Conversion to tubeless, easy peasy

[Greny]

Yesterday afternoon, 2 flat tyres.......on my reaction hybrid 500 Pro. So many flat tyres since I have the bike brrr...... Came home ordered no tubes sealent and rimtape , valves and a Hans Dampf 29x 2.35 for the rear.
Bought 10 days ago a tubeless rdy Magic Mary for the front. In 20 minutes both wheels where ready , went easy due to the ex30 rims being tubeless rdy. Tomorrow I try on a 2 hour ride , so Sunday I have a randonnée on the Col d Aspin in the Pyrénées
So people who doubt tubeless go for it , conversion is easy

 

[Upnorthbiker]

Sounds exactly what I want to do before I get my first puncture. I have ex30 rims as well. Please could you tell me what size valves you used and the size rim tape a set well.
Thanks in advance.
Jeff

 

[steve_sordy]

Don't bother buying special rim tape. My LBS uses Gorilla Tape and put me on to it. I buy the 25mm wide black tape with the woven finish because it looks like carbon fibre tape. Yes I know that nobody sees it but me, but I know it's there and looking good!

Clean the rim bed first with a degreaser like iso-propyl alcohol (meths would do). Start the tape two inches before the valve hole and finish 2" after it. Put two layers on to prevent the air pressure from bowing the tape into the spoke holes (this avoids problems later). if your rim is very wide, put one row on the left and the second on the right; this should ensure that you still have two layers over the spoke holes. I have never needed three layers.

Pierce the tape over the valve hole and then widen it with something tapered to push the tape into the valve hole. Then push the valve into the hole and give it a tap with a soft hammer. You are then good to go!

 

[Upnorthbiker]

Thanks Steve, I have cube 30EX rims running 29x2.6 tyres but don't know what size valves to buy. I see sizes 35mm/25mm up to 35mm/40mm also 44mm/25mm and so on.
I know it's length and rim depth but don't know what size I need. It's my first bike in years so I am very much a learner in more ways than one.
Bike is a Cube reaction hybrid pro 500 2020 model.
Jeff

 

[Simps]

I did exactly what Steve said. I used Stans valves (the Presta ones. Stans NoTubes Uni 35mm ValveStem (PairforMTB)) and Stans notubes sealant. Same rims as you have btw.
Don't use pliers to tighten the valve up, just as tight as you can with your fingers.
You can use old inner tube valves but when you top up your sealant you can't take out the valve core.
I topped mine up last weekend and so glad I used the proper valves as I used a syringe to top up after removing the valve cores.

 

[Giff]

Thanks Steve, I have cube 30EX rims running 29x2.6 tyres but don't know what size valves to buy. I see sizes 35mm/25mm up to 35mm/40mm also 44mm/25mm and so on.
I know it's length and rim depth but don't know what size I need. It's my first bike in years so I am very much a learner in more ways than one.
Bike is a Cube reaction hybrid pro 500 2020 model.
Jeff

Hi Jeff
I have exactly the same bike as you snd HAVE just had my first puncture with a thorn.
I am thinking of tubeless as well. Was it easy enough to do ?
Geoff

 

[Upnorthbiker]

Hi Jeff
I have exactly the same bike as you snd HAVE just had my first puncture with a thorn.
I am thinking of tubeless as well. Was it easy enough to do ?
Geoff

Hi Geoff,
For me it was not easy but not for my mechanical skills but for my lack of knowledge in modern cycling technology.
I am just back into cycling for 4 weeks after about a 20 year break.
I purchased a Stans kit that included 35mm valves, stans tape and sealant. I watched the video then started. Once the beads were broke the tyre came off easy. I removed the original rim tape, cleaned with IPA and tried to install the stans tape without any success. It's stiff and doesn't seem very sticky. So I went and purchased gorilla tape and watched the video from them.
This tape went on easy, I installed the valve And tyre, put the sealant in before finally fitting the tyre. Removed the inner valve and used a floor pump it iflate the tyre. It went onto the bead pretty easy and I thought t was done. Unfortunately the valve leaked where from around the rim, and a couple of places on the bead. Spent best part of 2 days but give up in the end. Went to the shop for them to do it. Here's where I learnt something.
Our bikes are tubeless rim ready, we need to buy tubeless ready tyres or tubeless tyres for this to work. Was told the sidewalks of air tyres are to soft and thin. Grendel who started the thread replaced his tyres when he went tubeless.
So I've asked Santa for tubeless tyres for Xmas ?
Hope this helps,
Jeff

 

[TheBikePilot]

It is easy enough but can be a royal pain in the arse if the tyre doesn't bed with the rim. You need tubeless ready tyres, and rims. Most rims are tubeless ready these days.

