Coldhands

Hi all,

Just wondering a couple of things. I'm about to make the Tubeless conversion for my 650b MTB. I've bought the liquid and the tubeless valves - the setup is 'tubeless ready'. My pump at the moment is a small mini pump - for touring with Tubeless is it worth taking something more powerful?

I would have thought if I needed to resit the bead it would be because I am changing the tire? I plan on doing the GDMBR - I figured the worst case scenario I'll run a tube - so I don't understand why I need a powerful pump? - I'm not planning on doing a tubeless conversion in my hotel room - opinions?

Do you take spare valves? Or just valve cores? I'm a bit confused about this - people say they can get gunked up or lost - I assume this means the small inner part of the tube which is removable using a valve tool? As for the tool itself - will any cheapo valve core remover from eBay work or should I buy the branded Stan/Park tool which seems expensive to me.

One last thing - does anyone have experience with Orange Seal Endurance sealant? I know these come in 4oz, 8oz bottles with an injector - can one buy an injector bottle and use refills for that or is a one-use only thing? They say for a 650b I need 1oz of fluid. Have you found this to be the case?

Thanks in advance

staehpj1

When I tried I found that I could seat the tubeless setup on my MTB with a small pump, but I wouldn't count on it where a short hitch to help isn't assured. So I'd recommend taking a tube just in case.

I found that I needed to use a little more sealant than was recommended at the initial installation. The tires leaked a little at first and it didn't stop until I added an extra ounce of sealant. After that all was well.

My experience is all with a 29er MTB using Stans wheels and tires. So I am not sure how well it translates to skinnier tires.

niknak

The hardest part about setting up a tubeless wheel is when you're using a new tire. It may struggle to create an airtight seal, even if you have an air compressor. A tip that helps is to mount the new tire with a tube, inflate it, and let it sit over night. Then attempt to inflate the tire without sealant the next day. If the tire seats easily you can remove the valve core and pour in sealant and then inflate again. Then swish around the sealant in the tire to coat the inside. If the tire struggles to inflate, remove the valve core and shoot in air with your compressor. I've never met a tire that wouldn't pop into place that way. If you don't have an air compressor to get it setup you may struggle more. A friend, neighbor or bike shop with a compressor can help.

When you're on the trail and in the very unlikely event that you get a puncture that won't seal, you have the option of bringing a tubeless repair kit with you or popping in a tube and heading to the nearest bike shop for a reseal.

A cheapo valve core remover will work fine. So will needle nose pliers. Orange Seal is good. Stan's is good. I'd stick with the smallest size bottle. You can reuse it. The injector is just a plastic tube that slips over the valve so adding sealant isn't messy.

Coldhands

Thanks!!!

Rob_E

I think that's right. You set your tubeless tires before the trip, or you don't use them. The point of "more powerful" pump (or, better yet, an air compressor) is to fill the tires with air faster than the air can leak out, which will allow your tires to fully expand, and allow the bead of the tire to "lock in" to the bead shelf of the rim. Ideally this is a one time processes. If you don't remove the tire, you don't have to repeat the process. If you're actually taking the tire off the rim, then likely the tire has some serious problems, and you will be adding a tube anyway.

Alternatively, when my floor pump was not pushing enough air to lock the beads, I was able to do it by putting in a tube, pumping it up until the beads locked, then removing the tube. With that method, you have to break the bead on one side of the tire to remove the tube, so you still might not be able to get the bead re-set, but in my case, once the bead had been locked in once, and starting with one half already locked in, I had no problem re-seating the one bead. So it's possible that you could reinstall a tire or install a new one with just your mini pump, but you may still need to have a tube handy. Ideally, though, I'd count on setting it up once, and just plan on using a tube, if necessary, until you get somewhere where it will be easier to redo your tubeless set up.

I have a spare core or two because they came with a patch kit. If not for that, I probably wouldn't bother. I'd say the best/lightest solution is just to make sure your spare tubes have removable cores. Then if all you need is a core, you can pull one from your tube. If you need a whole valve, you could probably cut that from your tube as well, but you probably wouldn't want to do that with your last spare.

I didn't find the price of the Park valve tool to be too terrible, but I also bought a tubeless patch kit, and it came with a valve core remover as well. I don't think there's anything magic about the tool. If you find a cheaper one, it will likely do the job. Just make sure it will work for your valve. If you get a generic one that's made for schrader valves, and you have presta, I don't know that that will work.

I haven't bought a 4 oz. bottle, yet, but I did start my tubeless experiment with an 8 oz. bottle with the injector (Orange Seal), and I eventually bought a 2nd 8 oz. bottle without an injector. The injection system is just a screw cap with a hole in it that attaches to flexible tube that goes over your valve stem. There was no problem just taking the injector cap and tube and putting it on a new bottle.

chrisx

Keep the hand pump you already have. You need an air compressor to mount a tubeless tire. Don't listen to the sales guy. I have a couple of spare valves. I have used the core from my spare valve, and used the spare valve, on different occasions. Valve core and valve with core are about the same price. Do have spares, they are cheesy. Needle nose pliers can work as a valve core removal tool. Better to spend 8-10 $ on a https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...s.php?id=18082 proper tool. I like Orange Seal better. The injector is reusable. I use a little more than 1oz.

alan s 

I watched a few videos on YouTube. It helped to see someone doing it. I have fat tires that are tubeless, so a compressor came in very handy, not just to set the bead, but to add the huge volume of air. Orange Seal is good, and I've had to add a couple ounces to one tire that was slowly losing air, but they have stayed inflated for 6 months now.

Pistard

so why even bother with tubeless ( unless you have a fatty)??

Rob_E

Converted two wheelsets to tubeless. One went together great with just my floor pump. The other required that I put tubes in to get the beads seated. Neither required an air compressor. But the 2nd set would have gone more quickly with an air compressor.

So if you have an air compressor, use it. But I don't think it's a requirement to going tubeless.

niknak

Because he's riding a mountain bike on dirt, where tubeless excels. You can run lower pressures without worrying about getting a pinch flat. Lower pressures mean more traction and a smoother and faster ride. Oh, and excellent puncture protection too. The only downside is initial setup, which for people who haven't done it before means they have to learn something new. Otherwise, it's typically a set it and forget it experience.

TimothyH

I use Orange Seal Endurance. The injector bottle can be reused.

The 4 oz injector is just a bottle with a little hose that screws onto the top. I fill the injector bottle from a larger 32 oz bottle, fill the tire, pour the unused portion back into the large bottle and rinse the injector bottle and hose before putting everything away.

Not sure where you read that 1 oz should be used but the manufacturer says to use 3 oz in a 27.5 MTB tire. Reference https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...nfo_sheet2.pdf

I use 3 oz in a 38 mm wide gravel tire on a 29er wheel. After four months I took the tire off and it came pouring out so I think it is plenty.

My recommendation is to get a spare roll of tubeless tape as well, just in case you happen to mess up whatever is on the rim when mounting or dismounting a tire. Better to have and not need then need and not have.

I used soap and water as a lubricant to mount the first time but have used Schwalbe mounting fluid since. It works well, is far more convenient and not at all messy.



-Tim-