Recently I’ve converted both my bikes to use “poor man’s” tubeless tyres, using just a strip from a smaller inner tube as a rim strip and some sealant. I think it’s a noticeable improvement; when pumped up enough to avoid foldover or pinches the tyres don’t ping off rocks and bumps like they used to.
I’m slightly tempted to try this on the muni as a bit of an experiment… has anyone else got a tubeless muni? I’m thinking along the lines of a 16" inner tube and gallons of sealant (it’s going to need it for a 3" wide tyre!).
According to trials riders, you can burp the tyre by doing sideways hops which can be a problem. I dunno how much this’d affect a muni though. If I were you, I’d try it, and do a whole load of 2 foot or more sideways hops to check this out.
If you video this, you could get cool video of the exploding goo tyre in the case it doesn’t work.
I would recommend trying the 29er tire first to see how it works and then go to the muni once you are satisfied with it. I know I fold my gaz when I ride so I wouldn’t try it but if you run higher pressures than I do then it might be alright.
Presumably you’ve seen Ken Looi’s posts raving about tubeless on the coker - he seems to be a big fan, at least on that wheel size.
The main downside I’ve heard (apart from the burping on sidehops) is that if you do get a puncture or lose pressure somehow it’s a sod to sort out in the middle of a ride. I think people tend carry a tube with them just in case. But presumably small punctures get sealed by the tubeless goo anyway, do they?
Apart from that, and the messiness of it all, I’ve only heard good things. For “proper” muni riding the burping may be a problem, but for xc I’d imagine it’d be fine.
I’ve never heard of doing tubeless with half a tube like that - s’pose it’s the same as a Stan’s kit really. Do you have to glue the tube strip into the rim, or does it just seal on its own (presumably using a smaller tube is to make it fit tight against the rim?) The mess puts me off trying it myself - I’d rather get covered in talcum powder than slime
It was partly Ken’s posts that made me ask… I can see what he means about tubeless cokers; I think it would be a superb upgrade for the reliability and weight saving aspects of it. I’ve only been using it on my bikes for about two months but I’m well impressed so far. I’ve had no punctures yet - admittedly it’s not long, but normally I’d have expected at least one by now - but the main thing is they feel so much better over lumpy bits.
Most punctures should get magically fixed by the sealant; larger ones would require either putting a tube in or putting a normal repair patch on the inside of the tyre. I normally use a track pump to get the tyre to seal, but I carry a CO2 cartridge if I need to do it out on the trail.
It was always the cost of kits like Stan’s and the risk of latex-splattering explosions that put me off, but this way has been much cheaper and other than a few drips here and there it’s not been messy at all. Basically it involves stretching a smaller diameter inner tube (20" for a 26" wheel) over the rim with the valve in the normal place then slicing it down the middle so the edges sit over the edge of the rim to act as a rim strip; install the tyre then slice the excess rim strip off. On two occasions I had to stick some more sealant in shortly after until the tyre would seal properly, but generally I found it a fairly easy process. Also at the weekend I found that changing tyres is dead easy too, as the rim strip stays in place (and you don’t run the risk of pinching an inner tube between the rim and a tight-fitting tyre!)
I think I’m going to give it a go. I’d better go buy some more sealant, given the cavernous interior of the muni tyre…
I’ve used Stan’s No-Tubes for quite a while on my muni’s as well as all my mountainbikes. You can run low air and never pinch flat or sticker flat for that matter. The only problem I have experienced is tire burp on the 29’r, but I think that is due to the lighter sidewalls and narrower rim and for this reason I don’t like running low pressure on the 29 with or without tubes.
I’ve used Stan’s No-Tubes for quite a while on my muni’s as well as all my mountainbikes. You can run low air and never pinch flat or sticker flat for that matter. The only problem I have experienced is tire burp on the 29’r, but I think that is due to the lighter sidewalls and narrower rim and because of that I don’t like running low pressure on the 29 with or without tubes.
