[CrankyMonkey]

I just spent the last four hours trying to mount Stan's NoTubes and Crow tires. I can't do it... I'm 225 pounds and I go to the gym twice a week. All my strength and body weight could not get those things on. I tried everything... I broke a couple of tire levers... I tried to turn green and use my super hulk powers... I cussed with ever word in the book... I just can't get the Crow tires on.

I managed to get one side on but when I went to get it off I ended up having to cut the bead because I couldn't pry the damn thing off. I followed every stinking detail of the instructions. I tried replacing my rim tape with their cheesy thin stuff. Still no good.

I'm sure some bozo will respond and tell me that I didn't follow the instructions. BS I followed the instructions to a T. I watched the movie on their website several times. I'm an engineer I know how to follow instructions. I'm not an idiot!

Usually when I come across some crappy product I just toss it in the pile of “Crap I bought that doesn't work, as advertised, and I was too lazy to ***** to anyone about”. NOT THIS TIME! This is whole ordeal was a complete TIME SUCK! Not to mention a total waste of money.

I read all the favorable reviews in MBA and on this site and I was suckered into buying this junk. If you are considering buying these, stay away! Save your money and get a UST rim set instead. This stuff is total crap!

 

[trailadvent]

Instructions sometimes are just a PITA!

More than likely the type of tires (CROW) never heard of them in our neck of the woods are the problem or maybe the rim most name tires go on OK in my experience and Ive been using stans for 3 odd years now, I no longer use there rim strip its weak and so are the valves but there sealant is still the best Ive tried so I stick with that.

Bontrager Rim strips work well wiuth there seperate Steel valve!
or
Ive just swapped to DT swiss Rim and I'm running there strip and valve which is darn awesome and using stans sealant seems like the best mix Ive had to date.

Tires mount up real sweet and inflate with my tryusty JoBlow foot pump no special buckets of dish washing deterent and bubbles, just spin pump and snap theyre on..

Good luck try another tire brand before giving up, you could be missing out on one the of the best things since suspension IMO.

 

[Whafe]

Hi ya Cranky Monkey, I have to agree with trailadvent, this is NOT an issue with Stans here, this is an issue with your tire not going on a rim. You sound an intelligent dude, I think if you think things through, it is the tire and the rim not being a happy couple.

I agree, some instructions are bollocks, not written well at all....

Try a different tire. Some tires are way more difficult than others.

Give us more info, what rim are you using?, is the tire you are using a UST tire? is the rim UST? etc etc.

Once you get Stans working, they are SH!T hot, you will not regret it....Good luck...:thumbsup:

 

[DeeEight]

He said he's using the Crow tires... that's the tire STAN has started marketting. Now every other tire maker knows the bead seat diameter that the rims are designed for, but apparently not stan. It doesn't surprise me people would have issues mounting the tires. Stan has a history of pushing things onto the market with inadequate testing. He'd rather let the consumers do all the R&D work for him.

 

[Whafe]

He said he's using the Crow tires... that's the tire STAN has started marketting. Now every other tire maker knows the bead seat diameter that the rims are designed for, but apparently not stan. It doesn't surprise me people would have issues mounting the tires. Stan has a history of pushing things onto the market with inadequate testing. He'd rather let the consumers do all the R&D work for him.

mmmmmmm interesting DeeEight for sure. My ignorance, was not aware that Crow tyres were Stans..... So is the Crow Tyre having issues with Stans rims? if so, I would agree whole heartedly that perhaps he needs to research things a bit better........ My main point is that maybe CrankyMonkey meant to say, Stan´s Tyre CROW sucks, not Stans No Tibes, cause that stuff doesnt suck...

We still need to know what sort of rim etc is being used...........Am sure dudes on here like yourself will be able to offer the needed help..

 

[heavyg]

tight tires

I had a UST Racing Ralph that gave me fits, too. Once I caved in and used the tire levers, I got through it, but it was not fun. I was using an XTR UST wheelset at the time.

