Tubeless Questions.

[JackRabbitSlims]

I've been away from MTBing for a while....alot has changed.

Just returned from 4 weeks in the USA and was on a MTB the whole time, needless to say, I am back in the game and new Full Sus bike arrived on my doorstep yesterday -

Rims are Shimano XT and attached are Maxxis UST tires.
I have a few questions for those in the know:-

1) Can I assume there is no sealant in the tire? (Bought from a store new) - If so, should I inject sealant? which Type / Brand and how is this done safely and securely?

2) Stans set up - I have been doing a bit reading on this last night - can I assume that you can run Stans on any rim and with any MTB tire? Would you run a Stans Kit on my setup, or change the tire out from a UST specific tire?

3) What are the advantages of the Stans setup over the UST? - Cheaper, Lighter, more range of tires available??

OK, sorry for all the Newbie Questions, just wanna get this right.

OH - I have a 12 Hr teams race this coming w/e - I will have to run my current wheel tire setup and will look into sealant as an option as well, what sort of tire pressure should I be running for this setup? I am 68kgs, Full Sus bike, terrain will be wet, muddy, roots & rocks.....Typical NZ winter conditions.

Hey - thanks for any help and advice offered.

 

[Boeing]

I've been away from MTBing for a while....alot has changed.

Just returned from 4 weeks in the USA and was on a MTB the whole time, needless to say, I am back in the game and new Full Sus bike arrived on my doorstep yesterday -

Rims are Shimano XT and attached are Maxxis UST tires.
I have a few questions for those in the know:-

1) Can I assume there is no sealant in the tire? (Bought from a store new) - If so, should I inject sealant? which Type / Brand and how is this done safely and securely?

2) Stans set up - I have been doing a bit reading on this last night - can I assume that you can run Stans on any rim and with any MTB tire? Would you run a Stans Kit on my setup, or change the tire out from a UST specific tire?

3) What are the advantages of the Stans setup over the UST? - Cheaper, Lighter, more range of tires available??

OK, sorry for all the Newbie Questions, just wanna get this right.

OH - I have a 12 Hr teams race this coming w/e - I will have to run my current wheel tire setup and will look into sealant as an option as well, what sort of tire pressure should I be running for this setup? I am 68kgs, Full Sus bike, terrain will be wet, muddy, roots & rocks.....Typical NZ winter conditions.

Hey - thanks for any help and advice offered.

Are you saying that the Wheels are Shimano XT? Just for clarity

- No sealant preinstalled
- Stan's works
- Not every tires works well,some tire beads set better than others, it depends on rim match. Depending on Rim, some rims take different rim strips or you can make your own getto tubeless. (not clear what rims you have)
_ advantages are wider tire brand and tread selection. technically UST tires are heavier. Lower tire pressure is a plus regardless UST or Tubeless. fewer flats

Disadvantage is you are going to have to have a LBS do it for you unless you have all the gear and time. It takes a lot of trial and error to get it right and sometime the error is painful as in if you burp or lose a bead seat on the front at speed....yikes. trial and error is expensive. I went through a few tires till I found what worked for me

Full Sup bike tire pressure might be less significant to you

My recommendation is ride the bike until you get it dialed in: fit, suspension tune, gears and cables all clicking...

then experiment

One key for me is Rim Width. Running tubeless I have moved to a wider and wider rim at low pressure with big volume tires. That is the key advantage to me but my riding style might differ from yours.

based on the terrain you mentioned I believe that might be something you would like

peace

 

[Boeing]

Also you will find a load of detailed info on this subject at MTBR.com if that helps as well

 

[kiwimatt]

tubeless

I run Maxxis UST tyres on a MavicST wheelset with a scoop of Stans in each.Pros:bombproof,only ever had one problem and that was smacking a hole off a jump and splitting the tyre,I didn't notice and rode home only for the tyre to go flat next few days,go Stans.Cons;weightier tyres and new Stans every 2 months.Run the tyres about 5 psi less than normal but as with all the other variables experiment until you find what works for you,happy trails.

 

[kiwirider]

OH - I have a 12 Hr teams race this coming w/e - I will have to run my current wheel tire setup and will look into sealant as an option as well, what sort of tire pressure should I be running for this setup? I am 68kgs, Full Sus bike, terrain will be wet, muddy, roots & rocks.....Typical NZ winter conditions.

Hey - thanks for any help and advice offered.

I assume that you're talking about Taupo?

That being the case, I wouldn't be worrying too much about the wet. I lived up the road in Rotorua for a good number of years and can tell you that the pumicey soils there drain really well and keep heaps of grip. You can even get away with riding hard pack/summer tyres in the middle of winter without too much hassle - in fact it can be fun getting a bit of sideways going on ...

Anyhow, first thing I'd ask is what tyres you've got on the bike. I know you say Maxxis, but which model? Picking the right tyre and getting the right combo of grip and (minimising) rolling resistance will have the biggest impact on your riding.

If it's dry to moderately wet, I'd go for something like a Larsen TT - it's a small block tread and will give you enough grip through the top of the forest and on the grass through the tents (ie., with all of the cornering that goes on) without slowing you up across the main part of the park.

If it was absolutely bucketing down (which I see the Metservice is promising for Saturday), then I'd look for pretty much any of the blockier tyres that are out there (eg., Maxxis Crossmark, Kenda Nevegal - although the Kenda can be a bit slow for anything other than heavy mud ... basically whatever you can lay your hands on at your LBS).

