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Tubeless in texas

8K views 82 replies 32 participants last post by  Mosquito1 
#1 ·
So I'm getting into the sport and I'm curious how many in texas go tubeless due to goatheads and other thorns that are in many parts of the state. I have a pos bike now and am upgrading and getting into this thing soon.
 
#7 ·
UST specific set up here and with Orange Seal.

Works great. But if you are heavy like me (230) be sure and keep at lesat 32 psi or you will burp some air on hard impacts. I had let mine get to under 20 and burped some on yesterday's ride..heard a loud phssss too and when I arrived back at the car park I noted orange sealant around circumference of tire/rim interface.

Tubeless is awesome. To think I used to say I'd never go disc brakes, full suspension or tubeless. haha. All are essential now. Well not really, but all sure do make the ride so much easier.
 
#9 ·
Depends on the tire and other factors.

My experience:
  • Kenda BG and Nevs and Stans I use compressor or CO2 cartridges and either work, but sealing takes days.
  • Maxxis Advantage and Stans - same as above, but sealing is quick
  • Maxxis Advantage and Orange Seal a floor pump works, seals quicker than Stans
  • Specialized Purgatory TubeBliss and Orange Seal a floor pump works - easiest inflation and sealing ever

Personally, I find the Orange Seal to be much less messy and less clumpy than Stans. OS clumps at the site of a puncture, but Stans seems to clump up randomly. Plus Orange Seal is a Texas company, right here in the burbs of Austin and having met most of them on the trail I am happy to support their product.
 
#16 ·
i started with a 2.35 Nevegal (non-UST version)/2.1 WTB Wierwolf (UST version) and Stans Flow wheelset with Stans sealant. The Nevegal was pumped up to around 40 psi. 3-4 hours later, it was prolly down to around 25, so I pumped it back up. The next morning, it was a little lower than 40, but not much. I pumped it back up and rode it on the road for a few miles. Hasnt leaked since really.

The Wierwolf hasnt leaked at all.
 
#18 ·
I just installed a 2.25 Michelin Wild Grip'r Advantage tubeless-ready tire via ghetto tubeless & it sealed up with no issues. I prefer tires with reinforced sidewalls but this time wanted to save a few bucks for some other upgrades. First ride on it tomorrow. Other tires I've ridden are Hans Dampf, the Ardent EXO, & a Geax which I can't remember the model. All sealed up easy with the 20" tube for liner. I use Stan's (a guy at the bike shop told me he thought the Orange was really messy). Stan's has worked for me even when I've gone too long without putting some fresh sealant in.
 
#19 ·
It's great following this conversation for me, as I'm getting into this because basketball has been taken away from me. Being new to mountain biking, I have taken my current pos bike out and gotten goatheads and flats. I am looking at getting a cannondale 29'er 5 at my lbs and have them start me off tubeless. Is there a trek, felt or Scott or trek in the $750 range I should also look at? I'm in collin county if anyone has trail suggestions.
 
#29 ·
I've never run tubeless and am in no hurry to. I use Geax Aka tires and they are awesome... a little heavy (~700 grams) but I can run them down to 25psi with tubes and not worry about flats. I'm 175lbs.

Friday my buddy and I were pre-riding the Comfort race course and he got a flat that was too big and wouldn't seal (he runs tubeless) and when we went to put a tube in to help him limp back to the truck, the tubeless valve stem was complete stuck. Couldn't get it out. So he had to hike back down to a fire road while I rode back to the truck to grab some pliers. An hour after the flat we finally got the valve stem out and were able to get him back to the truck. That experience has made me shy away from tubeless even more.

Funny end to the story though... his tire was toast and we didn't bring a spare with us. So we had to drive back to Boerne and find a Wal-Mart at like 8pm. He bought the only 29er tire there, a Bell 29in mountain bike tire for $29 that weighed at least 2x the Specialized tire we took off. We did the marathon race yesterday at Comfort and he said he had better grip than he's ever had before from the rear end. :D But he did say he could really start to feel the extra weight on the back of the bike towards the end of the race.
 
#40 ·
I've never run tubeless and am in no hurry to. I use Geax Aka tires and they are awesome... a little heavy (~700 grams) but I can run them down to 25psi with tubes and not worry about flats. I'm 175lbs.

Friday my buddy and I were pre-riding the Comfort race course and he got a flat that was too big and wouldn't seal (he runs tubeless) and when we went to put a tube in to help him limp back to the truck, the tubeless valve stem was complete stuck. Couldn't get it out. So he had to hike back down to a fire road while I rode back to the truck to grab some pliers. An hour after the flat we finally got the valve stem out and were able to get him back to the truck. That experience has made me shy away from tubeless even more.

