Going Tubeless

[dim]

I have 25 mm continental all seasons now with tubes. They're not that old, probably done about 1000 miles, but getting a lot of punctures, mainly flint shards and thorns, probably will keep them in reserve for use on one of my summer bikes.

Yes, sorry I meant 28mm! I've ordered the sealant, got the valves which came with the wheels (Shim Ultegra) and I don't think I need the rim tape as the wheels are "tubeless ready".

Yikes .... I'm assuming the tyres that you are using are the Continental 4 seasons (I'm not sure if they manufacture a model call 'all seasons'

I'm running Continental 4 Seasons (700Cx25) on my S-Works (I bought the bike 2nd hand, and it came with those) .... so far, I've cycled 2490 km and much was on bad roads .... and (touch wood) ... I've had no punctures so far .... There was a lot of wear on these when I bought the bike

I rate these highly and it's the 1st time that I have used these tyres ....

 

[Will Spin]

Yes sorry, I meant continental 4 seasons...nice tyres but unfortunately they still seem to puncture fairly frequently on the roads round here.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Mudguards are a little tight but not rubbing, so I hope will be OK when on the road

Worth checking this by just sitting on the bike and rolling 10 feet. Your weight will change the height of the tyre at the top (under the seatstay bridge). I fitted a new tyre (after a tyre threatened imminent failure on the road: bulging sidewall / thread fail) - bought from a cycle shop; nominally the same width - and it seemed OK. But as soon as I pushed off it was catching/rubbing. The mudguard had to come off and was ditched.

 

[Elybazza61]

Hope you are going to drop the psi a bit(I ran mine between 70 and 80psi).

As for repair kit I usually carry a spare tube as it's the easiest thing to just bung a tube in and sort the repair out at home; just have the usual pump and co2.

I have repaired a Schwalbe S-One and a IRC Roadlite with a Park Tool tyre patch(cut to fit) and normal rubber cement for tube patches.

I do have one of those 'worm' repair kits but only tried it once and it didn't work although I've since found out I was doing it wrong, it works best with the worm doubled over rather than just bunged in.

http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product...Wrev6ACoYL_CzW536584iQM4L7RcSRJ5JHRoCXmjw_wcB

 

[Will Spin]

Yes, I just left the tyres overnight pumped right up to 120psi. I had left the bike on the stand overnight and when I lifted it off in the morning, the front tyre suddenly deflated, which gave me a lack of confidence. However pumped it back up to 95 and reduced the pressure in the back to the same and went out for a ride, but stayed near home in case I needed the back up crew. Luckily no further problems. Thanks for the advice!

 

[tincaman]

I have had a go at tubeless, I have Pro-Lite Revo disc wheels which are tubeless ready, a Schwalbe S-one tubeless 700x30c tyre, some tubeless valves with removable valve cores, Tesa 4289 tape, my own mix of sealant which is 1/1 Hobbycraft latex and antifreeze with some ground pepper added in later, plus I have small 5litre compressor.
This was my first attempt and I have to say it hasn't been easy to get the wheels sealed up. The first attempts all resulted in leaks around the valve despite tightening the valve up very tight. Adding sealant didn't help either.
I finally got it all to work:
Went around every spoke hole with a Dremel so that it was perfectly smooth before I put on the rim tape. Also wiped the inside of the rim thoroughly with ethanol, this makes a big difference with how the tape sticks down. Did two wraps of tape, carefully making sure all bubbles were pushed out. Put a tiny slit for the valve hole before pushing the valve through. (Changed the valve for a new one, the old ones were for Specialized wheels)
Fitted the tyre and installed a tube, pumped up to 100psi, left for a couple of hours, deflated and removed tube.
This leaves you with a tyre already installed on one side of the rim. Popped the other side on, brushed soapy water around the bead and gave it a shot with the compressor, inflated quickly and then slowly went down, leaking around the valve again. Kept trying after tightening the valve nut half a turn and eventually got it to seal.
Remove the valve core and pumped in 50ml of mix, valve core in and track pump up, bounce the tyre all the way around, left overnight at 80psi, after which it was down to 60psi.
Popped the bead on one side and added a teaspoon of pepper and pumped back up.
It now holds at 60psi which is my target pressure.
I have also filed the valve lock screw so I can get a 9mm spanner on it, just in case I have to remove it when out cycling

 

[tincaman]

This front wheel has been perfect, settled down after a couple of days and doesn't drop pressure. Did the back wheel, but feeling lazy I left the Revo rim strip on, chucked on a Randonneur Pro 32mm, "Popped" it up with a ghetto Airshot, added sealant and will give it a couple of days to settle down again.

