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Best tubeless solution for 5.1d wheels

1878 Views 20 Replies 10 Participants Last post by bikerx40, Mar 16, 2011

macming

Discussion Starter · Mar 1, 2011

I have a set of I9s coming with 5.1ds, and I have contemplated about the best way to go tubeless.

So far I have looked at:

- DT 5.1d kit
- Stan's kit
- Swap the rims out for 819s

The 5.1Ds are nice rims. They are wide, relatively light, and tough. I had a DT Swiss tubeless kit with my 4.1ds, and the stupid rim strip is always off center. At 50PSI, I've also had the rim strip burp and blow Stan's out of all the threads.

I had decent luck with the Stan's rim strip, but I still had one tire blow off the rim at a race. Granted I didn't clean the tire beads perfectly, but I haven't had a hard time with my 819 setups.

I have two 819 wheelsets, and one 823 wheelset, so I guess going with 819s is familiar territory. The ERDs are the within 1mm between the two rim types, but the 819s are narrower and softer than a 5.1d setup.

What do you do in this case? I thought about getting a DT kit and possibly using a bit of epoxy to glue down the rim strip. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Ming

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

Mr.P

· #2 · Mar 1, 2011

I've used the DT kit for a couple years on a 5.1.

If the tires you are running are tubeless ready (tubeless bead) then run the DT Swiss kit, and know it'll runs great. I very much appreciate the bead lock and how it make the bead interface very UST like.

If you are running standard tires, you'll need to do another tubeless method, with the probably usual mix of results.

That said, I did run a standard wire bead on the rear for a year, but it was also a 800g thick tire. I did not have the same luck with a Michelin Dry 2.3, it burped a few times (causing pinches to the tire even)

P

macming

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 1, 2011

Mr.P said:
I've used the DT kit for a couple years on a 5.1.

If the tires you are running are tubeless ready (tubeless bead) then run the DT Swiss kit, and know it'll runs great. I very much appreciate the bead lock and how it make the bead interface very UST like.

If you are running standard tires, you'll need to do another tubeless method, with the probably usual mix of results.

P

Thanks for the reply. I have stocked up on a plethora of UST and TL tires, so everything will be UST compliant. I find my DT kit for 4.2d rims slid around a lot. How do you make sure your rim strip stays in place?

Mr.P

· #4 · Mar 1, 2011

macming said:
I find my DT kit for 4.2d rims slid around a lot. How do you make sure your rim strip stays in place?

The double stick tape has seemed to work for me. Clean with alcohol, dry, then attach.

Perhaps some more users with experience can bring their experience to the thread as well.

BTW, I have really liked the 5.1 rim, light, stiff, strong & durable.

P

gvs_nz

· #5 · Mar 1, 2011

I've run them with just Stan's yellow tape before. As with any rim and just the tape you need to experiment with pressures to see how low you can go without burp problems.

Flboy

· #6 · Mar 1, 2011

Been runnign with stans strip for a while now. No problems at all. Actually recently I deformed a tire and it continued to hold air. I deflated tried reseating it and I pumped it up with a pocket pump. Unfortunatley the tire was still deformed. Stans has been quite good with the 5.1 rims.

macming

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 1, 2011

Thanks to everyone for their response. How hard is it to mount a UST tire to a 5.1D with a tubeless strip? I remember it was REALLY hard with my 4.2D

presslab

· #8 · Mar 1, 2011

The 5.1D strip is pretty good. I have had no problem with it coming un-stuck and I run 38 PSI so no problems with burping. Any lower pressure and I start to ding the rim.

All the tires I have mounted were pretty easy to seat using just a hand pump.

macming

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 2, 2011

I found a thread stating the Bontrager Rhythm rim strip may work on the DT Swiss 5.1D rims! So I ordered a set of Rhythm strips today, and two Bontrager tubeless valves, all for around $35.

For their price, I might as well give them a try on my 5.1ds, and see what happens. I like to tinker with things anyways

I had a DT swiss 4.2d rims with the DT Swiss TL kit, and a set of Bontrager Race X Lite with the Bontrager rim strip. The Bontrager setup is far superior. The DT kit was hard to mount tires on, as well as sliding around.

So hopefully the Bontrager setup works! Once I receive everything, I will document the installation process and the result. Hopefully it'll be useful for others down the road.

Lovin

· #10 · Mar 2, 2011

Did you install doublestick tape before installing the strip on your 4.2d's?

I've had 5.1d's for ~2 years and the strips haven't moved at all.

macming

Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 2, 2011

Lovin said:
Did you install doublestick tape before installing the strip on your 4.2d's?

I've had 5.1d's for ~2 years and the strips haven't moved at all.

I did install the double stick tape. Every time I swap tires, the red rim strip is always off center, at various spots

It does get frustrating after a while.

KRob

· #12 · Mar 3, 2011

I've been using a stan's strip with my 5.1D rims with good success for a couple of years now. I've only burped a couple of times and that was in extreme traction situations (landing a jump onto off camber slickrock) and low pressure....and even then it didn't lose all air or come off the rim- - just burped.

Mounting has been pretty easy. I run packing tape around the rim then install the strips. Mount one side of the tire. Add two scoops of stans. Pull on the other bead. Spray bead area with soapy water. Air up.

I've tried dipping my fingers in stans then coating the bead before installing.. but I don't know if that made them glue any tighter. I think it pretty well coats the bead anyway if you spin the tire around a bit before airing up.