Like others have said, try some other tires- I'd recommend Bontrager's Revolt Super X TR. They are fast rolling, very light, and grip reasonably well. They also mount up easier than most UST tires on both my XTR and my crossmax wheelsets.

Have patience, young Jedi. Tubeless is great once you get through the pita part...

 

[Miker J]

Stan's worth it?

I ran Stan's set up on non-UST rim the first year they came out. Some times all worked well with no hassle. Other times it was a complete disaster. I've revisited the set up a few times over the following years but as of last year finally decided it's just too much of a PITA for such a small performance gain. The main reason I turned to SS was to keep biking simple. In most cases a Stan's setup will improve your ride a bit but to me it's not worth the hassle. I xc race quite a bit and am all about dialing in my ride for better performance, but for me Stan's is just not worth it.

Want flat resistance while retaining the simplicity of tubes? Conti Light MTB tubes with the removable valve core. Put a squirt of Stans in the tube, replace the core, and you're ready to go. Very early this season I was running into a lot of flats with thorns -- almost twice a week. Even thought about giving Stan's a try again but instead I went to the Conti set up and have had zero flats. That was 4 months ago and I ride about 5 days a week. I doubt this set up would fix a pinch flat (it might) but my opinion on pinch flats are, they are the rim's way of telling you "hey dummy, bump up the psi unless you want to to buy a new rim every few months".

Mike

 

[CrankyMonkey]

My setup is Bontrager Select Disc Rims. I bought the Crow tires cause I figured it would have the best compatibility with the NoTubes product. WRONG! I'm steaming mad because I just spent $79 on tires I can't get on the bike. To top it off I've wasted almost 50% of the sealant because of botched attempts of mounting the tires. I would have done the mount with soapy water to insure the tire would inflate and then add the sealant. But with as much trouble as I was having I didn't think I could get those tires on a second time! I figured if GOD would have let me mount then it would only happen once.

To top it off, my arms and palms are all bruised up from trying to get enough leverage to push those crappy tires on the rims. I'm just going to stick with tubes. I might try the rest of the sealant with some lighter tubes. Has anyone had luck with the Slime Lite Tubes?

 

[shiggy]

My sample of The Crow went on my control rim as easy as any other tire (with a tube).

I also mounted it (dry) on a Mavic 819 UST rim with no issues and it inflated and seated instantly. Mike B. recommended using their Olympic rim strip with The Crow on the 819 though it seems to snap into place pretty securely. Without sealant it does go completely flat in 20 minutes.

Mounting tires is mostly a matter of technique, not physical strength. Tires can be seriously damaged by manhandling them on/off the rims.

Bonty Select rims are not tubeless so you must use the Stans strips to have any hope of them working.

I do not reccommed using any standard tires and/or rims without inner tubes.

 

[BruceBrown]

I just spent the last four hours trying to mount Stan's NoTubes and Crow tires. I can't do it... I'm 225 pounds and I go to the gym twice a week. All my strength and body weight could not get those things on. I tried everything... I broke a couple of tire levers... I tried to turn green and use my super hulk powers... I cussed with ever word in the book... I just can't get the Crow tires on.

I managed to get one side on but when I went to get it off I ended up having to cut the bead because I couldn't pry the damn thing off. I followed every stinking detail of the instructions. I tried replacing my rim tape with their cheesy thin stuff. Still no good.

I'm sure some bozo will respond and tell me that I didn't follow the instructions. BS I followed the instructions to a T. I watched the movie on their website several times. I'm an engineer I know how to follow instructions. I'm not an idiot!

Usually when I come across some crappy product I just toss it in the pile of "Crap I bought that doesn't work, as advertised, and I was too lazy to ***** to anyone about". NOT THIS TIME! This is whole ordeal was a complete TIME SUCK! Not to mention a total waste of money.

I read all the favorable reviews in MBA and on this site and I was suckered into buying this junk. If you are considering buying these, stay away! Save your money and get a UST rim set instead. This stuff is total crap!

Suckered into it?