I know that it's a pain to wack out more dosh when you've just bought a new bike, but depending on which part of the country you're in, it's worth making sure that you've got a "dry" and "wet" set of tyres anyhow - not that you'll change them every ride, but you'll probably end up running a different tyre in summer to winter and it'll make the riding more fun.

As for tyre pressure - that depends on how smoothly you ride and the how wet it is. I'm a little heavier than you and ride a Cannondale Scalpel, and run somewhere between 30 - 40psi most of the time (regardless of whether I've got tubes or tubeless). That's definitely towards the softer end of the scale and is influenced by my experience riding cyclocross (where pressures are way low). Not knowing anything about how you ride, I'd suggest for you that you inflate the tyres to the minimum end of the recommendation on the sidewall and try a warm up lap around the circuit earlier in the day. You'll be looking for how things grip in the dirt sections and how much slippage you get on the grass (softer tyres give a better grip on grass sections - even if they feel slippier). See how it feels and add or remove air accordingly.

If you end up running the tyres soft, you may also want to add a little air as you get into the night sessions - but not so much that the bike becomes too squirrelly. Reason I suggest this is that as you get more tired and as it gets harder to see, you're more likely to bang into roots and things that you wouldn't hit earlier in the event. Putting a bit more air in can help avoid getting pinch flats if you do hit things.

Hope that's some help for you ... and good luck for the ride!

 

[Boeing]

I run Maxxis UST tyres on a MavicST wheelset with a scoop of Stans in each.Pros:bombproof,only ever had one problem and that was smacking a hole off a jump and splitting the tyre,I didn't notice and rode home only for the tyre to go flat next few days,go Stans.Cons;weightier tyres and new Stans every 2 months.Run the tyres about 5 psi less than normal but as with all the other variables experiment until you find what works for you,happy trails.

Tubeless heavier than UST?

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

Gents - thanks for the prompt informative responses - I appreciate it!

Boeing: - Yes, the wheels are Shimano XT, Tyres are Maxxis Crossmark Lust UST.

Just for clarity - are you saying that injecting sealant into this setup is something a shop will have to do, or is the Stans setup on my Tire / wheel combo something a shop will have to do??

Thanks for recommendations and direction to that website.

Kiwirider: - yeah mate, Day Thriller this weekend. My first MTB race (not really racing as part of a 5 person team) since Otago Uni days, Circa 91!
Tires are as above and they will have to do for this weekend, as I don't have the time or $$ right now to be swapping out tires etc - I was just more interested in knowing if I can easily get some sealant into my current setup and if that would be the wise thing to do?? -

Once again - thanks for all your help!

 

[Jukebox]

Just for clarity - are you saying that injecting sealant into this setup is something a shop will have to do, or is the Stans setup on my Tire / wheel combo something a shop will have to do??

All you have to do is break the bead, pour a bit in and reinstall the bead. The part that a shop comes in handy with is reinflating a UST tire, it is much easier with a compressor. The sealant will help with puncture flats, like thorns, while your lack of a tube will take care of pinches. That being said, you can go much lighter with a tubeless compatible tire such as a specialized 2bliss or a bontrager TLR and sealant.

That being said, go cruise the wheels/tires forum on mtbr, great info there.

 

[Boeing]

Gents - thanks for the prompt informative responses - I appreciate it!

Boeing: - Yes, the wheels are Shimano XT, Tyres are Maxxis Crossmark Lust UST.

Just for clarity - are you saying that injecting sealant into this setup is something a shop will have to do, or is the Stans setup on my Tire / wheel combo something a shop will have to do??

Thanks for recommendations and direction to that website.

Kiwirider: - yeah mate, Day Thriller this weekend. My first MTB race (not really racing as part of a 5 person team) since Otago Uni days, Circa 91!
Tires are as above and they will have to do for this weekend, as I don't have the time or $$ right now to be swapping out tires etc - I was just more interested in knowing if I can easily get some sealant into my current setup and if that would be the wise thing to do?? -

Once again - thanks for all your help!

No you CAN do it but it is something that takes a little learning. It took me some time to learn to set a bead with a compressor (could never do it with a floor pump) I am too chicken to jump on a fresh setup right away and ride so I let the beads sit a day. But I am lame like that. and do everything the hard way and a lot of my experimenting was "getto Tubeless"

You can run sealant with your current setup.

 

[flyor64]

+1 to Boeing's recommendation...at least for your "first time"

Your LBS can show you how it's done and this IMHO will save you a lot of trial and error trying to figure it out yourself. It definitely did for me...

Good luck with your race this weekend. Sounds like a good one

 

[JackRabbitSlims]

Cheers.

Thanks for all the responses and good info!!

 

[StyrbjornSterki]

If it's available in New Zealand, I think you'll find that Joe's NoFlats sealant works better than Stan's NoTubes.

I have Stan's UST rims on my FS bike and tried Stan's tires, too, but didn't care for them. Switched to Maxxis TTs which I find are better suited to a wider variety of conditions.

 

[Boeing]

If it's available in New Zealand, I think you'll find that Joe's NoFlats sealant works better than Stan's NoTubes.

I have Stan's UST rims on my FS bike and tried Stan's tires, too, but didn't care for them. Switched to Maxxis TTs which I find are better suited to a wider variety of conditions.

I am not down with stans tires. The crow blows

But for the terrain I frequent, running a Larson TT up front is the same effect.

Try an ardent or aspen up front if you can. both hook up well and roll fast

I'll put the Joes on my radar for trial (but Ill have to mix in some glitter regardless thanks