You will possibly need an Air Shot or a Compressor to blast the first air into the tyre and it will go 'pop' onto the rim. If you try and use a standard hand pump it may not seat correctly.

There's a tonne of videos on YouTube on how to do it. +1 for Gorilla Tape. Far cheaper.

One tip, seat the tyre first without sealant, I leave it an hour or so to bed in. Then let the tyre down, remove the valve core and add the sealant through the valve core. Stans do a small bottle of sealant which I keep and top up. That way if it blows off the rim you don't end up with sealant everywhere. You need a valve core remover tool for that. You can lever the tyre off again if you dont want to get a core remover but they are great to keep in your backpack or toolkit. Use an old inner tube to take a spare valve core. Oh, and carry a spare inner tube with you in case you do get an unsealable flat. Not had one in 2 years though.

Best of luck!

 

[Giff]

Hi Geoff,
For me it was not easy but not for my mechanical skills but for my lack of knowledge in modern cycling technology.
I am just back into cycling for 4 weeks after about a 20 year break.
I purchased a Stans kit that included 35mm valves, stans tape and sealant. I watched the video then started. Once the beads were broke the tyre came off easy. I removed the original rim tape, cleaned with IPA and tried to install the stans tape without any success. It's stiff and doesn't seem very sticky. So I went and purchased gorilla tape and watched the video from them.
This tape went on easy, I installed the valve And tyre, put the sealant in before finally fitting the tyre. Removed the inner valve and used a floor pump it iflate the tyre. It went onto the bead pretty easy and I thought t was done. Unfortunately the valve leaked where from around the rim, and a couple of places on the bead. Spent best part of 2 days but give up in the end. Went to the shop for them to do it. Here's where I learnt something.
Our bikes are tubeless rim ready, we need to buy tubeless ready tyres or tubeless tyres for this to work. Was told the sidewalks of air tyres are to soft and thin. Grendel who started the thread replaced his tyres when he went tubeless.
So I've asked Santa for tubeless tyres for Xmas ?
Hope this helps,
Jeff

Thanks Jeff
I'll check out the videos.....I've only had mine since August and had 4 weeks of that without the bike....being away then the battery failed completely ( replaced under warranty but a 2 week wait).

So a puncture already on fairly smooth trails is a worry.

I've done a couple of other upgrades as well so think I'll stop after the tyres !


Geoff

 

[steve_sordy]

I no longer buy tubeless tyres, tubeless ready are good enough and I've even used tyres that were not marked as either (on my clockwork bikes).

I pour the sealant in, never bothered with syringes. Even so, I remove the valve core so that the air can get into the tyre fast enough to explode the beads onto the rims. Once the tyre is on the rim, I pump it up with my Airshot. But that only takes my 29x2.5 tyres up to about 30psi. Then I have to let the air out so that I can put the valve core in. I use my track pump to take the tyre up to the max tyre pressure stated on the carcass. There should be several bangs and pops as it goes up. The tyre then should be properly installed and uniformly mounted on the rim.

The next step I believe is important and is missed by most videos I have seen. It is to check that the tyre bead is installed uniformly around the rim, both sides. Look at the rim/bead interface and you should see a small line moulded into the tyre. Ideally it should be parallel with the rim and a few mm away from it. But what usually happens is that the moulded line varies in distance from the rim and often dips out of sight completely. This is a clear signal that the bead is not properly engaged and that the tyre will wobble when the wheel is spun.

Reduce pressure to low enough that you can easily squeeze the tyre. Then drag the tyre into the correct position! I hold the tyre with both hands and waft the wheel up and down to use the wheel weight to help move the tyre. Keep going until the moulded line is uniformly positioned on both sides of the tyre.

