My favorite gravel bike accessory - Latex rim strip (skinnystripper)
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My favorite gravel bike accessory - Latex rim strip (skinnystripper)
These things are cheap, and take care of a l lot of tubeless tire setup headaches. I've used these on about 10 tires both traditional tubeless setups and ghetto tubeless.
Latex rim strip Source: web site: skinnystripper.com/
Originally developed to convert Fat bikes to tubless - This latex rim strip is light, inexpensive, and has some nice benefits for any tubeless tire. I've used it for all my gravel wheels. It makes a tubeless tire a pseudo tubular tire - the latex strip bonds to tire (with latex sealant) creating a sealed air chamber. Benefits include:
Is it necessary? no. Is it cheap insurance for problems - yes.
Ghetto tubeless additional benefits: I've used this also for Ghetto tubeless on Continental tires (on both tubeless and traditional rims). works with no issues for me.
Maintenance:Adding sealant for hookless rims or Ghetto tubeless without this would be a mess. If you have tires that unhook from the rim on deflation, you'll want these when you deflate the rim to add sealant (or when flying with rims).
My original inspiration was an article from Velonews:Technical FAQ: Lennard's big tubeless road experiment VeloNews.com
Spoiler alert: he did have one "open tubular" no tubeless tire blow off. That type of tire is super hard to set up Ghetto tubeless
Below is a Continental (non tubeless) tire I swapped rims with after a year. Nice sealed rim bead on the tire.
Latex rim strip Source: web site: skinnystripper.com/
Originally developed to convert Fat bikes to tubless - This latex rim strip is light, inexpensive, and has some nice benefits for any tubeless tire. I've used it for all my gravel wheels. It makes a tubeless tire a pseudo tubular tire - the latex strip bonds to tire (with latex sealant) creating a sealed air chamber. Benefits include:
- - super easy tubless initial inflation - I always use a standard floor pump.
- - allows easy depressurization and re-inflation (i.e. to fill up sealant)
- - prevents burping (reportably works at 15psi)
- - keeps inner rim clean of sealant,
- - adds insurance against rim tape leaking
- - super easy to change tires on the rim: sealed air chamber (even without wheel) prevents sealant leakage or mess.
- - prevents the tire bead from getting stuck to the rim.
Is it necessary? no. Is it cheap insurance for problems - yes.
Ghetto tubeless additional benefits: I've used this also for Ghetto tubeless on Continental tires (on both tubeless and traditional rims). works with no issues for me.
Maintenance:Adding sealant for hookless rims or Ghetto tubeless without this would be a mess. If you have tires that unhook from the rim on deflation, you'll want these when you deflate the rim to add sealant (or when flying with rims).
My original inspiration was an article from Velonews:Technical FAQ: Lennard's big tubeless road experiment VeloNews.com
Spoiler alert: he did have one "open tubular" no tubeless tire blow off. That type of tire is super hard to set up Ghetto tubeless
Below is a Continental (non tubeless) tire I swapped rims with after a year. Nice sealed rim bead on the tire.
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I currently have 700x28 Continental 4000 S II tires on DT Swiss 1800 Spline rims. The rims are tubeless ready, but the tires are not. Can the Skinny stripper allow tubeless with this tire and rim?
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I have those too. (well, the 1600s at least).
Personally, I used skinny strippers on the 32mm conti's above, so I can do gravel (and commuting) and not worry about pinch flats.
But...
with the 28mm 4000S2 I use a tube. I don't use that tire on rough gravel - and below 32mm there is not a whole lot of advantage to tubeless. (well, I can change a tube pretty fast and easily). Some vendors are now stating that you shouldn't use more than 60psi when going tubeless.
So, the safe answer is no, you shouldn't.
Practical answer - yeah, they "should" work like the 32mm conti above, but personally I wouldn't put much more than 70psi in it. If it blows out, its going to be ugly. With the Conti above, I road it for a week to make sure it sat well and took shape on the rim, then went tubeless, letting the tire sit at pressure for a week to make sure it didn't blow out and had a chance to seal up well (sidewall and to the latex strip). It took about a week before the sidewalls held air well.
Personally, I used skinny strippers on the 32mm conti's above, so I can do gravel (and commuting) and not worry about pinch flats.
But...
with the 28mm 4000S2 I use a tube. I don't use that tire on rough gravel - and below 32mm there is not a whole lot of advantage to tubeless. (well, I can change a tube pretty fast and easily). Some vendors are now stating that you shouldn't use more than 60psi when going tubeless.
So, the safe answer is no, you shouldn't.
Practical answer - yeah, they "should" work like the 32mm conti above, but personally I wouldn't put much more than 70psi in it. If it blows out, its going to be ugly. With the Conti above, I road it for a week to make sure it sat well and took shape on the rim, then went tubeless, letting the tire sit at pressure for a week to make sure it didn't blow out and had a chance to seal up well (sidewall and to the latex strip). It took about a week before the sidewalls held air well.
