Designed for use in both standard and tubeless tires. Seals most punctures and virtually eliminates flats. Offers outstanding puncture resistance for holes as large as 3/16". This non-adhesive sealant is an easy to use substance that cleans up with water.
A quart seals 16 tires for $15.00 (+ $8 S/H). The pint(pictured above) seals 8 tires for $10.00 (+ $7 S&H).
Submitted by
tacomike
a Cross Country Rider
from Scottsdale, AZ Date Reviewed: October 24, 2009
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
local store
Strengths:
Works well at sealing holes!
Weaknesses:
You have to keep track of how much sealent is left in the tire. Therefore you have to refill often. Read below for further info
Bike Setup:
Niner xo groupo, king hubs with notubes rims
Bottom Line:
OK, I ride in AZ, you know, where catus roam and softball size rocks with razor sharp edges are. So with that said, if stans can work here it can work anywhere.
It works and it works well. On my third ride, one of those AZ sharp rocks tore a 3/4 slash into my side wall of my new rear racing ralph tire. At first I could hear air coming out, but Stans sealent acctually sealed the tire! I had to pump the tire a couple of time, but it held until I could get back the trail head. The tire ended up being garbage, but the sealant saved the day. No I ride with a rampage on the back and I have not had a problem since.
With that said, I have not had a flat in three months while my in my riding group everyone with a tube has had a flat. I can say that most every ride though I see the sealant sealing small neddle size holes, especially in the racing ralph which has the thinest side wall out there.
As for maintance, you have to make sure that there is alway sealant in the tire. I ride often, so I have been putting in about an ounce in the tire each tire every 6 weeks or so, or when I do not hear any sealant in the tire with movement.
The bottom line it works every well, just make sure to maintain the sealant in the tires.
Tubes are history...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
ekipr
a Cross Country Rider
from River Edge, NJ, USA Date Reviewed: October 4, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Anywhere
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$80.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Allows use of standard tires
Weaknesses:
It blew off the rims both front and back.
Similar Products Used:
Tubes
Bike Setup:
IBIS Mojo, Crossmax (08) SLX
Bottom Line:
This product was professionally fitted for me by the LBS. It failed three time and never resealed. The failure was major and complete in all instances failing to re-seal. In the VT50 (2009) it failed in dramatic style (big 'pop' and it was off the rim 30 miles into the VT50) and I had to tube it which was incredibly messy combined with the mud this year.
After the first race I tried to re-fit the rear tire and failed. I watched the video but was incapable and ended by sticking a tube in the back. As described in a previous post the valves gunk up (hard to re-inflate on the trail) and the mess is unbelievable/inhibiting when changing track side.
This left the front with stans remaining. The next race I was in (doing well for me) the front tire flatted. I tried to re-inflate twice, it held for about a minute and then it 'popped' off the rim and I had to tube it.
Alas for me this product failed, and it was not a cheap experiment.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
fieldmouse
a Weekend Warrior
from Sheffield Date Reviewed: August 24, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Trans Pennine
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$24.00
Purchased At:
J E James Cycles
Strengths:
No Flats! easy to use.
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
Slime tubes, normal tubes
Bike Setup:
Giant XTC C1, Mavic 819 UST rims and Kenda Small block 8 UST tyres
Bottom Line:
I've read the hundreds of reviews on this site and decided to give notubes a whirl. Firstly, I go the downhill kit which has tyre liners etc included for £15 from JE James. It's quite a large bottle of the stuff so it should last a while.
Prior to getting no tubes, I went riding and had three punctures in the front, and 1 in the rear tyre. I'm no bike mechanic but I literally took of one side of the tyre shook and poured the no tubes into the tyre, re-seated the tyre and then had fun blowing the tyre back up.. This was the difficult part about installing notubes.. My track pump did a good job, but a compressor would have been easier. I could actually see the stuff sealing the small holes in the tyre! It must have took 10 mins max for each tyre from start to finish..
Word of warning - MAKE SURE YOU SHAKE THIS STUFF THOUROUGHLY - It's this that makes the particles not lump together.. Without the shake, I'm guessing the stuff won't work.
Alot of previous reviews are using none tubeless tyres or rims, so I suspect the fact that both of mine are tubeless made the seating of the tyre etc a lot easier.. No fiddling with bubbly bits.. and No leaks first time!
I've only done some short rides since, but I already feel more confident. I still pack a small lightweight tube (because that's just common sense if you're miles from home), but I hope I'll never use it.
I'm now the guinea pig for my friends.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
tboy
a Racer
from Raleigh. NC Date Reviewed: August 19, 2009
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
It does reduce flats
Weaknesses:
Greatly reduces tire life due to it delaminating tires
Bike Setup:
Turner Flux
Bottom Line:
Yes it saves weight and reduces flats but at a major cost. It has now delaminated three very expensive tubeless tires. Talked to many riders who had the very same problem and tire symptoms. Back to the drawing board Stan. Really how can you keep selling this product?
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
speddmn
a Cross Country Rider
from Grass Valley, CA Date Reviewed: July 28, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Burlington Ridge, Nevada City, CA
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
Pricepoint
Strengths:
Made my wallet lighter.
Weaknesses:
Doesn't work at all!!
Similar Products Used:
None
Bike Setup:
'07 Mongoose Canaan Elite - Mostly XT - Juicy 5 brakes. Great bike
Bottom Line:
I bought a qt of Stan's to use in my dual sport Honda XR400. On the bottle it says it works in tubes. I rarely get flats on my mountain bike and bicycle flats are easy to fix. Motorcycle flats are at least 100 times more difficult to fix in the middle of nowhere. I followed the directions and poured it into the tubes on my Honda. Since the front tire was due to be changed I decided to see if the Stan's would work. I poked a single 1/8" hole in the center of the tire and spun it. Air and liquid spewed out all over me and the garage floor. Never even slowed the leak! What a crappy product!!! 2 ozs of Stan's wouldn't even plug one little hole. As someone in another post put it, "snake oil". Don't waste your money.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Al " Big Daddy" Olmstead
a Cross Country Rider
from Albany, NY Date Reviewed: July 23, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Gore Mountain
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$10.00
Purchased At:
Satn's Factory Store
Strengths:
Best stuff I have ever used. I put it in my ATV, my John Deere tractor, my wheel barrow, my boat trailer tires, my Ford F-150 not to mention my dirt bike and mountain bike. NEVER had a flat or even lost tire pressure. GREAT product. Wish it was available in more stores locally.
Weaknesses:
None......this is truly a great formula Stan has come up with. Slime doesn't work as well, believe me I've tried them all.
Similar Products Used:
None since I started using Stan's No Tubes
Bike Setup:
Let's just say I'm riding a $3000+ ultra lite, ass kicking mountain bike that I can pick up with my pinky finger. It would take more time to describe it than I have to go into detail.
Bottom Line:
Go with Stan's stuff. Great guy. It you have a question, all you have to do is call and you can talk to him personally and he'll help you with your problem or if he doesn't have the answer, he'll find somebody who does for you. Can't beat the service. Stan has been supplying some of his rim's to none other than Lance Armstrong......who is poised to make those mamby-pamby Frenchmen cry again when he wins his 8th Tour de France.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
BretW
a Weekend Warrior
from San Diego, CA USA Date Reviewed: July 19, 2009
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$90.00
Purchased At:
UC Cyclery, San Dieg
Strengths:
Stops typical flats.
Weaknesses:
You do have to remember to add more sealant every few months per the instructions.
Similar Products Used:
Tubes.
Bike Setup:
2008 Specialized Epic with standard rims and tires.
Bottom Line:
It has worked very, very well for me.
I had many flats per year before switching and I've only had one flat since switching and that's because I forgot to add more sealant as directed. In fact, once I added the sealant, that flat immediately fixed itself too.
The most impressive recovery was when I somehow managed to get more than 10 thorns in both my front and rear tires simultaneously. I only ever carry one spare tube, I didn't have ten patches left, and I was riding alone, so it would've been a long, long walk home if I had still been using tubes. But I just pulled all of the thorns out, the holes bubbled for 10 seconds or so then stopped, I got back on the bike, and rode off with no loss of pressure and no problems.
I had the bicycle shop do the initial installation and I'm quite glad I made that decision after reading some of the other reviews here. Since then, I've been able to add the sealant myself and get the tires to re-seat and seal with only a floor pump. It was, however, comforting to know that I do have access to a compressor in case I couldn't move enough air through the floor pump.
This tubeless system is probably a bit more work than just sticking with tubes, but personally, I'd much rather put in the effort at my convenience in the relative comfort of my garage instead of inconveniently dealing with flats on the trail or road.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ralphamungus
a Weekend Warrior
from Beverly MA USA Date Reviewed: July 11, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Bruce and Toms
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
REI
Strengths:
No Flats
Weaknesses:
Messy
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
1999 Fisher Sugar 1
Bottom Line:
Works great. I was getting a flat every few weeks and having used Stans No Tubes I haven't had a flat in over three years. Today when I cleaned out the tubeless tires with a sponge and water I discoverd several thorn punctures, several slivers of metal and glass and splinter or two none of which cause a flat.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Cal
a Cross Country Rider
from Scotland Date Reviewed: July 8, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Kirroughtree
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
internet
Strengths:
Errr...sorry I can't think of any.
Weaknesses:
Does not seal punctures instantly - expect to wait around for perhaps ten minutes before you can ride without losing tyre pressure. And then puncturing again if you're still riding on rock or gravel.
Similar Products Used:
None - first thing used when I went tubeless.
Bike Setup:
Santa Cruz Blur LT
Bottom Line:
Unreliable, doesn't do what it's supposed to and therefore poor value.
I have to agree with the two reviews that said the sealant did not seal rock punctures. I got some very small (I'm talking 1mm here or less in some cases) punctures on several occasions while wooshing down rock/loose gravel trails. The sealant did not seal these instantly - end of story. Proof of this was displayed by the large amount of sealant sprayed all over the inside of my rear mudguard (yes I use a mudguard but let's not get sidetracked...) and the instant loss of pressure to the point where I had to stop to reinflate the tyre. Obviously the sealant had been merrily spraying out of the hole rather than sealing it. Just for the record, there was more sealant than recommended in the tyre (this problem had happened before) and the sealant was new. Following tyre reinflation, it lost pressure again. And again. And again. Yes, for each puncture I had to reinflate an average of of four times four times before the tyre pressure would hold (and I'm not a big heavy guy by the way). It seems to take the sealant several minutes (maybe ten minutes?) to seal even a small hole to the point where you can actually ride on it without losing pressure. Which is, to be honest, a bit useless.
I like the concept of the notubes system, but the sealant is a definite let-down. Looking to the competition now and hoping they'll provide something better. Otherwise it'll be back to tubes. :(
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
crazydiamond1
a Cross Country Rider
from Jim Thorpe, PA Date Reviewed: May 27, 2009
Favorite Trail:
American Standard
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
Jenson
Strengths:
Works as advertised, very inexpensive.
Weaknesses:
None, other than the syringe is a waste of time/money, just unseat the bead and fill that way.
I don't know about converting standard rims to tubeless, I would only trust riding actual ust wheels. If used as prescribed on real ust wheels and tires, this stuff is friggin awesome. Since I started using Stan's sealant at least 5 years ago, I've only gotten one flat that required using a tube to get home-and that was a giant 1" rip in the sidewall. Other normal punctures from thorns and the like seal up after minimal air loss. You can see the solution bubble out for a short time, then stop as it seals up. Sometimes I am unaware my tire was punctured until after the ride, and I notice a small "stain" on the tire where the solution bubbled out and did it's thing without any noticeable loss of air. I will definitely buy another bottle when my first one in empty, it's lasted forever filling my tires, and my bro-in-law's every year, and with each set of new tires.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
dubdryver
a Cross Country Rider
from Pembroke Pines, FL USA Date Reviewed: March 26, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Alligator Alley, Markham Park
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
TREK USA, Ft. Tx
Strengths:
Very simple to use if you follow the Directions. Very little mess if you take your time and THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
Weaknesses:
NONE.
Similar Products Used:
Once converted to Tubeless, and using this stuff there is no reason to use anything else!
I do not know how to rate this product with the use of Tubed Tires converted or in conjuction with tubes. I strictly ride tubeless on Mountain bikes, and have not had any punctures or blowouts with all the roots and coral rock in S. Florida. I have had my front tire burp twice in 3 years, one time resulting in a pretty nasty spill, but that kind of lateral torque on the tire would done damage anyways!
I have used this on both of my bikes as they both are tubeless rims with tubeless tires. My K2 Razorback team has not had the rear tire dismounted for any reason in the last 3 yrs!!!! No air loss, no punctures, no holes..nothing, just flawless. My Santa Cruz is going on 6 months and is reaping the same benefit!
This product is not that hard to use. Ofcoarse know how to properly set the beads on a tubeless for inflation. That is a must. Once you understand that concept. Set one bead, leaving one side open to pour the proper amount of sealant in (use the measuring cup to pour, the included spout just makes it more controllable to pour into the cup.) Carefully set the second bead and inflate the tire. I believe the directions state to let it sit at a certain pressure for around 24hrs to set.
