going tubeless - which tires have worked for you?

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Permalink Reply by andrew on August 14, 2008 at 12:57am

we're doing a bunch of testing on this for issue 4. in general, the tighter the better though - that should be the guideline. michelin mud2s run really tight.

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Permalink Reply by Josh on August 14, 2008 at 6:09am

What rims are you using? You will find that some tire and rim combinations play nicer than others.

Rims with a deeper drop channel, e.g., Mavic Open Pro's, CXP 33's, pre-built Mavic wheelsets, and Velocity rims, can require more work create a reliable tubeless setup than rims with a shallow drop channel, such as Bontrager and NoTubes rims.

A deep drop channel means the tire will fit looser on the rim, there will also be more space between the drop channel and the rim's bead hook. This can make it harder to inflate and more likely to roll the tire off the rim, or to experience "burping."

Like Andrew said, tighter is usually better. If you are having trouble getting tires to air up quickly with a floor pump, try building up the drop channel with strapping tape, or similar product, to take up space between the drop channel and the bead hook.

Keep us posted on your experiences.

-Josh

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Permalink Reply by c-note on August 14, 2008 at 9:28am

The panaracer tires have worked very well: easy to mount and seal up-including the IRD. Ritchey excavaders are another favorite of mine-I like the tread pattern. Racing Ralph (schwalbe) is OK for me too, but I've read on the forums that someone had a tread delamination-but not necessarily due to tubeless mounting-the problem there IMHO is that there was no tube as a backup, leading to catastrophic failure. Despite the misgiviings, I love tubeless, but I love tubulars too! I'm using stan's rims, which make it easy-no rimstrips to deal with, but see the comments in the great article in issue 3!

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Permalink Reply by smellmypeebody on August 14, 2008 at 11:14am

I ordered some Hutchinson Bulldog CX tires the other day without really looking into them. It was on steep and cheap for like $25 for a pair so i just went ahead and bought them.

I was wondering, can I run these with my Mavic Open Pro rims? If so, what do I need besides the rims and the tires.

Also, I've also read that you can use tubes as well. If I go this route, does it work like a normal tire? Or is their a special way to put them on?

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Permalink Reply by Josh on August 14, 2008 at 1:59pm

I saw those on S&C, that site is addictive!

Besides the rims and tires you will need sealant. Hutchinson, NoTubes and Bontrager all make sealant for "Tubeless-Ready" systems.

You will also need tape to seal the rim. Notubes offers this, I have found that 3M strapping tape works just as well.

If you can get this setup to seal and hold air using a floor pump you should be in good shape, take it for a test ride to make sure it won't roll or burb. If you are having a hard time getting it to seal up, try adding additional layers of tape, or try using the Notubes CX tubeless kit.

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Permalink Reply by smellmypeebody on August 14, 2008 at 11:17pm

Any ideas which system works well with a Mavic Open Pro Clincher rim?

I was reading the notubes message board that this is the only rim that doesn't work with their tape.

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Permalink Reply by andrew on August 14, 2008 at 11:40pm

i'd either go with multiple layers of tape if you are an experimenter, or just go with the stans rim strips. I've been messing with almost every combo recently. the hutchins fast air certainly is convenient (easy to seal up) if not a bit wasteful.

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Permalink Reply by David Hutton on August 19, 2008 at 7:15pm

Just ordered all my tubeless stuff and it comes in tomorrow. I will be sure to put up something about it. I am going to running Mavic Ksyrium SL's with Hutchinson Bulldog's and Stan's tubeless kit. Ill probobly be switching back and forth from Muds too and may even experiment with some maxis raze I kind of played with last season. I am going to get them up and running this weekend so Ill be sure to let you know!

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Permalink Reply by IdahoBob on August 19, 2008 at 9:20pm

Has anyone tried the dura-ace tubeless rims (WH-7850) with the hutchinson bulldogs or other tires? I was planning to give these a try this year and wondering if anyone has had any experience, good or bad. I'll be running stan's or the hutchinson fastair with the tubeless version of the bulldogs.

Thanks

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Permalink Reply by andrew on August 19, 2008 at 9:31pm

hi there. we've been running this for a little while now and it'll be featured in our issue 4. but it's one of the easier setups for sure.

fastair is easier to inflate because it has the air and sealant in one. but sometimes it leaks all over. stan's is cheaper cuz you can buy in bulk. maybe if you buy stans get one of their valves since the shimano valve core isn't removable.

hutchinson stopped making two versions of their bulldog- now it's just one. so as long as it's a recent model, you're good. the wheels have been good too. strong, stiff. not super light but good.

how much do you weigh? I think that may be a big deciding factor between tubulars and tubeless.

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Permalink Reply by IdahoBob on August 19, 2008 at 9:45pm

I'm 185 dressed. Do you think the tubeless will work better for lighter or heavier riders? Looking forward to seeing your review, will it be out before the season starts?

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Permalink Reply by Ridley Fortune on August 20, 2008 at 12:29pm

hey andrew, can you clarify - what is a tire burp? is that like when the seal breaks and a bit of air squelches out and makes a rude sound?

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