[SMOKEY]

Well dudes,
Today I got my stans no tubes kit. I have been interested in reading peoples stories but most seem to be bashing stans. I have spent some time researching the net on stans and I felt pretty confident that I could handle the task of installing and maintaining stans. The installation is pretty straight forward and the instructions are detailed. The no tubes web site has some good tips.

My rims are mavic 717's and I went with kenda nevegal 2.5 and 2.35 standard tube tires. The front tire is used and in good condition. The 2.35 rear is brand new. I removed the original spoke tape and applied the included stans tape which is thinner and narrower than the velo cloth spoke tape I had. I mixed a bucket of dish soap and water and made sure it was extra sudsy. The rim tape slips on very easily, so easily I was skeptical I did it right! It went into place very nicely. 2 important things to remember with narrow rims....Use soap and water to install the rim strip and use the stans spoke tape. It is also very important to drill the inner stem hole to 3/8" diameter. I did not have a drill so I used my dremel very carefully. I used lots of soap bubbles on the bead of the tire but made sure not to get much water in the rim. This is very important as well. My first try at sealing the bead without the sealant and not as much suds was very frustrating. It did not work and I was cursing stan. Then I used a whole bunch of soap and got the bubbles to be real thick and creamy, I applied the suds to the bead and it aired right up with a floor pump! I was in amazement. I did not expect it to air up so easily. The nevegals are by no means snug around the rim. After I got the hang of it I poured in the sealant and did what the instructions say to seal the tire. The only problem I had was this little tiny pin hole in the sidewall that is not sealing right away.

I will post more later after I get a few rides in. So far the initial set up impression was good. It will seal and inflate as long as you listen to the directions. Every little detail in the instructions is important... I found out the hard way. I hope this will be useful to someone.

 

[Jdub]

Sounds like you've got the hang of it. The first time I tried it was pretty frustrating, but I got the hang of it pretty quick and have had no problems getting any tire aired up with just a floor pump.

Nevegals are loose fitting for you? I had to heat my 2.1 Nevy up just to get the tire on the rim, man it was tight. I was using Velocity VXC rims, but are narrow as well.

I've been using Stans with good success. Will probably go UST rims next time, but a good compromise for now.

 

[SMOKEY]

Just came back from a quick night ride through some rocky technical stuff. The tires did not bust off the rim like I was anticipating they would. I had about 40 psi and I could tell the ride was a little harsher than usual. ( I usually have about 32-34psi in DH tubes) I ran the high psi because just in case all the little holes where not sealed I would have plenty of air to get me back to the car. I don't know if I could really tell whether or not they spin any faster or easier. I was on 2-3 higher gears than usual but that could be from the excitement of a new product. I had about 4 pounds worth of DH tubes and slime in my tires. I can say that when picking up the bike, it feels lighter in weight. I used my neighbors fish scale and I went from 33lbs to 29 lbs just by switching to stans! The real test of reliability and sealing quality will be tomorrow when I ride a super rocky trail. I'll post then. So far so good.

 

[Mike B.]

Smokey - I think I mentioned in response to your original request, but be careful using the wider tires (2.35+) on the 717 setup tubeless. If you get down in to the sub-30 psi range you may find that there is a tendency to burp air pressure. With 317s and 2.0 tires I've run 24psi would a problem but you may want to keep an eye on it.

 

[PoKev]

So far so good.

Hope it stays that way Smokey. I've run the Stan's system for 1 1/2 years and have a love/hate relationship. Roll-X aired up and continue to work with no problems, I've even shifted that wheelset (Mavic 317s) to my wife's bike. Blue Groove/Nevegal 2.1 combo took a bit of time to seal all the sidewall holes and once they were sealed I used those tires all last summer with no problems.

Issues were with larger tires Intense CC 2.25 and Geax Sturdy 2.25. Ended up popping both of these off the back rim. Approx. 30 - 32psi, neither time did I have a tube (my bad) and had to walk out as I was riding by myself each time. The bead on the Intense had shredded in one area. Both happened on climbs, may have to do with the amount of torque applied in the steeps.

You will, on the plus side, notice the difference in rolling resistance. I have Crossmax Enduros now with UST tires and a bit of Stan's juice. Enjoy............

 

[SMOKEY]

I think you guys are right. My tires are too big. I went for a long trail ride today and I noticed a weird feeling I have never felt before. I don't know how to describe it. I guess It felt like the tires where so squishy they made my bike feel squirrely, but I can't say it was bad, I still had control. In fact, I would say I had more grip through the wet rocks because my tires really conformed to the rocks. I ran about 35psi front and back and did not experience any problems with loosing air. Weird thing is, when I got home my rear tire dropped down to 20 psi but I could not find any punctures or goop leaking out anywhere on the tire. Soon I will have wider rims and I think I will really like the handling. As for rolling resistance, I still have not noticed much. Its not really fair yet because I was dead tired before I even started the trail.

 

[Jdub]

I think you guys are right. My tires are too big. I went for a long trail ride today and I noticed a weird feeling I have never felt before. I don't know how to describe it. I guess It felt like the tires where so squishy they made my bike feel squirrely, but I can't say it was bad, I still had control.

I've noticed this type of behavior on my Stans setup as well. I run narrow rims (Velocity VXCs) and I always just attributed the behavior to running a Non-UST tire in a UST setup, meaning that the sidewalls weren't designed for it and made the tire a little squirmy. I don't notice it all the time, and some tires are better than others but it does feel a bit weird.

The main reason I run Stans is for the puncture resistance. I like being able to ride over whatever I want without worrying about small puncture holes. If I could find a tube that wasn't super heavy and had as good of sealing qualities as Stans in my tires, I'd probably go that route. Next wheelset will be UST, but until I thrash this one I'll keep running Stans.

 

[SMOKEY]

Went on a quick but very rocky technical trail ride today and put stans to the test.
I can finally tell that I roll so much faster without tubes. I was skeptical at first but I finished my quick loop faster and fresher than usual. For fairness, the conditions where as close to the same as possible. I ran about 36 psi front and back today and I noticed my tires where REALLY gripping the rocks, I mean REALLY conforming to the shape of the rocks and rock ledges. When I was climbing really rocky technical stuff, I had about 5 burps from the back tire when I would torque my way up a rocky ledge. I never felt the rim strike rock but when I looked down at my rear tire when I was climbing, I could see the tire flexing and grabbing the terrain. AWESOME. I was able to completely clear some rocky climbs that I usually can't. Serious grip! When I reached the top of the climb I checked my psi and I lost about 6 psi front and back. I still had plenty of air to continue but I don't think I would run it that low on purpose. I ran over some bushes and cacti accidently and I could hear a quick PSSSST and the puncture sealed right up as I was riding. Sweetness. Well, so far so good, except the burping. I may put my 2.35 in the front and my roll-x in the rear and dump the 2.5 entirely. Now that I can run low pressures I am not sure I need huge tires.

 

[Johnny Hair Boy]

I'm 100% with stans so far

I found the Kendas tricky to seal but once they did they hold air perfectly roll x tires are the easiest tire I hve ever sealed and never needed a compressor with those. I run between 28 and 30 psi with a 2.1 Nevegal tire on cross max wheels and have never burped once they have been flawless for me.