Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Ghetto Tubeless

Ghetto tubeless can be an inexpensive alternative to the stans setup. However it may not work for everyone. So be warned.

Parts
16oz Stans no tubes tire sealant
1 roll of 1" gorilla tape
Some oil free rags
Rubbing alcohol
2 Presta valves with removable core (can be cut from old tubes)

New tires work best but, is you are going to use the ones that are already mounted you might want to clean the rim and tire before dismounting the tires.

Step 1.

Remove tire/s
Remove rim strip

Step 2.
Clean the rim bead and the area where the rim strip was with rubbing alcohol
Clean the tire bead of your tires with rubbing alcohol

Step 3.
Apply tape to the center of the rim and overlap about an inch.
The main point is to seal the holes where the spoke nipples where inserted in the rim.
The Gorilla tape comes out to about 17.5 mm. make sure it does not interfere with the rim bead.
If the tape does interfere with the bead because the tape is two wide then use an exacto knife trim.
You can also use a tire lever to move and seal tape

Step 4.
Find the valve hole and make a slit in the tape where valve hole is.
Make sure valve stem is trimmed.
Insert valve stem into slit tighten the retaining nut.

Step 5.
Mount tire leaving a portion unmounted so you can pour in four ounces of stans. If you have the stans injector disregard.
Now completely mount tire.
Hang tire holding wheel. Pump tire with track pump. You might need a compressor. Fill tire to max pressure.
If it doesn't seal try using soapy water around rim and bead.

No comments: