[ewarnerusa]

I'm new to tubeless, never done it before but I've read about the Stan's product. I just bought my first really nice wheelset, a set of Mavic Crossmax Disc that are UST tubeless. I put some Kenda Karma tires on them that I won in a raffle in a race in 2004. I mounted them up with tubes for starters since that's they way I've always done it and things work fine. but I want to go tubeless since I've got gear to do it. I bought a bottle of stan's last night on the way home thinking that's what I would need. I then went to the notubes.com website and watched the installation video. I think I can handle the installation according the the video. A couple issues:

1. My Stan's kit did not come with rim strips or anything. Only the bottle of sealant, a measuring scoop and a nozzle for the bottle. the wheelset came with the tubeless presta valve, but do I even need rim strips since my wheels are UST ready?

2. My Kenda Karma tires are UST ready according the website, but the tires themselves don't have any UST badge on them that I could see. I searched the forums and read about people with non-tubeless models of this tire. could this be what I have?

3. Kenda website seems to make quite a stink about not using sealants of any kind in any of their tires. Now I'm not planning any warranty claims on my raffle-prize tires, but is there merit to this warning?

4. Am I going about this right??!! I've got UST rims and (maybe) UST tires, do I even need the Stan's? Seems to me that the Stan's would be nice for avoiding flats, regardless if it is absolutely necessary for sealing the beads. Do I need rim strips for going tubeless with my setup?

Thanks.
Ed

EDIT: adding a pic because threads with pics seem to get more love.

 

[ewarnerusa]

This pic is about the best I could do for a closeup of the Kenda Karma tire badges. I didn't think about the tires when I was taking the pics, I was more interested in showing off the wheelset.

 

[shiggy]

If your Kamas do not have the UST logo on them they are not the tubeless version.

UST tires on UST rims do not require sealant to work.

 

[ewarnerusa]

i tried my first inflation sans tube thisafternoon. No sealant, just practice inflation. I applied some soap and water solution and the tire would begin to inflate but leak badly. The beads are also quite reluctant to pop into place all the way around the tire. This was an issue even with a tube inflation. Is the soap and water the lube that is supposed to help these beads slide into place?

 

[shiggy]

Yes, standard tires with tubes can be reluctant to seat on UST rims. Soapy water helps.

 

[ewarnerusa]

I was comfortable enough to do the inflation with Stan's last night and everything seemed to go great. No rim strips, just soapy water, UST rims, and Kenda Karma non-UST tires. I left them at 40psi before bed. The next morning they were both at 35psi which I think means pretty much zero leakage since some pressure is lost when attaching the pump. My gauge is on the pump. But just in case I did one more exercise in wobbling the tire vertically and let the other side sit downwards. We'll see how my first ride goes.

Now any insights on tire pressures? I've always ran around 35-40psi with tubes.

 

[MGBYLR]

I've always run my Karmas tubeless around 30 psi but everyone has their own preference.

 

[ewarnerusa]

I've always run my Karmas tubeless around 30 psi but everyone has their own preference.

right now I'm at 30 psi up front and 35 psi in rear tire. Still no leakage! and not enough of a point is made about how dirty used tires look terriffic after all the sidewall scrubbing with soapy water.