Author Topic: Tubeless for Dummies (Read 195747 times)

Si S · « **Reply #675 on:** 16 March, 2018, 12:23:42 pm »

It wasn't a dig

Agree they would err on the side of caution, just bear in mind that "or something" could be catastrophic test failure, unlikely but do let us know if the tyre rolls off while cornering at 40mph

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #676 on:** 16 March, 2018, 12:34:49 pm »

It's whether or not the tyre rolls when totally flat, I think. Tubeless rims have a notch

TigaSefi · « **Reply #677 on:** 16 March, 2018, 02:15:00 pm »

Quote from: citoyen on 16 March, 2018, 11:54:54 am

Quote from: TigaSefi on 16 March, 2018, 11:45:21 am
Can’t see anything that says UST so that’ll be a no.

See upthread for my tale of woe trying to fit tubeless tyres to non-UST Mavic wheels...

(In my defence, I was led to believe they were UST wheels, but I didn't check properly before starting the job.)

I saw which is why I asked

fd3 · « **Reply #678 on:** 20 March, 2018, 10:47:41 am »

Yafp! Currently running 38mm Hutchinsons on open pro. What rims should I try for tubeless? The rear is fixed so in theory I should be able to run something light with no brake surface, but need v brakes at front.

citoyen · « **Reply #679 on:** 20 March, 2018, 06:06:06 pm »

Quote from: citoyen on 16 March, 2018, 11:50:38 am

I've just taken delivery of a set of ERE Research Omnia 28mm tubeless tyres - might have a go at fitting them ahead of the Man of Kent this weekend, assuming it's not snowed off...
https://www.ereresearch.com/tires/omnia

Fitted them this afternoon. Everything went on a treat, no fitting problems. Used Effetto Mariposa Caffèlatex tape for the rims - one 8m reel was exactly the right amount for two layers of tape for two wheels. Each tyre came supplied with its own small bottle of Stan's sealant and a valve - no core removal tool but luckily I already have a couple knocking about.

Will report back when I've ridden them enough to make a worthwhile assessment...

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #680 on:** 20 March, 2018, 06:34:53 pm »

I bought some Hutchinson Fusion 5s cheap recently, a set of all weather, and a set of Galaxy (lightest). Really tempted to fit them to my Fulcrum Carbon Quattro Disc wheels (not officially tubeless compatible)

teethgrinder · « **Reply #681 on:** 21 March, 2018, 07:48:28 am »

Quote from: dim on 12 March, 2018, 09:10:09 pm

I used Orange sealant with very good results .... 3 punctures that I know of, and all 3 sealed. Then I rode over a broken bottle and got a long slash in my tire. It sealed at low pressure but I used a tyre worm which sorted it. Once home, I removed the tyre worm and used an old fashioned patch with the old vulcanised glue on the inside of the tyre. (With IRC tyres, this can be done)

Over the patch, I used a Park Tool tyre boot. It's worked, and the tyre keeps pressure and has held up well. When I refitted the tyre, I tried the new Slime STR Premium sealant. I read good reviews, but the 60ml that I added did not seal the sides of the tyres and I then added some Orange sealant, and it sealed and mounted properly with a track pump

so, I'm not sure if the Slime is better than the orange sealant, as I have not had another puncture yet, but it did not seal the tyre when I re-mounted it

I have a new commuter bike/training bike that I will use with tubeless (I will try Hutchinson Sector 28's first, trhen some Compass tyres), but on my fast bike, I will be going back to Specialized Turbo Cotton clinchers

Keep us updated on the Finish Line Sealant

I talked to the mechanic in Trek about sealant. He was raving about Orange sealant. They had a knackered tyre, I think it might have been a faulty one, that they couldn't inflate with any sealant they had in the shop. A company rep came over and gave them some Orange sealant and the tyre was fine. If I wasn't sponsored by Schwalbe I'd have probably used Orange, though saying that, Schwalbe (which I think is still re-branded Stans) is a very good sealant. Some sealants do work better than others. I've also heard if people adding glitter to their sealant so that it can pug bigger holes. I haven't tried that myself and don't know of anyone who has.
Another thing I was told is to never mix sealants because they can counteract each other and not work as well. So if you're changing brands of sealant you need to give your wheels and tyres a thorough clean, probably better still to swap when replacing a worn tyre.