Then pump back up to max pressure and give the whole wheel a very good shake. Side to side back and forth, flip the wheel and repeat. I then leave the wheel on a bucket or a big plant pot to keep the wheel horizontal. After 30 mins, repeat the above and leave for 30 mins. Monitor any pressure drop. Don't worry about the loss of a few psi.

The job should be done! If not then it is worth reducing the pressure to your riding psi and taking the bike for a ride to allow the sealant to do its job.

 

[Rich-EMTB-UK]

Just buy the Stan's kit job done!

 

[routrax]

Going tubeless is a no-brainer. I'd recommend getting a plug kit though as sealant can only do so much.

 

[HORSPWR]

I no longer buy tubeless tyres, tubeless ready are good enough and I've even used tyres that were not marked as either (on my clockwork bikes).

I pour the sealant in, never bothered with syringes. Even so, I remove the valve core so that the air can get into the tyre fast enough to explode the beads onto the rims. Once the tyre is on the rim, I pump it up with my Airshot. But that only takes my 29x2.5 tyres up to about 30psi. Then I have to let the air out so that I can put the valve core in. I use my track pump to take the tyre up to the max tyre pressure stated on the carcass. There should be several bangs and pops as it goes up. The tyre then should be properly installed and uniformly mounted on the rim.

The next step I believe is important and is missed by most videos I have seen. It is to check that the tyre bead is installed uniformly around the rim, both sides. Look at the rim/bead interface and you should see a small line moulded into the tyre. Ideally it should be parallel with the rim and a few mm away from it. But what usually happens is that the moulded line varies in distance from the rim and often dips out of sight completely. This is a clear signal that the bead is not properly engaged and that the tyre will wobble when the wheel is spun.

Reduce pressure to low enough that you can easily squeeze the tyre. Then drag the tyre into the correct position! I hold the tyre with both hands and waft the wheel up and down to use the wheel weight to help move the tyre. Keep going until the moulded line is uniformly positioned on both sides of the tyre.

Then pump back up to max pressure and give the whole wheel a very good shake. Side to side back and forth, flip the wheel and repeat. I then leave the wheel on a bucket or a big plant pot to keep the wheel horizontal. After 30 mins, repeat the above and leave for 30 mins. Monitor any pressure drop. Don't worry about the loss of a few psi.

The job should be done! If not then it is worth reducing the pressure to your riding psi and taking the bike for a ride to allow the sealant to do its job.

Great write up but I'm not sure if misunderstood your order of steps.

I mount the tyre on the rim and spray the bead on both sides of the rim all the way around the circumference with any sort of slippery spray I can find, usually just some sort of kitchen bench cleaner like spray and wipe.

Next, with the valve core removed, I blow the tyre up using a compressor until I hear the beads pop. Then I put the valve in and pump it up hard and check that the line you mention is symmetrical around the circumference on both sides of the tyre. If it isn't, I bounce the tyre in that location on the concrete and it will pop on correctly with only a few bounces as it changes the profile of the side wall slightly when you bounce the tyre and it pops on easy.

Then I remove the valve and fill with Stans through the valve hole, replace the valve, pump up to my riding pressure and then shake and rotate the wheel to distribute the Stans. Install my wheel on the bike and I'm good to go.

 

[wepn]

Just buy the Stan's kit job done!

I think you could be right. You can add CushCore and Stan's Dart as extra lines of defence. I just received the Dart tool and it's the next response if the sealant fails. Then the Park Tool patch is next I guess. And if all of that fails then maybe Tannus Armour?

Normally I'm keen to try new things out to see how they work but obviously not the Dart.

 

[steve_sordy]

Great write up but I'm not sure if misunderstood your order of steps.

I mount the tyre on the rim and spray the bead on both sides of the rim all the way around the circumference with any sort of slippery spray I can find, usually just some sort of kitchen bench cleaner like spray and wipe.

Next, with the valve core removed, I blow the tyre up using a compressor until I hear the beads pop. Then I put the valve in and pump it up hard and check that the line you mention is symmetrical around the circumference on both sides of the tyre. If it isn't, I bounce the tyre in that location on the concrete and it will pop on correctly with only a few bounces as it changes the profile of the side wall slightly when you bounce the tyre and it pops on easy.