I've got the 29"er version of the Crows. Mounting up on the Delgado Disc rims, the Velocity Dyads and the Mavic SpeedCity's - they are the tightest fitting bead of all the 29"er tires I have tried to date. Now, that's not saying much since 29"er tire beads seem to all be very easy to mount with the problem erring on the side of being too loose. Yet, with a good pair of tire levers (Park Tool metal ones for example) - mounting and dismounting the Crows has not been a problem. I have been running them with tubes thus far. Dismounting them is much more difficult than mounting, but not that difficult.

My tubeless kit for a pair of Bontrager disc wheels (29"er) is in the mail... And I would love to have a wheelset with the ZTR 355 rims which is the rim Stan designed these tires to be used with in the first place.

BB

 

[shiggy]

...I read all the favorable reviews in MBA and on this site and I was suckered into buying this junk. If you are considering buying these, stay away! Save your money and get a UST rim set instead...

I had missed this part of your post.

MBA does over-hype Stan's and has never given the downsides of the DIY tubeless method. By what they publish every tire on every rim is better with a Stan's kit in it. Even Stan's does not claim that. MBA went as far as presenting a Stan's-converted Kenda Nevegal as a separate model tire in a comparison test with no mention that Kenda warned against using any of their tires with liquid sealants.

If you had made a thorough search on this site you would have found posts about the issues. They can be harder to find as the riders that it does work for continue to sing its praises. Those it has failed mostly have tired of pointing out the issues and moved on.

DIY tubeless is not as simple to setup and maintain as inner tubes or UST. It is not good for riders that are not mechanically inclined or do not like to tinker with their bikes.

As I posted earlier I do not recommend any standard tire and/or rim being used without inner tubes. If you want to go tubeless use tires and rims that are designed to be used together and used tubeless.

 

[unit]

yo Cranky!

that is a pretty fuming rant there, did you ever consider calling Stan's to ask for some tips?

I have talked to them several times asking about compatibility of this with that and so forth. Basically, I have found them to be TOTALLY helpful even to the point of telling me that based on my needs for a wheel THEIR product (a specific rim they make) is not a good choice. That converstaion struck me as quite honest (I can think of a few manufacturers that would say "buy my product" without even listening to my NEEDS).

I am not saying that you are an idiot, or that you can not follow directions. I will say that before you go cutting beads, you ought to stop, think, and make some phone calls. There may be a problem with the Crows you have, but I gotta tell you, I have heard a BUNCH of RAVING reviews on this tire from some reliable sources. Yours is the first fit issue I have heard.

A simple phone call or email might also get your money back.

Your post seems to atack all things Stan's. It seems that the only thing you really did was try to mount a Crow and failed. If you have reason for attacking anything other than the Crow, please share.

 

[mtb_biker]

A simple phone call or email might also get your money back.

Now that would be a miracle from the stuff i've read. But as you and everyone else have pointed out alot of this is technique.

 

[unit]

Now that would be a miracle from the stuff i've read. But as you and everyone else have pointed out alot of this is technique.

If the tire is defective and actually is the wrong diameter to fit a typical wheel, I think the manufacturer/bike shop would replace or refund for a defective product. Of course it has yet to be determined what actually went wrong.

As for the Stan's NoTubes...I dont think he would get a refund...nor is one merrited. I dont see anything posted here that reflects ANYTHING on Stan's NoTubes (good or bad).

 

[CrankyMonkey]

I sent them an email right after the 4 hour ordeal. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get a good response since it was during my fit of rage. There where quite a few expletives used... Normally I'm pretty cool about stuff going wrong. I've just never had anything go this wrong. Maybe the NoTubes conversion kit works just fine when you have the magic combination of rims and tires. I'm giving up on the whole idea of tubeless nirvana and lower tire pressure. All the hype sounds wonderful but it's just not worth the hassle. I can change a flat tube in less time then it takes me to type a post on this site.

I think it's important to warn others that if you are planning on going down this road it's not as easy as Stan's video makes it out to be. It's going to be frustrating. So be prepared...

 

[unit]

I think it's important to warn others that if you are planning on going down this road it's not as easy as Stan's video makes it out to be. It's going to be frustrating. So be prepared...