Tips: When setting the bead and pouring, Have the Valve 90 degrees from where you pour the sealant, as this will give you maximum tire to set the second bead and lower the chance of any sealing spilling out. I actually KY to set the last part of the second bead, it works awesome you can LOL if you want. Then once you get the tire inflated, spin it at the axels for a few min to help it do its thing. And further, if you want to make sure you did get a really good seal, dip the tire in some water to check for leaks. Mavic 819 rims are sealed from the spoke section and dont use rim tape so they were even easier than my older mavics!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Cooltralantra
a Cross Country Rider
from Blue Mountains Australia Date Reviewed: November 23, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Andersons
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
No more tubes, fewer punctures, better riding
Weaknesses:
May not seal bigger holes, bit of a learning curve, can be messy
Similar Products Used:
None unless you count Mr Tuffy
Bike Setup:
Ibis Mojo XT, Cannondale Super V, Cannondale Delta V
Bottom Line:
This system works just fine although there are a few pitfalls. I have used it on four different bikes with tyre/rim combos including Ritchey ZMax/Mavic Crossride, ZMax/Shimano 555, WTB Wierwolf/Crossride, ZMax/Sun, Kenda Nevegal/Shimano XT. These include both UST and tube type rims, with mainly tube type tyres.
The system gives you lighter and better rolling tyres, lower pressures, better traction and freedom from punctures (mostly). If you want to go tubeless and use lighter than UST tyres, this is the way.
However: buy a cheapo compressor or get used to sweating over your track pump. If a new tyre won't seat, shove in a tube, inflate to 50psi and leave it for an hour. Then it will seat fine tubeless, but still prolly need more air than a track pump will push. Use plenty of soap, connect the compressor and give it a whiff... listen to that bead snapping in. Then let it down again, pull a section of the bead off the rim, slop in the Stans and reinflate. Better still, use the removable core valves and the syringe. I use the syringe as a funnel, don't need to force inject, latex just runs in. Twist tie the syringe to the spokes to avoid needing three hands.
Plenty of soap under the rim strip (for non UST rims)helps it seat evenly. Slide a screwdriver or tyre lever across the rim under the strip and run it around the wheel to get an even seat.
If you are using a track pump, try getting a seal by holding the wheel horizontally, with the entire lower bead in contact with the rim. This sometimes works better than the vertical method.
Check the website for the sealing demo. Slop that latex around good. Rest the wheel across a carton or garbage can to let the latex get to work on the seal.
Downsides: cannot change tyres quickly for differing conditions, you are stuck with what's on the bike. OK for lazys, no good for racers.
Small thorn holes seal fine, see all the little white blobs on the tyre tread. But I have never had a serious hole seal (ie anything over 2mm diameter). I have wasted time mindlessly pumping the tyre in the vain hope that the latex would stop the airflow, but in the end I just rip the tyre off, take out the valve and shove in a tube. Mebbe I should give it more time?
Stans' customer service advised that mebbe I had not shaken the solution (I had) or that there was not enough particles in my bottle (I have had several bottles, with the same problem).
However this has only happened about three times in four or so years of riding the rocky tracks around here, full of sharp stones and branches. Before using Stans I would puncture once or twice every month.
Finally: it is a fiddle, but gets easier as you learn the trade. Try waiting for it to seal a hole, you may be luckier than me, but always carry a tube. Latex gets all over the rear of the bike when it sprays out of the puncture, but just squirt it off with a mouthful of water before it dries and turns into sandpaper. Stick with tubes only if you enjoy fixing flats.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from GTA Date Reviewed: November 22, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Hydrocut
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
Red Barn Bicycles
Strengths:
I use the yellow tape with an Arch rim system and I've been very happy with it. I haven't had a flat since I started using the system. I've never had an issue with burping air either. I'd recommend the system in a second to any one.
Weaknesses:
Get the tire to seal and mount on the rim properly can be a little bit of a pain. However, if you used a CO2 to inflate the tire it mounts super easy.
Bottom Line:
It's a great system but not at rims and tires are created equal. As such, you will have people who think the system is trash. This is normally because they didn't seal the tire properly or they're using a good rim and tire combination;their are a few out there and stan's web site has a list of them.
I've been using the yellow tape with Stan's Arch rims for 6 months and have yet to have a flat or burp air. I swear by the system; it's defiantly worth your while to check this out.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
smokinjoe
a Racer
from mtn home ark Date Reviewed: November 3, 2008
Favorite Trail:
sylamo
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
stans
Strengths:
light, no tube
Weaknesses:
sealant quality is doubtfull. Syringe doesn not work as directed. Only way to put sealant in is with scoop. Removing valve core and using syringe is a waste. Valve head stops up with sediments every time. Sucks! and makes a mess.
Similar Products Used:
Bontrager UST
Bike Setup:
Xcaliber 29er
Bottom Line:
Novel idea but sealant sucks, messy and doesnt work as advertised. I used as exactly as directed, shaking inverted using the precise amouunt. Syringe doesnt work, wasted money. Sediments clog valve with core removed. Cant even get 2cc in it without clogging, useless. Up to 1/4 in holes sealed, absolutely not so. I pinched and tore the crow half a dozen times, squirted sealant out like a siv, without sealing. The crow is like tissue paper, ok on non technical hardpack but forget it with any type of rock, tears, punctures and rips easy. Im 163lb rider at 30psi. I finally switched back to tubes, save your money and buy some real USTs. If there was less than one i would give it. Customer service lacks, not really wanting to please, just there to answer with one liners and maybe thats because they're so busy, not sure. Good idea just needs alot of kinks worked out. Oh yeah rims were stans 355 front and arch rear.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Bohump
a Cross Country Rider
from Pueblo, CO, USA Date Reviewed: October 12, 2008
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
Bobs Bike Shop
Strengths:
Light weight
Weaknesses:
Messy, particularly when replacing.
Similar Products Used:
Tubes
Bike Setup:
Homemade rim strip with screw in valve stems from Big O tires
Bottom Line:
I love this system. I have used this system for several years and have found a few key points to making it work. Tape the rim and add a rubber rim strip. Valve stems were always a problem. I purchased some valve stems from Big O tires that slip in the valve stem hole, then a nut with rubber washers secure it to the rim and over the rim strip for an air tight seal. This was a very key piece. The other key component I have found is Kevlar reinforced tires such as Mythos XC. The Kevlar adds extra strength and blowout resistance as I like a hard tire.
You need a compressor or C02 to get the tire to seal. I also carry 4 oz of Stans with me on a ride and a c02 pump. A hand pump just will not do.
I have only had to walk a couple times using Stans. This was after two total tire blowouts/rips. I have not had a total walking failure since going to Kevlar Mythos.
I recently had a Mythos tire get a about 1/8 to 3/16 inch hole. Although the Stans did not hold it, it did hold well enough to get home with a couple stops to pump it up.
I replaced the tire and figured it was death by a thousand cuts.
I have literally hit hundreds of prickly pear cactus with this system and watched the Stans bubble and seal.
I believe I lost pounds when I went to this system as I used thorn resistant tubes, tube strips and slime. I ride on open prairie with shale. This is brutal on tires. So four ounces of Stans and the light wight Mythos was wonderful upgrade to my bike.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Anand Mehta
a Cross Country Rider
from Lansdale, PA USA Date Reviewed: April 11, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Dirt
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Works
Weaknesses:
Messy
Bike Setup:
Kenda Nevegal 2.35 Stick-E on a Mavic 819 UST rim
Bottom Line:
Used Stans to convert a Kenda Nevegal 2.35 Stick-E to tubeless. Granted the rims are UST but the installation was not bad and the tires are holding up well. Needed a trip to the gas station (for the air pump) and it took a couple of rides to get the tire really sealed but now it seems perfect. Hold air perfectly now, no leeks at all. Quite nice if you ask me and much easier than I thought.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Randy
a Weekend Warrior
from Calgary, AB, Canada Date Reviewed: April 10, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$65.00
Strengths:
Supposedly lightens up wheels
Weaknesses:
A helluva lot of work to get it to work
Similar Products Used:
Uhh..tubes
Bike Setup:
Banshee Rune with hadleys on Mavic 729 and Nevegals
Bottom Line:
It was waaaaaay more work than inferred by the instructional video and sheet. It was two weeks of nightly checking and re-shaking the wheels to stop the leaks. It would seem to seal and then checking the next night would show the tire low again. Try to pump it up and then a new leak would spout out white liquid. It was damn frustrating. It has been working though after that, mind you. If I have issues once the riding season hits full on, I will consider puttin tubes back in. Time will tell.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jason
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO Date Reviewed: March 28, 2008
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$65.00
Purchased At:
Stan's
Strengths:
Works well when it works.
Weaknesses:
Scary when the tire blows off the rim.
Similar Products Used:
Normal Tubes
Bike Setup:
Blur XC
Bottom Line:
I've used stan's system for approx. 3 years. I only had one puncture flat and it was a pretty big hole that was too big for the latex to seal. Sounds good huh? I also had the tire blow off the rim about 3 different times (about once per year). I was using Continental Vertical Pro's each time. Initially this happened with standard mavic's but after the first time I purchased some of Stan's olympic rims thinking these would work better. Since then the tires have blown off 2 more times. All three times I was either pedaling on flat pavement or standing still when that happened. It also sounded like a shotgun blast, really loud. So, I really loved stan's system most of the time. No pinch flats was great. But after the tire blew off for the third time I started to worry it would blow off when I was flying down a hill. It could be catastrophic. For me it's not worth the risk but still good for racer's I expect. I have thought about trying some Kenda's, maybe they will stay on better. I do recommend putting new tires on occasionally as the tires never seemed to blow off until they had been on the rim for a while (six months or more). The tire bead must stretch over time.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Eric Smith
a Cross Country Rider
from Hastings, MI Date Reviewed: March 18, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$100.00
Purchased At:
online store
Strengths:
sounds like a good idea
Weaknesses:
doesn't work - huge ripoff
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
cannondale caffiene 29er
Bottom Line:
i tried this stuff and couldnt get it to work, and it makes a big mess and takes lots of time. I called the support and they had me put insulation strips in my rim. that helped, and it worked for about a week. the tires would not hold air for more than a couple days and re sealing them is a huge pain in the ass. they stop pinch flats, but the tire just comes off the rim wich is worse. I hate these things, a huge hassle for no real weight savings. Also, the support guy was rude and did not offer any refund. also, if you air them up over 50psi they blow off the rim, so dont plan on riding the road.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Esteban
a Weekend Warrior
from San Diego Date Reviewed: January 28, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Elfin Forest
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$16.00
Purchased At:
Black Mountain Bikes
Strengths:
Seals tires, prevents leaks. Even if you land so hard that the bead pops out momentarily, it seals right back up when the bead pops back in.
Weaknesses:
When it's really old, it leaves a gooey residue on the tire bead. Not a big deal.
Similar Products Used:
nothing
Bike Setup:
2001 K2 Razorback. UST rims and tires.
Bottom Line:
I bought this stuff because I was tired of the air slowly leaking out of my tubeless tires. I didn't like having to pump up my tires before every ride.
This stuff has always worked perfectly. Better than I expected. Now I can go about 3 months before I have to put some more air in. After two years of riding about once a week, it started to be less effective, only holding enough air for about two weeks. I put more in, and it's working just like it used to.
So it's pretty much the best thing ever.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mike hunt
a Cross Country Rider
from ecumsecum Date Reviewed: November 5, 2007
Favorite Trail:
all of them
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At:
bike shop
Strengths:
If you pour the full jug into your tire, you probably won't get a flat.
Weaknesses:
Its garbage. Just run tubes, or UST tires and rims.
Bike Setup:
Downhill bike. Initially Mavic UST EX823(UST) rims with maxxis highrollers, when those burped off during a dh race run I switched to Maxxis Minions F+R(UST), didn't actually need the crap after that. XC Race bike. Shimano XTR(UST) rims with bontrager "tubeless ready" tires. Good initial results, then farted the air out in a corner costing a podium position. Ended up using them on Mavic Crossmax XL's after that for trail riding. Blew a hole in the sidewall, didn't stop the leak,
been running tubes in all applications ever since.
Bottom Line:
This stuff is garbage. If you change tires for conditions, this is garbage and a pain in the rear. Save your money.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Psychodad
a Cross Country Rider
from Mission, TX, USA Date Reviewed: October 16, 2007
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
from friend
Strengths:
Fills bigger holes than slime. Can run tires at lower pressure than Slime. Save rotational weight by losing tubes and tire liners.
Weaknesses:
Takes a high volume air compressor to do the initial inflate. I took mine to a flat repair shop which did the trick. Once you get the initial seal done, you are set and can add Stan's and inflate yourself using a small air compressor.
Similar Products Used:
Slime
Bike Setup:
'06 Trek Fuel 70 stock.
Bottom Line:
Stan's sealant kicks Slime's butt. Ride on trails in South Texas where we have mega thorns and cactus. Used Slime and tire liners and would still have to change out tubes at least once a month. After I switched to Stan's I went a year without getting a flat. As long as you check and refill your tires every couple of months, you'll be good to go. Love this product. "Stan's the man!"
