[LeDelmo]

Hello, everybody.

Finally getting into the riding season here in MN.

I am still on the Kona Unit 29" but my riding has changed drastically than what I originally had planned. I am doing mainly 20-30 mile rides on paved trails/gravel trails/gravel roads.

And haven't been going to the mountain bike trails by me anymore. Mainly due to the poor conditions. "Broken glass all over, trash, etc."

So, I decided this season I was going to go back to Tube. Because I am just so tired of maintaining the sealant in the Tubeless set-up.

I am trying to decide if just cleaning the old Tires would be worth it. They still have some tread left. Or if I should just replace them with new.

Now I know it sound like a easy choice. And it probably is... But, If I clean the tires themselves what would be the best method? "The sealant is that pink fleshy stuff"

And if I replace them, what tires would you recommend? If I am replacing them anyways I might as well get a set that meets my needs more.

But after looking over just a few. I was shocked at how expensive these can be. Heck even my motorcycle tires cost less than allot of them.

So I need to find a tire that's not only affordable but one that would also last and meet the riding needs that I do now.

I do have a set of Tubes and my rims are 29" MTB ST i23
Cleaning the rims was easy but those tires...

 

[Fairbanks007]

I'd imagine most of the sealant will either pour out or fall out of the tires when you take them off the rims, I know mine always does. It's not necessary to remove every trace of the old sealant from the inside of your tires. If it were me, I'd just throw a tube in there and be done with it. If you feel you need to do more than that, a nylon scrub brush will work. As far as tires, get some 1.9 to 2.1 low profile treads and you'll be fine on gravel roads.

 

[Forest Rider]

You aren't actually converting to 'tubed' as much as installing tubes. LOL

Unless you have dried sealant on the inside of the tire making it out of balance, just empty the sealant, install tubes and enjoy.

If you do need to remove the dried stuff, just do your best to scrape out what you can, be patient. If some if left it won't harm anything.

When those tires wear out, figure out from your local shop what tires they have in stock and pick up the best choice for the current ride conditions.

 

[Frantic29]

I have found tubeless to be less maintenance than tubes. I guess YMMV but what issues have you ran into?


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[mik_git]

The first time, I just pulled out all the dryed up stuff. the last 2 times, it was all pretty fresh, I took the tyres off, hosed them out, left to dry, then hosed and wiped down the rims, job done.
I find, with a few bikes, depending on season/what i'm doing some dont get ridden for months at a time, when I do go to ride them, tubeless is a right mess/pain. Going back to tubes for me is much better.

 

[LeDelmo]

Same goes for me. The Tubeless are just a mess to deal with after every winter.

Replacing/repairing tubes is quick easy and clean. I'm just not in need anymore for the benefits tubeless brings.

 

[Jayem]

Oliver's YES Tubes™ will make you happy!

Are you always fixing your "bullet proof" No Tubes tires like this poor sap while your buddies wait impatiently?

Are you tired and frustrated breaking levers and gouging your rims trying to pry on and off tires that fit on your rims tighter than your pant size from Jr. High School?

Are you sick of "No Tubes boogers" rattling around in your tires?

Do you despise the thick film of latex that builds up and is impossible to remove from your tires?

Have you been riding with folks using No Tubes and had to endure getting yourself, your gloves, and anything within ten yards coated in latex spooge from these No Tubes tires?

Are you unwilling to carry a compressor with you on rides to re-seat the bead on these No tubes tires?
Are you shell-shocked from filling up your tires and waiting for the random "gunshot" noise when it pops into place?

Do you have better things to do than sit around and tape your rims all day, hoping that they will seal?

Are you sick of aluminum nipples corroding and breaking due to ammonia in the sealant?

Are you just plain tired of being an evangelist for a miraculous system that fails constantly?
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Oliver's Yes Tubes™ Hop-Up Kit includes:
• Two fully enclosed rubber tire filling devices with integrated valve stems (no need for "special" rimstrips!)
• Detailed installation instructions.
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Noxious latex spooge, "special" rimstrips, and most importantly it doesn't include hours upon hours of headaches and delays for your riding buddies.

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The Tricycle Hop Up kit.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What rim/tire combinations do Oliver's Yes Tubes™ work with?
A: One of the benefits of Oliver's Yes Tubes™ system is that it is compatible with all rim/wheel combinations.

Q: How much weight do you save using Oliver's Yes Tubes™?
A: That varies by application, but in our experience the wait savings would have been many minutes, if not hours, if our riding buddies had been using Oliver's Yes Tubes™ system.

Q: Do Oliver's Yes Tubes™ work on Road bikes or Cross bikes?
A: YES! After years of testing, Oliver's Yes Tubes™ are finally available for 700c rims. At the same low price as Oliver's Yes Tubes™ for MTBs!

Q: Will other riders know that I'm not using No Tubes?
A: No, this product is completely stealthy and your advantage will be completely hidden, much like a motor in the seat tube.

Q: I don't see this coming on new bikes, how can it be any good?
A: As you've noticed, manufacturers keep changing standards to keep making money. This works will all standards, so they wouldn't be able to sell you new rims and tires all the time.

Ah yes, the testimonials.

Here are the words of some folks who have seen the Yes Tubes light (some names have been changed to protect them from reprisals from the No Tubes cartel).

