Maxxis tubeless question

stumpjumper5413

I understand tyres are a personal thing, but i wanted to get peoples opinions. Its going to be my first season xc racing and I wanted to get some tyres sorted.

I have recently got some new wheels (crest rims) and im thinking of going tubeless? Good idea or too much hassle?

My main question is - do most people get a tubeless specific tyre or use a normal one? Id obviously use stans in both but is the extra weight in a ust specific worth the extra puncture protection? or will a normal tyre seal well and do the job with alot lighter weight?

I was between continental and maxxis but swaying towards getting maxxis after reading the maxxis are better tubeless - was thinking ignitors for normal conditions and maybe play around with crossmarks for drier conditions (either just on the back or front and back when its really dry) wondered if this is a good idea? reviews iv read sound good, does anyone have a better suggestion?

Sorry for all the questions but there really is so many options!

jonnyashworth

I never bother using UST tyres for tubeless. You will find differen tyres seal up better than others for example my 2.4 conti mtking supersonics were a pig to seal due to their thin porus sidewalls however I find a singleply maxxis seals up beautifully. I use a folding minion up front and a HR wire on the rear. I have had these on for about 6 months without any problems at all. The HR needs changing now so thats no punctures or hasstles in the entire life of a 60a tyre (pretty impressive). I ride an AM rig hard enough to warrant a full face so would say you should be absolutely fine with maxxis tyres on crest rims for XC racing. Make sure you give the tyre a good wash first to get rid of any releasing agent.

Personally I am a big advocate of tubeless and generally you find a few people who have gone back to tubes from tubeless and a lot of people who slate it but funnilly enough have never tried it.

It does make changing tyres for different conditions a faff though.

jonnyashworth

I would use a crossmark on the rear for speed and an advantage up front for a fast rolling but grippy tyre in a hard compound (slightly faster than ignightors). for sumer racing just run 2 crossmarks

stumpjumper5413

Thanks for your reply, another question I ment to ask was what does 60a etc mean? you've thrown a spanner in the works with the advantage! I never even looked at that! you think there faster than the ignightors? I cant find many reviews on the advantages.

Basically I have a hardtail xc race bike I plan on only using for races only, I wanted to get some tyres that were pretty fast but could manage abit of wet stuff to use the majority of the time (I was planning on the ignightors for them) then when it gets drier change the back, then both, to the crossmarks. plus iv got some nobby nics for serious mud.

This was my plan but il now look into the advantages for my main tyres

cooldad

60a is softer than 70, in Maxxis speak, eXception series. (Their spelling)
I use Ignitors (exception front, standard (70) rear most of the year (although I have exceptions front and rear at the moment as I got them cheap) but I don't race, just find them very grippy and they give me a lot of confidence - have a nicely rounded profile which seem to have even grip all the way as you lean in.

lugsey2k5

I ahve just switched My rear High roller in LUST (light weight UST) to s standard folding High Roller and have had no problems, There was no leaking from the side walls and it hasn't lost pressure since inflating which normally happens while any holes are sealed. Although weight doesnt bother me the standard single ply is 200g lighter than the LUST.
Up front iv have been running a Minnion for 12 months now ish and never had a problem with it.
Iv been tubless for 3 years now and have only punctured once when i was running far too low a pressure and hit a rock square on putting a cut in the tyre. The tyre deflated but sealed. The rest of the time the punctures have sealed without a noticeable drop in pressure including DH and a week in Spain.

sanchez89

the tyres on my crest rims are either normal folding (WTB) or tubeless ready folding (Specialized)

both have been fine, but the WTB was easier to install on the rim and seal up.

Northwind

I've never had a Maxxis that didn't fit easily and seal well. Though the thing with non-UST tyres is that there's no promise the next one will be the same as the last.

Similiarly, never had a Conti that I couldn't get to work, but they've been much harder to get to seal- my new Baron ended up with about 5 wee patches on the inside because it had perforations that just wouldn't seal. It still goes flat over time- not sure it'll ever seal perfectly- but it's good enough to use. Extra hassle worth it? Up to you.

Schwalbe are another option, their standard tyres tubeless up very well but the current models are I think mostly (all?) tubeless ready. Though then again some folks have found them hard to mount to Stans rims.

sanchez89

Northwind wrote:

I've never had a Maxxis that didn't fit easily and seal well. Though the thing with non-UST tyres is that there's no promise the next one will be the same as the last.

Similiarly, never had a Conti that I couldn't get to work, but they've been much harder to get to seal- my new Baron ended up with about 5 wee patches on the inside because it had perforations that just wouldn't seal. It still goes flat over time- not sure it'll ever seal perfectly- but it's good enough to use. Extra hassle worth it? Up to you.

Schwalbe are another option, their standard tyres tubeless up very well but the current models are I think mostly (all?) tubeless ready. Though then again some folks have found them hard to mount to Stans rims.

i believe all of schwalbe's tyres are now tubeless ready. and they have made the bead diameters slightly smaller to help with sealing. the stans rim are at the upper end of the tolerance, to help seal normal tyres.

this makes them either extremely diificult or impossible to seat.

shame really, they makes some good looking rubber which i wouldnt mind trying, e.g hans dampf.

stumpjumper5413

Thanks for all your replies.

I have had trouble with schwalbe's tyres, It took me about half an hour of wrestling with some rockets rons to get them on the rim, when I first got the crests.

After reading even more reviews! Im thinking of going for a crossmark on the rear and an advantage on the front, then when it gets drier swap to a crossmark on the front too.

One last question! Do I need to buy the stans valve remover to take the valve out of these - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/stans-no-tubes- ... stem-35mm/

Or is there a cheaper version? £8 sounds abit steep!

Northwind

You can extract the valves with a pair of pliars, or sometimes by hand.