So I’m a little confused here. I'm putting a new bike together, seems like tubeless is worth a try. But what kind of tubeless? Can anyone tell me the advantages and disadvantages of Stan’s Tubeless VS UST Tubeless? How do they compare as far as puncture resistance, pinch flat resistance, weight, durability, price, ease of installation, air leakage, etc, etc, etc.

Is there any website or any thing that might have more factual information for me?

For some background, I live in Flagstaff and ride a lot in Sedona. A lot of the trails I ride are rocky loose and or sandy. I’ve been happy using big tires for grip and float and I’d like to get a wheelset with wide rims to give me an even bigger ground patch and greater durability.

Thanks all,
FishMan

I'll try. Here is what I have done and what I think.

I first started with Stan's before he was even selling rim strips. I used his electrical tape kit. Unbelievably, it worked. I really liked (and still like) the more supple and grippier feel I get without tubes. I upgraded to Stan's first (non-molded) rim strips and have been using them ever since with one brief break.

At one point last year it was time for new rims. My plan was to use UST rims, conventional tires and Stan's sealant. I thought that using UST rims would be cool because I would not need rim strips and I assumed I'd save weight.

So I had my wheelset rebuilt with Mavic X3.1 rims. It was cool not to need rim strips or strapping tape. But if you count the extra UST nipples and the fact the X3.1s are a bit beefier than the X317s I had been using, the X3.1s are heavier than I thought they would be. But the real problem for me is that it is a lot harder to mount tires on the UST rim than a regular rim with a Stan's rim strip. Twice due to errors on my part, I needed to unmount and remount a tire in the middle of a ride, and both times, I couldn't get the bead to seat properly.

I decided I wanted lighter hubs anyway, so I went ahead and replaced the X3.1 wheelset with an all new one using X317s. So now I'm back to conventional rims and tires with Stan's sealant and rim strips, and happy as a clam.

To address your questions directly:


puncture resistance: UST without sealant will be much less puncture resistant than Stans. Solution: add a little Stan's sealant to your UST tire when you mount it
pinch flat resistance: no difference
weight: UST much heavier, hundreds of grams per wheel
durability: Depends on individual tire, I think. Stan's does require maintenance (air and sealant refills) on a regular basis.
price: Stan's is about $60 for a conversion kit. Stan's is probably a little more expensive for a fresh build.
ease of installation: UST harder to mount due to rim design. Stan's a little messy due to the sealant (same for UST if you use some sealant as recommended)
air leakage: Don't know about UST. I re-air my Stan's sealed tires 2x per week, adding 1 or 2 strokes from my floor pump when I do.
Hope this helps!

Great reply cbcbcbcb, but you skipped on comparison to the original UST setup (UST rim + UST tire).

UST rim + UST tire is worth it imo. UST rim + UST conversion is, as cbcbcbcb explained, not.

There are more and more great UST tires available for AM use, Maxxis, Shwalbe, Hutchinson and Michelin make great tires in 2.1 - 2.35 range, which you should give a try imo.

It you get problems with losing air in UST aplication, I'd still suggest adding some STAN's sealent. That is a bullet-proof setup and it always makes me smile when I stand next to my buddies with non-UST setups while they moan and replace snakebitten tube :-)

GL !

This thread is THREE years old.. and Stan's system still sucks compared to UST rims and UST tires... even three years later.

That's weird. I answered because the thread was on top of list, maybe someone posted and deleted his reply ?
Sorry, to bring back this topic from Ether.

This thread is THREE years old.. and Stan's system still sucks compared to UST rims and UST tires... even three years later.

so should I use stans with my ust rims & ust tires? or are they fine without? I have crossmax xls & wtb weirwolve ust tires

so should I use stans with my ust rims & ust tires? or are they fine without? I have crossmax xls & wtb weirwolve ust tires


If you live in areas where thorns and cactus abound, Stan's liquid is a must. Otherwise, you can probably get away with not running it at all. UST/UST is pretty bombproof when you run it the way it was designed.

Eh, I lived in AZ for several years. The holes cacti make in tires are very small and several of them combined take hours to days to flatten UST tires. I just pumped the tires up before each ride.

I changed tires too often to deal with that slop, though I'm thinking of putting some sealant in now since the holes are still there and I almost never swap the tires on my SS. I risk opening up a can of worms by asking this, but what sealants do people like that do not dry up after a couple months (so no Stans). I've heard mixed reviews about Specialized Airlock and Slime.