[Overkill]

I've been away from the forums for a while, so I've been a little out of date in terms of the latest light weight race tires. After some searching and reading many posts, it seems the RK 2.2 SS are a nice choice for racing.

I'm not a hard-core weight weenie, but it is very important for me to keep things light within reason - especially if I can get high volume, low RR, light and good traction, then I'm willing to give these a try.

There is a huge thread on these tires that I can't seem to open, so forgive me if this has been addressed. I'd like to run these tubeless, but people seem to have major issues with sealing them, so I'm considering using latex tubes instead. I haven't used tubes in a very long time, so I'm looking for people's experience using these tires with latex tubes?

Will these tires feel inferior with tubes and am I running a huge risk with pinch flats as these tires need low psi to perform well?

 

[scuver]

Not running it with latex but with 99g butyl on a 19mm rims wit 30-35 psi. I'm 150 lbs riding a HT and I've been doing 2-3 foot drops with it and I have yet to get a pinch flat. Hope this helps.

 

[rockyuphill]

They work fine with flyweight or ultralight tubes. They have a narrow range of pressures where they work well, maybe 4 pounds total min/max and the centre of that will depend on your weight. Too low and they squirm like mad, and too hard and they don't get the tread in contact with the trail. I'm 195 pounds and run them at 28-30 pounds on XTR and DT Swiss XRC330 rims. I run them with normal rubber tubes and a couple of sets of the Eclipse tubes. They are actually a bit more compliant with the rubber tubes.

They are thin and have thin sidewalls, if you race where there are lots of sharp rocks or thorns, they will likely be frustrating.

 

[aussie_yeti]

I'm 165pounds and used the 2.2 model. Ran them between 25 and 32 psi depending on course with Michelin green latex tubes. In 2 years of riding and racing in Australia and a few world cups in Europe I didn't have a single flat. On occasion I did feel the rim bottom out on roots or rocks but could never pinch the tube. I will agree that if you run them too low they get squirmy due to how thin the sidewalls are.

 

[Overkill]

I'm 165pounds and used the 2.2 model. Ran them between 25 and 32 psi depending on course with Michelin green latex tubes. In 2 years of riding and racing in Australia and a few world cups in Europe I didn't have a single flat. On occasion I did feel the rim bottom out on roots or rocks but could never pinch the tube. I will agree that if you run them too low they get squirmy due to how thin the sidewalls are.

Great info guys, especially aussie yeti. The thing I like about latex tubes is they tend to be better with pinch flats - I'm surprised more guys don't use them.

Anyway, I really would like to run them tubeless (I may still give them a go as an experiment), but from what I've read, the tube helps stiffen up the side wall. Plus the amount of sealant guys seem to be putting in there to get a good seal, you may be better with a light tube from a weight perspective anyway.

Edit: I'll be riding an intense spider on mavic SLR rims and I weight 150 pounds, so I'm thinking a good place to start with pressure would be around 28psi and drop a little each ride to see where the limits are.

 

[Hardtailforever]

When you decide to give the tubeless conversion a whirl, try Caffe Latex sealant. I haven't tried it with those particular tires, but I've found it much easier to seal the sidewalls of thin tires such as Kendas and Schwalbe with Caffe Latex sealant than with NoTubes. Both will work, but the foaming action in the Caffe Latex is the real deal.

 

[Overkill]

When you decide to give the tubeless conversion a whirl, try Caffe Latex sealant. I haven't tried it with those particular tires, but I've found it much easier to seal the sidewalls of thin tires such as Kendas and Schwalbe with Caffe Latex sealant than with NoTubes. Both will work, but the foaming action in the Caffe Latex is the real deal.

Thanks for the tip - I've never heard of that product - I'll check it out.

 

[mmmaaaiiikkk]

If you try opening the big thread on Race King SS in internet explorer it seems to work. It usually doesn't work for me in firefox or other browsers.

Personally, I won't be bothering running the supersonics tubeless after this set wear out. It is just too much hassle. I have had them for a few months now, and without putting ridiculous amounts of sealant in them, they do continually lose air through the side walls. I don't think that the side walls are too fragile (I haven't cut them at all), they are just very porous.

When I put some rocket rons on my race wheels the other day, I was reminded how easy the process can be. Instant seal, one cup of stans, no leakage. Perfect!.

Personally, I would prefer to see Continental make the tyres a little heavier to make the side walls less porous.

 

[nino]

If you try opening the big thread on Race King SS in internet explorer it seems to work. It usually doesn't work for me in firefox or other browsers.

Personally, I won't be bothering running the supersonics tubeless after this set wear out. It is just too much hassle. I have had them for a few months now, and without putting ridiculous amounts of sealant in them, they do continually lose air through the side walls. I don't think that the side walls are too fragile (I haven't cut them at all), they are just very porous.

When I put some rocket rons on my race wheels the other day, I was reminded how easy the process can be. Instant seal, one cup of stans, no leakage. Perfect!.

Personally, I would prefer to see Continental make the tyres a little heavier to make the side walls less porous.

As already posted in that RaceKing thread:

I have a friend who swears on his own technique when trying to set up a RK with sealant- he just rubs the inside of new Contis with some emery cloth. Just a little seems to help get the sealant a grip on the otherwise slick inside and he said since doing so he would have no problems to get the RKs to seal. He has done several wheelsets now and this really seems to be the trick.

 

[mmmaaaiiikkk]

As already posted in that RaceKing thread:

I have a friend who swears on his own technique when trying to set up a RK with sealant- he just rubs the inside of new Contis with some emery cloth. Just a little seems to help get the sealant a grip on the otherwise slick inside and he said since doing so he would have no problems to get the RKs to seal. He has done several wheelsets now and this really seems to be the trick.

Thanks, Nino. I will keep it in mind. I gave mine a bit of a scrub on the inside with an abrasive washing-up pad before I mounted them, but maybe the emery cloth is more effective.

 

[biglines]

i am running mine on some mavic crossmax slr's tubless for almost 2 years now using stans sealant. everyfew months i do add sealant because the sidewalls will never seal, but it hasnot been a hassle and i plan on replacing them at the end of this year with another set and i will run those tubeless as well. as for sidewall durability they have been fine, i have a lot of use on mine now and there are alot more threads showing on the sidewall but no cuts.