I've probably ridden close to 200,000 miles on tubeless now. Only on road so far. The sealant doesn't work very well for long slashes of over 1cm (I've got some tyres with cuts of that size that I intend to try and patch up) or very big holes so I carried a spare tyre and some tubes.
I definitely got the impression that sealant tech has improved in the last 3 years. I seemed to have fewer incidents of having to pump up tyres several times last year than I did in 2015. I may have had even fewer incidents if I wasn't using very light tyres.

SoreTween · « **Reply #682 on:** 06 April, 2018, 03:48:46 pm »

Is it normal to get weeping through the rim join like this?

That's after I've wiped away the fluid several times. First time it was quite a leak, I've probably lost a cc or so.

It claims to be a tubeless ready rim.

zigzag · « **Reply #683 on:** 06 April, 2018, 03:54:27 pm »

^^ it looks like the rim tape is too narrow and the rim needs to be re-taped. the tape should ride up the hook (1-2mm) and overlap with the tyre bead making a tight(ish) seal.

SoreTween · « **Reply #684 on:** 06 April, 2018, 05:13:34 pm »

The tape is about a mm onto the horizontal (struggling for the right word there) of the rim, there's about 1.5mm of flat beyond the tape before the corner.

There is a line of residue at about the mid point of the flat of the tyre suggesting it is half on / half off the tape

I tried running tape across the rim trimmed to the top of the sidewall before the bulge:

No difference.
The air is definitely coming through the rim join not up 'n over.
There's a really healthy pop as the tyre hops up onto the flat and the join starts hissing at about 35 psi. Before trying the cross tape I'd inflated the tyre to around 50 psi half a dozen times, it seems Orange Seal Endurance won't work on aluminium.

zigzag · « **Reply #685 on:** 06 April, 2018, 06:07:18 pm »

that's what i thought - the tape is too narrow, it needs to go up the vertical part 1-2mm (the inner side of brake track)

edit: this is not a tubeless rim, but the tape should be done like this:

SoreTween · « **Reply #686 on:** 06 April, 2018, 06:16:14 pm »

Bum. Thank you zigzag.

Sigh, proves I at least am in the correct thread

chrisbainbridge · « **Reply #687 on:** 06 April, 2018, 10:58:44 pm »

Fundamentally whilst it is a tubeless ready rim, it is so badly made that it will never work properly. Even there done all of that!

Buy another rim!!

citoyen · « **Reply #688 on:** 26 May, 2018, 10:49:43 am »

I appear to have a slow puncture in a tubeless tyre. Or maybe a leak.

Which is to say that the rear tyre is going soft noticeably more quickly than the front, though not quickly enough to cause problems while riding - it just needs reinflating more often.

Any thoughts on what the cause may be, or how to identify the source of the leak?

rafletcher · « **Reply #689 on:** 26 May, 2018, 10:55:10 am »

Deflate it and unseat it, then pop it back and did fresh sealant. Pump up and shake / spin / bounce it about a bit.

citoyen · « **Reply #690 on:** 26 May, 2018, 11:03:25 am »

Quote from: rafletcher on 26 May, 2018, 10:55:10 am

Deflate it and unseat it, then pop it back and did fresh sealant. Pump up and shake / spin / bounce it about a bit.

Yeah, that sounds like a sensible plan. I was hoping there might be a way of testing it without removing the tyre but it seems unlikely.

