Tubeless set ups

MountainMonster

Hey everyone, i've got nobby nic and racing ralph tyres. Does anyone know if they are easily converted to tubeless? Seriously thinking I may go tubeless after a pinch flat earlier today which left me sitting in mud halfway down a climb trying to change a tube. Is all I need a set of rim strips and the valve to be adapted and sealant?

Do I pour the sealant into the tire, pop the tire on and fill with air to get the beads seated properly, or do I need to get the beads seated first with the sealant inside and then pump up?

nicklouse

i would not bother with it.

MountainMonster

You really think so? Had quite a few pinch flats and I reckon that could be sorted by tubeless?

bails87

Not necessarily. I converted standard rims to tubeless. You can still pinch puncture, but you put a hole in the tyre, which won't seal so you have to put a tube in(and get covered in sealant in the process), I've done it several times.

BTW, my racing ralphs were an utter PITA to convert, I gave up in the end. Maxxis Advantages have worked better, but I still think you're better off saving up and doing it properly with tubeless tyres and tubeless wheels.

*AL*

If your tyres are tubeless ready and you want to give it a go;
get a roll of Specialized Blue rim tape (£8 iirc),
a couple of Roval Tubeless valves (£6/pair)
a bottle of Stans fluid.

Fit tape, refit tyre and tube and inflate (this will ensure the tape is sealed correctly, I usually leave overnight)

Remove tube, fit Roval valve and inflate (a little soapy water around the rim will allow the beads to pop into place)

Deflate and remove part of the bead on one side (enough room to pour in the Stans)

Re-inflate using more soapy water on the rim to ensure the beads pop into place.

Turn the rim onto it's side and gently shake to allow the Stans to spread around and do it's stuff.

Repeat with other side.

Continue with the last 2 until the tyre hold steady pressure.

Helpful video HERE

MountainMonster

bails87


If they are going to be a hassle to get set up properly i think im going to go the wheelset and tire route eventually. But those are quite expensive so will probably wait until ive got my other, more important, upgrades done to the bike.

Anonymous

theres no problem using regular wheels, ive done that to lots of set with a proper conversion such as stans or joes. the issue is with using tyres which arent designed to be run as tubeless, get the right tyres and you will be golden.

bails87

IME Racing Ralphs were a pain compared to other tyres. How about putting some tubeless sealant in an inner tube? 90% of the protection, 10% of the hassle.

I know the full swap is expensive, so unless you're getting hundreds of punctures I wouldn't be putting tubeless at the top of the spending list.

ride_whenever

sheepsteeth wrote:

theres no problem using regular wheels, ive done that to lots of set with a proper conversion such as stans or joes. the issue is with using tyres which arent designed to be run as tubeless, get the right tyres and you will be golden.

This.

I've converted a lot of panaracer tyres as I like them, but they are a bit of a pain to do. Most tubeless ready tyres are a piece of pi$$ in comparison.

Northwind

I mucked around with BMX tubes on 717s and in the end decided it wasn't worth the hassle, basically i just exchanged punctures for burps and the last time it happened was mid-corner and nearly saw me dive into the face of a berm at speed. So, stopped doing that. I'm a big fan on proper tubeless rims, and I just use standard non-UST tyres, but I wasn't impressed with "ghetto".

Tank-slapper

I've converted both Nics and Ralphs using Stans yellow rim tape and solution. Never had any burping although I am using Olympic rims.

Nics work brilliantly. No problems whatsoever. No punctures after a year or so.

Ralphs are OK except the sidewalls are so thin, the pressure keeps forcing out through pinprick size holes and you may wake up to a flat tyre. After sloshing the solution round to seal the hole and pumping up, the tyre will be good for riding on. However, it may take several months before the problem stops altogether. Only had one puncture when using Ralphs - a large split between tread blocks. Never had a sidewall split strangely enough.

Go to Stans website for instructions on how to change over.

njee20

Nics and Ralphs have the same carcass, so there's no reason for one to be better than the other though.

I'm a big fan of Schwalbe tyres to run tubeless, I've run multiple sets of Nics, Ralphs, Rons, Freds and Black Sharks on Rovals and Olympics, all go up with a track pump, and sealed perfectly, I think they're the most consistent, find them easier than 'Tubeless Ready' Spesh tyres actually, many of which I've fitted for people have been rather too baggy on the rim.

Tank-slapper

njee20 wrote:

Nics and Ralphs have the same carcass, so there's no reason for one to be better than the other though.

The thickness of rubber on tyres also provides strength and puncture resistance. Nics have more rubber and are stiffer and less prone to splits and punctures. Also, the pinprick holes holes seem to form in Ralphs due to the almost total lack of rubber on the sidewalls.

bails87

One of my Ralphs leaked an entire bottle of sealant through the sidewalls.

I think part of that was down to the fact that Bonty Superjuice is more like shampoo than sealant though.