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
tim c
a Cross Country Rider
from santa monica, ca usa Date Reviewed: June 14, 2007
Favorite Trail:
lower rock creek, mammoth lakes
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$55.00
Purchased At:
pricepoint.com
Strengths:
seals almost anything. watch stan's video on his website. they're a great help for installation instructions. it's comical to watch stan jab a 1/4 nail into tire countless times and it seals up instantly.
Weaknesses:
rims vary in size thickness depth etc. so modifications might be required.
Stan's ROCKS! I've been using Stan's sealant for over three years with UST rims and tires and have NEVER gotten a flat. Yes NEVER! I just got new bike that came with standard rims and tires so I converted them using Stan's kit. The Alex DP17 rims have deep center channel. I was having a hard time trying to get any tire mounted. I emailed Stan's support Friday evening and Monday morning I received a response advising I should fill the deep center channel with some soft foam weather stripping. After that, the tires inflated easily with a floor pump. Great customer service great product.
At this point I don't understand why the industry doesn't go tubeless. If you like changing flats continue using tubes. If not, Stan's is your answer.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Nick G.
a Weekend Warrior
from San Jose, CA Date Reviewed: May 15, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Demo
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Trailhead
Strengths:
Easy to apply if you START with the right components and tools.
Weaknesses:
None yet
Bike Setup:
Heckler/819 discs/Weirwolf USTs/Hadleys/Formula K24s/5th element coil/Sherman Firefly/XT/Thompson
Bottom Line:
Maybe writing this a little to early as I do not have any input as to sealing punctures, but as far as the set up, it is cake. I know my way around bike repairs descently, but no way an expert and I have had no problems on my first 3 rides with any of the problems I have read about in other reviews. I think that a lot of people who wrote reviews below were actually writing about the conversion kit and not just the sealant. I started off with UST rim/tires instead of converting my old rims, and I can not believe the benefits in climbing, weight, and being able to run lower tire pressure.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Trevor
a Weekend Warrior
from brisbane, qld, australia Date Reviewed: March 26, 2007
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$100.00
Strengths:
makes stan rich
Weaknesses:
see above
Similar Products Used:
a tube
Bike Setup:
heckler
Bottom Line:
this stuff is snake oil, and i fell for it. I read all the crap about it in MBA and the rest of the publicity, spent the big bucks converted my rims got all the strips, the right tires etc etc. Yes! I did the soap thing and the compressor thing, I know my way around bikes, I set the stans tires up perfectly, and they worked. But then they stopped working. Random burps on any rocky corners, pump up the tire, farts on landings, pump up the tires. Every morning, pump up the tires. Don't do it, you don't need it. Use a tube with slime in it if you're worried about punctures. The whole 'tubes ruin your ride thing' is crap. They made it up.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ryan
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle, WA, USA Date Reviewed: January 18, 2007
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$10.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Works as advertised (not as many hope) Saves weight Better handling Lower rolling resistance Much less time spent changing flats ont the trail
Weaknesses:
PITA to install at first. You get better at it. Requires small air compressor ($99 at any auto shop + $29 for air chuck from Sears) Sealant dries over time Not all tires work
Similar Products Used:
tubes UST
Bike Setup:
Psycle Werks Wild Hare XC with about 10,000 miles on it. Many different tires and wheels. Kendas and Contis work best for me.
Bottom Line:
First, I have to refute the posts below about Kendas "reacting" to the sealant. That is a shameful and pitiful lie told by Kenda to cover for a bad batch of tires they put out. During that time the casing blistered and separated on many Kenda tires, sealant or not. See: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=257300 for one reference. Notubes could probably sue Kenda for defamation on this one.
Regarding the system (using it with regular tires): If you check out the installation and use instructions on the notubes site, you'll see that this is not intended to be a low mantenance solution. It's difficult, messy, and you have to maintain it. It was originally just for racers, but it's not so hard that you need a mechanic, just patience and an understating of how it's supposed to work.
The benefits over UST is performance. The heavier, stiffer UST tires have more rolling resistance than "normal" tires.
The benefit of UST is in ease of use. They're much stronger and easier to mount. Puncture resistance is better on USTs as well assuming you put in some sort of sealant.
I've been using Stan's for 8 years now and about 10K miles. About a dozen sets of tires. Hundres of punctures and one flat. One. I cut the sidewall on a rock. That came after 6 years and I was so lulled into a sense of security I had no spare tube. I ended up riding home 10 miles on a tire stuffed with dried grass. Now I carry a spare tube, just like the directions say.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
ATBScott
a Cross Country Rider
from Castro Valley, CA Date Reviewed: November 4, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Can I only have one?
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
Punctures and leaks are sealed almost immediately, Reduces weight slightly in the wheel...
Weaknesses:
Somewhat of a pain to install, but not that bad. Worth it for me. I have done a number of sets of tires. Notubes.com website says some tires are "supported" and others not. Have had issues with "supported" tires and runs fine in tires that they say are not supported.
Similar Products Used:
Tubes galore
Bike Setup:
Ransom LTD, Spec Enduro Pro, 99 SJ FSR
Bottom Line:
This system has been relatively trouble-free for me. It is a bit of work to get set-up, but not bad once you have done it a couple of times. Couple of teaspoons of detergent in a cup of water, and an old paintbrush work great to soap the bead. Also, you really should have a compressor to get this together - you may have a coronary trying to pump that fast and hard to seat most tires! The only tires that I have had a problem with setting up were Kendas - Stan "recommends" them... I have used Specialized, Ritchey, WTB and IRC tires, on both Mavic and Easton Rims. I don't buy the "weak bead theory". Tubes only hold a few psi at most. The bead and casing of a tire hold the pressure. If the bead was weak - the tire would blow at higher pressures if it had a tube in it or not. I have to say that the IRC (Trailbear 2.25) was the easiest tire that I have mounted with Stans. The WTB 2.24 Mutanoraptors ran fine with it for 6 months - just recently switched to tires that will work better now the rains are coming. I have run those WTB tires as high as 50 psi for a longer road stretch at the start of the ride, then aired down at the trail. No failure. They also mounted easily, but did take a few minutes more sloshing the sealant around to get them to seal all the casing pinholes. The only tire I have have ever had a bead failure on was a Specialized tire, ages ago. The actual bead held up fine - the casing fabric around the bead failed and the tire came away. Fortunately I was close to home! In nearly 30 years of riding, with a lot of Specialized Tires since, I figure it was just a fluke, and the tire had a couple of months on it anyway. BTW - three layers of electrical tape, TIGHTLY wrapped and then a UST valve, sealed in with a little extra RTV sealant has worked just fine on two sets of non-UST wheels (disc). No leaks, weighs nothing. Don't try it with rim brakes though. I recommend the Stans - you may not need the full kit if you are adept at setting it up yourself. The rim strips he offers are nice, but not that light and PRICEY. If you have a set of wheels that came with UST valves, try the tape.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
dave
a
from boise Date Reviewed: November 3, 2006
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$55.00
Purchased At:
pricepoint
Strengths:
thorn flats and pinch flats eliminated, pros use them with good results...national xc champs
Weaknesses:
need a compressor or a lot of patience with a hand pump
Similar Products Used:
Mavic crosslands with U.S.T. tires
Bike Setup:
ibex hardtail, rim brakes, Mavic 717 rims with xt hubs
Bottom Line:
this product combined with my hardtail is my secret weapon for smoking lard ass all mountain bikes on a climb, combine stans with a lightweight wheel and sub 450 gm tire and extended climbing is a pleasure you could probably go with a Mavic U.S.T. set up at a similar weight however the wheel set is $750.00 plus the U.S.T. tires.Stay with the reccomended tires I have been running the older versions of Hutchinson Pythons and got about 2500 miles from the last set with no flats, I replenish the sealant every 3 months and I am careful not to rip the valve stems by stabilizing them when inflating and am careful not to overtighten the stem nut.I carry a spare tube for on trail repairs however I have never had a failure off-road, had two flats from huge nail punctures on road. A compressor is much easier for intial set up however the system is so flat resistant that long term maintenance is minimium anyway.I run a heavier duty Mavic Crossland wheelset and tires with Stans sealant on my Heckler.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
SB rider
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Barbara Date Reviewed: September 18, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$55.00
Purchased At:
price point
Strengths:
Hopefully, no more flats. Able to run low air pressure - Great hookup at 30psi. Conversion of non-UST tires to tubless. Can't tell the sealant is in the wheel.
Weaknesses:
Stan's website videos make everything look like cake - DON'T be fooled!!! He's done that 1000 times. Air compressor will save you a lot of cursing, pain, and time. In some cases it might be impossible without one. Weight savings not that much when converting rims unless you were using a larger inner tube ( > 140g). Rim strip(~55g) + sealant(90g) = 145g. About what my old 19-2.1 tube weighed.
Similar Products Used:
Slime - it sucked and was heavy. Tire rotated funny too.
Bike Setup:
Superlight with mavic x317 laced to King iso disc.
Bottom Line:
PITA to install. No joke. Use a LOT more soap to water when installing. I was unable to get the tire(Kenda 2.35 FR DTC) to seal with a bike pump until 1. Using a tire lever to press the rim strip down near the valve stem; 2. Attempting to inflate tire without the valve stem core installed, then disconnecting bike pump, quickly put finger over stem to stop air leakage and reinstall valve stem core. Sketchy but it works if you're fast. If you don't have a compressor its going to take at least 30 minutes of screwing around with soapy water to inflate the tire and then another 15-20 to covert that tire to tubless (with the sealant). It potentially could be impossible to inflate with your tire choice. The biggest gain is low air pressure and no flats. The no flats part was huge for me.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Luke shooka
a Weekend Warrior
from NYC Date Reviewed: September 10, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$55.00
Purchased At:
gotham bikes
Strengths:
Does instantly seal as advertised, hopefully the risk of pinching is eliminated.
Weaknesses:
Holy fawking christ these things are a pain to set up.
Similar Products Used:
normal tubes
Bike Setup:
mavic 317 disk rims with specialized 2.00 resolution tires.
Bottom Line:
ok,so I'm a mech at a shop and these things were still a MAJOR pita to install. Realistically, expect to spent at least 30 minutes per wheel to mount a tire, especially if it's your first time.
Tip: Use WWWWWWAAAAAYYYYY more soap suds than what's suggested by the notubes.com site. Instead of using a brush, I filled a water bottle with dish soap and water-- Instant foam. The more foam you have at the seams, the better your chances at having these things seal up right.
I have NO IDEA as to how people can mount these without compressed air. Perhaps my rim/tire combination lends itself to harder inflations, but my intital impressions were that is was almost impossibly difficult to set up.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mel Stewart
a Cross Country Rider
from Steamboat Springs, CO Date Reviewed: August 27, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Eye to Eye
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
pricepoint
Strengths:
Works great (with the right tires) Relative easy set-up, I just used a floor pump, lots of warm, soapy water and pump like hell
Weaknesses:
Does not work well (with the wrong tires, ie.e panaracer smoke) and initial set-up is expesnise
Similar Products Used:
tubes
Bike Setup:
Yeti ASR-SL
Bottom Line:
I started using Stan's about a year ago. It worked GREAT with my first set of tires, IRC Mythos. Picked up a fair number of thorns and NO FLATS. In fact, I did not have one flat, although I did have to "refill" the with Stans after about 8 months as the product does dry out.
On my next set of tires, Panaracer Smoke and Dart, had two flats on the rear (Smoke) in the first four days. Rock punture right through the tire. The Stans did seal, but took about 10 min to form an effective plug. Second flat was during race, so after about 4 min decided to bag the sealant and popped in a tube.
Bottom line: use a tire with good rim strip and thicker rubber?
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
fastsmither
a Cross Country Rider
from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Date Reviewed: July 7, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Birch Ski
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$65.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Weight reduction, lower rolling resistance
Weaknesses:
Pain in the freakin' butt to apply
Bike Setup:
Santa Cruz Blur - Mavic X717 with Kenda Karma Tires
Bottom Line:
An air compressor is a must to apply. Using a floor pump will cause insanity, or at least damage to the stuff you end up throwing around in teh rage that will no doubt ensue.
Keep at it though, once you get the tire to seal, the benfits are well worth it. I had Kenda lightweight tubes in prevously, and I weighed the wheels before and after, and found I got a 124 gram weight reduction per wheel. That is huge, over 0.5 lbs for the set.
Tires also roll better, and acceleration feels much snappier.
So far it lost air on the first night (down to 20 psi), but ever since has been holding 30 psi.
Hands down the best, most cost effective upgrade to any bike (how else can you spend $65 and lose 0.5 lbs of rotating mass?), but be warned it is very frustrating to apply.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Aaron Robnett
a Cross Country Rider
from Iowa City, IA Date Reviewed: April 26, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Gunpowder State Park, MD
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$80.00
Purchased At:
Scheels All Sports
Strengths:
Light, Puncture Resistant, Reliable
Weaknesses:
Length of Install, Requires some adjustment with some tires (additional layers of velox rim tape under rim strip.)
