Dumb Tubeless question(s) of the day…..

[sevenfourate]

Just tonight ‘found out’ the wheel set-up on my new MTB appears to be running a tubeless set-up. If I’m 100% honest - i’m not entirely sure as I’ve never had this before.

Tyres appear to be ‘glued’ to the rim. And have super thin side-walls….

Not what I was prepared for; in terms of puncture repairs on the Trail, spare tubes I’ve already bought blah blah 🤦‍♂️ ***Presuming I’d need a plug-kit of some sort with this set-up ?

What are the advantages ? And what would going back to standard tubed set-up involve ? For a bit of gentle off-roading / exploring not too far from home - what would you do……? 😳

Sorry for so many thoughts / questions and so little knowledge….🙄

 

[Ming the Merciless]

You can fix the rare punctures with a plug without needing to remove wheel from bike. I had 3 punctures in 17 years with tubeless mtn bike. All fixed with plug style.

 

[Sea of vapours]

Do a search for 'tubeless bicycle tyre repair kit' to find the plugs mentioned above and understand how to use them. You'll also need to periodically add sealant to the tyre, so do another search for 'tubeless bicycle tyre' sealant.

 

[rualexander]

Just tonight ‘found out’ the wheel set-up on my new MTB appears to be running a tubeless set-up. If I’m 100% honest - i’m not entirely sure as I’ve never had this before.

Tyres appear to be ‘glued’ to the rim. And have super thin side-walls….

Not what I was prepared for; in terms of puncture repairs on the Trail, spare tubes I’ve already bought blah blah 🤦‍♂️ ***Presuming I’d need a plug-kit of some sort with this set-up ?

What are the advantages ? And what would going back to standard tubed set-up involve ? For a bit of gentle off-roading / exploring not too far from home - what would you do……? 😳

Sorry for so many thoughts / questions and so little knowledge….🙄

You can't necessarily tell if they are set up tubeless just because the tyre bead is tight to the rim.
It won't be 'glued' to the rim, it's just that the bead is tightly seated.
If you 'break the bead' you will find out if there is a tube inside or if it has actually been set up tubeless.
'breaking the bead' can be very difficult on some tyres/rims though so best get some practice in.

 

[Ian H]

Just keep the sealant topped-up. Only large holes need fixing. The tyre isn't glued, just a firm fit. Of course, you can put a tube in.

 

[13 rider]

Advantages ,you can run lower pressures without fear out pinch punctures
Post a picture of the valve that will tell us if it's tubeless

 

[sevenfourate]

Advantages ,you can run lower pressures without fear out pinch punctures
Post a picture of the valve that will tell us if it's tubeless

Thankyou (All) 😎🙏

Sorry. Pitch-black in the garage. Photo is best i can do. Looks to be 48mm long, it’s a Presta Valve and has a smooth shaft.

When I deflated the tyre: the sidewalls felt wafer thin. And like they were literally glued to the rim. I didn’t easily manage to break the seal anywhere. But was unsure what I was up against - so didn’t force anything. But I’ve been messing with bike / car / motorbike tyres for 35 years - and I’m not sure I've ever known a ‘normal’ bike tyre stick to a rim like this 🤷‍♂️ When the tyre was deflated I could move the valve / push it In and out like any normal tubed valve…..

 

[13 rider]

That doesn't look like a tubeless value and you certainly shouldn't be able to move a tubeless valve they lock to the rim . I suspect that's fitted with an inner tube but the wheel is ready to go tubeless if you remove the tube and replace the valve

 

[Velochris]

Agree with above. From my limited experience with tubeless the valve would be threaded. I think it has to be in order to tighten the nut so that the part of the valve on the rim bed pulls tight and does not let sealant out.

When you deflated the tyre was there any small bits if sealant blown out?

 

[sevenfourate]

That doesn't look like a tubeless value and you certainly shouldn't be able to move a tubeless valve they lock to the rim . I suspect that's fitted with an inner tube but the wheel is ready to go tubeless if you remove the tube and replace the valve

I think you’re right. And the bike is as the spec suggests it should be: below.

It’s (What looked like a glued) tyre to rim ‘seal’ that flummoxed me……

@Velochris - no nothing. Think I’ve been found out to be ignorant of any tubeless knowledge as predicted 🙄 …. And it wasn't tubeless after all. There’s a surprise 🤦‍♂️

 

[Jody]

Are the tyres tubeless/ready? If they are you just need some sealant and valves to set up.

 

[figbat]

Are the tyres tubeless/ready? If they are you just need some sealant and valves to set up.

…and rim tape. Those rims are not tubeless ready, they’ll need taping (I run the same rims tubeless).

 

[sevenfourate]

…and rim tape. Those rims are not tubeless ready, they’ll need taping (I run the same rims tubeless).

Cheers. Says tubeless tape fitted in the specs listed above (?). Either way I’m going to break the seal on the current tyres tonight and investigate what’s going on…

Thanks again for everyone’s thoughts.

 

[figbat]

Cheers. Says tubeless tape fitted in the specs listed above (?). Either way I’m going to break the seal on the current tyres tonight and investigate what’s going on…

Thanks again for everyone’s thoughts.

Ok, missed that. The tyre has to come off anyway to get the tube out and fit a valve, so worth checking. If you’re going tubeless (which I have on all my MTBs) you’ll need a way of seating the tyres on the rims. If you’re lucky you can do it with a track pump and a lot of fast action but having managed that once I have failed on all subsequent attempts and now have an accumulator type pump which works every time.

My method: lube tyre beads with soapy water, mount on rims, remove valve core, blast tyres onto rims and then keep pumping until the beads seat ALL the way around (you’ll get a couple of loud pops), deflate and remove valve core, syringe sealant into tyre, replace valve core, inflate to preferred pressure, go ride. Check pressure regularly, it may take a few rides to stabilise.

 

[sevenfourate]

Ok, missed that. The tyre has to come off anyway to get the tube out and fit a valve, so worth checking. If you’re going tubeless (which I have on all my MTBs) you’ll need a way of seating the tyres on the rims. If you’re lucky you can do it with a track pump and a lot of fast action but having managed that once I have failed on all subsequent attempts and now have an accumulator type pump which works every time.

My method: lube tyre beads with soapy water, mount on rims, remove valve core, blast tyres onto rims and then keep pumping until the beads seat ALL the way around (you’ll get a couple of loud pops), deflate and remove valve core, syringe sealant into tyre, replace valve core, inflate to preferred pressure, go ride. Check pressure regularly, it may take a few rides to stabilise.

Thankyou so much. I’ll investigate tonight 😎