[ColoradoMitt]

I converted my Fatboy over using the Fatty-Stripper setup during the Broncos game on Sunday. Watched the video on the website and it was easy as it could be. I ordered another setup for my Yeti plus a couple of spares this morning. I did need to use my compressor to seat the bead on my Ground Controls, my floor pump wasn't getting it done, but that was no big deal.

Haven't had a chance to ride with them yet though. Stupid work!

 

[Zedwarjen]

Installed the fattystripper said last night on my wife's Rolling Darryls, it was a pretty painless install. Went for a ride today over a lot of post holed snow and ice and the tires made easy work of the conditions.
Nice set of pictures baltobrewer, can't wait to I get my new Mukluk!

 

[Dilligaff]

I saw one of these at the LBS yesterday when picking up the D5's for studding. It looked very thin and when I asked about it, one of the mechanics said he hated them because they're so thin. He said they work well but are so thin that anything over about 20 psi makes them blow out easily. I know that's all they're rated for. He said he preferred the Ringle strip the best.

 

[SimonsJ]

I saw one of these at the LBS yesterday when picking up the D5's for studding. It looked very thin and when I asked about it, one of the mechanics said he hated them because they're so thin. He said they work well but are so thin that anything over about 20 psi makes them blow out easily. I know that's all they're rated for. He said he preferred the Ringle strip the best.

Are you referring to the FattyStripper latex bands? The mechanic is mis-informed on many levels.
1) The band is intended to be used with the stock vinyl rimstrip that comes with your wheels OR with some other structural reinfocement like the reflective BlingStrips over the cutouts and spokes.
2) I've tested the strip to over 40 psi and yes... it made huge balloons at each cutout... but it didn't burst.

Your mechanic is speculating and providing his opinion about what he thinks will happen.

That said... there is nothing wrong with Sun Ringle tape if your rims are flat & narrow... like Sun Ringle rims. The latex bands still out-perform the tape with respect to anti-burp performance. The tape doesn't really work when you want to put the foam rods under it... which makes seating the bead possible with a floor pump as well as protects you from flats when you roll off the bead in a hard corner with too low of pressure. The foam works spectacularly because of the dynamic nature of the elastic material.

 

[Dilligaff]

Are you referring to the FattyStripper latex bands? The mechanic is mis-informed on many levels.
1) The band is intended to be used with the stock vinyl rimstrip that comes with your wheels OR with some other structural reinfocement like the reflective BlingStrips over the cutouts and spokes.
2) I've tested the strip to over 40 psi and yes... it made huge balloons at each cutout... but it didn't burst.

Your mechanic is speculating and providing his opinion about what he thinks will happen.

No, he said he has seen them burst at 20 psi, so it wasn't speculation, and yes, it was the latex band. He did not mention what was used for a rim strip, but it's more than probable they did not install them, the original owner did. I was surprised at how thin it was but it makes sense that it'd be used with a more solid rim strip. Since the LBS does not stock them, it's also probable that whatever came in could have been damaged, resulting in a blowout when inflated. I'm only going by what he told me, but these are mechanics who work on everything from $50 junkers to $20,000 Ti custom jobs and never look down on anyone, so they're not bike snobs.

 

[vmk]

Or you can make your own ghetto-version from virtually any plastic that can be heat sealed.

 

[SimonsJ]

No, he said he has seen them burst at 20 psi, so it wasn't speculation, and yes, it was the latex band. He did not mention what was used for a rim strip, but it's more than probable they did not install them, the original owner did. I was surprised at how thin it was but it makes sense that it'd be used with a more solid rim strip. Since the LBS does not stock them, it's also probable that whatever came in could have been damaged, resulting in a blowout when inflated. I'm only going by what he told me, but these are mechanics who work on everything from $50 junkers to $20,000 Ti custom jobs and never look down on anyone, so they're not bike snobs.

I'll make a point to take some pics and post to the FAQ page. The engineering on the bands... I hung 420 lbs on the band before failure. The elasticity vs load is exponential. max elongation averages 12x, which you get to around 25% of failure load. The only reason I couldn't increase tire pressure to failure was that the rim was only rated to 30 psi and I was too scared at 40 to go any further. The bands were still in the elastic range at 40 psi. They are so incredibly over-designed for this application that 20 psi just isn't even close to enough force to cause failure.

Can you PM me the bike shop? I'd like to research this further.

Thanks!

 

[l3eaudacious]

After watching the install video, I gotta say this takes the cake for ease of install and use. My only question would be, how does the latex hold up to a really tight tire install? The DT Swiss + Ground Controls just pop on. Running Snowshoes xl's and Mulefut's, I can install by hand, but I do have to put a fair bit of pressure to stretch the tire bead over the rim. I'd be worried about ripping the Latex.

 

[SimonsJ]

Agreed. Before taking on this project, I was using Gorilla Tape. It was too thick for some tires... So I used their thickness (which varies up to 50%) as a baseline "too thick" limit. The latex is thinner by quite a bit than duct tape or Gorilla tape... I could've gone thinner but I would've compromised strength & durability. The trick is to use the lube on the bead shoulder as shown in the instructions. The tightest tires just slide right on and off... think baby oil on a Fatty Stripper. Sorry... you can't get that out of your head can you?

