when

My wheels come with a tubeless rim strip. I've run them with tubes for awhile, and am switching to tubeless.

I'm trying to seat them using Stan's sealant, and it's not working. The rim strip looks bent in some places. Could this be causing the tire to not seal?

Normal looking rim strip.



Bent looking rim strip.



If so, can it be bent back into place or should it be replaced?

dabac

Why not mount the tire, pump it up, them stcik the wheel under water, just like when looking for punctures? That'll tell you where it's leaking.

But yeah, that rim strip looks off. The tire is supposed to fit between that ridge and the rim sidewall, which it'll probably have a hard time doing as it looks.
Never used that particular kind, so I can't tell if it can be straightened or not.

when

It's leaking everywhere, though seems to be concentrated around where the rim strip is bent.

reptilezs

the bead to rim interface should be clean. if the tire seats to the rim well then the sealant should do its job. i use a wire brush on new tires the clean off the mold release. is that rim strip ust spec/shape? what tire are you using

Dan Burkhart 

is it a tubeless rim? If so, there is probably one tiny pinhole in the well of the rim that needs to be taped over but you don't need a full rim strip. That pinhole is put there as an air escape to facilitate using a tube if required.
If the valve is integrated in the strip it's a different matter, but if it's a tubeless rim,you can just use a tubeless valve that is not integrated with the strip.
The thing I don't like about the strips with the integrated valve is the valve hole in the inside wall needs to be drilled oversize.
After assembling and inflating the tire with the Stans sealant, they recommend holding the wheel horizontal, rotating and flipping it around to help the sealant do it's job.