[Shark]

Hey all,

There have been a couple good posts about converting the fatty's to tubeless. After 3 flats at the Brown County Breakdown, and a couple the week before that, I am over tubes!

I ordered some Q-tubes 24"x 2.1 - 2.3 presta , wasn't sure if they would be wide enough but they were cheap so I ordered 3 and took a chance.
I pumped the tube up to probably 36" and let it sit overnight so it would stretch out (hopefully).

I carefully cut the tube down the middle with scissors, then pulled my Larry off the front rim & got the old tube out of the way. I initially tried just the split tube & Larry, but it was a bit loose & could tell airing it up was going to be hit/miss.

I had some left-over sill seal foam from when we built our house, so I used that, cut down to about 1.75" wide. Put in 2 layers on the inside of the rim, basically making the inside channel flush with where the bead sits, but still away from the edge where the bead needs to seal. Stuff is light as air & should hold up well. Couple pieces of tape to hold it in place.

Installed the split tube again, & carefully put Larry where it needed to go. With some messing around you could probably get it to air up with a floor pump, but I had my air compressor handy so I used that. Aired up first try!
It went so easy that I decided to deflate, break the bead, and add some Stan's sealant. In the future I will use the Stan's injector & pull the valve core to add more.

I was surprised how hard I had to press to get the bead open, even with no air pressure inside, so that is a good thing. Only had about 6 Oz of sealant to stick in, picking up more tomorrow, so I put in what was left, re-seated the bead, & hit with air again.
Sealed up nicely the second time! Nothing bubbling around the edges so looks to be a tight seal.

:thumbsup:

It is raining (of course!), so no testing yet, but will report back once I try em out. Will be some good dirt riding singletrack, then once the snow flies I'll air em down & see if it still holds.

Converting the rear Endo will be next!

The profile of the Rolling Darryl rim looks like you might be able to do the "Gorilla tape" method. If for some reason the split tube decides to be a pain & let me down, that will be the next.

 

[Guitar Ted]

It will be interesting to hear how your, (and others), tubeless set ups hold up when pressures are low and so are the temperatures. Looking forward to the ride reports come December/January.

 

[bdundee]

Thanks Shark!!!! Keep us posted.

 

[gregclimbs]

It will be interesting to hear how your, (and others), tubeless set ups hold up when pressures are low and so are the temperatures. Looking forward to the ride reports come December/January.

+1 I subscribed, hoping to hear how this goes in snow...

 

[Shark]

It stopped raining enough to play in the yard a bit. Everything stayed on the rim and no burps. Hopefully get on the trails later in the week.

 

[Borgschulze]

I rode tubeless in the winter on my DH bike a few years ago...

You will definitely notice the decrease in air pressure when it's cold out... I couldn't believe it.

Felt like I had 10 psi in my tire instead of 25 psi.

 

[MendonCycleSmith]

Cool! Glad it set up as well for you as me.

I wish I'd built it up for my Pug so I could have tested it, as it was, I never got to try it, well, not yet. My frame should be here soon, and using a 170mm hub, wasn't gonna fit in my Pug.

Now i've changed courses rim wise, but I'm sure several of the customers I've sold Darryl wheels to will be very intrigued.....:thumbsup:

 

[Shark]

MCS,
Yep I copied most of your ideas from that older thread (thanks!), works well so far with setup.

I did the rear Endo today, aired up just as easily as the Larry with no Stan's in it. I borrowed the Stan's injector from my friend to try it out, that way you don't have to break the bead after getting it aired up initially. Just take out the valve core, thread on the tube, & inject-away! Worked better than I thought it would, then you can pump up the tire after with a floor pump since the bead is sealed.

Again....raining today, so it'll be a day or two before I can test on the trails.

 

[benwitt11]

Very interested in how this works. Thanks for posting.

 

[Shark]

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!

Got in a nice 22 mile ride this morning at BCSP, all singletrack, some flowy, some rocks, some roots.

I started the ride a few PSI higher than normal just to make sure things were going to stay together.....about 10 miles in all was well, so I dropped the pressure down to where I normally ride (around 10 or so I think?).