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i think i'll try these on an extra pair of nontubeless vittoria 33s I couldn't get to play nice with a tubeless conversion rim. They would seat and hold air but would burp below 30psi
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yep, they prevent burping issues. Makes it a lot easier if you have to deflate and re-inflate a tire too (e.g. when traveling or when adding sealant).
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These things are cheap, and take care of a l lot of tubeless tire setup headaches. I've used these on about 10 tires both traditional tubeless setups and ghetto tubeless.
Latex rim strip Source: web site: skinnystripper.com/
Originally developed to convert Fat bikes to tubless - This latex rim strip is light, inexpensive, and has some nice benefits for any tubeless tire. I've used it for all my gravel wheels. It makes a tubeless tire a pseudo tubular tire - the latex strip bonds to tire (with latex sealant) creating a sealed air chamber. Benefits include:
Is it necessary? no. Is it cheap insurance for problems - yes.
Ghetto tubeless additional benefits: I've used this also for Ghetto tubeless on Continental tires (on both tubeless and traditional rims). works with no issues for me.
Maintenance:Adding sealant for hookless rims or Ghetto tubeless without this would be a mess. If you have tires that unhook from the rim on deflation, you'll want these when you deflate the rim to add sealant (or when flying with rims).
My original inspiration was an article from Velonews:Technical FAQ: Lennard's big tubeless road experiment VeloNews.com
Spoiler alert: he did have one "open tubular" no tubeless tire blow off. That type of tire is super hard to set up Ghetto tubeless
Below is a Continental (non tubeless) tire I swapped rims with after a year. Nice sealed rim bead on the tire.
Latex rim strip Source: web site: skinnystripper.com/
Originally developed to convert Fat bikes to tubless - This latex rim strip is light, inexpensive, and has some nice benefits for any tubeless tire. I've used it for all my gravel wheels. It makes a tubeless tire a pseudo tubular tire - the latex strip bonds to tire (with latex sealant) creating a sealed air chamber. Benefits include:
- - super easy tubless initial inflation - I always use a standard floor pump.
- - allows easy depressurization and re-inflation (i.e. to fill up sealant)
- - prevents burping (reportably works at 15psi)
- - keeps inner rim clean of sealant,
- - adds insurance against rim tape leaking
- - super easy to change tires on the rim: sealed air chamber (even without wheel) prevents sealant leakage or mess.
- - prevents the tire bead from getting stuck to the rim.
Is it necessary? no. Is it cheap insurance for problems - yes.
Ghetto tubeless additional benefits: I've used this also for Ghetto tubeless on Continental tires (on both tubeless and traditional rims). works with no issues for me.
Maintenance:Adding sealant for hookless rims or Ghetto tubeless without this would be a mess. If you have tires that unhook from the rim on deflation, you'll want these when you deflate the rim to add sealant (or when flying with rims).
My original inspiration was an article from Velonews:Technical FAQ: Lennard's big tubeless road experiment VeloNews.com
Spoiler alert: he did have one "open tubular" no tubeless tire blow off. That type of tire is super hard to set up Ghetto tubeless
Below is a Continental (non tubeless) tire I swapped rims with after a year. Nice sealed rim bead on the tire.
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Still, I can swap tires and keep the air chamber intact if I'm careful. They would be next to impossible to burp. I probably run my 32mm tires around 30psi with ghetto tubeless, and normally that would be very burp prone (non tubeless tires on tubeless rims).
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I don't go super low when I race, and i tend to use 40mm tires just cause...
Still, I can swap tires and keep the air chamber intact if I'm careful. They would be next to impossible to burp. I probably run my 32mm tires around 30psi with ghetto tubeless, and normally that would be very burp prone (non tubeless tires on tubeless rims).
Still, I can swap tires and keep the air chamber intact if I'm careful. They would be next to impossible to burp. I probably run my 32mm tires around 30psi with ghetto tubeless, and normally that would be very burp prone (non tubeless tires on tubeless rims).
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Last edited by redlude97; 08-01-18 at 03:36 PM.
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I don't go super low when I race, and i tend to use 40mm tires just cause...
Still, I can swap tires and keep the air chamber intact if I'm careful. They would be next to impossible to burp. I probably run my 32mm tires around 30psi with ghetto tubeless, and normally that would be very burp prone (non tubeless tires on tubeless rims).
Still, I can swap tires and keep the air chamber intact if I'm careful. They would be next to impossible to burp. I probably run my 32mm tires around 30psi with ghetto tubeless, and normally that would be very burp prone (non tubeless tires on tubeless rims).