Andy64 · « **Reply #691 on:** 26 May, 2018, 02:44:06 pm »

Few inches of water in a bath, then roll the wheel/tyre combo around

citoyen · « **Reply #692 on:** 26 May, 2018, 10:22:23 pm »

Quote from: Andy64 on 26 May, 2018, 02:44:06 pm

Few inches of water in a bath, then roll the wheel/tyre combo around

Sounds like a good way to end up with water inside the rim.

rafletcher · « **Reply #693 on:** 27 May, 2018, 03:17:18 pm »

Soap spray then?

Phil W · « **Reply #694 on:** 27 May, 2018, 05:34:01 pm »

Taping may not have been done as well as front. Give the rear wheel a few spins in all directions to see if a bit of sealant needs to get to the small gap that may exist somewhere.

Have you tried tightening the tubeless valve a bit more?. By hand but push valve down from inside whilst turning the knurled ring.

Reseat the tyre maybe a bit of bead is not seated perfectly air tight. You would need to do this after two anyway.

Did you vigorously shake the sealant in its bottle before putting some in the tyre? Maybe the rear does not have many particles in the sealant and therefore it is not sealing small holes as well?

citoyen · « **Reply #695 on:** 27 May, 2018, 07:04:40 pm »

Quote from: Phil W on 27 May, 2018, 05:34:01 pm

Taping may not have been done as well as front.

That thought did cross my mind.

Quote

Give the rear wheel a few spins in all directions to see if a bit of sealant needs to get to the small gap that may exist somewhere.

That also occurred to me last night. So I did exactly that and left it overnight to see if it did the trick before trying anything more drastic... So far, so good. Will check it again tomorrow to but it seems to be holding its pressure just fine at the moment.

If it still feels fine by Tuesday, I'll assume that all is good. If not, I'll try retaping the rim, reseating the tyre and adding fresh sealant.

I will also be carrying inner tubes in my kit for The Scottish Ride, just to be on the safe side (would be doing that anyway).

Phil W · « **Reply #696 on:** 27 May, 2018, 09:16:19 pm »

Don't forget new fivers for emergency tyre boots.

citoyen · « **Reply #697 on:** 27 May, 2018, 09:22:43 pm »

Plug1n · « **Reply #698 on:** 28 May, 2018, 12:29:02 pm »

I'm deliberately asking for help in the Dummies thread, hopfully this relates to me not to the tubeless cognoscenti.

I have scanned the first 10 pages or so of the thread, then life intervened.....

Anyway, I have a commute over French forest trails and cyclepaths - 12km of which 95% is paved.

With all the recent storms and downpours, the paths are covered in various sorts of arborial debris and thorns. Also the unpaved bits are becoming definitely flinty.

I had my first p* on this route last Friday on the way home, just a small hole from maybe a thorn in the tube, no visible evidence on the tyre.

Seems like a good case for tubeless, especially as I will be commuting over this route for at least another year.

Bike is a hybrid/ The wheels are currently Deore disk hubs, Alex XD-Lite rims (17.5mm inner width) and Conti Contact 32mm wired tyres (pre Contact 2) from 2009 but almost unused.

The wheels are perfect for the route, but what are my options to go tubeless?

My own thoughts are:

- a tubeless conversion of the wheels using a Stans kit
- new tubeless ready tyres (maybe Hutschison Sector 32s?)
- is there anything bigger than 32 that would be worth consdering

One downside I see on conversion is that the rims are pinned but being in good nick should be OK.

Do I really need to replace the tyres?

Many thanks.

Hot Flatus · « **Reply #699 on:** 28 May, 2018, 03:00:55 pm »

If you want an easy life just get 2 tubeless rims, Tesa tape (cheaper than tubeless tape) and some tubeless tyres. You'll need the tape, the valves and sealant regardless.

Personally I might stretch to using conventional rims, but definitely not conventional tyres. Shop around for the bits...the price difference between suppliers is astonishing. Try the German online retailers, bike-discount, starbike, rose, bike24 etc