrived.

kingcraig

tubeless mk's are brilliant i've heard some bad reports about the non tubeless mks but i love them!!

Mccraque

I was a bit undecided at first. Am running a 2.4 MK upfront and 2.2 at the rear (both MK)

The tubeless doesnt have the rubber options of the non tubeless (oddly...come on Conti..sort it out!)

Good points -

Clear well,
hook up on most stuff,
cope well all round
No flats in 8 months

Bad points -
squirm a bit...particularly when braking......to the point where the front fork judders
Wet chalk = icerink = smashed myself right up.
nearly washed out the front wheel on loose on the weekend just gone.
Wear moderately quickly on the rear.

richg1979

yup mates 2010 zesty 514 has 2.4 tubeless m,king up front and 2.2 tubeless race king on rear, both setup tubless from new

lugsey2k5

i rang and asked and he said it was because i asked to swap them which is fair enough. i have the valves already and just need to find some selent in the shed or make some.