Then I remove the valve and fill with Stans through the valve hole, replace the valve, pump up to my riding pressure and then shake and rotate the wheel to distribute the Stans. Install my wheel on the bike and I'm good to go.

Hi @HORSPWR, what you say above works for me. We all have slightly different techniques. I go for the one that works for me most of the time. When I have any difficulty, then I start using some additional tricks from my toolbag. I suppose that I could come up with a "foolproof - guaranteed - to - work - every - single - time - without - fail" procedure. But that would waste a lot of time as mostly the tyre goes straight up. They do now, they didn't at first!

 

[Giff]

Yesterday afternoon, 2 flat tyres.......on my reaction hybrid 500 Pro. So many flat tyres since I have the bike brrr...... Came home ordered no tubes sealent and rimtape , valves and a Hans Dampf 29x 2.35 for the rear.
Bought 10 days ago a tubeless rdy Magic Mary for the front. In 20 minutes both wheels where ready , went easy due to the ex30 rims being tubeless rdy. Tomorrow I try on a 2 hour ride , so Sunday I have a randonnée on the Col d Aspin in the Pyrénées
So people who doubt tubeless go for it , conversion is easy

Hi Greny
I am about to convert to tubeless as you have done...Can I ask why you put different tyres on the front and rear ? was it tread pattern / compound ?

Thanks Geoff

 

[steve_sordy]

@Giff Greny can speak for himself, but I'd like to have a go at answering your perfectly reasonable question.

The front and rear tyres have different jobs to do and need different tyres to help them do it. The front does all the steering (ignoring using your brakes etc) and the rear does the forward motion. When braking hard, the front tyre contributes more of the braking than the rear, maybe as much as 70:30. This is because your weight transfers forward when braking to press the front tyre into the ground and lifting the rear tyre away, maybe even off the ground completely! So grip is the big thing for front tyres, much more than the rear.

The last thing you need when cornering at speed is for the front wheel to slide out; you'd be lucky to escape that one! You might not want your rear wheel to slide out either, but that is always easier to recover from and can be fun. So you need more grip on the front than the rear. That grip can come from tread pattern, width, compound, pressure, even wheel diameter!

Many new bikes come fitted with different tyres, usually a knobbly at the front and a smoother one on the rear. Some manufacturers don't get it right though and although they follow the pattern, the rear tyre has so little grip that you can't power out of a damp bomb hole; the wheel just spins. In addition, the rear tyre has to provide all the forward drive, so it needs to be grippy too, right?

But if the rear tyre needs to be grippy as well, to get out of that bomb hole and to provide forward drive, what to do? For me the answer is simple, I just make sure that the rear tyre has enough grip to get me out of said bomb hole, and then make sure that the front tyre has more!

That was always good enough for my clockwork bikes. But once I had some "e" power I discovered that my torquey motor was spinning out the rear more than I was comfortable with.
The other big benefit of a smoother and less grippy rear tyre was always meant to be that it reduced drag on long fire road climbs. But with the benefit of your "e" power, that is not quite as big a factor as it used to be.

So my advice summary is to have a tyre on the rear that stops you spinning out when climbing, and then to put an even grippier one on the front! Finding tyres to get that balance right is not straight forward and, depending upon where you ride, you may have to make some compromises.

I mostly ride forests and trails, typically 20 miles at a time, so marathon riders may disagree.

 

[Giff]

Thanks Steve for a really helpful reply.

I may go with Grenny’s tyre choices as he has the same bike as I have and I’ve already taken his advice on a fork upgrade.
I think I ride similar trails to you.

 

[steve_sordy]

Thanks Steve for a really helpful reply.

I may go with Grenny’s tyre choices as he has the same bike as I have and I’ve already taken his advice on a fork upgrade.
I think I ride similar trails to you.

Greny rides in the Alps, ie steep and rocky terrain. That is quite different to where I ride, which you believe is similar to you. Your rear wheel won't spin out on rock, but it may spin out on looser trails, like earth, mud, sand, grit, gravel, leaf mould, pine needles, birch leaves, broken bark chippings, and/or a mixture of all the previous (wet and/or dry, often both on the same ride).
Note: He also hasn't reported back his experience since fitting a 2.35" tyre on the rear.

