[KGAmoto]

As I said before I was up in the SLC area all Summer / Fall and rode probably 4 days a week (a lot for me).

Through that entire time, I got TWO flats - both pinch flats.

I moved back down here for the winter as of November 1, and have been riding out at Cottonwood on the weekends, almost every weekend except a week around Thanksgiving.

EVERY weekend I've gone out to Cottonwood, I've come home to at least one flat. My bike is sitting in the garage with two flats right now from last Sunday. But they're weird slow-leaks, likely tiny pin holes from thorns / cactus I guess. (I pulled a tube out that had a slow leak - pumped it up and could not hear or see anything, but it would drop probably 10 lbs of pressure in 30 minutes).

I've never had flat issues like this before (even from riding out there). I guess I have to go tubeless? What does that consist of - is there a way to prep my stock rim - then I assume you have to buy tubeless-specific tires?

Or will Slime tubes make the difference? I really would rather not go tubeless, merely because the tires I really want to run, aren't available in tubeless (I think).

 

[Redmon]

Yes, the tubeless selection is a bit of a challenge but for riding out here I wouldnt go any other way. I run regular tubeless and I almost never flat-maybe once a year? I dont have any experience with conversions so I cant help you there.

 

[beagledadi]

I've seen a couple of "Ghetto tubeless conversions" on the boards before, try the AZ forum. All I can say is that I would nevvvvvvvvver go back to tubes :nono: Keep your Stan's fresh and carry an extra tube just in case, that's how I rollio yo! :thumbsup:

 

[KGAmoto]

So I take it you have to buy tubeless-specific wheels? That kinda sucks.

And, what is a "Stan"?

And before someone asks - I pulled both tires off the wheels and felt very carefully to make sure there weren't any thorns stuck in the tire (which would cause a flat every time, of course).

But the flat thing is really annoying. I mean, what are the odds of getting flats EVERY weekend!?

 

[JDay]

DIY Tubeless

Here is my homebrew tubeless conversion that has worked well.

Strip all the rim tape off the existing rim.
Clean the rim well, use some steel wool to knock down any sharp edges and scuff the inside.
Apply a layer of reinforced packing tape. It looks like clear tape with little reinforcing strings embedded. I cut the width down to fit inside the rim.
Apply 1 or 2 layers of electrical tape (I usually use the good 3M stuff). Stretch it tight as you wrap.
Punch out the hole for the valve stem.
I use a Stan's stem from www.notubes.com
Mount a standard or UST tire on the rim and use 1 and 1/2 scoops of Stan's sealant.
Inflate to seat the bead. Some tires require the use of a CO2 cartridge or an air compressor, others seal up easily.
Swirl the Stan's around inside the tire/rim. Usually after the first ride the system seals up well.

YMMV

JD

 

[mattbikeboy]

I too swear by tubeless tires for riding in the desert.

But I had bad luck with the Stan's conversion kit. Maybe it is my weight in the 250 lbs area -- but the standard rim wouldn't hold the tire bead as well and I was burping air all the time. Any little edge more than an inch tall and I would lose air and sealant. Once I switched to true tubeless rims and tires I haven't had a problem. It's been absolutely awesome.

I had to get my tubeless wheel re-laced and switched to my tubed backup wheel and had to spine induced flats after the first ride. I'm lazy and would just re-air and could get 2-3 hours before it was flat again -- I rode that way for a coupe of weeks.

mbb

 

[cork]

Here is my homebrew tubeless conversion that has worked well.

Strip all the rim tape off the existing rim.
Clean the rim well, use some steel wool to knock down any sharp edges and scuff the inside.
Apply a layer of reinforced packing tape. It looks like clear tape with little reinforcing strings embedded. I cut the width down to fit inside the rim.
Apply 1 or 2 layers of electrical tape (I usually use the good 3M stuff). Stretch it tight as you wrap.
Punch out the hole for the valve stem.
I use a Stan's stem from www.notubes.com
Mount a standard or UST tire on the rim and use 1 and 1/2 scoops of Stan's sealant.
Inflate to seat the bead. Some tires require the use of a CO2 cartridge or an air compressor, others seal up easily.
Swirl the Stan's around inside the tire/rim. Usually after the first ride the system seals up well.

YMMV

JD

Yeah, but your tires explode off the bead when it's sitting in the truck................:yikes:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

-C

 

[Dirty Bastard]

I think you need to do a search for "ghetto tubeless" and that method jday suggested is not the safest. I use 20 bmx tubes and a home tubeless brew. like I said use the search on these forums and you will find very detailed instructions on how to do this. also the best tubeless brew is one created y a guy named "wadester" works with nails!!!