Similar Products Used:
Michelin Latex Tubes
Bike Setup:
2000 Klein Attitude Race, Surly rigid fork, x517 rims on CK front hub, DT Hugi 240 rear hub, revo spokes, Conti Explorer front tire, Hutchinson Python rear tire, XT Cranks, Surly Chainring etc
Bottom Line:
Well the set-up on this product was awesome. I pulled my front tire, cleaned my rim, slapped on the spoke tape that was supplied plus one layer of Rox Super Duty rim strip and aired tire up without sealant. There were about 5 leaks per side which is common I assume. Added sealant and had one persiting leak that was minor. Took about 45 min to do one wheel including everything. Went to mount up my rear tire (got a brand new schwable fast fred light) and would not fill at all. I didn't add any layers of velox at all not wanting to add weight and just slapped on my python going against recommendations. seated just fine and am running it now. i know the risks involved running this tire and am just fine with it. if this tire does fail, and or i am ready for a lighter rear tire i am going to pull off my python and add some velox and hopefully it will seat. my only concern with this is that the rim strip already sits very securely under the bead lock at this time, so i'm wondering if this will cause any folding of the center of the strip.
Overall great product. I loved my old michelin tubes, flatted the other day and only had two left and decided it was time to try the new stans kit. ran the old DIY setup back in the beginning of the stans days and finally just got sick of it. now hoping with these strips it will make my life easier (which after initial setup, it is.) Top notch work Stan.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Luke Georgian
a Racer
from niantic,ct Date Reviewed: April 26, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Middle cottonwood. bozeman
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$54.00
Purchased At:
Pricepoint
Strengths:
Gets rid of those reliable tubes
Weaknesses:
Setting them up is very difficult without an air compressor. Tires will blow off rims at 40psi. No way to put them back on unless you carry tubes.
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
Multiple bikes
Bottom Line:
UNLESS YOU INTEND TO CARRY COMPRESSED AIR TO YOUR RACE, OR ANY WHERE YOU RIDE, FORGET ABOUT IT. I had a tire blow off the rim at 40psi, loud sound to say the least. I had to remove all the Stans stuff and put in a tube to ride the seven miles to the road. The first time I tried to set up Stans without compressed air, I had to rebuild the pump. The second time, the (almost new) pump broke. Every time your tire goes flat (at least every two days) you potentially need an air compressor.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Rick Katz
a
from Louisville, KY Date Reviewed: March 18, 2006
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Reduced my wheels combined rotational weight by 200 grams!
Eliminates pinch flats
Allows me to run 25lbs of air pressure for superior traction in technical situations.
Weaknesses:
Can be difficult to set up.
Bike Setup:
05 Stumpjumper Pro HT, SRAM X9 RD & trigger shifters, PG990 Cassette, XT FD & Hollowtech M960 Crankset, Manitou Skareb Super fork, Azonic CF1 1.5" rise carbon bar, Thomson Elite SP, WTB titanium rail saddle, Time ATAC Pedals, Avid Single Digit 5 V-Brakes, Mavic 517 w/King hub RW converted to tubeless w/Stans, Mavic 223 w/Specialized hub FW converted to tubeless w/Stans, 23 Lbs.
Bottom Line:
I have upgraded nearly every part of my bike and I can tell you, without hesitation, that the best of these upgrades is the Stan's tubeless conversion kit. I love the increased traction and lower rotational weight. I don't understand why anyone would use a heavy tubeless tire when they could shed 100 grams per wheel using a converted conventional tire.
I ride 5-6 days a week (less in the winter) on very rocky singletrack. Before I converted my rims I had two pinch flats a week on average. It has been about a year since I started using Stan's and I have had a total of two flats. One of which was during a ride when I was experimenting with sub 20 lbs on air pressure. Don't try that, I blew the entire tire off the rim bunny hopping a log. I now run 25 lbs of pressure and it's flawless.
Setup Help: The original setup of my rims I did find somewhat difficult but I have since learned a trick that makes it much easier. First of all, a floor pump will not work, high pressure air is a must. When adding air remove the core from the valve stem to allow the air to flow into the tire at a higher rate. Once the tire is inflated place your finger over the hole, and then quickly lift your finger and screw the core into the stem. I set up a new tire a few weeks ago and didn't even need to use soapy water as recommended by Stan's.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
dave
a Cross Country Rider
from boise Date Reviewed: March 2, 2006
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$56.00
Purchased At:
pricepoint
Strengths:
seals all thorn flats,better traction due to being able to run low pressures without a pinch flat good online support,tires easier to mount than UST tires.
Weaknesses:
a compressor make mounting much easier
Similar Products Used:
ust system
Bike Setup:
2005 Ibex hardtail,2001 trek fuel 90,2005 santa cruz heckler
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent product IF you follow the instructions otherwise stick with your tubes and all their inherent problems.I have used the reccomended tires and have had thousands of miles of trouble free riding, the only two flats that I have had have been a result of a huge nail and a screw, numerous thorns punctures have sealed up fast,I use a compressor at home and carry a spare tube for backup.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
brokenspoke
a Cross Country Rider
from Ithaca, NY Date Reviewed: February 16, 2006
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
Tubeless tires without the weight.
Weaknesses:
Excessive mount time. Doesn't seal leaks. Loses air.
Similar Products Used:
UST
Bottom Line:
This stuff is great for converting a regular tire to tubeless, but after 2 years it has YET to stop a single leak! I've flatted many times with many different tires and the BEST this stuff has done is to slow down the leak.
I now run UST tires on UST rims and love it. They mount fast and don't lose air.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
jon
a Racer
from Canada Date Reviewed: February 14, 2006
Favorite Trail:
up a hill
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$10.00
Purchased At:
bike store. and notubes
Strengths:
looks like milk
Weaknesses:
not milk
Similar Products Used:
i stop trying after this
Bike Setup:
scott scale but had a giant xtc composite at the time.with the notube rims soul kozak hubs and cxray spokes.nice stuff
Bottom Line:
the product was good a little hard to setup i think you must use an air compressor to do so. my problems could have came from the non tubles tires but stan says you can do that. i was pumped about stans losing some weight and less rolling resistance.but they couldnt hold air so when it came to the point to refill the tire the goop acted as a lub and the tire blew off ithought i broke my fingers.brought it to my lbs and he did it up for me but when i went for a ride the next day the tire blew off the rim and i hit a tree.thus this product has caused me alot of pain.o my friend also had it blow off so good luck.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Davis
a Cross Country Rider
from Carbondale, CO Date Reviewed: January 23, 2006
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$10.00
Strengths:
This product works great!
Weaknesses:
Initial set-up takes some care.
Bike Setup:
Cane Creek Zonos UST Rims, Panaracer Fire XT Pro UST tires
Bottom Line:
I have used this stuff for 2 years without any problems. You do need to add more after 6 months or so. Last Spring after riding across cactus filled meadows, I noticed some loss of air pressure, so I pulled the tire from the rim and found very little solution left. I also decided to see how many cactus thorns I had in the tire. I ran my hand around the tire and found numerous sealed cactus spikes. I refilled the tire and rode all last summer/fall with no air loss. I checked my tire on the stored bike the other day and it is almost as firm as when I left it before the winter (2.5 Mos). As an additional endorsement, my riding mower had a tubeless leak, so I added Stans and the tire has held air perfectly for months. I recommend it if you don't like flats.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
scott
a Cross Country Rider
from simi valley, ca Date Reviewed: December 13, 2005
Favorite Trail:
space mountain
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Purchased At:
simi cycling center
Strengths:
it works, absolutly an amazing product but possibly not for every one, I started using it this past april and haven't had a flat since
Weaknesses:
zero
Similar Products Used:
good old tubes
Bike Setup:
cannondale jekyll full XT, hayes mag plus brakes, of course tubeliss
Bottom Line:
incredible product, does the job, this is more so for the person who likes to work with bikes, if you are good at changing tires its no problem, but if you are an amuter you could get frustraited. great for racing flats are now towards the back of my mind. i did my ouwn test with them i had a set of worn down tubeliss tires with the stans in them, took a neddle an poked some holes, as soom as i pulled them out it instantley sealed it minimum loss of air pressure, not even one psi. I highley recomend that you get the stans presta valves with the removable valve cores (better than the mavic ones), and the stan's injector, it will save you the mess, and cuts down set up time
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jeff
a Cross Country Rider
from PA, USA Date Reviewed: November 9, 2005
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Easy to follow instructions.
Weaknesses:
Waste of money.
Bottom Line:
I have been patient with this product and have given it a second chance, but no more!!! I set up both of my UST tubeless tires with stans the first time and had my LBS do it for the second time thinking that I did something wrong since it did not work. But the same thing happened the second time around which was NOTHING, just puddles of sealant. No miracle sealing action to be found here. FYI for the posts reporting that if it didn't work, then it was not set up properly - WRONG MY FRIENDS. I and my LBS followed every single step of the instructions, yet NO RESULTS. My front tire is WTB and I have a Continental on the rear. I have to say that stans did work for my friend when he punctured his rear tire, but I do not understand why it did not work for me. It seems that stans has a 50/50 chance of working based off of reviews and feedback from my LBS. Not good enough to waste any more of my money as I don't want to gamble with flats. Its cheaper and safer to throw in a tube if I get a flat rather than walking home with a frown on my face and stans all over my bike. If you are willing to gamble, this product is for you. If you believe you get what you pay for, look elsewhere.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mauro
a Cross Country Rider
from Switzerland Date Reviewed: November 3, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Arbostora
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$15.00
Strengths:
Just put in, inflate and forget it! Easy to clean by tire change.
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
ETSX-70, Mavic CrossMax Enduro
Bottom Line:
That's THE SOLUTION for almost any tubeless tire, no more air leak, no more punctures ... no more worries! You can use less liquid (30-40% less) than the amount written in the instruction and it works as well. Never without again!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
TGBM
a
from Thailand Date Reviewed: October 25, 2005
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Works as advertised. Seals punctures. Instalation relatively easy.
Weaknesses:
Installation instructions should distinguish between rim leaks (soapy bubbles) and sealant doing it's job (sealant leaking around the rim while the rim and tire are still wet). This would have made my first installation go a lot faster. Sealant only is priced reasonably, but rim strips are priced way too high compared to other brands. Glad I don't need them.
Bottom Line:
If you follow the installation video, installation is relatively easy. Running Geax non-tubeless tires and Mavic X3.1 tubeless rims w/o a rim strip. Installation with a compressor. First tire took about an hour because I was trying to make all the small white sealant leaks go away. I first thought these were rim leaks. Finally realized that by applying more soap, I was keeping the sealant flowing. Let it dry (and seal) and no problems. Second tire took 10 minutes max. Sealed tires are losing less air than my tubes did. Installation is now easy enough, I will just reseal with fresh sealant each time instead of just adding more. Gotta keep that weight down.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Bob
a Cross Country Rider
from San Marcos, CA Date Reviewed: October 24, 2005
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
Works on my friends bikes.
Weaknesses:
Doesn't work on my bike.
Bottom Line:
I've tried using Stan's in several different tire and rim combos.
I admit that one time it did seal a puncture. Four other times it left me with a mess! The mess is from installing a tube into a pool of dirt filled milk!
On the other hand, my friend has had good luck with his Stan's.
I personally would not recommend this product!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Petr
a Racer
from Virginia Date Reviewed: September 15, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Crest
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At:
notubes.com
Strengths:
I am thinking of one but if it does not do the fundamental thing it was designed for, what other use can you have for it. so none.
Weaknesses:
Fist of all. I gave it a chance with regular Continental Explorer Pro tire- brand new 2 pieces. Did not seal at all and when submerging tires in the wate on each there were hundreds of small bubles allong the threads. So did not work for sealing. Second: Then I put it in my tubeless Michelin tires and Specialized tires as an extra protection. When I had to change tires after about 1 month, I have found the solution in tires was not liquidy any more and created some kind of white balls inside from the latex. Probably when is reacted with the little of water I was using to seal the tubeless to the rim. Believe I have put hardly any soapy water because I expected this, so the probuct sucks. Now Imagine if you add every 2-3 months one scoop of the solution into your tires because the latex is dried out. You end up with 1000 gramms tires very soon. Full of junk. Another comment - it cloggs the valves. And lastly- try to clean the tires or rims when you take it down- unbelievable mess. I did not give it just one chance but 2 and it failed everytime. Spent quite a few money of this junk save yours and use the tubeless tires without it.
Bike Setup:
Trek Fuel, bontrager race Xlite rims, xtr, xt, fox
Bottom Line:
Does not seal, creates latexy balls inside tires and tries out, ultimatelly will make your tire have if you refill. Terrible mess inside tires and on the rimms. Cloggs valves. and expansive.
If you do not have personal mechanic and sponsor- forget it. It's not worth it.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
scotty
a Downhiller
from TX Date Reviewed: September 3, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Porkupine Rim MOAB
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$75.00
Purchased At:
on line and LBS
Strengths:
Very reliable, easy to use
Weaknesses:
needs to be reactivated every 3 to 5 months. Not realy a weakness.
