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On-One Fatty Wheelset and Floater Tire Tubeless Setup (How To)

36K views 55 replies 38 participants last post by  funnyjr 
#1 · (Edited)
This is what I did to eliminate the tubes from my fatbike. I was able to save about 14 ounces (390 grams) per wheel. This procedure may or may not work with other rim and tire combinations.

Stuff that you need:
- On-One Fatty Wheelset
- On-One Floater Tires
- 1 inch (25 mm) wide Gorilla Tape (2 rolls)
- Styrofoam Sill Foam Gasket (available from Lowes, Home Depot, etc. for about $5)
- Valve stem with removable core (I cut Presta valves out of Q-Tubes)
- Stan's sealant
- Packaging tape
- 2 inch (50 mm) wide Gorilla Tape
- Floor pump or air compressor
- Sharp scissors
- Tape measure or ruler
- Pen or marker
- A small cat to assist (optional)





Preparation - The inside of the tires were greasy, my guess is that it they were covered with a mold release agent from manufacturing. I cleaned this off of the tires with laundry detergent and water. Also, each rim has a set of eight small holes in the bead seat. Four are near the valve hole, and four are near the seam in the rim. I plugged them with super glue and used fine sandpaper to smooth out these areas, I do not know if either of these steps is needed. I left the factory tape on the rim that covers the spoke nipples.

Foam - The foam serves to fill in the area between the bead seats and makes it easier to inflate the tire. It only adds about 18 grams per wheel. Cut 2 pieces of foam for each wheel. Mine were 2 3/8 inches (60 mm) wide and about 67 inches (170 cm) long. I found that it worked best if the foam was about an inch (25 mm) short of wrapping completely around the wheel. The foam his easily able to stretch to close this gap, and it is easier to tape up later if the foam isn't loose and moving around. I used a piece of clear plastic packaging tape to join the two ends of the foam. The outer layer of foam may need to be a little longer than the first wrap. The valve stem will easily punch a hole through the foam.











Gorilla Tape - This forms a seal between the tire beads. It is important to take your time and avoid any creases or wrinkles that may leak air. The Gorilla tape is pretty easy to work with, so that's not too difficult to do. It will take three wraps to cover the foam; one under each bead of the rim and one in the center. I started near the valve hole. The idea is to stick the tape to the aluminum bead shelf of the rim, then on to the foam to form a relatively flat surface. I used a plastic tire lever to make sure that the tape adhered well. I overlapped the ends by an inch or so.











After the three wraps were finished, I added a single piece of 2 inch (50 mm) square Gorilla Tape to the spot where the valve would go. I then heated a piece of metal on the kitchen stove and melted a hole in the Gorilla tape for the valve to fit through. Next, add the valve stem and tighten the knurled nut on against the rim. I used a valve (with a removable core) cut from a Q-Tube brand inner tube. I previously tried a Stan's valve stem for a tubeless wheel, but it pulled through the tape and leaked.







Next, mount the tire onto the rim. Line up the valve with the Floater logo (this is critical!). I was able to mount the tires by hand; I didn't need to use a tire lever at all. Once both beads are mounted, the tire should not be able to spin on the Gorilla tape. If it can't spin, that indicates that the foam and tape are in contact with the tire bead, and it should air up easily.



Pump up your tire. I had no problems using a floor pump. I pumped mine to 30 or 40 psi in order to make sure that the beads were seated all around the tire. If so, you should be able to see some reinforcing all the way around the tire bead like below.



Let the air out of the tire and remove the valve core. Add your Stan's sealant. I added about 3 fl oz, or approximately 100 grams worth.



Reinstall the valve core. Pump up the tire again. Make sure that the bead is seated again, then do the "Stan's shake and spin" to make sure that the sealant is spread around. If you have any leaks, put it at the bottom and slosh the sealant around until it seals. This was my worst leak below (worringly right at the rim seam!).



Let it sit for a while to be sure that everything is sealed. Reduce the pressure to what you plan to ride it at (I'll try about 8 psi, myself) and do the Stan's dance again to make sure that everything is sealed. Put the wheel on your bike and go ride!