No burps, no tire rolling off the rim, & best of all, NO FLATS

I even mis-timed a rooty section I usually bunny hop over & slammed the back wheel into a root. It hit so hard I probably would have pinch flatted (a few weeks ago I did pinch flat in this same spot!). I was very surprised that it held pressure, no burp & no flat.

Looking forward to the snow & we'll see if it holds up to that test. This weekend we're going to Pisgah so that should be fun with the fatty

After messing with this, I think the ultimate might be just to use the Stan's injector & put in 4 - 6 Oz directly into a presta tube & not worrying about the split tube tubeless method. With the size of these tires, are we really going to notice any difference in "feel" with tube vs no tubes? I dunno.

One thing to note, I ride this trail system alot, I usually average 9.5 mph. Today was 9.9 mph. Tubeless=faster? I dunno. Might have just been having a good day lol.

 

[Guitar Ted]

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!
...........Looking forward to the snow & we'll see if it holds up to that test.

To my mind, the cold weather performance is what will truly define "success" for tubeless on this category of tire/bike.

That said, it is a very encouraging report. Thanks!

 

[MendonCycleSmith]

Sweet! Stoked that it worked thus far.

So, concerns over cold weather riding? Like what? I, and most of my group, run tubeless year round without issue, but 26 and 29, Stans rims, one or two ghetto set ups.

I'll be running my Uma's tubeless in the cold any day now, but I can't see how this version would be affected by weather any more than any other set up, unless we're talking about the uber low pressures for snow riding being a factor...

 

[DirtDad]

So you are using it with the split tube between the bead and the rim?

 

[bighit]

Golf clap.

 

[Guitar Ted]

I can't see how this version would be affected by weather any more than any other set up, unless we're talking about the uber low pressures for snow riding being a factor...

Yeah.....I thought that was kind of obvious.

I assumed most knew tubeless stuff worked in winter with 26 and 29 inch wheeled bikes, but we're talking 5psi or less, which is a far cry from anything I have any experience or knowledge about with bicycles.

That's why I'm taking the wait and see approach with regard to this.

 

[MendonCycleSmith]

Yeah.....I thought that was kind of obvious.

I assumed most knew tubeless stuff worked in winter with 26 and 29 inch wheeled bikes, but we're talking 5psi or less, which is a far cry from anything I have any experience or knowledge about with bicycles.

That's why I'm taking the wait and see approach with regard to this.

Nothing is very obvious to me, it's a personal problem

FWIW, I have a number of buddies running split tube ghetto all year long, and that works, so I'm guessing this will work too.

It's not like the Uma tubeless rims have mechanical bead locks or anything, and they work fine according to Greg and company. The tube wrapping around the bead should give nice malleable purchase for the tire bead to help keep it in place. I'd guess that the new folders wouldn't be a good use here though.

Just me thinking out loud.....

 

[Shark]

The extreme low pressures are what worry me a well, not the cold temps.

 

[Shark]

So you are using it with the split tube between the bead and the rim?

Yes that is how the split tube method works with ghetto tubeless.

 

[Moe's Tavern]

FWIW, I have a number of buddies running split tube ghetto all year long, and that works, so I'm guessing this will work too. .

I assume your buddies are running split tube ghetto FATTIES, right? Just making sure they're fat.

I've been running a set of tubeless Darryls, then added a Nate, and it's been all summer on sand and single track at about 8psi.

I hope to go lower pressue, so my plan is to (thru capillary action!!!) adhere the tire to the split tube with some flexible cyanoacrylate.

That's the plan, anyway. Then we'll hit the snow when December comes around. (Caffelatex will be the sealant unless I come across some info that says it's the suck in the freeze. Come to think of it, I should put some in the freezer to see how it reacts. brb.)

 

[MendonCycleSmith]

I assume your buddies are running split tube ghetto FATTIES, right? Just making sure they're fat.

No sorry, I was referring to non fat set ups.

The only issue I've run into with Caffe Latex is the CO2 problem. Use it and end up with big rubber hot dogs in your tire.

I used it for a while, but went back to Stans when I found it did nothing better, and was pricier, but it did work just fine in cold weather, say, down to 0 F or so....