I ordered a set, coming monday. I have standard, non tubeless rims. Is regular rim tape OK to use with this?
Planning to try then with my 40mm vittoria terreno dry tires for CX skills practice, and if successful, set up Donnelly MXPs for when things get a little wetter.
It seems like you can swap tires just as you would normal clinchers using this setup??
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Just noticed this.
I ordered a set, coming monday. I have standard, non tubeless rims. Is regular rim tape OK to use with this?
Planning to try then with my 40mm vittoria terreno dry tires for CX skills practice, and if successful, set up Donnelly MXPs for when things get a little wetter.
It seems like you can swap tires just as you would normal clinchers using this setup??
I ordered a set, coming monday. I have standard, non tubeless rims. Is regular rim tape OK to use with this?
Planning to try then with my 40mm vittoria terreno dry tires for CX skills practice, and if successful, set up Donnelly MXPs for when things get a little wetter.
It seems like you can swap tires just as you would normal clinchers using this setup??
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Just noticed this.
I ordered a set, coming monday. I have standard, non tubeless rims. Is regular rim tape OK to use with this?
Planning to try then with my 40mm vittoria terreno dry tires for CX skills practice, and if successful, set up Donnelly MXPs for when things get a little wetter.
It seems like you can swap tires just as you would normal clinchers using this setup??
I ordered a set, coming monday. I have standard, non tubeless rims. Is regular rim tape OK to use with this?
Planning to try then with my 40mm vittoria terreno dry tires for CX skills practice, and if successful, set up Donnelly MXPs for when things get a little wetter.
It seems like you can swap tires just as you would normal clinchers using this setup??
I've used them tubeless with cloth rim tape, but its probably more reliable using tubless rim tape.
Swapping tires is a delicate process - if the tire is hard to get off, the liner might tear. I do it (my tires are not super tight) - sometimes to swap on a different (tubed) tire for a few weeks then put the tubeless tire back on, sometimes just to rotate the tires. But, if I'm gentle with the valve, the air chamber stays intact - keeps the sealant in the air chamber.
#17
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Redlude is right. They are light/thin like a balloon. So they are not hard to tear if you take them off (and they are relatively cheap if you just want to replace them).
I've used them tubeless with cloth rim tape, but its probably more reliable using tubless rim tape.
Swapping tires is a delicate process - if the tire is hard to get off, the liner might tear. I do it (my tires are not super tight) - sometimes to swap on a different (tubed) tire for a few weeks then put the tubeless tire back on, sometimes just to rotate the tires. But, if I'm gentle with the valve, the air chamber stays intact - keeps the sealant in the air chamber.
I've used them tubeless with cloth rim tape, but its probably more reliable using tubless rim tape.
Swapping tires is a delicate process - if the tire is hard to get off, the liner might tear. I do it (my tires are not super tight) - sometimes to swap on a different (tubed) tire for a few weeks then put the tubeless tire back on, sometimes just to rotate the tires. But, if I'm gentle with the valve, the air chamber stays intact - keeps the sealant in the air chamber.
Aside from messing around with the latex strip for a while just trying to get it over the rim, it was a piece of cake. Dunno why it took me 20 minutes to get the bright idea to just jam the whole thing inside the rim and then spread it out after but whatever haha.
Once I got everything on the rim...gave the tire a little squeeze at the valve, and one pump with the floor pump seated it. Held air at 80psi with no sealant. Was easier than I was expecting
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Huh, well, got my front tire set up before work this morning.
Aside from messing around with the latex strip for a while just trying to get it over the rim, it was a piece of cake. Dunno why it took me 20 minutes to get the bright idea to just jam the whole thing inside the rim and then spread it out after but whatever haha.
Once I got everything on the rim...gave the tire a little squeeze at the valve, and one pump with the floor pump seated it. Held air at 80psi with no sealant. Was easier than I was expecting
Aside from messing around with the latex strip for a while just trying to get it over the rim, it was a piece of cake. Dunno why it took me 20 minutes to get the bright idea to just jam the whole thing inside the rim and then spread it out after but whatever haha.
Once I got everything on the rim...gave the tire a little squeeze at the valve, and one pump with the floor pump seated it. Held air at 80psi with no sealant. Was easier than I was expecting
My tires seat very easily with skinny stripper and a floor pump (taking the valve core out of course). Just makes sealing quicker. I once tried mounting a tire without the strip, gave up after 20 minutes, used the strip, and it sealed and seated right away.
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Yup, it makes everything a little easier (if you just jam the whole thing inside the rim and then spread it out).
My tires seat very easily with skinny stripper and a floor pump (taking the valve core out of course). Just makes sealing quicker. I once tried mounting a tire without the strip, gave up after 20 minutes, used the strip, and it sealed and seated right away.