I have not carried a spare tube in over two years and never had a flat that I could not make it back to the trailhead. If you cant read or can’t follow directions, DO NOT GET THIS PRODUCT. There is a small amount of upkeep to keep your tires for going flat. I have never had a flat form thorns, cactus needles, or pinch flat. I have dimpled my rim and still never lost any psi. It works great and I will never go back to tubes or any other type of sealant. Form other reviews, STANS does not work with Kenda but not all products will work with every bike. I would change my tire brand before I changed sealants!!!!! Do some research before you invest into this product so you wont go away crying? I have converted all my biking buddies and they have had the same results as I have. I now get pissed if I have to wait for other to change flats on the trail because they are to stubborn to try something new or to cheap, either or it still pisses me off. I guess I am getting spoiled. Bike stores hate STANS since they make a killing on tubes and tire repair. LBS owner uses it so that should be telling you something even though they never have any thing good to say about it. Go figure. AWSOME Product, and again, read the directions closely and there is a reason you shake the bottle and pour while the bottle is upside down so the active sealant does not settle back to the bottom.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Michael
a Racer
from Amarillo Date Reviewed: July 5, 2005
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Purchased At:
notubes.com
Strengths:
WORKS. Stopped leaks.
Weaknesses:
A product what??????????? I have not had any problems.
Similar Products Used:
UST Slime, Slime, Truegoo, Airlock
Bike Setup:
Orbea Scape, Rock Shox SID, XT/XTR component mix, Carbon Seat post, DT Swiss 240s Disc Wheels, Avid 5 Series brakes, Avid SD Mag levers, Easton Carbon Riser bar, Flite seat, Oury grips, Crank Brothers Pedals 22.5Lbs
Bottom Line:
The first time I used Stnas I was a little worried. That soon stopped as soon as I rode for 10 mile and the rolling was amazing. I race Ultra Endurance Mountain Bike races and flat are a hugh concern. I have yet to find a racer that does not want to switch as soon as the ride with it.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
pedaler845
a Cross Country Rider
from ny Date Reviewed: June 18, 2005
Favorite Trail:
stealth
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
Overlook Bikes
Strengths:
It might have prevented some flats, I'll never know how many...
Weaknesses:
***My Kenda Kinetic 2.2 UST's never had a flat with Stan's in them ~ HOWEVER, they've developed 20 or so small blisters and 3 nearly golf ball size ones, destroying the tire. This phenomenon seems to be a bad reaction to latex sealant!
Similar Products Used:
Slime
Bottom Line:
Kenda says using this in their tires voids warranties. It might have prevented a few flats, but now I'm tossing a $50 tire that still has good tread left. Ouch.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jim
a Weekend Warrior
from Sussex. England Date Reviewed: June 11, 2005
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
One does not flat( unless your carved up good and proper)
Weaknesses:
Pricey
Similar Products Used:
craft laytex ( a myth me thinks )
Bike Setup:
nice trail rig
Bottom Line:
I've been using stans for 2 years. In that time I have had one flat and that was a serious slice of about half an inch caused by a razor sharp flint. On that occasion I had to bung a tube in to get home. However I spent about 30 mins just pulling the myriad of sharps that had gone unnoticed for the preceding 18 months out of my tyre. Yesterday after riding through some nasty gorse with a typical blase attitute to flating I spyed an object in my rear tyre that looked as though an indiginous bushman had tried to snipe me with his digeree dart. I pulled this rhino horn out of the tyre once home and... hubble, bubble, hissing toil and..... hole seals and almost no pressure loss. I could'nt believe it, we are talking serious branch ingress. On seeing this morning that the tyre is still up I feel compelled to chilli max a dependable product that has worked for me. One puzzling thing is how one bit of kit works so well for somebody and not at all for the next person, c'est la vie
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
john
a Cross Country Rider
from new brunswick, NJ Date Reviewed: June 6, 2005
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
LBS
Weaknesses:
Does not work!!!
Bottom Line:
Did not do the job that it is supposed to do. I punctured my tire when riding in the parking lot of the local trailhead. I stood there scratching my head while watching all of the white fluid ooze out of my tire. No sealing action here, just a puddle of milk. I tried spinning my tire so the punctured area was facing the asphalt - nothing. I then spun the tire a bit more, still nothing but oozing Stan's. I inspected the puncture to see if a sharp object was lodged in the tire thinking that this was the reason that it was not sealing, but I found nothing, just a pin sized hole. The Stan's fluid was put in my tire no longer than two months ago and my tires have not been exposed to extreme temperatures so I cannot understand why this product did not work. I took my tire to my local LBS and showed the mechanic who was equally confused as he explained to me that he had punctures much bigger than mine which were instantly sealed by Stan's when they occured on the trail. I will not throw away any more time and money with this product as it does not work (at least in my situation).
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Todd Fisher
a Cross Country Rider
from Atlanta, Georgia Date Reviewed: June 4, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Chicopee Woods
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At:
Local Shop
Strengths:
Not sure if it works or not.
Weaknesses:
BUYER BEWARE......THIS PRODUCT IS NOT APPROVED FOR USE IN KENDA TIRES LIKE THE STANS WEB SITE STATES and may not be approved for yours. I have 3 golf ball size blisters and 10 small ones from the Stans product. Kenda says that there is a caustic chemical in the solution that is reacting to the rubber and causing blisters on several manufacturesr tires.
Similar Products Used:
None yet but I am going th try Hutchinsons product which is supposed to be safe as well as slime.
Bottom Line:
I am using Stans on all 3 sets of tires that I have and I have not had a flat since I have started using the product. I do not know if I have had a puncture or not. I loved this product until the blisters started showing up on $60.00 tires.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Steve Gillen
a Cross Country Rider
from Pennsylvania Date Reviewed: June 1, 2005
Favorite Trail:
The Wissahickon (Valley Green)
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$54.00
Purchased At:
Web site
Strengths:
Outstanding all the way around!
Weaknesses:
NONE!!!
Bike Setup:
The first is a little different but after that no sweat.
Bottom Line:
This stuff is great in so many ways. I am running 30# of air in panaracer fire xc pros that are not tubeless and the rims are Mavic x317's which are also not tubeless. Not one flat in nearly 2 full riding seasons. On 1 occasion I caught the edge of a rock and actually pulled the tire bead over the edge of the rim. It never went flat! I stopped to look at it and was able to let out a little air push the bead back in place and to this day (6 months later) I have still not had trouble with that tire! What an easy way to cut weight and save money. Tubed tires weigh substantially less than tubeless as do the rims not to mention the premium price tag increase. Its a win win all the way around! When it comes time to change into a new tire the removal of the tire is no more difficult however youll need to remove the dried Stans from the rim. It's similar to rubber cement when it's dry. It comes off with little effort. You will not be dissapointed!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ben
a Racer
from Ontario Date Reviewed: May 31, 2005
Favorite Trail:
Dirt
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Impala Bicycles
Strengths:
Added protection, seals annoying small UST leaks
Weaknesses:
Didnt seal a puncture, not a sure thing
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
Crossmax UST with Tubeless Pythons
Bottom Line:
Got a few punctures when I wasnt running Stans in a race not too long ago. Borrowed some Stans off my friend to seal the punctured tire for a race that day.........it sealed about 3 thorn holes in the main tread. It did not however seal a small 1/8th of an inch cut right by the bead in the tire. As another guy said, the Stans just kept squirting out and not sealing. I had to throw in a tube for the race. I picked up a new UST Python that day and now run Stans in both wheels for added protection but still carry a tube and CO2 with me cause it's not a sure thing and you can still loose 5-10psi before the Stans will seal the puncture so you will need the CO2 anyway to top up.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Steve
a
from Tucson, AZ Date Reviewed: May 17, 2005
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Works great on small punctures, i.e., cactus, goatheads, etc., and even seals larger holes....most of the time.
Weaknesses:
Cost: In my opinion the cost is the major deterant. The rim strips are way way too expensive for what they are.
Similar Products Used:
MAXXIS tubless rim strips.
Bike Setup:
Kona HT, Mavic 717 wheelset, Race Face Deus Cranks, Fox RLT 80 Forks, Hope mini disk brakes, Thompson seatpost, etc. etc.
Bottom Line:
Well, here is how I feel about Stan's NoTubes System. In general I think it's a great idea and works pretty well for the most part. The reality that no tire setup is perfect for every and all conditions every or every rider. If you ride a lot (5 to 6 days a week) you well know that tire maintenance and preservation is key to a good ride. I've used Stan's NoTubes System for a year now on my 717's and it works pretty well. Yes, it's messy at times when you flat (I always bring a small rag for cleanup). And yes, if your tire gets a 1/2 inch gash in its sidewall, you can bet it's not going to hold air....Stan's or no Stan's, slime or no slime. Also, if you follow the advice at the Stan's webpage on tire recommendations, the tire should not blow off the rim. I ride mostly Hutchinson's and have had no problems yet (I race xc and ride very aggressively while training).
Is there anything else out there? Well, yes, sort of. As you may know, the Stan's rim strips are way over priced for what you get. It's basically a 24" tube cut down to fit inside of the rim groove. I think that $22.50 each is a bit steep for Stan's rim strips. As for the latex sealant, I’m working on finding a replacement. But in the meantime, I’ll stick with Stan’s Sealant.
Alternative: Maxxis sells their own version of a tubless rim strip, allowing you to convert your non UST rims to run tubless, just like Stan's. The difference is the price. Stan's rim strips are $22.50-$25.00 (this is not including their flat shipping rate of aprox. $10.00...do the math!) Maxxis on the other hand sells their TS (Tubeless System) rim strips for $5.oo each. Yes! That's right! I said $5.00 each, and they work too! Maybe even a little better.
The Maxxis rim strip is a little different in that it completely covers the contact area where the tire would contact the rim. I've been riding on the Maxxis rim strips for two months now on an extra set of rims and they have been flawless. One area that they are superior to the Stan's Rim strips is that because they cover the edge of rim, you are much less likely to get a pinch flat from an impact. It can happen I'm sure, but the rim edge is cushioned by the new layer of material and I think also would allow the tire to slide on the rim a little. OK! I'll end this now.
Bottom Line? You can afford $5.oo x 2. Even if it's to experiment.
Oh! One last thing. I did notice that initially the rim strip seemed too wide to fit snug into the rim. I removed all vestiges of rim tape (bare rim) re-inserted the rim strips and they worked perfectly.
Cheers!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
James
a Weekend Warrior
from Raleugh, NC Date Reviewed: April 15, 2005
I wanted to try tubeless. Bought some el-cheap-O Mavic Crossland rims for $250/set. Slapped my old non-UST tires on. Bought some Stan's No-tubes goo, dumped 2 cap-fulls in the tires. Hit it with the air compressor and it seated immediately. Whole process took less than 5 minutes. I used no soap bubbles, no special procedure, just mounted like normal and hit it with the air. Mindless easy...
I did have to shake the tires side-2-side to get micro leaks sealed around the rims, but that took less than 5 minutes for both wheels.
I have ridden slow/technical/granny-gear/high-tourque trails and have had no problems yet. I'm running 5 psi less than I did with my tubes. I hit a couple of large rocks hard and made me cringe, but the tire are holding air great and no burps.
Stupid easy (lucky for me). What's not to like?
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
dave
a Cross Country Rider
from boise Date Reviewed: April 12, 2005
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$56.00
Purchased At:
pricepoint
Strengths:
light weight compared to U.S.T set up.
Weaknesses:
none so far
Bike Setup:
hard tail Ibex with stans,fuel 90 with mavic U.S.T system
Bottom Line:
I have to admit I have a completely different attitude about Stans, I was somewhat paranoid about conversions after tire blew off rim due to bad set up from lbs did lots of research and followed advice from mountain bike action and Stans aired up first time and no problems at all weighs about pound and a quarter less than my mavic set up I do think my crosslands are a very strong wheel that stand up to lots of abuse both systems are good lots more tire choices with stans large volume tires work best for me spider lights ect Stan has excellent support online.tires last so much longer at lower pressures allowed by tubeless systems.I do not miss tubes at all.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Travis Allen
a Downhiller
from Lewiston idaho Date Reviewed: March 2, 2005
Favorite Trail:
all
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$65.00
Purchased At:
universalcycle
Strengths:
Holds tight, you can run low pressure and no more snakebites. Light weight and easy to set up.
Weaknesses:
A little hard to inflate the first time with wire bead tires, but no biggie.
Similar Products Used:
dh tubes, slime and specialized sealant.
Bike Setup:
04 bullit, hope mono 6ti, deemax, king hubs and headset, boxxer team avy rear shock thomson race face etc...
Bottom Line:
I ride hard and weigh 202lbs I like to drop and not have to worry about things breaking. I did at first worrie about stans burping and or breaking the bead and crushing a rim along with a spectacular wipe out. I dropped big stair gaps and came up short on purpose while slamming the bike into the corners of the stairs as hards as I could upon landing and NO BURPING YET! I manualled the bike's rear tire into curbs straight on and fast, NO BURPING YET! I finally did a hard run and flew through a rock garden, NO BURPING YET! So far they have been more impressive than planned on. I know eventually they'll burp but it wont be that bad. I trust to run them now on the aggressive courses and not think about it.
Bottom line: They accellerate faster than tubes, you get a better feel for the terrain, you know where the bike is at all times with the quicker response and alot less rolling resistance.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Howard Kaiser
a Cross Country Rider
from Chandler, AZ Date Reviewed: February 10, 2005
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$22.00
Purchased At:
notubes.com
Strengths:
It works!
