Tubeless tires setup for mountain bikes

[Corey]

I have seen the Stans setup
http://www.notubes.com/product_info.php/cPath/21_58/products_id/30
and have read about the newcomer called Cafe Latex.
Seems to be some negativity on the latter here.
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=578941

My LBS carries the Stans systems, so I was leaning towards them.
Have any that used the tubeless setups had good luck?

I am running Kenda Nevegals on my 2009 Specialized Rockhopper Pro with DT Swiss 445D wheels.

Up where I like to ride the only issue I will run across that may cause a flat are thorns.
Does this stuff really do that great of a job sealing the tires?

 

[mcgovski]

Corey
is that Kenda tire a tubeless specific tire? If not you can expect to use a lot more stans than normal...it will bleed out of the sidewalls until it seals up on non tubeless tire. You will need an air compressor to install, the bead has to pop into place. Stans will seal up really good, and you will know when it has worked, there will be white sealant all over the bike and you. fixing a trail repair is a PITA, unless its minor and you can just re inflate.
Reasons for running tubeless w/non tubeless tires are that you can run lower tire pressure and have a supple sidewall. this lends to better tire performance...it can also causing "burping" which is when the bead fails and so does your stans. Tubeless specific tires are heavy and ride poorly IMO. I sopped riding / racing tubeless because you still have to carry tubes for repair. perhaps if i lived in the desert i would put up with it, but I think its too much of a nightmare to put up with it where i live.

Chris

 

[Corey]

Chris, I believe this is one.
http://centercycle.com/product/kenda-nevegal-stick-e-folding-48011-1.htm

They do list a tubeless one at my LBS too.
http://centercycle.com/product-list/tires-tubes-101/tires-26-inch-102/?startRow=21

I stopped by the shop yesterday, and the guy said it would work with the tires he sold me last summer when I bought my bike from him.

I am debating whether to switch or just stick with a tube.
I do not like the idea of the tire belching and loosing air and goop all over me, the bike, and the trail.

To show you the type of terrain I will be on, it is in Black Diamond, WA called the Lake Sawyer trails.
55 miles of single track there, and they just built a jump park.
Video in the URL.
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=581612

I do not think I would be doing the jumps until I saw what they looked like, but the trails around there are really nice single track, and only about 15 miles or less from where I live.

 

[Christophe Noel]

I'm of no help here. I like tubes. I get maybe one pinch flat a season so that's not a concern for me. Maybe some day I'll ditch the tubes.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

I have seen the Stans setup

Up where I like to ride the only issue I will run across that may cause a flat are thorns.
Does this stuff really do that great of a job sealing the tires?

I spend my summers over on the east side of WA near Yakima and I ride tubeless always in my rear tire. I use a "regular tube tire" with a mavic tubeless rim and stans sealant. Yes it does help with the thorns - I can look at my tire and see dozens of broken off thorns in it. If you think you have thorns on the west side, you need to come over here.

I like the stans because it helps with the thorns and I can run pretty much any tire combination I want. BUT carry a tube and a c02 cartridge because if you pop a tubeless out of the bead it can be a royal pain in the ***** to get it seated back into the rim with a standard hand pump.

edit:There was an article in one of the mtb ad-rags awhile back about a homemade sealant, and a guy came into the shop I was working at and told me of the great success he was having with it. All second hand, but when my stan supply runs out I will search the recipe down to try mixing my own.

-Chris

 

[3konas]

Sounds like your looking for thorn protection. Have you looked into tire liners?
When I lived on Vashon Island I used them on my commuter. I couldn't take the chance of missing the boat because of a flat. The ones I used worked but were heavy, but hey...it's training right! I just looked and I see a kevlar liner available. Lighter and stronger. Has anyone tried these?

 

[xcmountain80]

Corey just try it and see what you think. I have tubeless rims and tires and still lost air go figure. I have tubes still and have the ability to make it tubeless if I feel like messing with that. Perhaps I need the sauce to complete the insanity hmm...... If I remember your bike is no crosscountry lightweight so weight isn't an issue right. Some folks like ultralight tubes better or ultralight sealant bla bla bla.

A

 

[Corey]

Yeah, I am still deciding here which path to take.
Here are the specs as far as weight goes.
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=09Rockhopper&eid=107
Well shoot, I guess they do not list the weight.
They also still list the error from last year stating it comes with 29" tires, but the Pro only came with 26" tires.

I saw the article too in one of the mags about three months back I think.
It was either Mountain Bike Action or Bike magazine.
I get about three mags per month.
Lots of reading, but it gets me current on what is out there since I was out of the loop for many years on them.

 

[xcmountain80]

Speaking of mags have you ever tried Dirtrag? It's a different feel for sure but once you start you may discard your other ones.

A

 

[DaveInDenver]

I'm a tube and tire guy still, too. There's not a tremendous weight savings with tubeless and it's a real pain when (not if) a tire gets cut. Also not all tires are OK to use with the glycol- and latex-based sealants. The rubber in some tires will disintegrate with sealant. People I've ridden with do seem to get a bent rim or cut sidewalls at the most inconvenient times, usually requiring a tube (it's tough to get the tire to seat in your garage with the right tools, forget doing it trailside with a mini pump). Getting a tube into a UST system has got to be one of life's biggest challenges, right up there with figuring out cold fusion, finding the 7-11 where Elvis works and learning why pineapples are spiny.

 

[3konas]

Speaking of mags have you ever tried Dirtrag? It's a different feel for sure but once you start you may discard your other ones.

A

x1!

 

[Corey]

Speaking of mags have you ever tried Dirtrag? It's a different feel for sure but once you start you may discard your other ones.

A

Yep, I forgot to mention that one, I get that one also.
Four mags I get per month.
Besides this and the other two, I also get Decline.
It is a huge mag, and almost to hard to read in bed.
The pages are huge, but they are also very thick, more book like than magazine.

I think after reading here I will be sticking with tubes for awhile longer.

 

[Christophe Noel]

I'm a tube and tire guy still, too.

(it's tough to get the tire to seat in your garage with the right tools, forget doing it trailside with a mini pump).

I have a very low tolerance for trail repairs and anything I can do to make a flat a minor inconvenience is all I'm after. I'd rather get two or three flats a season that I can fix in 90 seconds with a tube, than one flat that has me frustrated and kicking pine cones for 20 minutes as I try to seat a tire. I'll save that headache for my racing tubulars.

 

[Corey]

And speaking of airing up tires, if I am out riding I do not have access of course to my nice floor pump.
I picked this Lezyne Alloy Drive Pump MD in the summer.
http://www.artscyclery.com/descpage-LZALDRM.html

I like it because there is less chance to break a valve stem since you have a hose for it.
The hose slides into the pump housing, very trick.
Reverse the hose for the two types of stems.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I have a very low tolerance for trail repairs and anything I can do to make a flat a minor inconvenience is all I'm after. I'd rather get two or three flats a season that I can fix in 90 seconds with a tube, than one flat that has me frustrated and kicking pine cones for 20 minutes as I try to seat a tire. I'll save that headache for my racing tubulars.

That was my conclusion, too. The problem IMO isn't that you usually have to use a tube, it's that it's such a messy PITA when you use sealant (which is really mandatory unless you have a team mechanic to refill your tires everyday). Meh, I just want to ride.