Hey, I’ve done a tubeless setup with my new Nightrider tire on the matching rim. The conversion was inspired by Ryan Atkins, who I work with. He told me that I could use a 29er tube as a rim strip, which worked quite well. It hasn’t leaked any air at all. It was also really cheap to do, the whole thing was around $30, and I’ve got tons of sealant left (enough for around 10 more conversions.) If anyone is interested, I can post a detailed explanation of how I did it.
Compared to the coker tube, it feels amazing! Acceleration is faster, it seems easier to maintain speed and it’s more controllable. I’ll update when I get to ride it more or whenever it explodes. Whichever comes first.
That is interesting. I would really appreciate some detailed instructions for this conversion. How much weight did you save now? Thanks in advance for taking the effort!
Unfortunately, I have no scale capable of measuring my wheel. When I put it on the only scale I own, it just read zero (zero mass coker wheel? Thats a lot of drilling). However the weight savings are very noticeable when riding. I also think that it has a different feel, but that could just be a side effect of the weight reduction. I think its probably very close to the weight savings of a stretched 29er tube. I used about 1/2 of the 29er tube and then added less than 200g sealant.
I just took the machine on a ride, and it felt great! Acceleration was the first thing I noticed. Not only is it easier to get from zero to a cruising speed, it’s also easier to get to a faster cruising speed. It just seemed easier to ride fast. It also felt better in the sand than before. Turning and stopping took less effort.
Here is the process, it’s fairly simple:
Get the following items: 29" tube, Stans “The Solution” (what a double entendre) sealant, a knife, scissors, an air compressor.
Take off your tire, and remove your tube.
Inflate the 29" tube very slightly.
Make a small cut in the outside seam of the tube. This is the seam that is directly across from the valve.
Cut along that seam with scissors. Be careful not to puncture the tube!
Stretch your newly made rim strip over your wheel.
Put one bead of the tire on without using tools (tools are likely to damage the rim strip.) This isn’t easy, soap on the bead of the tire will help a lot.
Hang the tire in a place with a floor that you don’t mind getting dirty. Pour sealant into the bottom of the tire (I used 2.5 scoops)
Shake… Be careful, sealant can leak out, but this will help during inflation.
Inflate! This will require an air compressor. I tried many times with a very good pump (Joe Blow Sport) but had no luck. I just used a gas station compressor. You will need to play around with the tire right at the valve in order to get the air to flow into the tire. I had to push down on the tire above the valve to get the bead to expand. Once I did this, the tire inflated right away. I’ve got mine running around 35 PSI and since I’m really light, I have no reason to go to a higher pressure.
Feel free to ask any questions here. I’ll do my best to help!
Now I need to lighten it more . I’m thinking replace the DX pedals, and maybe the KH36 frame
Cool, congratulations on joining the tubeless revolution.
I had tubeless on my Coker a couple of years ago…but the old Coker tyres are no good for tubeless. First one was ok, but the second and third time I tried it I blew the bead. Hopefully the better quality Nightrider tyres will solve this problem.
In terms of weight saved, I think it depends on how much sealant you put in. It probably saves about the same as going with a 29’er tube, but gives a much nicer, springier ride, even at the same pressure.
Ken, of course I knew you did tubeless in the past. Where did you think I got the idea from . I hope that the nightrider beats the coker tire in terms of reliability, and judging by how tight a fit it was to put it on the rim, I don’t think the bead is going anywhere. I hope
I’m really interested to see how this goes Eroick! The main reason I don’t use it anymore is because of the Coker tyre. I think the Nightrider has a higher PSI rating and is also a better quality tyre. The tubeless conversion puts slightly more stress on the bead I think.
Will be converting my new wheelset when I get home to New Zealand next month.
When I’ve converted bike tyres in this way I’ve used highly concentrated or neat washing up liquid brushed around the join between the tyre and the rim; it is sufficiently thick and gooey to form just enough of a seal to get the tyre to sit on the rim properly when inflating it with a track pump, from where it will seal itself.
CO2 cartridge inflators are also handy for a blast of high pressure air before you give up and head down to your nearest garage!
It’s worth adding that after I did this, I realized that my pump was leaking a lot of air. I probably could have done it with the pump if I had closed the little seal on the bottom first! Anyway, the tubeless is still alive and well, I’m also keeping a running total of how many km I’ve put on it.
Remember me? We rode together in August when you were in Grenoble, France! I hope you are doing well…
So you converted to tubeless your 36" wheel??? This is cool!
Like JDog7001, I’d like to hear about how well your setup lasted over the few last weeks…
Cheers, Pascal/MadC.
PS: I got my KH36 from UDC UK the day after I went back from vacation (beg. of September) => this is a great machine, go for it as soon as you can afford! I really love the design, the (perceived?) increased rigidity vs Nimbus 36, the ISIS hub (which my Nimbus 36 did not have… it was the original square-tapered hub version).
Besides the weight, don’t you also get the benefit of getting far less flats with the tubeless setup, assuming you’re adding a good sealant (Stan’s by far the best IMO)? I would love to do this to my KH29, my local trails are rife with thorns every spring & fall.
Anyway, It has held up quite well, though I haven’t ridden it since the snow started in mid November. However, it did survive getting run over by a car and some big temperature changes. I had to re-inflate it a bit after the car episode, but other than that it has never lost any noticeable amount of air.
hey everybody, I tryed the ghetto tubeless conversion on my kh 29 kenda nevagal and it worked great. So I decided to convert my nightrider stealth also. The first time I aired it up, it blew of the rim at about 50 psi. So I soaped it up and tried again. This time it appeared to work at 40 psi. It was sealed and no bubbles when I soaped around the rim . I took It for a ride and it felt notacably lighter and more nimble. A couple of hours later while chilling at home it blew of the rim again “scared the hell out of me”. Is there something I can do to prevent this. I think it would be crazy scary and dangourous for the tire to blow of the sidewall at speed.
I am thinking of giving up on the tubeless nightrider and reverting to the reliable peace of mind of the 36" tube. But before I do, Does anyone have suggestions on what to do for a successfull tubeless conversion?
I’m not sure why this would be happening… The Nightrider tire sealed up really well for me and I’m still running it from the first tubeless conversion. I’ve got it inflated to about 40 PSI, which is plenty for me.
One thing to note is that I’m ridiculously light. 40 PSI works fine for me.
I wish I could help you, but I’m just not sure what’s causing it… Sorry.
Oh, one more note. My nightrider tire was brand spankin’ new when I did the conversion. It had never been mounted to a rim. Some tire levers damage the beads of tires, and this might be a factor in your blowouts…
. I’m thinking replace the DX pedals, and maybe the KH36 frame 