Weaknesses:
Messy...particularly if you have a stubborn tire that won't seat...but it's worth the hassle.
Mavic Crossmaz rims with Hutchinson Python Air Lites
Bottom Line:
I ride hard cross mountain and had lots of punctures and pinch flats with my old tubies. When the new ride came with UST ready rims, I jumped on a set of tubless tires. Started with Larsen TT's (A good tire for dry conditions but sensitive to pressure.) No more pinch flats (yeah!), but damn those thorns!
Then I discoverd Stans. My mountain biking coworker has not had a flat in 2 years of riding with this product. He recommended it. I tried it.
Now, I don't even carry a pump and tube backup on my rides because I am so confident. I can see after my rides where I picked up a new thorn because the sealant leaves a wet spot on the tire...(I have 5 or 6 wet spots on my tires right now) but they hold air! I put in about 5# of air each week to keep the pressures spot on. I can live with that. I'm running tubeless Python Air Lites now and they're holding air very well. I refreshed the Stans in them recently as I could not feeel any liquid sloshing after about 2-3 months of riding. The inside of the tire and rim was completely coated with a gooey film. I had to wipe the edge of the tire beads and rims so that they would re-seal properly...and they did...and I'm still happy! It's the best $22 I've ever spent on bike stuff.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Wobbly
a Cross Country Rider
from New Zealand Date Reviewed: January 1, 2005
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
From Stans' web site
Strengths:
Very simple to use with my rim and tyre combination. Works exactly as advertised. NO punctures and much better rolling efficiency and more grip. What more could you want!
Weaknesses:
Self inflicted see below
Similar Products Used:
Home grown conversion kit
Bike Setup:
Mavic 221 rims and Hutchinson Python Air lights (non UST version)
Bottom Line:
I used to used home grown solution recommended by the mechanic at the bike shop. I bought a container of latex from the local art shop for $12 and diluted it with 50% percent water, two loops of self amalgamating tape wrapped around the inside of the rim and a valve cut from an old tube with a little flange of rubber left on to seal it. This system sealed extemely well (even better than Stan's system) because the self amalgamating tape (one of the world's best inventions) bonded extremely well to the tyre to create a virtual tube.
However this turned out to also be the achilles heal of the system because the latex I used set after a period of time (both in the tyre and in the container) and it was next to impossible to separate the tyre from the amalgamating tape after a period of six months and almost impossible to peel off the set latex from the inside of the tyre. I think Stan adds some other agent to the latex (possibly more amonia to stop the latex solution setting in the tyre. (I think that Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere and pumped into the tyre causes the latex to set??).
With this setup it proved impossible to add more latex at a later date.
Because of these two problematic factors I switched to Stan's system and initially I used his first generation rim strips. These had a valve with a removable centre that made adding more sealant a breeze. However these early rim strips did not have a threaded body on the outside - so it was impossible to brace the valve against the rim with a valve nut. This meant that when adding air with a hand pump on the trail the valve moved around so much that it ripped free of the rim strip and of course would no longer seal. I note sevearl other posters hav had this same problem (of course we have all pulled a valve out of standard tube before when in a mid race rush to get the tyre pumped back up)
I noted that the new rim strips that Stan was advertising a few weeks after I bought mine had a thread around the outside to take a valve nut and hence overcome this problem. I rang Stan to explain the problem and was confident that I he would just offer to send me a free replacement rim strip. No such luck. I was a bit brassed off but ordered two of the new rim strips and a year later I haven't had any problems with the valves pulling out of the rim strips. Like someone else who posted below, when changing worn out tyres on one occassion I got a hell of a surprise to find the remains of a 2 inch nail inside one of my tyres! I have no idea of when this occured obvisously Stan's tyre sealant worked perfectly.
However I did rip a 1 inch gash in the side wall of a tyre on a sharp rock way out in the back of nowhere. No problem I thought... just chuck in a tube that I was carrying for just such an emergency. I removed the tyre and Stans rim strip, chucked in the new tyre and set off again. However after 200m the tyre went flat again!?
On inspection I discovered that the tyre had been cut by the sharp edges of the spoke holes in the rim proturding through the rim tape that had been under Stan's rim tape. The lesson learnt is that your rim tape obviously needs to be in good condition in case you have to ever remove Stans rim strip and install a tube in an emergency.
So as you can see the only problem I have had with Stan's system was self inflicted. Tubless is the way to go for lower rolling resistance and much better grip from your tyres. You will be amazed at the extra grip you can get from a low tread XC tyre when you convert it to tubless.
Stan's system is much lighter than using normal tubless tyres and works exacly as advertised. ALso there is good savings in not having to buy tubes and pinch flats and nail flats are now consigned to history. I have had no problems installing and pumping up new tyres and no burp flats etc. I need to add a few pounds of air to my tyres once every two weeks every week just as I had to do with tubes.
Definitely the best upgrade I have ever done to my bike. Of course Stan's new super light weight wheel set could be the second best upgrade when I get the courage to spend the money and buy them.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
dave
a Cross Country Rider
from boise idaho Date Reviewed: December 28, 2004
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$65.00
Purchased At:
lbs
Strengths:
works great with ust rim and tire stans sealant is a necessity
Weaknesses:
I am no longer willing to risk injury by having the tire blow off the rim of a non-ust conversion
Bike Setup:
2001 fuel 90 and 2004 ibex hardtail
Bottom Line:
conversions of non ust tires and rims is too hit and miss yes all the pros use stans conversion kits but hey they have mechanics to do all their work I like ust systems they are bullet proof but yes they are somewhat heavier I use mavic rims and michelin tires these are two products designed to work with each other I have tried various reccomended non ust tires on conversions with mixed results and with reccomended pressures It just makes me anxious that the tire could blow off burp ect, eventually I hope the ust system will be lighter.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Anthony
a Cross Country Rider
from GTA Date Reviewed: November 16, 2004
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
Hardwood
Strengths:
Easy to use Easy clean-up Seals the heck out of tires Stays fluid to seal potential new holes
Weaknesses:
Tires will require a top-up every so often (dries out after 3 to 4 months) Not that cheap.(its only latex and water)
Similar Products Used:
Why use anything else?
Bike Setup:
Giant NRS, CrossMax Disc, with regular (non tubeless) Specialized Enduro Pro kevlar bead tires
Bottom Line:
I've used this product in my regular kevlar bead specialized 2.2 enduro pro tires (not tubeless) for about 1 year now. I don't think that I would ever go back to using tubes again. REALY. Regular tires will require a bit of effort to get them all sealed-up (with the flimsy kevlar bead and all) but once their pumped up and stretched into shape their golden. The latex solution laterally permeated the entirety of the sidewalls until the tires were completely sealed up. I used this set up on Mavic CrossMax disc wheels with stock valves so there was no need for anything else to complete the seal-up.
Here are a couple of tips when using Stan's with regular tires (my specialized anyhow):
You'll need to top up the tires with more sealant after a few months or when you can no longer hear the stuff sloshing around in the wheel. This will keep the sealant active for future punctures and small occasional burps between the rim and bead.
Because of the relatively thinner sidewall of the regular kevlar bead tires, when compared to tubeless tires, you may need to keep the tire pressure above 40PSI. When using less that 40PSI, I've had the tire completely deflate (burp out) all of its air on large impacts. I usually use 45 to 50PSI and have had no problems at this pressure (even on major blows).
The combination of high pressure, no tubes and light kevlar tires (not heavy tubeless) translates to the lowest rolling resistance you can easily get for a particular tire. It’s great, you’ll love it!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jobe
a Racer
from Lubbock Texas Date Reviewed: November 14, 2004
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Seals great in almost every condition
Weaknesses:
It didn't work in a recent race when it was freezing, raining, sleeting, and muddy as all get-out.
Bottom Line:
This stuff is awesome unless its extremely cold, wet and muddy.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
doubleB
a Cross Country Rider
from Blacksburg, VIrginia Date Reviewed: November 6, 2004
Favorite Trail:
Brush/GapMtn Trail System
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
From their website
Strengths:
Does what it is supposed to do. After the initial setup this thing is easy as pie to do.
Weaknesses:
Cost, could be a little less, but I have to admit, it pays for itself in tubes over time. If you don't have an air compressor handy to use, I wouldn't recommend this product.
Similar Products Used:
Nananananada
Bike Setup:
Cane Creek WAM Disc front with Conti Vertical Pro 2.3 Bontrager Maverick rear with Conti Vertical Pro 2.3
Bottom Line:
Finally tried this product after the highest recommendation of my buddy CRASHmeOUT on the Left coast.
I learned that the make and size tire you choose has the greatest impact on your level of success. High volume tires seem to work the best and allow you to take best advantage of running lower pressures for better traction and ride quality.
Definitely follow their installation instructions and you won't go wrong. The Contis have performed the best for me so far and eliminated the burping problem I had experienced while running an IRC Mythos XC 2.1 on the rear.
However, come winter I will be switching back to my IRC Kujos and expect them to work well with Stans.
This is a great system if you check your air pressure before every ride when you lube your chain, don't let the air get too low and carry a tube as a backup.
WARNING!!! You can tear the stem from the rimstrip if repressurizing while using a mini-pump in the field. I recommend purchasing a Topeak Mountain Morph mini-pump to minimize this risk. It is like a mini-floor pump as the air hose takes the stress of pumping off of the stem.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
g love
a Weekend Warrior
from charleston, sc Date Reviewed: October 29, 2004
Favorite Trail:
marrington
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
notubes.com
Strengths:
easy to use, works like it is supposed to
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
s-works epic disc, xtr, fox f100x if steel deluxe, xtr, fox f80 rlt
Bottom Line:
i have had zero problems. if you follow the instructions it is very easy to use. seals holes and holds air. i have used with both crossmax xl and crossmax sl with kenda and michelin tires and no problems at all.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
DW
a Weekend Warrior
from Orlando, FL Date Reviewed: October 21, 2004
Favorite Trail:
santos
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
no tubes.com
Strengths:
No flats or overnight leaks!! It seals punctures like no tomorrow!!
Weaknesses:
Gotta replace when it dries.
Similar Products Used:
Slime, didn't like it very much.
Bike Setup:
Trek 9.8, XT, dics, python light tubless
Bottom Line:
This stuff rocks if you know how to install a tubless tire. Go on their website and watch the video on how to do it.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Silverdale Date Reviewed: October 2, 2004
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Stans NoTubes.com
Strengths:
All the tubeless (less initial setup) with a reduced weight.
Weaknesses:
Stans will eventually dry and and need replaced. Availability, easy to purchase on the WEB, however hard to find in the average bike shop, most carry only the full Stans set up (rim strips, rim tape, latex).
Similar Products Used:
CrossMax SL Michelin XL S
Bike Setup:
517 Mavic Rims, Kenda Karma Tires
Bottom Line:
It took me about 2 hours to setup a 517 Mavic RIM and get it holding air. No more than 45 minutes for the second tire and I got it to hold air with about 3 strokes of a floor pump. I didn't hang the tire, instead I held it vertical with it resting lightly on the floor. The nozzle in the 6 o'clock position. This allowed me to push on the tire slightly to better seal the tire around the nozzle. This is the problem area when trying to inflate the tire. Use lots of suds(spare the water), I applied them with a paint brush. The second tire was a half used Kenda Karma with some scuff marks in the sidewall. These tended to be the hardest to seal, however with enough shaking, I got them to seal. The first tire just plain had a hole in the thread. Stans quickly took care of it. I found rotating the tire in a tub of water was the quickest way to pinpoint leaks. Initially, you may loose some air, upon reinflation you may open up some addtional spots in the side wall as the rubber streaches, so resealing rotation and shaking will be required to "plug" those holes. Once the tire holds air for 12 hours, they seem to be pretty reliable. Great ride. I have tubeless tires mounted on Crossmax SL rims however the Stans setup on the 517s may be the better ride.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Joe Squillace
a Cross Country Rider
from Rapid City, SD USA Date Reviewed: September 11, 2004
Favorite Trail:
The Bone Collector
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$70.00
Purchased At:
Acme Bikes
Strengths:
Absolutely no puncture or pinch fats!!!! Lighter than slime tubes.
Weaknesses:
Kinda pricy and can be a bit messy to set up.
Similar Products Used:
Slime tubes
Bike Setup:
Gary Fisher Tassajara, LX Rear Deraillur, Deore Front Deraillur, LX shifters, XT hubs, Avid Disc brakes, rino light rims
Bottom Line:
I swear you can puncture your tires as many times as you want and Stans system seals them up! I feel sooooo much more comforatable not having to worry about pinch and puncture flats! They seem to hold their air very well too. I havent had any burp experiences yet but I will see what happens. The first time I set them up I spent 2 frustrating hrs trying to set them up with a floor pump. The second time i had them sealed in a 45 min! If you are tired of patching flats go down to your bike shop and get a kit! 2 thumbs up and a third demented alien thumb Stan!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
ben herbert
a Weekend Warrior
from sydney Date Reviewed: August 18, 2004
Favorite Trail:
great north walk
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$30.00
Purchased At:
bike fanatic
Strengths:
it works as advertised! A high volume compressor would make it absolutely trivial. It is possible with a floor pump and considerable sweat and persistence
Weaknesses:
none so far detected
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
Spec. epic with full XTR, mavic 317 front wheel and WH-M765 XT Rear wheel
Bottom Line:
I just got an XT rear wheel after trashing the mavic 317 rear. After one ride with a tubed conti traction pro I decided to give Stans a try. The traction pro is a couple of months old and I didnt bother cleaning it at all. I wiped the rim out with a rag and put in 2 scoops of Stans.