Funny end to the story though... his tire was toast and we didn't bring a spare with us. So we had to drive back to Boerne and find a Wal-Mart at like 8pm. He bought the only 29er tire there, a Bell 29in mountain bike tire for $29 that weighed at least 2x the Specialized tire we took off. We did the marathon race yesterday at Comfort and he said he had better grip than he's ever had before from the rear end. :D But he did say he could really start to feel the extra weight on the back of the bike towards the end of the race.
I'm sorry bud, but everything you describe there is some form of user error/ bad preparation... not the fault of the equipment at all...

Full Disclosure: I have a set of stans 355's with hutchison pythons that I've put stans in 3 times and been running without issue for 2 years, the only time they drop air is when the temperature changes drastically... My new bike is rolling on Hans Dampfs on Stans FLOW EX's seated with a floorpump. all the goofy ass gorilla tape, bastardized cut up tube stuff is for the birds, if you save 20 bucks on the setup and waste 3 hours getting it to work, you've just valued your time at $7.33/ hour which is less than minimum wage. (my buddy trying to follow a forum tubeless setup instead of going with the kit from the get go)

buy the right pieces and make the upgrade, you'll never go back. And probably never need to change a flat again either...
 
#30 ·
I keep wanting to, wanting to, wanting to go tubeless. Almost everyone that I talk to says I just HAVE to go tubeless, it is just that much better. I still haven't brought myself to do it. The one primary dissenter is a woman that I used to ride with some and who may be one of the best riders in the area. I asked her about it awhile back, and she said that she had been tubeless for awhile, but had gone back to tubes. Just simpler...much less hassle. I'm about to have a bike built up and am again thinking about it, but still just can't pull that tubeless trigger.
 
#35 ·
I highly recommend it. I have used both the split tube method and the gorilla tape method. I like the gorilla tape method a little more. I have had zero hassle with my setup. I am riding a rigid 29er so it's a little bit harder on my system and am able to run 25psi in the back and 28 up front.
 
#36 ·
Not going tubeless is silly, here's why:

Tubeless - less puncture flats
Tubeless - less air pressure
Tubeless - can be fixed with a tube

Tubes - puncture flats are a constant worry
Tubes - higher air pressure to combat pinch flats means a rougher ride and less traction
Tubes - Can be fixed with a tube

If you slash your sidewall, tubes or tubeless, you're gonna need a fat patch and a tube.
If you crank down your presta screw, tube or tubeless, with the force of 10,000 gorillas, you're gonna need pliers.

The fixes for a fubar tube or tubeless are the same, the benefits are not.

I run a tubeless setup with non-tubeless tires and non-tubeless rims until the tread wears off. No flats, no problems. I didn't like the gorilla tape method and I ended up buying one roll of that Stans neon-green rim tape. It lasts forever and was super cheap. Once every 6 months I refresh the orange seal by pulling out the valve stem and squeezing some orange goo in.

FYI - I'm 170lbs and I run 21lb in the front and 23 in the rear. My home trails are Jedi in the BCGB.
 
#39 ·
If you slash your sidewall, tubes or tubeless, you're gonna need a fat patch and a tube.
If you crank down your presta screw, tube or tubeless, with the force of 10,000 gorillas, you're gonna need pliers.

The fixes for a fubar tube or tubeless are the same, the benefits are not.
Quoted for the truth. Sidewall tears are downsides of running rubber tires. No matter what you stick inside the tire a sidewall tear will be very difficult to fix.
 
#38 ·
I would recommend Northshore if you want a mix of fast xc single track and some extremely fun technical bits. You can easily bypass most of the major tech sections by deleting a whole loop out of your ride. Also if you want a quick 30 minute ride there are endless options at Northshore since there are a number of trail heads.

I do like Erwin park but it is about a 15 minute longer drive for me from Farmers branch (Dallas co.).

I vote for trying all the DORBA trails and decide for your self.
 
#41 ·
Well OK, you guys helped push me over the edge...not sure if I am going to the dark side or the bright side! The old bike, the new frame and all of the other stuff is at the shop to be built up in the next week and a half or so. I figured I would have them set up this bike with tubeless and see how I like it. If I am happy enough with it, I'll do the same for my Stumpy 29'er, if not, I'll just go back to tubes. Here goes!
 
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