 

[Giff]

Thanks again Steve. Have you any tubeless suggestions?
The standard tyres I have are tubed 29” x 2.6,
Schwalbe Sams.

 

[steve_sordy]

@Giff It would help if you could say a bit more about your requirements. Like more grip, or less drag etc But I'll press on anyway!

As I said, most of my miles are in a forest environment with mud, sand, leaves wet and dry. But not much rock and almost no clay mud, no peat etc. But lots of short steep climbs. When considering dumping the existing Maxxis Rekon tyres, I couldn't get my first choice which would have been a Continental Trail King 29 x 2.6 or 2.5, in black chilli compound. So after much thought and reading of reccos on this site, I went with a tyre that I had previous experience of, Maxxis High Roller II. I wanted a triple compound on the front and a dual compound on the rear. The single compound Maxxis Rekon 29x2.6 didn't provide enough grip for the rear, neither did the 3C on the front. That is why, although I could have gone with a single compound Maxxis HRII for the rear to partner the 3C on the front, as it was a set up that I had good experience with in 2.4" width on my Capra YT clockwork bike, I was dubious. Hence I wanted a dual compound on the rear. But I could not find one for love nor money!

Long story short, I bought:
29 x 2.5" Maxxis High Roller II 3C WT Maxx Terra EXO TR
The 3C means triple compound, WT means designed for wider rims (unsure whether it means wide trail or wide tyre), Maxx Terra is one step back from Maxx Grip, but is still grippy but with less drag and more life. EXO means it has sidewall protection. TR means tubeless ready. This tyre weighed 1016g. I added roughly 80-100g of sealant (it's a big tyre).

I put this tyre at both ends. I run them at 17psi front and 20 psi rear. In my riding gear I weigh 14.5 stone, (203lbs, 92kg).

What I had before was 29 x 2.6 Maxxis Rekon 3C EXO Maxx Terra TR on the front and the single compound version on the rear. Front tyre weighed 890g, rear 806g. The tubes weighed 240g each. I used 80-100g of sealant when going tubeless.

The difference was astonishing! Previously my rear was spinning out all the time. I came close several times to the whole bike sliding out sideways on corners. Overall I just lacked confidence in the Rekons. Maybe if I had started with them in the Summer I wouldn't have had any problems, but I started in January! With the HRII, even though the tyre is 2.5" wide not 2.6", I have all the grip I need at both ends. Once I had confidence in the tyres, I was away!

 

[Giff]

Brilliant thanks again. Just ordered them. G.

 

[steve_sordy]

Brilliant thanks again. Just ordered them. G.

What width did you order?

 

[Giff]

2.5..

 

[steve_sordy]

That is quite a difference from your 2.8" originals. Let us know how you get on. I see no difference why you should have problems though. Your tyres were 27.5 x 2.8 and are now going to 27.5 x 2.5, so your tyre pressures will have to be a bit higher, I'm supposing at least 10% higher. The HRII is a heavier tyre than the Rekons and the tyre walls are stiffer, so that should counteract some of the effect. But that will be offset by the lack of inner tubes if you go tubeless. So the net effect may be that your tyre pressures may end up the same. See what fun this can be?

 

[Giff]

My originals were Schwalbe Smart Sams 2.6 so 2.5 may not noticeable (for me anyway!)

 

[Greny]

Srr guys , been very busy, riding daily 3-4 hours. Training for next year several cols on road bike.
I don’t ride in the alps but Regularly at the gates of the Pyrenees.
I installed magic Mary and Hans Dampf (rear) , both 2.35 and soft compound.
That way all terrain is covered , don’t like to switch tyres all the time.
After 25 years owning a bike store I switched tyres enough

 

[Greny]

My originals were Schwalbe Smart Sams 2.6 so 2.5 may not noticeable (for me anyway!)

Everything will be better then those , the Oem Schwalbe’s are rubbish if you drive a bit sporty

 

[Giff]

Just one more point on this thread. Is it necessary to remove any existing tape on the rim before putting on the new tape? G.

 

[Greny]

Just one more point on this thread. Is it necessary to remove any existing tape on the rim before putting on the new tape? G.

Yep , remove old tape and degrease well