When I went to replace tires last time I couldn't believe how hard the tire bead was glued to the rim strip. I had to carefully work around the rim pealing the two apart with my finger and/or a plastic tire lever with quite a bit of force.

As far as the 5.1 D rim. It is pretty light, holds a pretty big 2.4-2.5" tire without rolling or getting wobbly, is pretty strong though a bit soft... but it's far from bullet-proof. I flat spotted one rear rim to the point it needed to be replaced, kinked the sidewall of a front rim and had to pound it back out (still held air) and recently did this to my rear rim.

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presslab

· #13 · Mar 3, 2011

That hop will come right out, with a little truing.

My 5.1d have been okay. They are decently light but they are soft. I've replaced one rear wheel due to numerous flat spots. My Mavic rims had a much harder alloy, I think, as I have only scratched them but no flat spots.

Lovin

· #14 · Mar 3, 2011

The replacement for the 5.1d, the ex500 is supposed to be a harder alloy

macming

Discussion Starter · #15 · Mar 12, 2011

KRob said:
I've been using a stan's strip with my 5.1D rims with good success for a couple of years now. I've only burped a couple of times and that was in extreme traction situations (landing a jump onto off camber slickrock) and low pressure....and even then it didn't lose all air or come off the rim- - just burped.

Mounting has been pretty easy. I run packing tape around the rim then install the strips. Mount one side of the tire. Add two scoops of stans. Pull on the other bead. Spray bead area with soapy water. Air up.

I've tried dipping my fingers in stans then coating the bead before installing.. but I don't know if that made them glue any tighter. I think it pretty well coats the bead anyway if you spin the tire around a bit before airing up.

When I went to replace tires last time I couldn't believe how hard the tire bead was glued to the rim strip. I had to carefully work around the rim pealing the two apart with my finger and/or a plastic tire lever with quite a bit of force.

As far as the 5.1 D rim. It is pretty light, holds a pretty big 2.4-2.5" tire without rolling or getting wobbly, is pretty strong though a bit soft... but it's far from bullet-proof. I flat spotted one rear rim to the point it needed to be replaced, kinked the sidewall of a front rim and had to pound it back out (still held air) and recently did this to my rear rim.

WOW, that is a HARD hit. I wish I don't do that to mine.

I bought two new Schawlbe Nobby Nics for my 5.1d wheelset, and I thought it would be a good idea to air up the tires with tubes before my rim strips come in, and man these rims are hard to mount tires on! I broke two tire levers while mounting the rear tire, while the front went on OK.

This wheelset is meant for my all mountain bike, so I'll be running 2.2" tires most of the time, and maybe a 2.4" light tire like a Conti Xking. I have two Mavic 819 rims coming, and I'm seriously considering re-lacing the Mavics on for easier tire mounting

For the time being, I ordered two Bontrager Rythm UST strips for the 5.1Ds just in case I decide to keep the 5.1Ds on the wheelset.

Thanks for all the reply, and I will post back once I figure everything out with this setup.

vandalay711

· #16 · Mar 12, 2011

The 5.1d is SOFT. I ran it for 6 months and was amazed at all the dings and nicks. With that said, I used a Stan's strip at 32lbs. and never had issues.

Darkstar187

· #17 · Mar 12, 2011

I just put in stans kit on my 5.1. I used the yellow tape that came with it and Kenda Nevegal UST tire. it was hard to mount the first bead but after that it was smooth sailing, worked great no leaks! im loving it!

bikerx40

· #18 · Mar 14, 2011

I initially used the 5.1 kit, but the rimstrip moved despite numerous attempts to retape it. The height of the rim strip also made it difficult to mount tires to the point that the bead tightness pushed the rimstrip out of position on the rim.

I finally changed to ghetto tubeless using some Gorilla Tape from the Home Depot. SOOO much better. I'm ashamed that I spent as much money as I did on that DT kit. I spent $3 for a roll of Gorilla Tape and have used that single roll to convert 4 more wheels. The tape fits perfectly in the rim channel so you don't even have to cut it. It doesn't burp or move or anything. Almost as trouble free as my Mavic 819 rims.

macming

Discussion Starter · #19 · Mar 16, 2011

After thinking about things for a bit, I think I'm going to relace my I9s with 819s. My two other sets (had 3) have been fine. One of them has a 2.4" Rocket Ron mounted on it without any problems. I have some spare eyelets, and they are super easy to mount the tires on.

I like to run about 30 PSI tubeless, and the one post in here saying 38+ PSI to not ding the rim is just too high for me

I'll post some photos once things are done.

macming

Discussion Starter · #20 · Mar 16, 2011

bikerx40 said:
I initially used the 5.1 kit, but the rimstrip moved despite numerous attempts to retape it. The height of the rim strip also made it difficult to mount tires to the point that the bead tightness pushed the rimstrip out of position on the rim.

I finally changed to ghetto tubeless using some Gorilla Tape from the Home Depot. SOOO much better. I'm ashamed that I spent as much money as I did on that DT kit. I spent $3 for a roll of Gorilla Tape and have used that single roll to convert 4 more wheels. The tape fits perfectly in the rim channel so you don't even have to cut it. It doesn't burp or move or anything. Almost as trouble free as my Mavic 819 rims.

While I'm sure the tape method will work well, but I still find the 5.1d rim is just hard to mount tires. Plus I like the security of the UST channel in the 819, and I have 3 spare 819s sitting around

Anyone want a set of 5.1D rims in good shape for cheap? J/K :thumbsup:

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

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