An update on running tubeless tires.

A few months ago I was fed up with all the flats I was getting on the commute with the Salsa Fargo.  To be fair I didn't have tuffy tire liners in these tires, but I mean it's just a 6 mile commute each way and I was flatting on a pretty regular interval.  So instead of doing it the easy way and putting in tire liners, I decided to try switching over to a stan's no tube setup.  You can see the process here if you want.



Anyway, I thought I'd give you an update on how it's worked out since then.  To start with....I didn't do this with "new" tires.  I began with tires that had more than a few holes and gashes.  The Stan's solution sealed these up with relatively little problem (even a 1/4 gash with a bit of time).  However, on the initial ride I did get a puncture that really "bleed" a puddle of Stan's before sealing up.  I was not a happy camper and wondered if I'd wasted my time with the whole thing.

Apparently that was a one time deal.  I haven't had to do a thing (added air a few times) since then!!  So obviously I've been pretty happy with the system as a whole.  The first time I really even looked at my tires since that day was yesterday, when I had to add some real air (10 psi) before heading to work.  You'd think this would have caused me to look the tire over a bit more carefully, but hey I'm running Stan's, so I just blew it off thinking it would seal up on the ride.

On the commute in things seemed to be getting a bit squishy again......and upon arriving at work I did take the time to have a closer look.  I found 1 piece of wire, 2 massive (rose bush?) thorns, and 6 goat heads.  I confidently pulled the largest thorn out (commence serious hissing and air loss) and rotated the tire so the hole was to the bottom and waited for the Stan's sealant to do it's job.....and waited.....and waited.....  There was no white stuff present and the hissing continued.

Yep, I'd actually used up all the Stan's solution I put in over the last 3 months.  So I did what I could....jammed the thorn back in and stopped up the leak (it still amazes me this works).  It held well enough that I could ride it home that evening after just a bit of pumping!

When I got home I added more Stan's sealant and re-inflated.   They holes (all 9 of them) sealed up in a few seconds and I was good to go.



So all in all the system works great and I'd recommend it.  Just remember you do have to top off once in a while because you lose a little (or sometimes a lot) with each little puncture that you never know about!

Going tubeless...step by step.

I posted last week that I had gotten sick of flat tires on the Fargo and decided to go tubeless.  So I dutifully ordered the stan's no tube kit.  I've been sitting on it for a week (mostly because I'm lazy)....but I finally got around to it this weekend.  It's a bit of a messy process, but they go together pretty easy.  Here's how it looks.

What you need.  All told a kit will set you back about $80 bucks.

First things first.  Get the tire off the rim and kiss your tube goodbye!

Get everything soapy and wet.  This helps everything slide into place and makes bubbles at problem spots.

Same goes for your rim liner strip.

Have tons of fun trying to get the nice tight liner strip (which is soapy and slippery) over the rim (which is soapy and slippery)!

Soap up the bead of the tire.

Once you've got the tire back on the rim remove the valve core with your special little tool.

Check, valve stem removed.

Screw on the injector.

Fill'er up with Stan's No Tube solution and pump it into the tube.

My first tire went great....this one leaked because I didn't have the bead set quite perfectly.  No big deal though. 

Finally, air that baby up and watch the solution do it's magic.  Basically you roll the tire around to any place you see soapy bubbles and the stan's pugs the leak in a few seconds.  I would note here....you want an air compressor for this.  To get the bead to seal the first time you need to pump it up really fast.  If you were using a hand pump, I don't know if you could do it....at the very least it would be rather hilarious to watch someone try to pump that fast.

I don't know why I didn't take pictures of the inflation and sealing.  I guess I didn't have enough hands at that point.

Overall, the whole process, while a bit messy isn't too bad.  These tires were definitely not new and had plenty of holes and gashes and the Stans handled them all after a bit.

**Follow up**  First ride report....

Wifey and I rode downtown to try to hit Under the Rose Brewing, but they were closed (even though they said they were open).  Along theway down 4th St. I hit something big.  Well, big enough that I had a puddle of Stans and lost tire pressure down to about 10 psi.  I wasn't that amused that it wasn't sealing.  However, after walking the bike for a block or two, it seemed to have sealed up.  I road it over to Old Bridge Pub and then the 3 miles home with out further issue.  And this morning I pumped it up and rode to work without problem.  So....so far it's looking like Stans definitely keeps you going without much work!

Things to do this weekend....

Yep, the Fargo is going tubeless.  I don't know what it is, but I seem to get a ton of flats on it.  Maybe it's the lightweight nature of the Race King tires....maybe Reno is goat head central....maybe it's because I don't have lines in the tires (the only bike).  Hmmm...I kinda forgot I don't use liners on it, that would probably be the problem.

Well, anyway, I have always read about tubeless setups and it will definitely save a bit of weight compared to adding liners.  So, I'll be giving it a try this weekend. 

It's also no accident that the picture includes a picture of the tap....there will be beer involved or I'll probably get cranky.  And for some of you who are probably wondering, that is not a huge bag of pot....it's hops (e.g. for making beer)....and I may or may not get around to that this weekend.

So anyway, enjoy filling your weekend with bikey stuff.