Cyclocross - CX and SSCX races and training

What's in the stans kit?

• Two molded rim strips with Presta removable valve cores
  
• One pint of Tyre Sealant with a 60g scoop and spout
  
• One 10 yrd roll of spoke tape
  
• NoTubes.com Decal
  
• Detailed instructions
  
  

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/stans-no-tubes-standard-tubeless-kit-2014/rp-prod38835?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_name=UnitedKingdom&gs=1&gclid=CPKXj_L8wr8CFQsCwwod0aAAeg&gclsrc=aw.ds

Not wanting to put Stan's kids through college any more than I have already, I'd suggest:

Rim strips: 650 inner tube, cut along the circumference, with a removable valve core
Tape: Gorilla tape
Sealant: buy a big bottle of it for £12

Obviously not as convenient as the stans kit, but you'll need the tape and the big ol' bottle of stans if everything goes to plan anyway.

With regards to the inner tube cut-open, does one mount the tyre with the tube between the tyre and the rim, or do you tuck the tube into the tyre?

I presume you put a couple of lengths of tape round the rim before applying the inner tube, from what I have read so far - how do you tell when you've used enough?

I believe the rim strip should be pulled taught across the entire surface of the rim. I'd try to find a tube that will ride up into the beadsocket too, so basically inner rim width plus 4mm or something.

You can get a feel for how much tape you need by pushing the tyre out of the bead socket and into the centre channel and looking at how much slack the tire has. The rim tape plus the strip needs to fill the slack, so that when you start to put air into the tyre there's enough of a seal, even when the tyre is in the centre channel, to allow the tyre to inflate.

I'll pick up tape and tubes tomorrow, will use my Rocket Ron's I reckon - complete with booted rear.

Ghetto tubeless ahoy!

Racing Ralphs arrived this morning. They slipped on the front rim with the ease of a tyre that just isn't going to play the tubeless ball.

Initial attempt at mounting with the floor pump was futile, so applied an extra layer of gorilla tape to tighten things up a bit. Tyre was still easy to mount sans-levers, but then inflated and mounted first time.

Any interest in a video tutorial?

Would be pretty useful. I'm keen to go tubeless and videos always help.

Unless they are shit. I'll try not to make it shit.

Here's an outline

Out line of a tubeless video

• Going to show you how to set up tubeless CX tyres on Stans Rims.
  
  

Needed:

Stans Rim - Iron Cross / Grail / Crest
Stans yellow tape or Gorilla tape
Tubeless valve stems with removable cores or valve cores cut from inner tubes
CX Tyre - can’t be gumwall or wire bead
Tubeless Sealant

Clean rag
Acetone or other strong cleaner
Stanley knife
Pliers
Tyre leavers if your rubber is tight. ‘fnar
Floor pump
High capacity medical syringe
Beer

1) Remove existing tape if any then clean your rim ‘fnar with acetone and a rag. Let any residue dry then wipe with another clean rag

2) apply tape. You can buy yellow tape, but I use Gorilla tape as it’s cheaper and thicker. Cut it to size with a stanley knife whilst it’s on the roll

3) Start before the valve hole and Go round once with the tape. I use a bike stand with a tool poked through the axle to make life easy, but you can do it with the wheel on the bike upside down if that’s your thing.

Make sure the tape is flat, pushed into the centre channel and covers both the channel and the bead socket floor, but doesn’t ride up the bead socket wall.

4) Go all the way round + little beyond the valve hole then cut the tape and push flat.

5) poke the valve stem through the inside of the rim to show you where to make a knick with a stanley knife for the valve core

5) insert the valve stem and bolt it down with the lockring. tighten with the pliers. CONTROVERSY! Many suggest not to do this but I think it creates a better seal when you need it. BACK OFF THE LOCKRING when you’ve mounted the tire so that when out and about you are able to remove the stem with your fingers.

6) Put the tyre on the rim. Do the valve stem area last as that’s where you need a tight seal. Make sure the tyre bead is over, and not sitting on, the valve core seal.

7) Open the valve core, attach floor pump / compressor / whatever and pump like a bastard. You shouldn’t hear lots of escaping air

If things are good the pressure will rise and with a pop and ping the tyre should mount into the beadsocket. Don’t go more than 40psi or bang, splat.