Weight Data (Ready to ride including skewer and rotor, cassette on rear)

Front Wheel w/Tube 8 lb 7 oz 3.83 kg
Front Wheel Tubeless 7 lb 9 oz 3.44 kg
Front Weight Savings 14 oz 0.39 kg

Rear Wheel w/Tube 9 lb 11 oz 4.40 kg
Rear Wheel Tubeless 8 lb 13 oz 4.01 kg
Rear Weight Savings 14 oz 0.39 kg

Approximate weights by item
Valve Stem - 7-8 g
Foam (one layer) - 8-9 g
Gorilla Tape - 65-70 g per wheel
Stan's sealant - 3 fl oz = 100 g per wheel
Total per wheel - 180-187 grams
OEM Tubes - 593 g each
Cat - 5 lb 9 oz
 
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#33 · (Edited)
I set up NATE's on Clownshoe's with the split tube method the other day. I used 24x2.25 Q tubes with removable valve stems. I took every thing apart, cleaned it all, installed the Q tubes with some pressure, straightened them on the rims, cut down the middle all the way around, cleaned out the powder, installed the tires making sure the Q tube edges were hanging over the rims, tied a rope around the tires to push the beads out, inflated with a hand pump, removed rope, removed valve core, pumped in three vials of 'sealant, replaced valve core, re-inflated, shake and bake and done to perfection. I rode it for a while at speed and over rough terrain with no problems at 6 psi. I will try this again when I get my new 9-0-7 with Bud/Lou on Clownshoes. It was a very easy and not too long process.
 
#34 ·
...tied a rope around the tires to push the beads out, inflated with a hand pump, removed rope, removed valve core, pumped in three vials of 'sealant, replaced valve core, re-inflated, shake and bake and done to perfection. I rode it for a while at speed and over rough terrain with no problems at 6 psi. I will try this again when I get my new 9-0-7 with Bud/Lou on Clownshoes. It was a very easy and not too long process.
Great that it worked so easily. In place of the rope, you can also stretch a tube around the outside of the tyre. Saves having to undo the rope. I also suggest removing the valve core for quicker and easier inflating, even with a hand pump.

Also great to hear it held up well @ 6psi when ridden hard.
 
#42 ·
I also used the split tube method on my 47mm trial rims for my On-One. Tried first without split tubes, but it seems that the large holes in the rim is a problem for the rim strip and pressure. The pressure pushed the gorilla tape out of the holes. It's very little surface on the sides of the holes, so it is diffiicult to get the tape to stick. The split tube was perfect. Took me 20 min or so. No leaks at all.
 
#45 ·
I just did my Floaters last night with the split tube method on weinmann 80 and 100mm rims (back and front respectively). I just laid the split tube in, dumped in a couple of scoops of Stans and aired them up with a compressor. The back aired up on the first attempt, no problems at all. The front took a bit more work, I had a hard time getting the bead to seat, I couldn't get enough pressure in the tire to move the bead out. I tried putting a strap around it, which didn't seem to help. After the third or fourth attempt it finally took air. I think the problem was getting the bead out beyond the cut outs. I was close to putting a tube in temporarily to get at least one bead seated, but ultimately it just took a little patience and a lot of air to get the beads to move. I moistened everything up with the Stans fluid, probably a little soapy water would have helped too.

I let them sit at 20psi over night, both were still full this morning. I'm going to drop them to riding pressure and do a ride today.

John
 
#46 ·
2nd Post. Just ordered a pair of On-One Floaters for my bike that's to be delivered. They're 15% today only with the code UKTYRE15 at On-One Floater Fat Tyre / 4.0 inch / 120 TPI / Folding / Black.

My bike is coming with the Vee Missions and I wanted a good all around snow tire. Just happened to have this pop up today.

Will convert to tubeless after I blow up a tube or two, but will be wanting to ride asap at Big Sky Montana.

Thanks to all that post with the DIY info. It has clarified a lot of questions I've had.
 
#48 ·
instead of the sill foam I used a 1/4" closed cell polyethylene foam I had prev used as an insulating spa blanket for a hot tub. you can get this stuff by the foot at local pool and spa dealers. This material will never crush down like sill foam so no need to replace it every time you swap out a wheel. Great instructions, worked perfect. Note- had to angle cut the poly foam on the sides so it fits nicely into the concave of the rim

this stuff DLR-6THERMAL, Thermal Blanket, Floating, 6' x 6', Light Gray [DLR-6THERMAL] - $52.07 : Superior Spa Parts, Your Trusted Spa Repair Guys
 
#52 ·
Hi guys, and thank you for the interesting feedback.

I still don't get though why something like this:



is impacting a rim (painful) design like this:



(which I think should be closer enough, if not equal, to the OnOne rims).

I mean, the side-step is the main problem, not having a "flat bed" like tubeless-ready rims usually have.

Question is the risk bead moves over this gap with low pressure is really high, so my guess is the material you put leave space for the tyre to move, and to come back in place if this occurs.

I second that, but I am wondering if a tighter spot in the bead area won't solve the issue avoiding all this material in the center... or, even better, if just two stripes of material on the side of bead channels would directly stop the tyre from moving on low PSI in the first place...

Any guess/test on this side?
 
#53 ·
Bumping this up... as I'm about to undertake the tubeless setup myself with a new set of floaters on the stock rims.

Concerning the question above, I believe it is valid. Would simply having 2 strips of foam/material near the edges of the rim bead work just as well as foam the entire width of the rim?
 
