[Obi-Wan is lost...]

So what are peoples thoughts on going tubeless? I've been reading up on it and it appears you can buy special tubeless rims and tyres however these seem to be as heavy as running tubes, so partially defeating the object. Some American blokes with short first names such as Stan/Joe/Bob/Mike/Bill/Chad seem to have cornered the market in kits which it appears you can use to turn almost any tyre or rim into tubeless.

Can anyone report success or failure on using said kits?

[Joepicalli]

I run tubeless on my mountain bike, flats more or less a thing of the past, I love them

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

I run tubeless on my mountain bike, flats more or less a thing of the past, I love them

Have you get special tyres or did you just use the strips and sealant on normal tyres?

[Joepicalli]

The wheels are ZTR FLOWS like these http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/330736650523?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&adtype=pla.
except that mine have got hope hubs.

[fatdoc]

IMO.. Bollocks..

They weigh more, u get a tear yr buggered, so u carry tubes any how... Fr DH they burp..


I use medium weight conti... Up to 2.5 .... Tubes.. So not too heavy on all my MTB... And don't have to sweat on  replacing tyres for conditions nor out on the hill getting a new tube in.

If u rate tubeless... U ain't riding hard enough.

[chris j]

I use tubeless for trail centre / XC type riding. My last Trek had Bontrager tubeless rims, on my current Stumpy I'm using Stan's No-tubes rim strip & the white goop with the basic DT420 rims. These are on 2.2 tyre width - I've used tubeless versions of Panaracer Fire XC & Schwalbe Nobby Nics.

When you're fitting them plenty of soapy water helps get a good seal with the rim.

No pinch flats and a lower tyre pressure is good for me but then I'm not a rad hardcore downhill dude... 

[twoshoes]

Stans gunk with BMX inner tubes chopped up into Rim strips works fine. I've used a load of standard tyres from different brands. I tend to stick to 'tubeless ready' or steel-beaded Maxxis though, as you can find that the bead on some tyres stretches over time, leading to comedy blow-the-tyre-off-the-rim-and-splatter-your-mates-with-latex moments.

 The tubes seem to work better than the strips you get with Stans etc - more flexible, and they stick to the tyre. This means virtually no burping, including riding DH etc.

You get a lot better at inflating tyres over time too, although it's still a bit messy...

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

I've got Maxxis Ignitor's on my new bike. Sounds like people use Stans gunk, any experience of Joes which is half the price? I'm guessing you pay for what you get.

[Palomides]

It depends...

If you typically run big heavy thick tyres and do a lot of AM/DH type slamming around then it's probably not worth it, especially if one is a larger gentleman (although at least one DH world cups womens race has been won on Stans Flow rims).

If (like me) you're much more XC-orientated, run lighter tyres and live/ride in an area with loads of thorns then it's the best thing since suspension forks.

There are three ways to go tubeless:

1 Buy wheels with UST rims. The simplest way, but less choice and heavier rims.

2 Buy/build wheels with Stans/American Classic/Sun Ringlé/Roval bead-hook stylerims. These are lighter than full UST rims, typically have lower rim sidewalls and need sticky tape ONLY to seal the spoke holes in the bed. Probably the most popular way for weight weenies.

3 "Ghetto" conversions of any other rim, either using split BMX tubes, or the Stans/Joes/DT SWiss rimstrips (which are basically the same thing as split tubes but about a billion times more expensive). Results will be incredibly variable depending on combination of rims, strips and tyres used.

This list also represents the order of probability of getting tyres on easily!

Tyres are either
Full UST (thick sidewalls, airtight carcass, UST bead)
"Tubeless Ready" (not so thick, pretty much airtight carcass, UST-like bead, should be a bit cheaper because the manufacturer hasn't paid the license to use the UST name!)
Normal (light, porous, normal bead)

UST or UST-like beads are designed to be non-stretch so the tyre doesn't blast off the rim and slightly differently shaped with a small inner lip that helps the seal.

IMO the idea of weight saving is not important, for me the big advantage is puncture resistance against thorns (I've also found a drawing pin and a 3cm piece of wire in my tyres at the END of a ride!).

If the sealant can't plug a hole, or if the sealant has dried up (ooops) then it's the same as a tubed system - stick a tube in (in 2 years of running tubeless I've had to do this once!)

A side effect is that rolling resistance is decreased. Without the friction between tube & tyre, my bike FEELS lighter, even if it isn't.

For me it's great.

Oh yeah - I've tried BMX strips on normal rims with tubeless ready tyres (Specialized 2Bliss) - worked really well. I've now trashed those wheels and bought a cheap pair of Shimano SLX wheels. These are the cheapest UST wheels available, and not surprisingly work well with proper UST tyres and Specialized 2Bliss tyres. I haven't yet tried normal tyres with sealant (although I always add sealant anyway, even in the UST tyres).

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Cheers for the info guys. I've had a issue with snakebites on my rear tyre on a couple of bikes, so I like the idea of reducing the occurrence of these. Don't mind saving a few grams either, my new bike has a Scandium frame  , but I doubt I can afford to go super Weight Weenie on it's ass, but cutting a few grams here and there appeals if I can.

[chris j]

IMO the idea of weight saving is not important, for me the big advantage is puncture resistance against thorns (I've also found a drawing pin and a 3cm piece of wire in my tyres at the END of a ride!).

+1

I got a 1/2 cm clean cut on one tyre, it spat dribbles of gunk for 5 minutes or so, I had to pump it up, but then it sealed and is still fine 8 months later. Small thorns and the like you don't even notice.