Tubeless conversion

[spm0912]

After years of dithering, a dodgy knee, poor fitness and the lockdown have conspired to get me to buy an EMTB. Inspired by Nutty's thread I've bought a Cube Stereo 140 and I feckin love it Living on top of the North Downs means any meaningful ride involves some pretty brutal hills and a lot of tarmac lanes to join up the bridleways, an EMTB eats these for breakfast!.

However, I've always been blighted by punctures, mainly thorns and yes, 2nd ride on the bike I got a puncture Not a problem, change the tube and I'm away....Not! It's like changing MC tyres!! My little pump couldn't seat the bead and TBH the whole process was a PITA.

So I ordered a tubeless conversion set from Peaty's as recommended on here. Watched the video 1/2 a dozen times but I still couldn't get the rim tape to seat without air bubbles. After 2 attempts on each wheel I think the front has finally sealed but the rear leaks via the spokes. But by now I've barely got any fluid in the rear tyre

I've ordered some more and plan to just add another 140ml and spin the wheel in the hope of sealing it ( I can't face stripping it all down and cleaning it again!). So my question is; once I've got this wheel sealed can I reasonably expect that notwithstanding a huge hole in my tyre I shouldn't have to take the tyre off on the trail if I puncture? I'm going to buy a tyre plugger kit and will carry a spare tube, should I carry a small amount of sealant as well?

Thanks

 

[Udders]

If you have trouble getting your rim tape to seal, do your best with it, then cover the whole rim tape with some 1” wide duck tape. Obviously you have to punch a little hole through it where the valve goes through!

Jobs a carrot.

 

[Howard J]

I’ve just fitted these, they were an absolute twat to fit and you definitely need some good quality tyre levers to do the job, not done many miles yet, so we will see

https://tannus.co.uk/armour/

 

[richie]

When you are out for a ride, if you puncture, don't try and re seal it just put a tube in. I'm TL on road bike and cross/gravel bike so higher pressure all works good.

 

[earthmover]

Just "spinning" the wheel isn't enough to get the sealant everywhere, turn the wheel over a few times, and shake it about. Most common failure is from the bead area, and just spinning the wheel doesn't get the sealant there.
Hope this helps
Mark

 

[Wreford Miles]

I carry extra sealant but have never needed it... I have a big bottle of peatys and just make sure I’ve plenty in the tyre.

 

[spm0912]

Thanks all. I've stuck a tube in it for now. I don't want to face the ignominy of having the wife pick me up again So once I get some more sealant I'll be carrying a spare tube, sealant, tyre plug, co2 and a pump!!!

 

[sanqhar]

This weeks MCN does an article on an Africa Twin. In the "Owner's review" the guy says the best mod he has done is to convert to tubeless tyres using 3M tape.

See this thread:

https://advrider.com/f/threads/3m-4411n-sealing-tape-tubeless-conversion.1147330/

tom

 

[Deleted account 220319001]

This weeks MCN does an article on an Africa Twin. In the "Owner's review" the guy says the best mod he has done is to convert to tubeless tyres using 3M tape.

See this thread:

https://advrider.com/f/threads/3m-4411n-sealing-tape-tubeless-conversion.1147330/

tom

I did the very same thing with my AT, though you do realise this thread is about bicycles ?

 

[sanqhar]

I did the very same thing with my AT, though you do realise this thread is about bicycles ?

Yes, I do realise it's a push bike.
I think the tape comes in different widths. As sticky as it must be it might be difficult to cut down.

tom

 

[Deleted account 220319001]

Yes, I do realise it's a push bike.
I think the tape comes in different widths. As sticky as it must be it might be difficult to cut down.

tom

The 3M tape is stickier than a sticky thing winning first place in a being sticky competition, believe me.

 

[Udders]

Did I not mention this in the 2nd post? 1” wide duck tape works perfectly!

 

[Smug]

Don't forget that the sealant dries out with time and needs to be topped up periodically.

 

[Penguin]

I'm a big fan of Bike Seal - originally for use in cars and motorcycles, but equally suitable for bicycles.