#54 ·
Ok, so I found some time to try my approach. In my past tubeless experience on other bikes, the key is always to get a pretty snug fit between the tire and rim to begin with. Whether accomplished by rim strips, tubeless tape, gorilla tape, duct tape, unicorn mane, or leprechaun skin... a tight fit before attempting to air up always yielded the best success for me.

As we know the fit of the Floaters on the on-one rims is crazy loose, like "how can this possibly work?" loose. So here we go.


  • [1] Start with rim (my previously created duct-tape rim strip is in place covering my drilled rim holes)
    [2] cover the small holes used for pinning the rim with elec. tape (the rim tape would probably have done this, I just felt like being sure these won't be an issue later. There were 8 of these on the rim.
    [3] Lay one wrap of this: Armacell 2 in. x 30 ft. R-1 Foam Insulation Tape-TAP18230 at The Home Depot
    [4] then one wrap of this (in 72mm width):**Scotch® Strapping Tape 8898 << This stuff is the same as Stan's tape or whatever.
    [5] run finger along bead edge to get a nice tight seal, with no wrinkles.
    [6] then one more wrap of the foam tape
    [7] then one more wrap of the 8898 tape
    [8] again seal the edges with finger
    [9] create hole for tubeless valve stem (used a heated utensil to melt a hole instead of poking, I figure rips in the tape would be bed, melting = more better)
    [10] place floater on rim and marvel at the nice snug fit (I actually had to use a tire lever briefly for this)
    [12] air up with compressor and jump for joy that the beads are seating! :)
    [12] remove valve core, and fill with 4oz. of tubeless juice goop.
    [13] Do the stans shake and let wheel sit for awhile on sides for sealing.

So basically the 2 wraps of foam fill the rim's inner channel nicely, and also applies good pressure (once filled with air) to my rim strips so they fill/slightly bulge at the drilled rim holes. And 2 wraps of tubeless tape seems to be good for added pressure on the bead shelf.

I used a set of floaters 2 seasons old already so expected some seepages and leaks but all in all surprisingly good. A few pinholes on the sidewalls but the goop is doing its thing. As of this AM, still some air in the tires and things are looking promising. Will give a real test this weekend

Overall I might have gained 2oz over my tubes, but I was using the 180gm Schwalbe tubes and am tired of pinch flatting those things on trail rides. Most of any added weight is in the tubeless goop.
 
#55 ·
Ok, so I found some time to try my approach. In my past tubeless experience on other bikes, the key is always to get a pretty snug fit between the tire and rim to begin with. Whether accomplished by rim strips, tubeless tape, gorilla tape, duct tape, unicorn mane, or leprechaun skin... a tight fit before attempting to air up always yielded the best success for me.

As we know the fit of the Floaters on the on-one rims is crazy loose, like "how can this possibly work?" loose. So here we go.


  • [1] Start with rim (my previously created duct-tape rim strip is in place covering my drilled rim holes)
    [2] cover the small holes used for pinning the rim with elec. tape (the rim tape would probably have done this, I just felt like being sure these won't be an issue later. There were 8 of these on the rim.
    [3] Lay one wrap of this: Armacell 2 in. x 30 ft. R-1 Foam Insulation Tape-TAP18230 at The Home Depot
    [4] then one wrap of this (in 72mm width):**Scotch® Strapping Tape 8898 << This stuff is the same as Stan's tape or whatever.
    [5] run finger along bead edge to get a nice tight seal, with no wrinkles.
    [6] then one more wrap of the foam tape
    [7] then one more wrap of the 8898 tape
    [8] again seal the edges with finger
    [9] create hole for tubeless valve stem (used a heated utensil to melt a hole instead of poking, I figure rips in the tape would be bed, melting = more better)
    [10] place floater on rim and marvel at the nice snug fit
    [12] air up with compressor and jump for joy that the beads are seating!
    [12] remove valve core, and fill with 4oz. of tubeless juice goop.
    [13] Do the stans shake and let rim sit for awhile on sides for sealing.

So basically the 2 wraps of foam fill the rim's inner channel nicely, and also applies good pressure (once filled with air) to my rim strips so they fill/slightly bulge at the drilled rim holes. And 2 wraps of tubeless tape seems to be good for added pressure on the beat shelf.

I used a set of floaters 2 seasons old already so expected some seepages and leaks but all in all surprisingly good. A few pinholes on the sidewalls but the goop is doing its thing. As of this AM, still some air in the tires and things are looking promising. Will give a real test this weekend

Overall I might have gained 2oz over my tubes, but I was using the 180gm Schwalbe tubes and am tired of pinch flatting those things on trail rides. Most of any added weight is in the tubeless goop.
I tried a similar approach. It didn't last because the foam compresses with tire pressure.
Your exact method may be more sturdy though. Make sure to report back in a few weeks!
 
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