"OK, OK. I hate to say it but I've been a victim of Stan's now too. They're great while they hold air, but as soon as that bubble bursts (pun intended) it's a serious PIA (yes, I said serious too - and I don't really like to be serious)."

"The handling at lower pressure was nice, but then when the pressure gets down around zero the handling really goes downhill (or doesn't when you wish it would). [Matt, somewhere in Colorado]"

"This is great. I HAVE been living in Stan's 'no-tubes hell' -- cost me 30 minutes on my lap time, and a brand new tire at SnowShoe 3 weeks ago."

"So I shelled out the 65 bucks and got myself a kit and installed it and have been having nothing but problems with it since then. I hate no-tubes. I'll never race with them again after my suck-ass laps at SnowShoe" ["ERX" location unknown]"

"I f'ing hate No Tubes. They could be more aptly marketed as: You're a Tube, No Air, Need More Air, More Pump or Pump 'a Chump, etc. I specifically removed them before my FFTF trip so that I did not have to bear the pain Jed so well evidenced. Flatted but once."

"I spent $60 on the kit with s/h, an hour of my time drilling, soaping, installing kit and 5 minutes ripping it all apart and putting my Salsa "light" tubes back in. Oh yeah, I dropped another $125 on a (crappy) compressor at Home Depot just to install them. I may just wrap a piece of poo in my worthless rim strips, light on fire and ding-dong-ditch Senor Stan when next in his environs." [Sean, currently in witness protection program due to his Stan's comments] NOTE: these "Salsa" things he refers to are cheap knock-offs of Oliver's Yes Tubes™.

 

[Cornfield]

:lol: Well done, Jayem, well done!

 

[sgltrak]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Jayem again.

 

[emu26]

Got him for you sgltrak

 

[mik_git]

Thats Gold!

 

[azjonboy]

The biggest benefits of riding tubeless are lower pressures for better traction and more suppleness to float over / through obstacles. Why walk away from those things because of doing light maintenance on your wheels? It takes about three minutes to clean out old dried sealant and install new.

 

[Lone Rager]

If it hasn't already been mentioned, sealant can glue the tube to the tire. After the desired amount of sealant removal, liberally coat the tube and inside of the tire and tube with talc to minimize sticking.

 

[Harold]

chain maintenance must be a right ***** for the OP.

 

[MSU Alum]

Oliver's YES Tubes™ will make you happy!

Now I have to convert to WTB's just so I can modify the name on the tires!

 

[LeDelmo]

Why do you think that? Chains are easy whether bicycle or motorcycle. Besides like I already mentioned I ride a Kona Unit. Which is a single speed. Can't get much simpler than that. So, it's possibly the lowest maintenance bike ever.


Chains have nothing to do with the topic anyways...

 

[Frantic29]

Why do you think that? Chains are easy whether bicycle or motorcycle. Besides like I already mentioned I ride a Kona Unit. Which is a single speed. Can't get much simpler than that. So, it's possibly the lowest maintenance bike ever.

Chains have nothing to do with the topic anyways...

I think he was trying get to "chain maintenance is more difficult than keeping a tubeless setup going". Which he is right about.

Granted I haven't done this for a long time but in 2 years of running tubeless on 2 different bikes its way easier than running tubes. I was having to patch/replace tubes every 2-3 weeks then had a stretch where I went through probably 10 tubes in 3 weeks at which point I ditched them and went all tubeless. Since then I top them up with sealant about every 6-8 weeks and forget about them. I pulled the tires off at the beginning of spring and to my surprise had no stanimals(I'm in a humid climate. Maybe that helps?) and just slapped my new tires on my trail bike. Seated with a regular floor pump and ride on. I am running the Trek rim strips so that probably makes it easier though too. No tape to mess with.

In my experience I can't see it but if tubes work better for you then rock on and enjoy.

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[LeDelmo]

If I were doing more Off-road mountain trails than I'd agree the tubeless option would be better and far more worthwhile.

But, considering how I've been riding. I just feel Tubes would be better served. If this season I go though to many tubes. Going back to Tubeless would be nothing sense the tape is already on the rim. But, I cant really see myself running though Tubes as quickly as you've mentioned.

 

[Forest Rider]

The biggest benefits of riding tubeless are lower pressures for better traction and more suppleness to float over / through obstacles. Why walk away from those things because of doing light maintenance on your wheels? It takes about three minutes to clean out old dried sealant and install new.

You are able to break the bead, pour in sealant and air up the tire in 3 minutes?

It takes me 3 minutes to 'unstick' the tire to itself once I've gotten the bead on the rim.
I have only removed/installed used tubless tires 2x, but each time I've had the same problem. I decided it's not worth it for me to break the seal of a tire to add sealant.

 

[Forest Rider]

If I were doing more Off-road mountain trails than I'd agree the tubeless option would be better and far more worthwhile.

But, considering how I've been riding. I just feel Tubes would be better served. If this season I go though to many tubes. Going back to Tubeless would be nothing sense the tape is already on the rim. But, I cant really see myself running though Tubes as quickly as you've mentioned.

Just get tubes with sealant already in them and you'll be fine. I rode a bike for 7 years or so and changed/patched tubes about 5 times total. Usually the tube would start to leak from a seam.

I have used Giant and Specialized goop filled tubes and both work perfectly.