I have it in my motorcycles and scooter and all road, gravel and mountain bikes - to date no punctures that have needed attention. Round our way there are many paths and tracks with flinty surfaces together with lots of thorn bushes. You can see where something has penetrated the tyre by a small damp spot indicating that the sealant has done it's job. With inner tubes I often couldn't go offroad without suffering a puncture - sometimes multiple ones.

The big thing for me is that Bike Seal doesn't dry out like a lot of the other sealants, and therefore doesn't require topping up - once in it should be there for the life of the tyre - unless of course you suffer a catastrophic incident, although I suppose that this would count as lasting the life of the tyre !

https://bikeseal.co.uk/cycles/

Hope that helps - Rob

PS - nothing whatsoever to do with Bike Seal, just a very satisfied customer .....

 

[Nutty]

I'm a big fan of Bike Seal - originally for use in cars and motorcycles, but equally suitable for bicycles.

I have it in my motorcycles and scooter and all road, gravel and mountain bikes - to date no punctures that have needed attention. Round our way there are many paths and tracks with flinty surfaces together with lots of thorn bushes. You can see where something has penetrated the tyre by a small damp spot indicating that the sealant has done it's job. With inner tubes I often couldn't go offroad without suffering a puncture - sometimes multiple ones.

The big thing for me is that Bike Seal doesn't dry out like a lot of the other sealants, and therefore doesn't require topping up - once in it should be there for the life of the tyre - unless of course you suffer a catastrophic incident, although I suppose that this would count as lasting the life of the tyre !

https://bikeseal.co.uk/cycles/

Hope that helps - Rob

PS - nothing whatsoever to do with Bike Seal, just a very satisfied customer .....

Have you put that in your tubed or tubeless tyres? I see they do it for tubed, so would there be any side effect to putting that stuff in mine, such as weight or the way the bike handles?

While my tyres have plenty of life in them, I’m tempted to go for something like this, before buying tubeless tyres.

 

[Timolgra]

Have you put that in your tubed or tubeless tyres? I see they do it for tubed, so would there be any side effect to putting that stuff in mine, such as weight or the way the bike handles?

While my tyres have plenty of life in them, I’m tempted to go for something like this, before buying tubeless tyres.

Most decent Ebikes come with 'tubeless ready' rims and tyres.....

 

[MartinK]

On my pushbikes, I have given up on tubeless, and now run tubes again! I know I can swap a tube in just a couple of mins at the side of the trail. The weight gain is so small it does not bother me... Lat problem I had was that the slime blocked the valve! Was one problem after another so I gave up. Maybe the technology has got better.

 

[Penguin]

You can certainly put it in tubes, as long as you have a removable valve core .... you can get tubes with Slime already fitted, although I haven't personally tried them.

Before I went tubeless I did put Stans seal in my inner tubes, and although reducing punctures, it didn't seem the most elegant of solutions for a bike. Can be very effective in things like wheelbarrows though.

BikeSeal is a little bit thicker than the usual sealants, and consequently may be slightly heavier, but I can honestly say that I have never noticed any effect at all on the handling of the bike - and that includes a full on road bike. But then I'm not an out and out racer, as comfort and not getting punctures is more important to me. I always think that any perceived weight penalty with sealant is vastly outweighed by not having to faff around repairing punctures at the road / trail side, usually at the most inconvenient and awkward time. And, in any case, a tubeless tyre with sealant must be around the same weight as a normal tyre with a tube.

The big plus for me is the fact that BikeSeal doesn't dry out and need topping up ....

As far as taping the rim, the best solution I have found is with Gorilla 1" tape.

Tubeless is definitely the way to go in my opinion, and once you've gone down that route you won't go back willingly !

 

[Nutty]

Most decent Ebikes come with 'tubeless ready' rims and tyres.....

And most decent ebikes come with carbon frames

 

[Deleted account 220319001]

While my tyres have plenty of life in them, I’m tempted to go for something like this, before buying tubeless tyres.

Are your tyres not already tubeless type ?

I'd be very surprised if brand new Nobby Nics weren't.