 

[jmitchell]

I think you need to do a search for "ghetto tubeless" and that method jday suggested is not the safest. I use 20 bmx tubes and a home tubeless brew. like I said use the search on these forums and you will find very detailed instructions on how to do this. also the best tubeless brew is one created y a guy named "wadester" works with nails!!!

Hey Dirty Bastard -

Can you post that recipe for tubeless homebrew you recommend? I'm too lazy to do the search. I just use a mixture of Windex, Tubeless Slime, and Mold Builder. 1 part of each.

 

[fmdj]

I'm trying the slime SRT tubeless system. Nashbar has their tires on sale for $10 ea and I like the XC tread on them (the tread does not match the pic on their site). So far so good. Their tubeless works kind of like the old sew-ins on road bikes, but it's nice because it works with standard rims and you don't have to worry about any special tape (though they do recommend using Velox or another cloth tape instead of rubber rim strips) or about burping air. The only downside, and I read someone else had the same issue, was one of the valve stems had a small leak. Nashbar would have taken it back, but I just threw a patch on it and it is working fine.

Anyhow, good luck.

 

[big_slacker]

I too had really bad luck with flats out here. I was going through a tube or two every ride and that is just out of control. Its funny actually, I have two different solutions.

My SS has non-UST rims that I simply bought a stan's kit for. I had to trim down the rubber strip a little near the valve but other than that they work great. I'm running nevegals.

Now my FS has UST rims but I'm currently running tubes in them. This is because I bought some tires and I'm too cheap to not use them. I had crazy flats until I switched to heavy duty tubes. They are meant for a 2.3" tire but work fine in the 2.1s. They do weigh more as well, but do you want a few extra grams or do you want to change flats your whole ride?

 

[cork]

I think you need to do a search for "ghetto tubeless" and that method jday suggested is not the safest. I use 20 bmx tubes and a home tubeless brew. like I said use the search on these forums and you will find very detailed instructions on how to do this. also the best tubeless brew is one created y a guy named "wadester" works with nails!!!

Let me get this straight........you are saying that cutting up a 20" tube from a "ghetto tubeless" thread on here is safer than creating a reinforced base layer then sealing it with tape afterwards.

I guess the real thing that puzzles me is the concern for safety on a flat tire in MTBing.........I mean, come on, it's not like we're running F1 speeds or WRC type stuff. The air runs out of your tire, then you are on your rim. If you are real unfortunate, then you slip a little and fall on your bum..........if that's too much to handle, then maybe you need to find another sport.

-C

 

[Guy Cool]

I say slime is the way to go. I have gone months without a flat, whereas I was flatting nearly every ride prior to using Slime. I have pulled out tubes to change the tire and pumped them up just to see how many thorn holes were there (you can see the little green dot from the slime). The record was 18. It won't help with pinch flats, but if you pick your lines well you won't have to deal with that very often. I drilled out my rims to accept Schrader valves, and I buy normal tubes and two bottles of slime from Pricepoint and I'm in business for a while. Plus, it is a super simple set up. By the way, the plastic valve puller that comes on the bottle of slime doesn't work well on a tight valve, so I got a metal one.

I have good old Bishop to thank for knowing this. Those were the days.

 

[sugardare]

Tubeless?

I have had the Stan's conversion before on standard rims and tires, totally useless. Even on DH rims with 2.5 Highrollers. On both bikes, my tires burped and the sealant went everywhere. Stay away from that kind of set up. If you can't get a UST rim, get a tubless rim compatable (one's that work with kits), like the DT Swiss or Bontrager rims. I run DT rims on my SS and Turner Flux, UST tires on my Flux, and I run Mavic 819 on my RFX. The DT Swiss kit is way better than the Stans, but I still run Stans sealant (easy to find). That rubber crap that Stans provides is horrible (I still have it, want it??), the DT Swiss is a sweet design. My honest suggestion, buck up and get the low end Mavic tubeless wheels (CrossRide?) and some UST tires, fill it with Stans, and enjoy your rides!!

 

[big_slacker]

FWIW I found that the stan's kit works fine with non-ust rims as long as you run UST tires.I have 0 burping problems riding everything out here.

I too found the stan's kit to be useless with regular (non-ust) tires. But thats not the point. The point is to not pay extra for a new wheelset. If you're buying new you might as well get UST rims.