Tubeless rims,yay or nay?

jamie 'jammy dodger'

Got some Xmas/birthday coins leftover & contemplating tubeless rims....I ride XC mainly with some trial centre days booked..aside from I like the look of ZTR rims i have no knowledge on tubeless & I'm kind of following the "trend".

So advice on advantage/disadvantages very welcome.

rockmonkeysc

Well set up tubeless tyres are excellent, I wouldn't go back to tubes.
The main advantage is no pinch flats but you can also run lower pressure and its a bit lighter than tubes.

peter413

Use tubeless ready tyres for the easiest inflation. Be prepared for it not to work the first time. Take your time doing the tape properly. Give yourself plenty of time and don't try to rush anything, that's how it fails. Watch the Stan's tubeless setup video on Youtube to get the best technique for sealing the tyre (there are other videos showing the same).

I really like tubeless. It's lighter than most tubed setups although there are tubes which are lighter. Less likely to get punctures and should you get one it is more likely to seal itself up again. I still wouldn't bother if I didn't have tubeless ready rims. My experience isn't so good with that but non tubeless tyres are usually ok assuming you can get them to seat in the first place. This is the biggest difference between non tubeless and tubeless ready tyres, the tubeless ready tyres have a tighter bead which seals to the rim much better making that initial inflation much easier as well as making it harder to burp the tyre.

WTB Frequency rims are cheap at CRC right now. I just got two i19's for less than the price of one Stan's rim. They're a bit heavier than claimed for the 29er's at 463g each but that's still not too bad and for £25 each it's pretty damn good. How you describe your riding sounds like the i19's would be perfect for you, just make sure you get the right wheel size. Sure they're a little narrower than Crest's or Arch's but they're a hell of a lot cheaper and unless you're using really big tyres it doesn't matter so much.

lostboysaint

Do it.

coulddobetter

Stans crest . Inflate my bontrager tyres with a track pump easily. Note you still need to carry tubes in case of emergency.

sofaboy73

i've just finally got round to (2 years later) going tubeless on my old ztr flows. was a doddle with the stans kit and took less than 30 mins. definitely notice the difference as the bike feels more lively and picks up quicker with the weight saving on the wheels.

jamie 'jammy dodger'

Much appreciated

Stans setup vid puts things at ease,looks very straight forward...Any tubeless brand preferred (Hope kit seems good value) + I use Conti trail kings (27.5s) will these do the job?

coulddobetter

Stans kit for me. Very easy . Did some mountain kings tubeless no problem . May sound odd but tyres previously inflated using an inner tube seem to go on easier guess they've stretched.

paul.skibum

Not quite as easy as you think its going to be when you put the tubeless ready tyres on your tubeless ready rims with the rim strip in place and some goop in the tyre but once sealed they are great.

kajjal

More of a gimmick for me and makes no difference. I don't run my tyres at low pressures.

Myster101

I finally converted mine earlier this year after getting sick of punctures. Really easy to do and not one puncture since. Go for it but ax Peter says take your time to get it right.

poah

Kajjal wrote:

More of a gimmick for me and makes no difference. I don't run my tyres at low pressures.

saves weight for one thing

bennett_346

coulddobetter wrote:

Stans kit for me. Very easy . Did some mountain kings tubeless no problem . May sound odd but tyres previously inflated using an inner tube seem to go on easier guess they've stretched.

Unlikely to be true and a waste of time. You can seat the bead by inflating it rapidly.

rockmonkeysc

Worked well with my Specialised tyres. Even with the compressor they wouldn't even get close. I put in a tube and inflated them. I then deflated and just unseated one side to take the tube out, then they went up no problem.

Dirtydog11

saves weight for one thing

About 25 grams per wheel in my case, swapped out a 135 gram conti MTB light tube for 100 grams of sealant and a tubeless valve, hardly worth it if it's just to save weight.

kajjal

Dirtydog11 wrote:

saves weight for one thing

About 25 grams per wheel in my case, swapped out a 135 gram conti MTB light tube for 100 grams of sealant and a tubeless valve, hardly worth it if it's just to save weight.

That was the other thing I considered and thought the same.

rockmonkeysc

The pinch flat resistance is the main advantage for me and the ability to run slightly lower pressure.

Angus Young

It's trick. And who can resist trick.

poah

bennett_346 wrote:

coulddobetter wrote:

Stans kit for me. Very easy . Did some mountain kings tubeless no problem . May sound odd but tyres previously inflated using an inner tube seem to go on easier guess they've stretched.

Unlikely to be true and a waste of time. You can seat the bead by inflating it rapidly.

conti fold their tyres up and the side walls on the protection models keep the shape so even with a compressor they can have issues. I had to use a tube with my barons on UST rims to shape them before going tubeless. Didn't take long though. My mountain kings took a right effort with a track pump the first time I put them on.

Kai in the Borders

Do it, it's easy. Slightly less so for a 29er.

Other than feeling that you "can't be bothered to change", I can't think of a reason why you would want to persist with using inner tubes.

rockmonkeysc

Has anyone tried one of these? It looks like it could be a great idea if it works.
http://www.bontrager.com/model/11881

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Has anyone tried one of these? It looks like it could be a great idea if it works.
http://www.bontrager.com/model/11881

I think I saw a review somewhere that said it does work. I could have used that when faffing with a High Roller II on the front of my bike!

poah

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Has anyone tried one of these? It looks like it could be a great idea if it works.
http://www.bontrager.com/model/11881

way over priced compared to my coke bottle ghetto blaster.

sofaboy73

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Has anyone tried one of these? It looks like it could be a great idea if it works.
http://www.bontrager.com/model/11881

That's completely overpriced seeing as you can by a compressor for around £60

rockmonkeysc

Carrying a compressor in the car to races is a bit inconvenient.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Has anyone tried one of these? It looks like it could be a great idea if it works.
http://www.bontrager.com/model/11881

Pinkbike like it...

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/pinkbike-a ... -2014.html

poah

sofaboy73 wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Has anyone tried one of these? It looks like it could be a great idea if it works.
http://www.bontrager.com/model/11881

That's completely overpriced seeing as you can by a compressor for around £60

coke bottle even cheaper

stubs

25 gram Co2 cartridge will help blow most tyres on.

peter413

The coke bottle is no where near as good as a compressor. It is not a fair comparison to make. I still struggle to get some tyres seated with the coke bottle, usually wired tyres. It's also not free because you still need a track pump to charge it. The Bontrager is a track pump and the compressor doesn't need one being a compressor.

It's also not as convenient being the bottle, mole grips and a separate pump (that's how mine is anyway) to transport as a contained unit such as the Bontrager.

cambo

The best and easiest way is to get tubeless rims, like Mavic XM819. I run them with tubeless tyres and hope hubs, they seal straight away with a Joe Blow pump, pop the sealant in an off you go.

The only problem is when you tear the tyre on a rock. Carry a tube just in case. You won't regret going tubeless, the peace of mind re punctures is worth it on its own.

Sudden Death

Wotcha,

Don't want to hijack the Thread, but...

Once you've gone tubeless, do you still carry a spare tube? Just in case?
I'm looking to carry a smaller tool bag and thought I'd ask those in the know :?