Yes, I guess that is some good advice. Results seem to vary. No one should ever go into tubless without understanding clearly all the possible hurdles and downsides.

That said, I had results that are identical to the videos on the site. Aired up with a floor pump etc. I plan on buying a set of crows in the near future based on the great reviews I have had from people who ride similar conditions to me.

Still, my own brother has expressed interest in tubless, and I told him Great, but not until he knows all the ins and outs of the method. These guys that pay a LBS to install this stuff are really heading for trouble when they dont have a shop around and no experience with fixing the types of problems they are likely to encounter.

I sincerely wish you the best. I REALLY wish I could have been there. Not to hear you rage, but to see what the heck went wrong. May be you got a bad pair of tires...it does happen.

Since you have the strips and Stan's solution, you might want to try it with some other tires. It really sounds like your problems were with the tires and not the system....but you know best, and as I have said many times, it is not for everyone.

I could not agree with you more that people should definately be prepared for a challenge and do their homework first.

Roll on.

 

[TNC]

Eye of the beholder.

I sent them an email right after the 4 hour ordeal. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get a good response since it was during my fit of rage. There where quite a few expletives used... Normally I'm pretty cool about stuff going wrong. I've just never had anything go this wrong. Maybe the NoTubes conversion kit works just fine when you have the magic combination of rims and tires. I'm giving up on the whole idea of tubeless nirvana and lower tire pressure. All the hype sounds wonderful but it's just not worth the hassle. I can change a flat tube in less time then it takes me to type a post on this site.

I think it's important to warn others that if you are planning on going down this road it's not as easy as Stan's video makes it out to be. It's going to be frustrating. So be prepared...

As Shiggy suggested, it may not be as easy as installing a new tube in your tire, but once you get your head and hands around the process, it's just not rocket science. And then once you live with a decent tubeless setup for any length of time, you will not go back. Learning new things and techniques is often a PITA, but afterwards most of us just look back and say, "geez, that wasn't so hard". Am I enthused about tubeless setups?...absolutely. They just plain work. Better traction is the reason I did it and have remained with it. The flat resistance is just a side benefit IMO. Don't cheat yourself from experiencing a performance advantage because of a little trouble with your setup there. It may just be the wrong combination or something.

Shiggy's caveat about non-UST tires and non-UST rims is true up to a point, and he' right to warn people about it. The smaller the tire gets, the riskier the interface between the tire and rim gets...for the most part. At our shop we've been putting together tubeless setups for ourselves and customers since the roll-yer-own days of bottled latex and without Stan's rim strip system. With the advent of the strip and better sealant, we've had excellent results with non-UST tires of 2.2 and bigger with non-UST rims. For really aggressive riders, it's better to go no smaller than 2.3 in non-UST tires. The bigger the non-UST tire gets, the more reliable it is when run tubeless...logical of course. The beauty is that you can usually run some 2.5 non-UST tires for the same or less weight than many 2.1 UST tires.

 

[dbikeco]

bontrager select are not tubeless rims

My setup is Bontrager Select Disc Rims. I bought the Crow tires cause I figured it would have the best compatibility with the NoTubes product. WRONG! I'm steaming mad because I just spent $79 on tires I can't get on the bike. To top it off I've wasted almost 50% of the sealant because of botched attempts of mounting the tires. I would have done the mount with soapy water to insure the tire would inflate and then add the sealant. But with as much trouble as I was having I didn't think I could get those tires on a second time! I figured if GOD would have let me mount then it would only happen once.

To top it off, my arms and palms are all bruised up from trying to get enough leverage to push those crappy tires on the rims. I'm just going to stick with tubes. I might try the rest of the sealant with some lighter tubes. Has anyone had luck with the Slime Lite Tubes?

I do not think bontrager select are tubeless

 

[dbikeco]

bontrager select are not tubeless rims

I do not think bontrager select are tubeless. maybe i am wrong

 

[dbikeco]

bontrager select are not tubeless rims

I do not think bontrager select rims are tubeless. maybe i am wrong