Tubeless tires setup for mountain bikes

[Christophe Noel]

Pinch flats are the result of compressing your tire to the point your rim contacts terra firma. The result is an elongated cut, or two, lovingly referred to as a snake bite. If you get a pinch flat with slime tubes, it's a mess as those larger holes are harder to patch, and toting home a busted slime tube is a messy prospect. In many cases, riders get a small puncture, begin to lose air and then get a pinch flat. That's my favorite brand of flat - I do it often.

 

[xcmountain80]

Pinch flats are the result of compressing your tire to the point your rim contacts terra firma. The result is an elongated cut, or two, lovingly referred to as a snake bite. If you get a pinch flat with slime tubes, it's a mess as those larger holes are harder to patch, and toting home a busted slime tube is a messy prospect. In many cases, riders get a small puncture, begin to lose air and then get a pinch flat. That's my favorite brand of flat - I do it often.

Then my recommendation to you is A. either run more air in your tires. or B. run tubeless tires with sealant that allow you to run the lower pressure you desire without fear of pinch flats. C. is my last choice as it is a weight compromise, the slime tubes you are running are awfully heavy especially for a 24 hour event, as you may or may not know all that extra crap gets heavy between midnight and 6 am.

Aaron

 

[Christophe Noel]

Aaron, I agree with you about the weight of Slime tubes, but 25 years of racing road, cyclocross and mountain bikes has taught me that everything is a compromise. For something like my 24H race, the thought of being on the far side of the course at 3am in 40 degree temps trying to repair a tubeless tire issue is not something I care to deal with. For a course like that, there are so many cactus pads and cholla balls that get knocked onto the trail, Slime is pretty standard, despite the weight. The minimal weight of Slime is not going to make or break me but, a burped and hard to remount tire bead could. Besides, the amount of Slime per tube is about the same difference as a light XC tire vs. a heavy XC tire. Not that much.

And you are correct, avoiding pinch flats is all about the right air pressure for the terrain, but then again, what's the right pressure? It's always a fine balancing act to get the lowest amount of pressure to maximize traction and decrease rolling resistance, but not so slight as to invite pinch flats.

This same discussion goes on in the road racing circles. I usually race beefy tires normally saved for training while others race on delicate, hand made tires. A fast handmade tire may never win the race for you, but it can sure lose it for you.

 

[xcmountain80]

Aaron, I agree with you about the weight of Slime tubes, but 25 years of racing road, cyclocross and mountain bikes has taught me that everything is a compromise. For something like my 24H race, the thought of being on the far side of the course at 3am in 40 degree temps trying to repair a tubeless tire issue is not something I care to deal with. For a course like that, there are so many cactus pads and cholla balls that get knocked onto the trail, Slime is pretty standard, despite the weight. The minimal weight of Slime is not going to make or break me but, a burped and hard to remount tire bead could. Besides, the amount of Slime per tube is about the same difference as a light XC tire vs. a heavy XC tire. Not that much.

And you are correct, avoiding pinch flats is all about the right air pressure for the terrain, but then again, what's the right pressure? It's always a fine balancing act to get the lowest amount of pressure to maximize traction and decrease rolling resistance, but not so slight as to invite pinch flats.

This same discussion goes on in the road racing circles. I usually race beefy tires normally saved for training while others race on delicate, hand made tires. A fast handmade tire may never win the race for you, but it can sure lose it for you.

True true and true.

 

[3konas]

I'm going to be in Scottsdale AZ for a few weeks for a horse show. I'm throwing a bike in the horse trailer so I can ride in the sun for awhile. Hopefully it will be sunny. After reading the last few post has me wondering if I need to worry about cactus needle flats at McDowell Mountain Regional Park. I run tubes, should I worry? I've never been, how are the trails?

