in Beginners, Newbies, Noobz, etc (Moderators: imwjl, TheMayor1)

Do you need special equipment?
Special Rims?
Stans set up?
Special tires?
How do you get all of that gunk in your tires?
How do you inflate the tire to seal it up?

Do you need special equipment?

Sort of to get so so results. Yes to get great results.

Special Rims?

Again depends. What you have will probably  adapt just fine.


Stans set up?

Is good. The rubber rim strips and fluid will convert most setups effectively.

Special tires?

Prolly not. Some just take longer to get all the pinholes in the sidewall to seal.

How do you get all of that gunk in your tires?

Either leave 5-6 inches of the bead off, dump goop, rotate rim 180° and seat bead or some presta valve cores will come out and you can inject the sealant.

How do you inflate the tire to seal it up?

I prefer a compressor to get the volume and velocity to seat the bead. Some have been successful with a floor pump.

What set up do you have now Chuck?  Stock wheels from your Big Mama?  Did you get something else for the rear wheel after it exploded at The Farm last fall?

What set up do you have now Chuck?  Stock wheels from your Big Mama?  Did you get something else for the rear wheel after it exploded at The Farm last fall?

Thanks for asking Nate. I would like to go that direction as well. I would really like to get another set of wheels and try tubeless.
But I actually put this in the Beginner section to try and stimulate some conversation on topics that I am sure a lot of folks that are techno wizards, or maybe they are but are new to this sport, would have questions about. I am all about the education. And I know it can be intimidating to ask questions about something you think maybe you ought to know from a magazine. But we all know it is not as simple ad it is in the article.

I realized this was in the noob section after I posted it...

I realized this was in the noob section after I posted it...

There are a lot of days that I still feel like a Noob
I always appreciate your enthusiasm to help a brother out 8)

Don't forget there are the people like me (well there maybe a few others) who can ride ok but don't know anything about bikes, I am a noob when it comes to knowledge about this stuff!  I only know about the parts of the bike that I have broken, which is well almost everything but not quite. 

My take on tubeless is, I am not going to do it.  I would like to try some else's bike that has it though sometime just to see how it feels as I do have a pretty dedicated bike for xc only now.  I think I am too hard on it to make it work well though.

Good luck getting anyone to loan up their bike with your self-described "destroy everything" riding style!

+1 to that Nate...

That's funny guys!

I'm willing to bet that anybody who's rode with me or seen me ride once I'm sure will gladly let me try their bike for a mile or so.

Part of the reason I break stuff a lot is cause I'm cheap too and don't spend thousands on bikes and parts, my most expensive ride, which I haven't broken anything yet had a price tag of 350$

I will destroy any square taper bottom bracket and crank though.  Usually those only last for one to three hard pedals from me.

As long as it doesn't have square taper bottom brackets I would like to try someone's bike that has tubeless.  I will be respectful.  The wors part about it would be whomever would have to ride my pile of crap for that mile!!!

I've found that the easiest way to set up and install tubeless is by bringing Nate a six pack.

No mess.

I've found that the easiest way to set up and install tubeless is by bringing Nate a six pack.

No mess.

That's not entirely accurate.  There is some mess...just not for you.

Nate's bike shop is closed utill July however.

Stans set up?

Is good. The rubber rim strips and fluid will convert most setups effectively.

You are referring to the Stans kit that sells for around $65? Seems like a much cheaper alternative than buying new rims and tires, but is it worth dealing with the potential mess for someone who just wants to give it a try? If things don’t work out I’m assuming you can just throw a tube back in without any problems?

There's no mess unless you're a complete amateur like Nater 

The stans setup is good.  There is a little bit of a learning curve like much else in setting up, maintaining, or repairing bikes but don't let that discourage you.  It might be worth posting up what rims you are considering trying though, because some have been known to be harder to get the bead to seal well than others.  Personally I would not recommend setting up with a floor pump especially your first time - it is not easy unless all components come together perfectly, just from my experience.

There's no mess unless you're a complete amateur like Nater 

The stans setup is good.  There is a little bit of a learning curve like much else in setting up, maintaining, or repairing bikes but don't let that discourage you.  It might be worth posting up what rims you are considering trying though, because some have been known to be harder to get the bead to seal well than others.  Personally I would not recommend setting up with a floor pump especially your first time - it is not easy unless all components come together perfectly, just from my experience.

You can squeeze or tie cinch a section of rope around the tire to help it seat and use a floor pump. A second set of hands can help it too.