Then the fun starts with the floor pump. For about 30 minutes all I could achieve was about 10-20psi. There was much sweating and sore arms. However, after about 10 attempts the pores in the conti began to seal and hold pressure. I have it up to 80psi and it appears to be sealed.
with a compressor capable of providing high volume flow the whole process would be quite fast and sweat-free.
I am very impressed that it seals a well used, non-UST tyre without any real fuss. The next test will be to convert the mavic 317 on the front.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Pam
a Cross Country Rider
from Lutherville, MD, USA Date Reviewed: August 10, 2004
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
http://www.notubes.com
Strengths:
works as advertised; excellent sealant; easy to install/apply; works like a dream; helps seal out minor punctures; NO AIR LOSS!!!
Weaknesses:
None that I've experienced.
Bike Setup:
2001 Giant NRS 1 (stock except for SRAM drivetrain and Hutchinson Scorpion Tires).
Bottom Line:
This is an amazing product. I didn't believe it would work until I tried it. I was having some air loss issues but the Stans No Tubes fixed that. It does wear out after a while, so you should re-apply after 6-8 months or so. (Though maybe sooner or mayber later depending on the temperature.)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mikey V
a Weekend Warrior
from Edwards AFB Date Reviewed: August 8, 2004
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$70.00
Purchased At:
lancaster bicycles
Strengths:
seals, is not as messy as other tire sealants, works great on thorns
Weaknesses:
any holes bigger than a thorn puncture will not seal, if it's hot it dries up so you have to keep refilling, some tires just don't friggin work with some rims like the IRC rear tire and Mavic 139 rims. used air compressor with no luck
Similar Products Used:
slime tubes, thorn resistant, slime inserts
Bike Setup:
03 spec. enduro
Bottom Line:
It's all good, just takes alot of maintenance, but seals up "thorn holes" really well
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Eric Flom
a Cross Country Rider
from Golden Valley, MN, USA Date Reviewed: August 3, 2004
Favorite Trail:
CAMBA
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
Erik's
Strengths:
It simply works. Period.
Weaknesses:
What?
Similar Products Used:
None
Bike Setup:
Does it matter?
Bottom Line:
I picked this up to stop air loss from Hutchinson Pythons on Mavic Crossrocs. It worked. No more pre-ride pumping. Check pressure and go. What more would one need?
AND, I used this to fix a flat on my wife's car! Late last night I noticed she had a flat on the car sitting in our garage. I offered to change it before bed. Unload spare and jack, etc. and find that the wheel will not come off of the hub (yeah, I removed lugs). No way. Soon it was 12:30 AM, dripping with sweat and getting groggy. I need a solution. Reach for my Stan's, use my floor pump to inflate, drizzle Stan's around the screw that punctured the tread and release air through the valve stem hoping it would create a vacuum that would allow the sealant to settle around screw threads. It works! Avoided major hassles this morning thanks to Stan's ingenuity. Nearly 24 hours later and no air loss. A truly simple product that performs better than anything should for its low cost!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
HTail
a Cross Country Rider
from SF Bay Area Date Reviewed: July 28, 2004
Favorite Trail:
The Rock
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
Stan's
Strengths:
Once you get the tire mounted it really works well. Very little if any leakage even with non-UST tires. Confidence in not worrying about thorns and pinch flats.
Weaknesses:
A little tricky to get the technique down to mount the tires with a hand pump, but you learn by doing.
Bike Setup:
Truth/F100X/AvidMechDisc/CrossMaxSL/cont vert pro
Bottom Line:
If you follow Stan's instructions and watch the video on the web site, you should have success. The advantage I had is that the crossmax rims are UST ready. Just had to attach the tubeless valve and the Continental Vertical Pro tires (standard) worked well for going tubeless.
I think the first time is kind of messy, but once you get the first tire mounted successfully, you'll understand how to do it better the next time. Yup, the soap & water thing does help.
As far as performance, it is amazing to be running w/o tubes. My first sensation was the hollow sound the tire makes, and a slightly snappier feel while climbing. The biggest revalation was lowering the air pressure to about 25-30psi and bombing down hill with the best traction I've ever had. Plus the confidence knowing that I won't have to worry about pinch flats and thorns is great.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Garth
a
from Richmond, CA USA Date Reviewed: July 27, 2004
Favorite Trail:
Flume Trail
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$57.00
Purchased At:
Cambria
Strengths:
I have to say that I held off on buying this because I thought that it was more trouble than it was worth. After hearing the hype I went for it and haven't looked back. Aside from lightening things up in the right place, the wheel circumference, and the smooth ride and amazing traction, no flats. I feel that there is substantially less rolling resistence--with lower pressure! I still carry a tube in my pack but I 'm starting to feel like dropping the extra weight and leaving the "blankey" at home.
Weaknesses:
Pricey as hell for what you get in the kit, but get it anyway.
Similar Products Used:
Tempermental home conversion
Bike Setup:
K2 Oz m, Mavic 517 IRC Mythos
Bottom Line:
If you attempt this kit be sure to take your time and pre-clean the rims with acetone so that everything seats good and follow the instructions EXACLY. Use eye protection and don't exceed 40psi. A floor pump can be a hassle, compressed air helps--alot. The bike felt great before. Tubeless has been one of the best dollar per pound upgrade that I have made. Buy the kit if you are a conniseur of good handling and know how to work over a tire in your sleep. Pass if you don't do your own maintenance. The price still needs to come down, thus the four flaming hot ones.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kenne
a Weekend Warrior
from Boise Date Reviewed: July 11, 2004
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$70.00
Purchased At:
Price Point.com
Strengths:
None
Weaknesses:
Everything I put this stuff in my Big hit bike and I had a flat the next day in my front then I put in my tube on the front tire went Urbaning and blew out the back and trashed my bach rim this stuff suck butt bad.
Bottom Line:
Put it in a tube I ran 50 psi in my back tire droped off a 3foot drop on to stairs and trashed my rim this is the worst dont buy it.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Angel Rufino
a Cross Country Rider
from Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico Date Reviewed: May 12, 2004
If my firts time using Tubeless wheels. I rode on the weekend a trail that is full of thorns. When I saw how many thorns have my tires and when I take them off, I said, this product really works. I recomend this product to every one.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
fabrice
a Racer
from Marina del Rey Date Reviewed: May 2, 2004
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
run low at 28 PSI ( I am 142 pounds) better traction, feels light and smooth. No more pinch flat Makes my F2000 Cannondale feel "almost" like a FS...O)
Weaknesses:
At that point: NONE
Bottom Line:
Combination of Cane Creeks Wams + WTB Motoraptor works great. Very easy to set up (no soap bla bla bla). To be higly recommended on this setup
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
tony
a
from Ventura, CA Date Reviewed: May 1, 2004
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
- It works - Stops pressure loss in UST tubless tires
Weaknesses:
None so far, maybe the cleaning up part, clogging of the valve stem, but all are minor
Bike Setup:
Giant VT1
Bottom Line:
This thing really works!!! Enough said.
Ok, well I don't know how this doesnt work for others. But, if you follow the directions on Stan's website it should be cinch.
I personnally have Crossmax XL wheels w/ Hutchinson Mosquitos in the front and Scorpions in the rear and Stan's Notubes sealant does the job for me. I have had no air pressure loss for almost two weeks. But, for other riders w/ different wheels I can not comment on.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
shm
a
from waterville Date Reviewed: April 26, 2004
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Made in USA. Friendly company.
Weaknesses:
Doesn't work for me.
Bottom Line:
I followed all directions *explicitly* regarding my Alex DX32's, Sun Rhyno lite and Singlewide... to no avail. After the tires were initially sealed a few of the small holes would "uncork" at 35-40psi, expecially when I put pressure on them (sitting on bikes). The Alex rims never completely sealed, either.
Nice folks (hence the two chilis) but I do not trust this product.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
dan
a
from fort smith Date Reviewed: April 15, 2004
Duration Product Used:
Tested or demo'ed only
Strengths:
If it would work
Weaknesses:
Doesn't work with all tires. check it the website and makesure your choice of tire is on there. my experience is that if the tire is not on his page, it won't inflate. forget the easy installation. you need a compressor. my friends, my shop and others were all unable to inflate any tire except for one and then none of us could repeat it.
Similar Products Used:
tubes, ust, mavic crossmax, you name it
Bike Setup:
fuel 100, dave speeddream wheel with valiant rim, panracer fire xc
Bottom Line:
If you run conti's, hutchinson, then you're probably ok. if you have a compressor or access to one then you're ok. if you run panracer fire xc and have only access to a floor pump. don't try it. even if you have everything and follow the directions you'll still be running a chance of the system not working. i've talk to several mechanics. they all said that they've never heard of anyone having an easy time with the installation. especially with a floor pump. don't believe the hype.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ryan
a Cross Country Rider
from Adelaide, Australia Date Reviewed: April 9, 2004
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$57.00
Purchased At:
online
Strengths:
No pinch flats, makes wheels lighter, puncture proof in the long run, hopefully cheaper than replacing tubes
Weaknesses:
Time to install properly, expensive for what it is...but still cheaper than a UST setup and much lighter too.
This is an awesome product, but you will need to take your time and do it correctly. Don't think you will do both wheels in an hour, it will take you at least two.
DO NOT ATTEMPT IF YOU HAVE NOT PATIENCE, TIME or little skill!
I am using a Conti explorer on the front and double fighter on the back and used an air compressor (one to plug into the cigarette lighter in the car)to inflate.
Make sure you use plenty of soap bubbles and have stan's rim strip in correctly, and also use as new tyres as possible. My explorer is newer and very few sidewall holes, while it took a little longer to rotate the tire and fill the small holes in the older double fighter.
To those who have bagged this product, or not had success, you have NOT done it correctly or have no air compressor or old dodgy tires. Get the correct set up in the first place and you will have a bomb proof system.
On my first ride I went 75kph down a bitumen road, about 4km down a slaty, rocky downhill run, over speed humps (hitting them hard and fast!), over curbs and then deliberately went over a thorny patch of grass and weed. Got about 6 thorns, pulled them out and stan's sealed them instantly. No loss of air pressure over night..... WHAT ELSE CAN YOU WANT????
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
wayne
a Weekend Warrior
from HB, CA. USA Date Reviewed: April 3, 2004
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$57.00
Purchased At:
stans
Strengths:
it works
Weaknesses:
cost
Similar Products Used:
homebrew tubless system
Bike Setup:
depends where Im riding
Bottom Line:
It works! about 2 years ago I developed my own kit and tho it worked intermitantly it was a real pita. The thing that gets me about this kit is the cost, $60 for sealant and 2 rim strips? Stan would be pulling a profit if the kit cost half that. Anyway its his baby and it works, thanks Stan.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Bare
a Cross Country Rider
from Victoria Date Reviewed: March 1, 2004
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Stan's allows you to use light non-ust tires on ust rims.A bonus is puncture resistancy.
Weaknesses:
Choose the right non-ust tire.I use KENDA KARMA stick-e's light.1.9 on the front and 2.1 on the back.I ride a hard tail.Messy set-up.The PRO's at OAK-BAY BShop set me up.Tires will lose pressure over night for the first few days.
Bike Setup:
Oryx T-750 hard tail.Racing set-up.
Bottom Line:
The above Stans/Kenda set-up is used successful by many riders up here in the mountainbike mecca of Canada:VICTORIA.Many PRO's now use this set-up on their race bikes.Last year at GROUSE MT,World-Cup a female racer punctured and was rolling after 45 secs.She used a stan's set-up and simply pumped up the tire and off she went.The three best developements in mountainbiking are 1.suspension forks 2.clipless pedals 3.Stans/UST combo.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Cycl_Junkie
a Cross Country Rider
from Rancho Santa Margarita Date Reviewed: January 10, 2004
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At:
Stan's Site
Strengths:
Saves weight, run lower pressure, punture resistant.
Weaknesses:
First try didn't work (probably user error).
Bottom Line:
My first try was to mount MutanoRaptor 2.24's on Mavic 317 rims. They lost air over night completely and so I threw some tubes back in because we were doing a long ride that day (pretty messy changing tires). My second attempt was with some Conti Vertical Protections on the same rim. Stan's instructions specify using baby powder to install the rim strip on 317 rims. The first time I dabbed some powder on the rim strips. On my second try I dumped some powder in a ziploc bag and did the old "shake and bake" on my rim strips. They went on so smoothly. The Conti's air'd up super quick and held air over night. Getting ready for my first ride on Stan's NoTube. Will post a follow-up review.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tom
a Cross Country Rider
from San Rafael, CA, USA Date Reviewed: November 20, 2003
Favorite Trail:
any and all illegal ST
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$10.00
Strengths:
This stuff plain old works. I ride Panracer Fire UST's on Mavic Crossmax rims and was consistently losing 10+ lbs of air a week. After adding the Stan's Tire and Rim Sealant to both tires, I have had zero air loss.
