Tubeless Tyres -"saying the same things about tubeless tyres over and over again" Hippy read the first f**king post

Good to know, as I was thinking of trying some Grails.

Was that with a double layer of tape?

Yeah, Stan's tape, two layers as recommended. Quite expensive for what it is, but works

Quite expensive for what it is

Yeah, should you need to do it again, this is the same stuff.

Tesa Tape 4289

Buying some Compass Rat Trap Pass (26x2.3" slicks) for road/gravel/towpath touring. Would I be mental to set them up ghetto tubeless at 30-40 psi?

I'd say do it, no snake bites and you'll be carrying spare tubes anyways

I've got a small tear in a non-tubeless sidewall that eventually sealed up after repeated inflation. Is it asking for trouble to ride it?

Very interesting to read about the road tubeless set ups going on here. Thanks for starting the thread @dancing james, very useful info.

I've been using tubeless off road for around a year and half now. I wouldn't go back to tubed. Maxxis tyres in general (Minions and High Rollers FTW) though I will be changing to Conti Trail Kings for summer with Schwalbe Procore, though I will probably only have that for the rear as maximum protection from rim dings on my hardtail is my main concern.
I'll let you all know how it goes.

Also now have a compressor in the workshop so many, many happies I am.

Yes :)

You could super glue it up tho and rag it around the block for a bit and see what happens

Personally I find things like that an excuse not to get out and ride (oh! what if i puncture a tub! nah just play video games instead), but I don't think you have that problem...

This week's adventure in tubeless...

Compass Bon Jon extralight on Velocity Blunt SL. Need to pick up some tape from LBS later, hopefully tyres arrive tomorrow, then 300km round Wales on Saturday to see how supple they really are...

Anyone been using the gaffa tape trick long term? I've had mixed success in the short term but after a few attempts appear to have got them sealed properly. Just wondering about the sealant breaking down the glue in the tape over time.

I thought Gorilla ( if that's what you meant? ) tape was pretty well established at tubeless tape duties now?

Enve even sell it, relabeled and cut to custom widths for their rims.

I've only just started using it, but I think @Howard has been using it for years.

Yep. It's slightly porous and thicker than the yellow tape but it works just fine. Good if you have a loose fitting tyre and need to build up the rim bed.

Is the Enve tape nice but pricey?

Is the Enve tape nice but pricey?

It says 'ENVE' on it. Take a guess :-)

Mind you, Stans yellow tape is shockingly expensive, when you can buy the same stuff ( Tesa 4289 ) for approximately 1/6 of the price on ebay. I only switched to Gorilla this time, as my new rims are 30mm internal and I could only find the Tesa stuff in 19mm or 25mm.

I think Gorilla, gaffa, gaffer and duct tape are one and the same, though I only appear to be successful 50% of the time with the non-branded tape from the local DIY store.

Front went up fine and is holding air 24 hours later, the rear seems to be okay for 2 hours and then sealant starts leaking from the nipples and the valve, which suggests the tape has failed I suppose.

Probably should just purchase the real thing.

The gorilla stuff is thicker than duct tape.

Yeah Gorilla tape is not gaffer or ductape

If it were found in Fallout 4 it would be military grade adhesive tape :)

That may well explain it. Swear I spend longer trying to setup tubeless tyres than I do riding them.

Out of interest what tyres were you using on your 29er last year?

Spesh Purgatorys, which were great and inflated without the need of a compressor. Before that cheap Continental Mountain Kings, which actually weren't as terrible as the price tag might suggest, but didn't last long.

Have you tried to sand the sharp edges of the rim? Maybe it's cutting the tape once you put some pressure

Had my first puncture running tubeless 50k into the Rapha Hell of the North ride.

It is basically magic.

The tyre mended itself and I carried on riding!

Mavic Yksion Elite All roads are pretty good. Initial impression was a bit slow and heavy - especially if ridden as per instructions (ie. Front tyre 'wrong way round' - tread pointing backwards - to improve braking traction). On road they are a bit like a Marathon or a Top Contact.

Off road however they come alive - really good fun - tough as nails and no visible cuts despite a lot of fast flinty sections.

Breaking in nicely - could be a good buy at £27.

Had my first on-road deflation yesterday - not a puncture though. Think it's the internal bit of the valve not sealing properly. Got back from holiday where the tyres were flawless, but on re-asssembling at home the rear wouldn't stay inflated. Listened very carefully for hissing, and it was coming from the valve... not the valve itself, but inside where the rubber gromit interfaces with the rim. Bunged a load more sealant in and it fixed the problem.
I think that's what happened yesterday - descended down a hill, tyre went down all of a sudden, tried to re-inflate but could only hear hissing from the valve/rim interface. Deflated a lot quicker than usual too. Stuck a tube in and got home safely.

Clearly this is gonna be a problem with this rim/valve.... so what's the solution? And ideas?

so what's the solution? And ideas?

Check your tape. Might have torn or something around the valve core. Check the torque you are applying to the lockring on the core - not too much, not too little etc.

If all that's fine you need a better sealing interface, so try:

Cut a square section out of an old inner tube. Make a small hole in the middle of it. Push the valve core through the hole so that when the core is installed in the rim it acts as an additional seal.

FWIW I don't bother with dedicated tubeless valve cores - I just cut cores out of old inner tubes meaning I can decide on the size of the rubber seal.

Yep, so it looked like the tape had split a bit around the valve stem/gromit bit. Added an extra couple of layers of tape. Let's see how it holds....

Gorilla tape did the trick. Lost 10psi or so overnight, but I'm sure with a ride that leak will slow.