Thanks Guys!
Brent

 

[Christophe Noel]

I'm going to be in Scottsdale AZ for a few weeks for a horse show. I'm throwing a bike in the horse trailer so I can ride in the sun for awhile. Hopefully it will be sunny. After reading the last few post has me wondering if I need to worry about cactus needle flats at McDowell Mountain Regional Park. I run tubes, should I worry? I've never been, how are the trails?

Thanks Guys!
Brent

I've only ridden at McDowell a couple times and both were for races, so I didn't get to explore the entire trail system, but it was really nice. Not a lot of elevation gain from what I was exposed to. Pretty flat. I didn't use slime or any anti-flat mojo and had a fine time, but it's one of those area where one flat could be the gift of two dozen cactus needles, so Slime won't hurt. I don't get down to the desert often, but I've been down there enough with no flat protection to know I've probably used up all of my luck.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

There is a much better home brew recipe that uses slime and other bits. Stans craps out each season and is really too watery to do much good other than goatheads. You also need something a little stronger when using non UST tubes/wheels. I weigh about 220 / 6'5 so I'm a 'clyde' and can only tolerate UST specific except on the front tire. Because there aren't any UST in the tires I like for my size I just run tubes and such is life even out here in goathead country. It's way more laterally stable as well in my opinion.

Here is the tubeless recipe. With it you don't need to pull the tire and replace the goo every year, nor does your bottle of stans go bad. I have two bottles of bad stans that for some odd reason I can't bring myself to toss for some really dumb reason...

The basic recipe:

1 part Latex mold builder
1 part Slime tubeless
1 part cheap antifreeze
2 parts water

Some variations of pepper and glitter added...

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=406115&highlight=tubeless+recipe

 

[3konas]

I've only ridden at McDowell a couple times and both were for races, so I didn't get to explore the entire trail system, but it was really nice. Not a lot of elevation gain from what I was exposed to. Pretty flat. I didn't use slime or any anti-flat mojo and had a fine time, but it's one of those area where one flat could be the gift of two dozen cactus needles, so Slime won't hurt. I don't get down to the desert often, but I've been down there enough with no flat protection to know I've probably used up all of my luck.

Thank you for your reply! Maybe I will try something to limit my chances of a flat. Looking forward to riding someplace new.

 

[Pskhaat]

Not a lot of elevation gain from what I was exposed to. Pretty flat.

The trails leading into the McDowell mountains however (a few miles West), one can have some extreme elevation, and much better riding IMHO.

 

[3konas]

The trails leading into the McDowell mountains however (a few miles West), one can have some extreme elevation, and much better riding IMHO.

Name and location of these trails? I will be at WestWorld and the bike will be my only transportation. The toterhome and trailer stays parked. I will be there for a few weeks so the more trails the better! More info?

Thank you,
Brent

 

[Pskhaat]

WestWorld is where the Notice box is on the map. Trails immediately nearby and that connect directly over to the McDowell Mtn. Regional Park:

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/Assets/documents/preserve/Preserve+Trail+Map.pdf

 

[3konas]

Thanks soo much for the link! I was on the fence on which bike to bring because it looks like a fair amount of road riding to get to the Regional Park. Now knowing good trails are soo close I've made up my mind...bring two!
That's awesome! Thanks!

 

[Pskhaat]

Yeah, you can get over to the regional park via those trails. In all actuality, both of those "parks" are also adjacent to National Forest land at the North East with many more millions of acres, so you won't be limited. There's a fair amount of bike-carrying elevation in there.

 

[Cnickgo]

I run the Stan's system with Mavic 717 and Panaracer XC Pros. My tires are old, so sealing took me a couple trys, I believe with new tires it would have been much easier. I found a large gash in one of my sidewalls, which I solved with a patch.

Now that they are sealed, it's great. The rolling resistance is much less. I have had one burp in two months, when I landed on the front funny. The bead stuck though, and I simply pumped air back in and continued on.

I would recommend the Stan's system, especially if you are like my buddy and always getting pinch flats, or if you are hardcore XC and want the low rolling resistance.