[Nixster]

So I thought I’d build up a gravel bike and try out tubeless tyres and discs.  It’s not going well!

I have Hope twenty five wheels to which I’m fitting Conti Terraspeed tyres.  I wrapped with the provided tubeless tape and installed the provided valves – no dice.  Tyres inflate and seat (one with just a track pump) then lose air even after sealant (Stans) was installed.

So, I re-wrapped with Stans tape, pulled super tight to get a good seal on the rim.  Again, no dice, air loss sounded like it was around the valves this time.  Installed new Effeto Mariposa tubeless valves,  these seem to have sealed but now the air loss seems to be around the bead, again even after putting in sealant.  Tyres still inflate and seat relatively easily (CO2 in one but track pump for the other) but deflate after a couple of hours.

I’m now out for rim tape, valves, sealant and two inner tubes (putting those in was refreshingly simple) so reluctant to try again – what am I doing wrong??!!

Topic

[ktache]

I fitted my surly dirt

I fitted my surly dirt wizards last weekend, mud specific and a pig on tarmac, doable.  When I put a new front on over the summer I needed to retape the rear, discovered I had two and a half wraps of tape, which explained the impossibility of moving the bead and the deafening noise when popping in place.  Removed all and replaced with one and a half, wrapping being a nightmare of course.  Tyre popped on with much less terror and no need for the soap, and I had some scwalbe stuff specific for the task too. Changed the tape off the front, after removing a wrap last year and found that the lbs  had used Lecky tape, little more flexible and big dents in the spoke holes, but nice to know, understandable as 50mm tape is very specific.  Might even use a bit on the valve hole under the tubeless tape to add a little more strength, later.

It is a learning experience and I can now laugh at hedge cutting season.

[IanMSpencer]

I’d nitpick on the building
I’d nitpick on the building up the centre channel. It is likely that the deep centre channel has in part been designed to make it feasible to fit some tyres.

Tubeless should be fitted without tyre levers as the levers can damage the edge of the tyre, causing sealing failures. To fit a tight tyre, tubed or tubeless, the starting point is to ensure that the tyre is located in the channel. Get this right and many of the most infamous tyres can be fitted by hand. I’ve fitted Continental 5000TLs to my Giant without issue and Schwalbe 1s, and the Giant own brand are easy enough too.

In my repair days I was faced with an impossible tyre. Removing 3 of the rim tapes fixed that one!

I’ve only ever used tubeless ready wheels though so have never been through the pain of applying rim tape for tubeless.

[Hirsute]

Just fitted michelin power

Just fitted michelin power road tubeless.

I’m guessing it is the dt wheels that were the issue as it was the worst one I have done.

In the end I had to use an inner tube to get one side on, then tease on the other by hand to get it to seat. Seemed to have use a lot of fairy liquid too.

All the others I have just used a track pump with little or no teasing or fairy.

[TheBillder]

Velophaart_95 wrote:

Velophaart_95 wrote:

Panaracer GraveKing Slicks

I can’t keep up with all those Panaracer variants with almost identical names… Are these a Halloween special edition?

[hawkinspeter]

I’m wondering if part of the

I’m wondering if part of the problem is Stan’s sealant – never used it myself, but I’ve heard more than one person on here complaining about it.

CaffeLatex for the win!

[Anonymous]

Haha! I had to read that

Haha! I had to read that twice to work it out.

Honestly, keep going with it. I can’t count the amount of time I’ve been covered in latex sealant (hookless rims) or have returned to a set of wheels with deflated tyres.

Its a labour of love but one that will definitely pay off.

Remember to shake and rotate and all will be well. 

[hawkinspeter]

Nixster wrote:

Nixster wrote:

Yeah sorry, conflated squirrels and sparrows ?

[Nixster]

Yeah sorry, conflated

Yeah sorry, conflated squirrels and sparrows ?

[mdavidford]

Nixster wrote:

…Squirrel Legs

We are the road.cc Borg…

[Nixster]

Success!

Success!

Well mostly. Front is up and not losing air overnight. Rear lost about 30 psi from 50psi starting point but was still inflated. I put Stans on the out side of the bead on the front so will try that on the rear when I get more sealant. I guess I need to get it properly air tight or the constant topping up will reduce the life of the sealant?

Thanks for all the helpful comments esp Squirrel Legs ?

How do I feel about tubeless? Well this has been more hassle so far (by far) than any other system I’ve used, and I run latex tubes on a winter bike and glue tubulars on my best bike so it’s not like I’m afraid of a bit of work ?

Here’s hoping it’s all worth it in the end!

[Rapha Nadal]

2 wraps of Muc Off tape, Muc

2 wraps of Muc Off tape, Muc Off valves, Orange Seal Endurance sealant.  Has sorted me out and takes absolutely ages for the tyres to deflate (I’m running some Gravelkings of some description in a 38).  Spin the wheels periodically after installing and make sure that sealant coats everything.

Now, this may seem a stupid question BUT are the tyres tubelss compatible?  I’m not familiar with them. 

[xernobyl]

I love tubeless, never had

I love tubeless, never had any issues with them other than when I bent a rim, and even then it would hold air for a day. Even my GFs decathlon bike with cheapish wheels are fine.

[Chris Hayes]

Welcome to my world! It’s

Welcome to my world! It’s usually the rim tape… but could be the valve seating….or then again the interface between the rim and the tyre 🙂

[Velophaart_95]

I’m very much a fan of

I’m very much a fan of tubeless, once set up, I’ve found they work. I’d guess I have a success rate of over 90% when setting tubeless tyres up.

However, in the last week I’ve purchased a set of Panaracer GraveKing Slicks; the front went on fine, and held air, so in went the sealant, and it’s still up. Repeated the process for the rear; and wasn’t going up, hmm? Added another layer of rim tape, and it stayed up for about an hour. Added the sealant, and left it overnight; the next morning it had deflated, and isn’t holding air when trying to pump it up. Weird……

[hawkinspeter]

I don’t know if CO2 leaks

I don’t know if CO2 leaks through tyres quicker than air, but one issue can be that very cold CO2 can cause polymerisation of the sealant which could then affect your tyre’s permeability. If you ensure that the valve is at the top of the wheel when using CO2 then it should warm a bit before hitting the sealant pooled at the bottom.

Just found this bit on the bike pump Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_pump):

Carbon dioxide leaks out of a rubber inner tube more rapidly than air – despite its larger molecule size, the CO2 molecule is significantly more soluble than Oxygen and Nitrogen in rubber and as such can cause a tire to deflate far quicker than if filled with air.

That’s mentioning an inner tube, so it’s possible that there’s a similar mechanism with leaking through tubeless tyres, although they’re not just rubber.

[Author]

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