If things are bad you’ll hear lots of escaping air and you’ll not get any pressure into the tyre

Main reasons for this:

• valve stem seal is bad, tighten lock-ring further with pliers
  
• tyre is sitting on top of, not over, valve stem. Work tyre bead to get it over the valve core
  
• tyre is not tight enough and air is escaping around the bead. Inspect gap between bead and channel and apply more tape to rim as required
  
  

8) remove valve core, shake sealant bottle and insert a dose of sealant into syringe. Pro-tip: enlarge the exit of the syringe with a drill bit / similar

9) inject sealant into tyre through valve stem with syringe. Pro-tip: depress part of the tyre and release as you push the plunger. This sucks the sealant in and stops it from being blown out again when you remove the syringe.

10) rotate rim so valve stem is at 90deg then remove syringe. Repeat as required if you think you need more sealant. Stan reckon a few scoops.

11) Attach valve core and re-inflate to 40psi

12) Seal the sidewalls. Put rim horizontal and shake. Flip rim, repeat

13) Wait 40 mins or so

14) if pressure is good, job done, open and drink beer, ride biek

If pressure is bad, mix a pint of water and a drop of washing up liquid. inflate tyre to 40psi, scoop some bubbles / mixture from the liquid and smear all over the tyre. Look for where the bubbles grow - that’s where you have issues. Shake tyre encouraging sealant into problem areas until tyre is sealed. Open then drink beer, ride biek.

Awesome write up Howard!!

/shelves plans for Tubeless and sticks with clinchers

Standard clinchers are less messy, but once you've done the tubeless shuffle a few times you get very quick at it.

Yeah, being flippant. I bought EC90 RTs, will pluck up the courage one day.

I think a picture would be good for this bit "Make sure the tape is flat, pushed into the centre channel and covers the channel and the bead socket, but doesn’t ride up the bead socket. " as I can't visualise what you mean, other than that great write up.

Yeah should be something like

"Make sure the tape is flat, pushed into the centre channel and covers both the channel and the bead socket floor, but doesn’t ride up the bead socket wall."

i.e. the tape is flat, and does not have an L shape bend against the inner rim wall.

It was just a script for a video that I plan to make anyhoo

I'll have a crack at this as soon as I find somewhere that sells Gorilla tape and is walking distance from the office.

http://www.wheelies.co.uk/p23122/No-Tubes-Stans-Cyclo-Cross-700c-Tubeless-Kit.aspx

Currently at half price might be of use to anyone not fancying the diy route and might also rival the price once factoring everything in?

Where is says this: "This kit will fit most cyclocross rims 17 to 21mm wide." do you think that that is internal or external width?

External: http://www.notubes.com/help/rimstripfinder.aspx

Just had a scrap with the Racing Ralph rear. Factory tolerances I guess, but with the same amount of rim tape this one required a leaver to get the first side on, which then didn't even have the slack to pop over the valve stem seal. Popped the valve out then pushed it in this time inside the tyre, then after some more cursing got the other side on.

The up side in these cases is that they inflate and mount almost instantly as there's already a tight seal against the rim tape even with the tyre seated in the rim channel. Just leisurely pumped it up, and pop, it mounted.

A video would be excellent. Tempted to go tubeless, first step is to go disc, however.

Central League schedule is announced

Attempted some 'training' using the Richmond park outer shared path loop with a diversion in to some of the more rooty single-track paths.

So for whatever reason I was massively hamfisted and managed to clatter the bike into several things that, had I been on Mud IIs, would almost certainly have ended the ride.

This had a minor upside; the Racing Ralphs seemed to cope with my deep skill deficit without a flinch, including several tyre-meets-rim moments.

Verdict: positive.

Has anyone here done a day/weekend trip over to Belgium to watch WC or Superprestige? Thinking of doing it this winter, and perhaps even getting a cheeky race in before / after (though I've heard the courses for 'D' category racing are just as dull as ours!)

Yes - we went to watch a WC round last year. Went with a load of Welwyn Wheels folks. Early start, drive to dover, tunnel over, drive an hour to the venue.

Was most rad, much beer, chips & mayo consumed.