WTB Standard Rim To Tubeless - Help?

meso100

Hi

I have standard WTB XC 26 rims on my Giant and have tried to convert them to tubeless due to a number of punctures on a local track I visit (very rocky).

I bought the standard stans notubes kit and my friend who has converted over 20 tyres to tubless had a look.

After 1.5hrs he couldnt get one wheel to seal. It took a while for it to seal around the beading but then he had trouble with the valve area leaking out a lot of air.

On the stans website it states that I may need an olympic rim strip as opposed to a standard one. Do you know why this might be?

Also, how about just using rim tape/gorilla tape and a stans 35mm universal valve stem? Would that work?

My tyres are Racing Ralphs and are an extremely tight fit on the rim.

Any help is greatly appreciated as I am already £50 down! :roll:

Thanks

mrmonkfinger

are you using a track pump, or one of these?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic ... al-cost-9p



I've used WTB AM rims for tubeless conversion - I had no trouble, had Conti & Tioga tyres on those.


Why are you £50 down, are the tyres new?

Also, how about just using rim tape/gorilla tape and a stans 35mm universal valve stem? Would that work?

Unless the rims are tubeless ready, I think you run a fair risk of the tyre burping or even blowing off the rim. Standard rims = rimstrips.

Having the tyre blow off is not only extraordinarily messy, if you're actually riding at the time it can be dangerous.

meso100

haha I am using an air compressor, no ghettoness over here!

£50 down - I meant with the stans kit that hasn't worked, the tyres are newish but that wasn't what I was eluding too.

I am just wondering whether or not the rimstrip just sat up around the valve as opposed to being flush with the rim...maybe thats all it is. The problem is my friend tried for ages and dont really want to tell him how to do it when he's done many previously.

What do you think about the reference to the olympic rim strip? Any thoughts?

ps: good thinking about the rim tap and valve being unsafe...I didnt really think of that.

Thanks for your time.

mrmonkfinger

So the bead has seated, but it still leaks around the valve? Is air getting under the rim strip and coming out around the valve hole? Maybe the valve is defective, maybe the rim strip has a hole in in?

I'm struggling to think of what else could go wrong if the bead is fully seated, on a rim strip, and the tyre has the sealant inside.

meso100

I gave it up as a bad job. It just wouldn't work. It must be incompatible with the stans kit. It doesn't actually specify the WTB rims.

I now have a new bike which was tubeless ready so I converted with the stans liquid the other day in 10 minutes. Happy now