 

[Dogtrousers]

These two articles (nearly 2 years old) are very interesting. Good at explaining why it's so complicated anyway

http://www.bikerumor.com/2015/01/14/why-isnt-road-tubeless-popular-part-1-how-did-we-get-here/

http://www.bikerumor.com/2015/01/29...ptions-challenges-whats-coming-down-the-road/

 

[galaxy]

I went out for a ride this morning with the old tubed continental four seasons...got another puncture in the muddiest lane in Hampshire, so was very pleased to find the box from Wiggle with my new tyres waiting for me when I got back. Spent the afternoon cleaning the bike and fitting the Hutchinsons. I got the tyres on fairly easily - didn't need any tyre levers (maybe due to a lifetime of practice re-fitting tyres beside the road) and got the sealant into them without too much mess. Managed to pump them up with my track pump, there was a small problem with the tyre bead not seating around the valve area, but managed to manipulate the tyre bead towards the rim and off the valve, after that they pumped straight up. The tyres seem ok, I've pumped them up to 120 psi to make sure they've seated properly and they seem to be holding pressure, there is a small amount of sealant foaming up around the tyre beading, but I suppose this is to be expected until they seal, anyway I've left the bike on the stand in the garage so I can go and spin the wheels from time to time. Mudguards are a little tight but not rubbing, so I hope will be OK when on the road. Just wondering what spares/emergency repair items to take with me out on the road.

Where in Hampshire do you live.

 

[User482]

Don't forget to add sealant periodically: both my wheels had completely dried out when I checked them yesterday.

 

[dim]

Yes sorry, I meant continental 4 seasons...nice tyres but unfortunately they still seem to puncture fairly frequently on the roads round here.

for how many miles have you used the 4 seasons? i.e. are they worn which now caused the punctures? (I've just fitted a new pair on one of my bikes and hope that they are as good as the previous pair)

 

[Dogtrousers]

OK, for all the reading I've been doing, I still have a dumb question or two.

What is it about a rim that makes it "tubeless ready"? Is it just that it has an insert of some sort covering the spoke heads so it doesn't need taping? Or is there something special about the rim allowing the bead of a tubeless tyre to seat properly on it?

Put another way, is a rim that isn't "tubeless ready" but has been perfectly taped just as "tubeless ready" as one that is "tubeless ready". (Spot the failed attempt to rephrase the question more simply)

And a follow up question. Are there specific tyre-rim compatibilities? Or do all tubeless tyres have the ability to seat on all rims (provided that the rims themselves don't leak air).

 

[tincaman]

A tubeless ready rim has the special rim profile for the tyre bead to snap into, it's very similar to a standard clincher bead which is why standard clinchers fit ok. A UST tyre will snap into this tubeless profile to create a seal, a tubeless ready tyre will also snap on but will need the addition of sealant to create a perfect seal afterwards. You need sealant anyway to avoid punctures. A tubeless ready wheel may need to have the standard rim tape removed and the spoke holes taped up to create an air tight environment.

 

[tincaman]

This front wheel has been perfect, settled down after a couple of days and doesn't drop pressure. Did the back wheel, but feeling lazy I left the Revo rim strip on, chucked on a Randonneur Pro 32mm, "Popped" it up with a ghetto Airshot, added sealant and will give it a couple of days to settle down again.

Haven't ridden this yet, but it seems to have sealed OK. From 60psi it drops to 50 overnight which is good enough to ride on, should improve over time

 

[tincaman]

This front wheel has been perfect, settled down after a couple of days and doesn't drop pressure. Did the back wheel, but feeling lazy I left the Revo rim strip on, chucked on a Randonneur Pro 32mm, "Popped" it up with a ghetto Airshot, added sealant and will give it a couple of days to settle down again.

Well, the Revo rim strip let me down and failed big time, just checking tyre pressures before I went out and the tyre was flat, and just wouldn't hold any air, big leak at the valve.
Took it all apart and there is sealant under the rim strip and inside the wheel.
Time to clean it all out and start again, properly.
I have sourced some Tesa 4289 21mm tape which is the same width as the Stans tape I used before and appears to be the same stuff. Stans is £11 for 10yds, this Tesa tape is £13.45 for 66 meters. 19mm and 25mm are easy to find and a bit cheaper, but not 21mm