What works for tubeless?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kit Cischke on July 27, 2013 at 1:11pm

I've written up some long-form thoughts on my blog. In a nutshell though, I've ran the NoTubes Alpha 400 rims and mainly some Clement PDX clinchers tubeless last year.  It worked okay, running about 28 or 29 psi at 175 pounds myself.  To get the PDXs to seal up, we had to build up the rim bed with another layer of Stan's yellow tape and then a layer of Gorilla Tape on top of that.  I still managed to burp the front tire during one race (and just about as far away from the pit as I possible could have done it).  If you like the PDX tread, they will probably work fine for you.  They also measured almost 38 mm when fully seated and inflated!

I don't plan on running the PDXs again this year though.  The uncertainty I felt about whether or not they were going to burp is more than I want to deal with this year.  I've found that tires rated tubeless (road and cross) set up better on the Alpha rims even if there's a tube in there.  Due to superb reviews,  I'm thinking either Vittoria Cross XG in the TNT casing or the Specialized Captain 2BR.  

I like the NoTubes rims though.  Light and they roll well.  I have the Team version, for what it's worth.

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Permalink Reply by andrew on July 27, 2013 at 1:56pm

Kit, you know notubes has a free rim strip for those wheels?  they were designed to try to do road and cx, but it's hard to do high pressure and low pressure well, so the rim strip helps with the low pressure situation. 

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Permalink Reply by Kit Cischke on July 27, 2013 at 1:58pm

The rim strip didn't become available until after we had added all the tape.  I should request one just to see how it worked compared to the tape.

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Permalink Reply by Alan Barton on July 27, 2013 at 1:40pm

Last year after cutting a tubular I changed over to the Bontrager Race TLR wheelset setup with the Vittoria TNT cross tires with Stan's sealant. I weighed around 175 and was running sub 30 with no issues. I'll be doing the same this year with the lighter RXL TLR wheelset.

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Permalink Reply by andrew on July 27, 2013 at 1:54pm

there's a lot of content on Cyclocross Magazine's site including a three-part series, with another long-overdue installment coming, but it really depends on:

1) whether you want to use existing wheels or plan to buy a tubless-ready wheelset;

2) whether you need lots of tire options (i.e. conversions) or can deal with the limited but growing section of tubeless-ready cx tires.  

chime in on the above and I'll try to help.

also see the wheel reviews of the Iron Cross and Easton EA90 XD in Issue 20 - lots of info there too. 

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Permalink Reply by uncreative on July 29, 2013 at 8:45pm

thanks for the replies everyone. looks like not much has changed in the last few years and its still pretty hit or miss. i'll be sticking with tubulars since I know they work. 

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Permalink Reply by Kit Cischke on July 30, 2013 at 7:20pm

I switched from tubulars to tubeless very much on purpose and currently have no desire to move back.  The consistent refrain I'm hearing is that if you use tubeless tires matched to tubeless rims, it's fantastic.  When you try to cobble together a setup, it can be a little less reliable.  Mical Dyck won the Canadian National Champs on NoTubes rims and Kenda tires --- the rest of the Elite-level NoTubes team is running that combo too.  

I'd still say give it a try.  While I was occasionally frustrated with my tubeless setup last year, it paled in comparison to the frustration I had with my tubulars.  I'll mess around with a bottle of Stan's before I spend another couple of hours scrubbing glue off rims with acetone.

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Permalink Reply by Craig MacIntyre on August 14, 2013 at 2:06pm

The ONLY combo I have had luck with is Iron Cross (Stan's) rims and a selection of tires.  The Kenda's work great - I like the Kwicker - and some Bontragers do too.  The Iron Cross work better than the Alpha's.  I have burped them though - still cannot go as low as my PDX tubbies on Major Toms.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on August 1, 2013 at 1:31pm

To run the Alpha 400 with tubeless specific cross tires are people also running yellow tape and the rim strip? I really want to go to a tubeless setup, but there is so much negative information and very little postive, it makes me step back each time I am about to order.

Alpha 400 rims and Kenda SCT Slant Six's is what I am thinking......built onto the American Classic hubs I already have.

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Permalink Reply by BJ Keane on August 8, 2013 at 6:18am

I have found that wider rims are better for preventing burping.  I ran clement pdx on stans crest rims down to 24psi @175# last season and didnt have any issues racing cross.  I ride them on single track some too for training and did burb once on a gnarly downhill, but if i bump the pressure up closer to 30 psi I never have problems even riding rocky/rooty trails. 

 

On a rim that wide the clement pdx measure about 35 wide.  Not good if you are a UCI racer, but good for the other 95% of us.

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Permalink Reply by Carlos Matutes on August 13, 2013 at 6:22pm

I've had success with the PDX/A23 combo with 2 layers of Stan's tape.
Started doing a few CX trail rides, so I'm actually using a Kenda Small Block 8 tubeless in the back so that I don't wear out my rear PDX.
I weigh about 190 right now, 33.5 psi front and 35 rear. I'll drop 'em down for 'cross.

Los

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Permalink Reply by Corey Williams on August 14, 2013 at 9:30pm

I ran Vittoria XG TNTs on A23 rims all last season with no issues. I used a strip of gorilla tape to seal the holes and dumped in a standard serving of Stan's sealant and, even on the non-tubeless version of the A23 rim, didn't burp air or even drop much pressure (except when on purpose) during the season.

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