Weaknesses:
After 2 or 3 months, none so far. We'll see how long it lasts before I need to add more.
Similar Products Used:
None
Bottom Line:
Best 10 bucks I've spent on biking gear. If you're losing air in your tubeless setup, pick some of this up.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Scott
a Weekend Warrior
from Dorchester, MA Date Reviewed: October 27, 2003
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At:
Stan's
Strengths:
It really works!
Weaknesses:
Can be sloppy-momentary spray from puncture. Oh well, it still beats stoppping and patching!
Similar Products Used:
Tubes
Bike Setup:
2k Heckler/Fox Vanilla RC, 99 Judy XLC 100, Sun Rhynolites w/XT disc hubs, Panaracer Fire XC pro kevlar 2.1 tires.
Bottom Line:
I used the full tubeless conversion kit. Both tires had a couple of holes to begin with. They sealed up immediately after the conversion. Since then, I've had at least 4 more punctures between tires and never lost more than a few pounds each time. This sealant is a must for tubeless and the conversion has been well worth it. I'll make my money back in time and tubes. Oh yeah-I can run lower pressure through the rocks now! Buy it!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto, ON Date Reviewed: October 16, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Haliburton Forest
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
15
Strengths:
No air leak on UST, not even a pound. Sealed nail.
Weaknesses:
Messy?
Similar Products Used:
Not aware of any
Bike Setup:
Hutchinson Python UST on X3.1
Bottom Line:
I like the Pythons, got a good deal on Mosquitos, so I switched them tonight. Cleaned the rim. Cleaned the Stans off the ridge of the tire, for the next use. Then noticed a 2 inch nail in the tire sticking straight up. Probably rode 2-3 weeks with the nail. Never lost a pound of pressure. I plan to keep using this with UST.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
stimmer
a
from Boston Date Reviewed: September 29, 2003
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Bike Setup:
317 rims
Bottom Line:
I just wanted to balance out the last review.
I love conti tires. Pretty much my favs. I have successfully used survival protection, vertical protection, explorer protection, and twister protection with flawless results with well over 1,500 miles (the other 2,000 miles I've ridden this past 6 mos. came on the road) since going to notubes. Note the protection version.....just makes sense when going tubeless, huh? 10 xtra grams + stiffer sidewalls = common-sense
I won't diss the last guys experience, but just know this "zealot" rider has used conti tires with this system for 6 mos and hasn't had a single problem, hmmmmmm.......
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a
from PA Date Reviewed: September 25, 2003
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
When it works it great.
Weaknesses:
When it doesn't work, a real problem. Pain in the @ss to change tires. A bit sloppy.
Bottom Line:
Previously I've posted praising Stan's. Been using the stuff sinc it's been out. I feel I must repost.
Use: I've used this product while XC racing and aggressive trailriding.
If you can find a tire that works well with Stan's the stuff is hard to beat. You get all the advantages of tubless without the cost. The problem is that not all tires work well with Stan's. Some tires like to burp air on relatively small hits. Some tires will roll off the rim during hard turns and you end up with a dinged rim full of dirt. Changing tires is a real mess with Stan's.
If you can find a tire that you like and will stick with, and it works well with Stan's it really is great stuff. Kind of like disc brakes vs Vs: When working well they rock, but they are finicky as heck.
I've not been on Stan's site for a while but if not done yet he should post a list of tires known to work well with the sealant. From my experience Hutchinson's worked well. Conti's did not.
Mike
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
JON
a
from TULSA Date Reviewed: September 24, 2003
Favorite Trail:
WINDSOR, NM AND TURKEY MTN, TULSA
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
STAN'S
Strengths:
NOTHING NOTABLE - SLOWS AIR LOSS
Weaknesses:
AIR STILL ESCAPES MY UST TIRES
Similar Products Used:
NONE
Bike Setup:
NRS WITH ALL XT, XT DISC, MAVIC 3.1 AND HUTCH SCORPION TUBELESS/ PANARACER TRAIL BLASTER TUBE TIRE AS ALTERNATIVE SET
Bottom Line:
ONLY USE FOR UST FOR PREDICTABLE RESULTS - NOT PREDICTABLE IN OTHER USES - DID NOT FUNCTION WITH THE TUBE TIRE SETUP, MY TIRE KEPT BLOWING OFF, DESPITE ANY ADVISE FROM STAN'S. sUPPOSEDLY ONLY WORKS WITH CONTINENTAL, KENDA, AND HUTCHINSON TUBE TIRES TO DO THE TUBLESS THING. WORKS AS A DESCENT LEAK PREVENTION OR FILLER IF YOUR LUCKY - IT HAS NOT SEALED ANY PIN HOLES I HAVE GOTTEN AND I HAVE 2 FULL SCOOPS IN MY UST TIRES!!!! THIS ALL SEEMS TO BE AN EXPERIMENT, NOT A RELIABLE PRODUCT. NO RESULTS FOR ME!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Sam
a Cross Country Rider
from Vancouver, WA USA Date Reviewed: August 5, 2003
I put more Stan's No-Tubes sealant in after my first puncture because I thought the reason it didn't seal my rock puncture was because I didn't have enough in.
I was wrong!
I got another rock puncture (small one this time) and I kept the sealant over the leak and the stuff just kept seeping out - it would stop - I'd wait a few minutes and start riding and the crap kept blowing out again.
If I wanted to screw around waiting for the leak to seal for a half hour - I'd go back to tubes and be back on the trail in 10 minutes.
Not only have I had no success in the tire's sealing - I have had to deal with the slippery stuff when I throw in a tube and THEN have to patch the tire and try to mount up the tire with the slippery mess when I get home after patching the tire.
The only benefit I have seen is the bead seals. I think this stuff was probably not designed for small rock punctures - but more for thorns and other microscopic holes. I won't be putting it back in because it wastes at least a half hour to an hour of my time working around it - when I could have a nice easy quick tube change when I get a flat.
Plus - the additional weight kind of defeats the purpose of tubeless anyway when you are shaving grams.
That's it for me. Maybe it works for you guys who only get thorn punctures. I'd like to see what it does when you pull all those nails out of the tire that are shown on Stan's website.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Sam
a Cross Country Rider
from Vancouver, WA USA Date Reviewed: July 7, 2003
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
stan's
Strengths:
Seals tire bead initially and holds air over time.
Weaknesses:
Doesn't always seal tire when punctured. After removing tire once, tire bead may not seal again without removing old dried fluid from bead first.
Similar Products Used:
Slime (in tubes)
Bike Setup:
Truth, XTR, Mavic 3.1's, Hutch Scorpion UST
Bottom Line:
Initially this stuff kept me from losing air around the bead of the tire for weeks. I've used it for six months. It sealed the bead well. I had no pinch flats for six months (due to going tubeless).
However, yesterday I got my first puncture while riding tubeless. The hole was from a rock and was about 1/8 long. Stan's just blew out of the whole and didn't seal. After all the Stan's blew out - and did not seal the hole - I had to put in a tube. I pumped the tire up several times trying to get the Stan's to seal the hole before I resorted to sticking in the tube.
Then, after I got home and tried to patch the tire and go back to my old tubeless self, the bead of the tire wouldn't seal because of all the old dried up Stan's around the rim. I had to peel it all off and start over. I had to flip the tire around to get the new addition of the Stan's on all the bead to actually seal it. This morning it's holding air.
With all the good testimony, I am reluctant to post anything bad - but it didn't seal the hole (and that's the idea). Wasn't all that big of a hole either. Then it was a Pain In The A-- to get the tire to seat again.
I am guessing that maybe I should have added more Stan's after a few months of riding - or something. Maybe what was in there got old. I'll keep using it because it's better than having NOTHING in the tire - and it's way better than SLIME.
Somebody's got to have a problem sooner than later with any product. Overall - I will still recommend it because I believe that tubeless has resulted in way fewer flats and the Stan's will likely seal up when I do get a small puncture from glass or a thorn.
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Submitted by
Jeff
a Cross Country Rider
from Pleasanton, CA Date Reviewed: May 12, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Mr. Toads
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$75.00
Purchased At:
www.notubes.com
Strengths:
Easy setup, lighter than regular tubes, more robust than light-weight tubes, puncture sealing.
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
None
Bike Setup:
Cannondale F600 w/XTR.
Bottom Line:
I read several reviews on this site before purchasing this product. But I must admit, this product surpassed my expectations in many ways. I expected the installation to be difficult. It wasn’t. The first tire preparation and took about an hour. The second tire took 15 minutes. I installed Fire XC Pro 2.1” tires onto Mavic 223 Disc rims. The tires road great and kept the pressure. Here are some recommendations; 1.)READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!! - This will make you installation simple and correct the first time; 2.) WATCH THE VIDEO ONLINE - I learned several tips that weren’t in the directions that helped a lot; 3.)Use the Michelin plastic rim strips if you have Mavic 223s.
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Submitted by
Aaron
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle, WA Date Reviewed: May 6, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Preston
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
notubes.com
Strengths:
Seals UST tires so that they lose little to no air. Excellent flat protection. Works well with some (but not all) non-UST tires. Easy clean up.
Weaknesses:
Does not seem to work well with certain tires. Not just brand specific, sometimes different tires from the same company.
Similar Products Used:
Slime
Bike Setup:
Mavic Crossroc's on both of my bikes
Bottom Line:
As a sealant for UST tires, it is a great product and much easier to clean than Slime. I lose air slower than tubed tires! I have used it with several brands and types of non-UST tires and have had mixed results. It is working great on a set of Michelin Hot S 2.2 tires, though they were hard to seat even with a compressor. These tires have a pretty heavy casing so that might help. They also worked well with a pair of IRC Mythos Blackwalls, though I did have to run them at 45psi (versus 35psi on UST or the Michelin tires) or they would fold in turns. It did not seal a pair of rust sidewall IRC Serac's very well and also had problems with Panaracer Fire Pro tires. Both of these are lighter tires so maybe that is why they did not seal well. Lighter tires have to be run at the same weight as if they had tubes because they fold easily as well. All in all, a great UST sealant and a good non-UST sealant on heavier casing tires.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tim Lujan
a Cross Country Rider
from Concord, CA Date Reviewed: April 4, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Anywhere on Mt Diablo
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
notubes.com
Strengths:
lightest set up availible. conventional or tubless. No more flats. I can use standard tires.
Weaknesses:
Eventually dries out. To be expected though.
Similar Products Used:
regular tubes and tires
Bike Setup:
Bontrager Racelight tubeless wheels with non tubless Panaracer Trailblasters. Gary Fisher Sugar 3, King headset, thompson post, Azonoc Carbon riser Bars, Avid Mag, XT drive train.
Bottom Line:
I just purchased a new set of wheels that happened to be tubless compatible. Just before ripped out the rim strips for regular rim tape and tubes (to save weight. Tubless tires are heavy!) I discovered Stans tubeless system. I only had to spend $15. I used my non tubless Panaracer Trailblasters and Stans solution. Like magic, the solution sealed my non tubless tires, saved weight over a tube and tire or regular tubless setup and I no longer get flats. in fact, I pulled three thorns out of my front tire today - self sealed instantly. If you already have a tubeless compatible wheelset, you can spend as little as $10 for a small bottle; otherwise you will also need Stans rimstrips. Believe me when I say... this is a no brainer!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Francois LeBlanc
a Cross Country Rider
from Montreal,Canada Date Reviewed: April 2, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Ultra light, Bromont
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$10.00
Purchased At:
Velodidacte
Strengths:
It just plain works !!!!!!!!!!
Weaknesses:
Nada
Similar Products Used:
None
Bike Setup:
2003 Cannondale Jekyll with Maxxis High Roller UST 2.1
Bottom Line:
I was afraid to use the 2Bliss technology because it's new and unproven. Everyone told me that the traction was great but that the tires leaked air very fast (like overnight) and that they burped air when hit hard.
I met Stan at a Bike Expo in Montreal and his speech and demo convinced me. I bought the stuff and tried it. Wow !!! Before I used it, my tires would loose about 20lbs overnight, now they are the same as the night before. I weigh 220lbs and I rode my bike hard and they held air, no burping.
It's good to see a product that works as it's supposed. Thumbs up Stan !!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Scott
a Weekend Warrior
from Kirkland, WA, USA Date Reviewed: January 29, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Little Bald Mtn
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
Stans
Strengths:
Easy to use and works like a charm
Weaknesses:
none (weight)
Similar Products Used:
Slime (worthless)
Bike Setup:
Spec Enduro, X3.1, XT, Marz
Bottom Line:
This stuff works. One of my Hutch Mosquito UST leaked profusely (flat overnight). One Mosquito leaked slightly. Both fixed immediately when Stan's liquid added. At 34 psi I have to add air every 2-3 weeks (when it drops below 30). I've had no flats in over 20 ride (but I don't ride near thorns or square rocks).
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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