Going tubeless; a quick question

FatMikeUK

Afternoon all.

I bought some Stans XTR Crest rims a while back and have been getting on famously with them...up until the point I got a flat. Tyres are extremely tight and tough to get on/off and a mate of mine suggested that this might be due to the fact that they're notubes, so should be run as such. The fact that I don't want to spend an hour at a time on the side of a soggy hill bending tyre levers and cursing all and sundry every time I get a puncture has made me think that perhaps it's time to take the plunge into (what some would say) the awesome world of tubeless riding.

Having had a bit of an investigation into it all I'm starting to get a little confused. I've read a few guides and watched a few videos as well as looking at some kits and I'm wondering what I'll actually need to line my rim. I know I need some tubeless rim tape but based on what I've seen it seems like some people recommend installing a rim strip as well, which comes with a valve and seems to basically just be a tube cut in half. This seems a bit pointless to me, after all once you've got the spoke holes sealed with rim tape why would you need to go over the rim again? Are these rim strips designed more for rims which aren't actually tubeless ready or what?

In short do I actually need a rim strip as well as rim tape, or should I be fine just using tape?

I7 Extreme

i've never used tubeless but i think you might need a rim strip, i've heard you can make them out of inner tubes so you could try that.

WindyG

All you need is rim tape, valves and sealant, no need for rim strip, I've done 2 sets of weeks in the last couple of weeks without any problems and it was a first time I had tried tubeless, all I would say is spend time putting tape on don't rush it.

FatMikeUK

Nice one, thanks. I didn't think there was. Seemed to kind of defeat half the purpose of tubeless if your having to stick half a tube in anyway. Yeah I'm not planning on rushing it. Maybe an evening in with a couple of beers and a movie on in the background, that's generally how my meching goes down lol. Actually thinking about it how much tape did you use? Was once around the rim enough or did you put an extra one in for luck? It's probably going to be a bit trial and error the first coouple of tries I suppose.

WindyG

I used Gorilla tape cut to the exact size of the rim and went once around just overlapped a few inches either side of the valve.

BazP

If you've got Stans Rims you should just need the yellow rim tape, the seperate valve and sealant. You only need to use the integrated rim strip and valve on non-tubeless specific rims and tyres as the gap between the bead and the rim is often too big to get the tyre to inflate. The demo video on the Stans website is excellent. It's well worth doing but remember you'll still need to carry a spare tube when you're out in case of a catastrophic failure. :shock:

FatMikeUK

Cheers guys! Lots of great info here, as always!

Yeah, I have heard about peoples tubeless setups failing in the past and it's one of the main reasons I've not gone tubeless already, although honestly for all but the most epic rides I don't think I'll be bothering with spares. The last time I got a puncture on these rims I was coming down Snowdon, and if I'd known how much of a swine it was going to be to change the tube before I started I'd have just bloody walked it! Bloody knuckles, bruised fingers and half removed fingernails do not a quality ride make!

paulbox

FatMikeUK wrote:

Yeah, I have heard about peoples tubeless setups failing in the past and it's one of the main reasons I've not gone tubeless already, although honestly for all but the most epic rides I don't think I'll be bothering with spares. The last time I got a puncture on these rims I was coming down Snowdon, and if I'd known how much of a swine it was going to be to change the tube before I started I'd have just bloody walked it! Bloody knuckles, bruised fingers and half removed fingernails do not a quality ride make!

What tyres are you using mate? Some are a lot easier to get on than others.

colin.1976

i use a tubeless conversion on my devinci with dt swiss rims(not sure on exact rims) and specialized tyres with no problems at all,just use a track pump to inflate them and i used a lot of goo to seal them initially.its well worth doing though.i always carry a spare tube in case of a monumental hole though.