Tubeless Rims With Non Tubeless Tires

I also run....

Bontrager TLR rims with standard tires + sealant and have had no problems. And a riding buddy has a set of Mavic 819's that he is running with standard tires and sealant without a glitch. The key is a quality tire and the realization that you cannot run stupid low pressures like you can with a UST tire. I weigh in at 210lbs and run between 30 and 35psi with the current setup, depending on the tire that I'm using. I also wouldn't recommend this setup if you ride agressively, i.e. FR, or DH. Go with a full UST set up for these disciplines. I'd also say go UST if you are into the agressive side of AM riding as well. For XC/Trail and light all mountain the ust/standard tire set up can work quite well. I've used Stans converted standard rims and regular tires and am not comfortable with it. Burps were a frequent problem for me with converted tires and wheels. Since building the TLR hoops I haven't had this problem at all.

The bottom line is, in my experience, it's how agressively you ride, and how "big" you go. It's simply a matter of using the proper tool for the job at hand. Most of the problems that I've encountered with UST/Stnadard tire set ups have had three causes, too low of tire pressure, weak tire beads on light "race" tires, and riding too agressively for the set up. I limit my riding on my TLR/Standard set ups to XC/Trail. If I want to get agressive I go with UST tires. And at my weight, tire pressure is always moderate.

So, take into consideration the way you ride. Then determine which setup to go with. If in doubt just go with a UST setup to be safe. Better to be safe and have all your teeth at the end of the ride!

Good Dirt

I've had good luck...

with Kenda Nevegal DTC 2.1's, Continental Mountain King 2.2's, Continental Vertical Pro 2.3, Maxxis Advantage 2.2's, and for a commuter tire, oddly enough I run tubeless on my commuter, the Bontrager Select Invert 2.0. The Nevegal and MK are pretty solid and run well in the 30 to 35 psi range, the Advantages are a bit squirmy but don't seem to cause any handling problems unless you drop down to the 2.1 Advantage. The 2.1s have a pretty thin sidewall and squirm quite a bit even at higher pressures. Those are my Favorite tires to run tubeless with TLR or UST rims. My personal preference for the set up is the Bontrager TLR system with regular tires and sealant. The bead seems to seat more firmly with the TLR system than it does with UST rims. May or may not be the case for all UST rims though.

Anyway, those are the ones that I've tried and liked so far. I've been wanting to try some of Panaracers offerings, but gotta wear out a couple of the others first. :thumbsup:

Good Dirt

doctorthirst said:

What standard tires have been the best in this application in your opinion? I've got Bontrager TLR tires and have been delighted with their TLR tires running tubeless with the bontrager rim strip and stans, but am not satisfied with the availability and selection of tubeless ready tires. I sometimes long to try some standard tires with my rims.

Click to expand...

Let me add my recent experience -

Have about 10 rides and two tough XC races on the Gary Fisher Superfly which comes with the Bonty TLR rims and XCX tires. The rims come with a "blue" plastic strip but will not work in a tubeless setup. So I added the Stan's strips and they work perfectly, no burping or loss of much air over days of abuse.

Now for the bad news -

As you might expect from a lightweight XC tire they don't do well in rain, mud, wet rocks etc. But I also have had 3 punctures which the sealant immediately took care of but it appears the casings are too thin ?

I have used Maxxis Crossmark UST for years on my 26" with not a single problem!

Any thoughts on using this standard tire on my TLR rims with the Stans rubber ?

cheers,

Dave

Can't help you much there....

I've never run the cross mark either ust or standard tubeless or otherwise. And I've never owned a 29er. My rule of thumb for even trying a 26" standard tire tubeless is nothing less than 530g weight for XC and nothing less than 600g weight for more agressive riding, and even then I want to handle the tire before trying it. Feel the sidewalls etc. After a while you can get a pretty good "feel" for what a sidewall and carcass should feel like in a standard tire that will work well tubeless. As you noted the ACX Bonty is a bit on the light side.

I'd probably bump those "rule of thumb" weights by about 30 to 50g for a 29er tire and go from there. And then, as I said, it's just a rule of thumb starting point. You can have a tire that fits the weight criteria but still has paper thin sidewalls or carcass construction that is less than optimal for being run tubeless. I've heard of some sucess with running the standard cross mark 29er tubeless, but have never used the tire myself. So I really can't comment on it. All you can do it try it I guess. Hopefully some one else on the board has experience with them and will chime in.

Good Dirt