White lube, coconut oil or Vaseline all work great. Put it on a little thick and you may not need sealant at all in cold weather. Those tight tires are spectacular for anti-burp low pressure performance and for sealing up w/o sealant. You'll also probably be able to inflate with a floor pump.

 

[Shelterock]

My first try with a Fattystripper went well

I wanted to try tubeless with my 9 yr old's Boris X5 and the only route with some success was Split tubes. The side wall was high and the tires were real loose.

Weinmann 80mm Rim

See the profile of the bead

Super Blingstrip 3M Orange reflectant I cut down to the width I needed

Installed the foam rods, cut to length and tacked down with 3M 77 spray glue.

Mounted the FattyStripper and inserted the Valve. Was nice and easy.

The Fattystripper stretched over the rim and rods.

Lubed up the Fattystripper with Vaseline as that made mounting much easier and help seal the deal.

et Voila, On-One Floater mounted Tubeless on the less than desireable Weinmann rim.

And for my next adventure I will be mounting the Fattystripper on a FatBoy 24".... pictures to follow.

We'll be riding this bike this weekend so hopefully it holds at 8-9psi.
H

 

[watts888]

Nice pictures & description. I wondered about those foal rods with split tube method to help seal it up. my biggest concern is the foam collapsing in time and messing up the tape seal. Alternative ideas to the seal material to hold the tire on the shelves? I was thinking a harder weather stripping or putting in a thick bead of silicone caulk.

 

[Flyer]

I was set on the split-tube idea till I saw this product. While fat strippers may also be able to use it to control muffin-top and other bulges, I may spring for this since I just got a Fatboy with the 90mm SL rims. Loos like that may also have been the rim in the installation video.

 

[Deephaven]

How do you trim the overlap? ....ripping doesn't work as it leaves a bunch and cutting didn't seem to either as the razor grabbed and stretched the material

 

[vmk]

Nice pictures & description. I wondered about those foal rods with split tube method to help seal it up. my biggest concern is the foam collapsing in time and messing up the tape seal. Alternative ideas to the seal material to hold the tire on the shelves? I was thinking a harder weather stripping or putting in a thick bead of silicone caulk.

I used plastic putty for Framed non tubeless no-name-rims:

Adds a bit of weight though, about 70g.

 

[Shelterock]

How do you trim the overlap? ....ripping doesn't work as it leaves a bunch and cutting didn't seem to either as the razor grabbed and stretched the material

I have just to trim it. By pulling the overlap thight you can run scissors or a blade close to the tire and the overlap left will receed very close to the tire/rim edge. You need a sharp blade.

I will ride it this weekend to see how it holds up. It's held air for 2 days so far no problem. I ran 8 psi and through some sharp edged ruts and I saw some Stans spurt out in one place. I hope the FattyStripper latex will bond with the Stans and the tire bead so it doesn't burp. Granted this application is for a 90lbs kid and not my 260lbs. The Weinmanns and the floaters are both not tubeless ready and very loose tolarences so I am pushing the limits here.
H

 

[tfinator]

Nice pictures & description. I wondered about those foal rods with split tube method to help seal it up. my biggest concern is the foam collapsing in time and messing up the tape seal. Alternative ideas to the seal material to hold the tire on the shelves? I was thinking a harder weather stripping or putting in a thick bead of silicone caulk.

I had foam collapse on these rims. Caulk got pushed out of the way eventually too. Tubeless is mandatory for me, so I eventually just got different rims. A better method of applying said caulk might change things, though

 

[SimonsJ]

I had foam collapse on these rims. Caulk got pushed out of the way eventually too. Tubeless is mandatory for me, so I eventually just got different rims. A better method of applying said caulk might change things, though

Do you have any pictures of the foam collapse?

One of the design features of the FattyStripper latex bands is that their elasticity pushes the foam out up against the bead shoulder. It can still move around on hard impacts, but so far, it has always moved back to its original position. When I pulled the foam out of a wheel that had been assembled and pressurized for 6 months... the foam hadn't compressed at all, so no permanent deformation. Those tires still had great low pressure burp performance... when they were disassembled. The customer wanted to take out the dirty original rimstrips and put in BlingStrips. That is why we disassembled them.

 

[SimonsJ]

How do you trim the overlap? ....ripping doesn't work as it leaves a bunch and cutting didn't seem to either as the razor grabbed and stretched the material

My favorite tool came from a LBS mechanic who has done quite a few FattyStripper installs (they don't sell a FatBoy tubed). Its the $1.99 small snap-blade razor at your local hardware store. Stretch the latex away from the bead at a 45deg angle and simply slide the tip of the blade right along the bead. If you pull fairly taught, the latex cuts easily and retracts to the rubber contact point. Only do cuts 3" at a time... it still goes really fast. You can do both sides of a wheel in about 1 minute.

 

[farleybob]

Will I need the foam rod for Clownshoes?

 

[SimonsJ]

Will I need the foam rod for Clownshoes?

Clownshoes can go either way... I have been recommending putting them in lately because of a friend who is doing the ITI (Iditarod Trail Invitational) reported that the foam let him seat his Bud/Lou super easy AND the added burp resistance at low pressure is just really nice insurance. The foam adds 14g TOTAL (7g/wheel). Totally worth it.