My tires seat very easily with skinny stripper and a floor pump (taking the valve core out of course). Just makes sealing quicker. I once tried mounting a tire without the strip, gave up after 20 minutes, used the strip, and it sealed and seated right away.
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I really like these. I haven't tried taking the tires off yet. I have spare rims and tires for tubed adventures.
I like that they seat super easily, don't lose as much air (almost nothing) between rides, and I don't get the wet looking spoke nipples telling me I didn't do a perfect tape job.
Easy to install and cheap. No reason not to use them.
I like that they seat super easily, don't lose as much air (almost nothing) between rides, and I don't get the wet looking spoke nipples telling me I didn't do a perfect tape job.
Easy to install and cheap. No reason not to use them.
#21
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I have regular non tubeless rim as well. Seated with 1 pump, and went to 80 psi without so much as a faint hiss of leaking air with no sealant.
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@chas58
Thanks for turning me onto these things. 2nd setup was even quicker than the first...took about 20 minutes. Seated with 1 pump of the floor pump, without even any fussing around.
Took the new setup for a 45 minute test ride in the park. 40mm Vittoria Terreno Dry tires, at ~29-31psi. Pretty good traction. Put them through the paces with some reasonably hard, but not race pace cornering. Did some practice with off camber switchbacks on a steep slope, and some power climbs up the slope. No burping, no leaking...and honestly seemed like better traction than what I remember from last season on 35mm all condition tires. I think the extra volume and lower pressure, as well as (maybe?) extra suppleness from no tube is making a pretty big difference in traction.
Now I just need to get a more acccurate gauge than my floor pump and really dial in pressure before race season starts. Should probably order a set of tubeless Donnelly PDX tires and a few more sets of the skinnystrippers...
Thanks for turning me onto these things. 2nd setup was even quicker than the first...took about 20 minutes. Seated with 1 pump of the floor pump, without even any fussing around.
Took the new setup for a 45 minute test ride in the park. 40mm Vittoria Terreno Dry tires, at ~29-31psi. Pretty good traction. Put them through the paces with some reasonably hard, but not race pace cornering. Did some practice with off camber switchbacks on a steep slope, and some power climbs up the slope. No burping, no leaking...and honestly seemed like better traction than what I remember from last season on 35mm all condition tires. I think the extra volume and lower pressure, as well as (maybe?) extra suppleness from no tube is making a pretty big difference in traction.
Now I just need to get a more acccurate gauge than my floor pump and really dial in pressure before race season starts. Should probably order a set of tubeless Donnelly PDX tires and a few more sets of the skinnystrippers...
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#23
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Just to be clear, will these work on tubeless-ready tires and tubeless-ready rims, or are most people using them for non-tubeless conversions? Tubeless tires/rims are designed with tighter bead tolerances than ghetto setups, so it almost seems like introducing an extra layer of (albeit very thin) rubber would interfere with seating and actually make blowoffs more likely.
I have a front wheel that has a bad tubeless tape job that I've been meaning to fix, and have been thinking of trying these for cheap insurance against my questionable taping skills.
I have a front wheel that has a bad tubeless tape job that I've been meaning to fix, and have been thinking of trying these for cheap insurance against my questionable taping skills.
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years ago I used them for getto tubeless. But there are so many small advantages with these, I ended up using them all the time (with tubeless wheels and tires). The fix about every difficulty people have with tubeless, short of tires that are too tight or sidewall tears.
They allow me to:
- easily install and pump up a tubeless tire with just my regular hand pump (some of my tires won't seat without compressed air or this thing)
- keep the sealant off my rim
- insurance against any tears or holes in the rim strip.
- insurance against burping for cyclocross (or very low pressure)
- insurance against blowoffs.
- Allow me to rotate my tires or swap tires/rims with no mess (if I'm careful).
Its nothing more than a thin strip of latex similar to a balloon (if it was 29" in diameter). None of this is required (hopefully) but it is nice and cheap insurance.
If you have a super tight fit (as I have with Schwalbe or Continental), it may not be worth the effort or have the advantage. I have some other brands that fit looser (Compass, Maxis) where they work great.
They allow me to:
- easily install and pump up a tubeless tire with just my regular hand pump (some of my tires won't seat without compressed air or this thing)
- keep the sealant off my rim
- insurance against any tears or holes in the rim strip.
- insurance against burping for cyclocross (or very low pressure)
- insurance against blowoffs.
- Allow me to rotate my tires or swap tires/rims with no mess (if I'm careful).
Its nothing more than a thin strip of latex similar to a balloon (if it was 29" in diameter). None of this is required (hopefully) but it is nice and cheap insurance.
If you have a super tight fit (as I have with Schwalbe or Continental), it may not be worth the effort or have the advantage. I have some other brands that fit looser (Compass, Maxis) where they work great.
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