tubeless valve leaking air

[drevil]

...as an xmas present. So that then I can use it.

LOL, you're not the first to do this

[hozn]

Nice! I've had little success removing the cores of my old tubes, most of which are Kenda or Specialized. I have a huge stack of them that I've been meaning to patch, but at this point (a few years?), I'll just try to remove the cores and recycle them.

There was one time I was going to use a stem cut out of a tube, but the rubber base was nowhere near as thick or sturdy as a tubeless stem like the Stans, so I abandoned the idea and ponied up for a real one. I assume you've never had issues doing this though?

I've been saying recently that I see no point in paying a premium for tubeless valve stems, but I just learned the other day that there is a meaningful difference in construction. I cut the rubber pretty close to the stem from an old tube and then continued to tighten the stem nut until eventually I pulled it through the rim bed ... That was annoying to get out! But in general, if you don't cut it too close and you don't go crazy trying to over-tighten it, using stems from inner tubes works great. The downside is that if you leave enough tube around the stem to ensure you don't pull through, it can be tricky to seat tires on narrower rims. E.g. my 18mm-internal-width rims would prefer less interference around the bead shelf, so I bought pack of 32mm valve stems to use on those rims.

The pumps I carry on my mountain bikes are thread-on Lezyne or Specialized, but it's rare for the valve to get unthreaded on removal. If they do, I just screw it back in. I like the ability to be able to take them off out in the field for when I'm out in the woods. On longer rides or bikepacking trips, I'll bring at least one 2oz bottle of Stans just in case of emergency.

I have a few wheel/tire combos that work fine tubeless, but they're relatively difficult to initially seat because they're so loose when first mounted. Sometimes I might have to use a tube initially or use both hands to pull the tire taut while using my foot on the compressor valve. (Note, this scenario is usually with 4" or wider tires on 65mm rims or 3" tires on 40mm rims ). Basically, it'd be very messy if I put sealant in initially.

I had a hard time getting cores not to unscrew and so eventually just read the internet where people said to use Loctite. Maybe I just wasn't tightening them enough? Anyway, this method works fine for me, but I can appreciate that it is probably messier than if you're able to get the tires fully seated without sealant in them initially.

While I haven't tried it the "Hans Way", I think it would be very messy for me too. I've found that adding sealant through the valve stem is pretty clean and easy. But different strokes and all that...

Yeah, I've only done the valve core method a couple of times, but the valve got gummed up and it didn't seem to make anything easier so I stopped. But it might have been cleaner to do it that way. Certainly seating tubeless tires is a messy operation with various soaps or waxes in addition to the sealant; I do it outside. I've gotten better about not spilling sealant (that stuff's expensive!), but on hard-to-seat tires, I definitely lose some to the process.

[hozn]

I don't have a spot at my place to even deal with sealant etc so I usually let the shop handle all things tubeless-related. However, I've been thinking about getting the SO a small compressor for his garage as an xmas present. So that then I can use it.

Or maybe? http://road.cc/content/tech-news/230...-just-launched

Honestly, I have a Specialized Air Tool Blast (https://www.specialized.com/us/en/ac...-117288/117288) but my Lezyne Dirt Drive pump can seat pretty much anything that the Blast can.

[bentbike33]

I usually run three layers of tubeless tape...

Is three layers enough rim tape to keep the air pressure from stretching the tape into little divots over the spoke holes? In my limited experience (with narrow-ish road tubeless rims), I can only get a tubeless tire to seat with fresh rim tape.

[hozn]

Is three layers enough rim tape to keep the air pressure from stretching the tape into little divots over the spoke holes? In my limited experience (with narrow-ish road tubeless rims), I can only get a tubeless tire to seat with fresh rim tape.

2 layers of stans yellow tape (or similar blue tape like that used by Velocity) is enough for road pressures. 1 layer is enough for MTB/Cross.

Some people "build up" the center channel on non-tubeless rims to help with seating. I've never had to do that, but maybe I've been lucky. (I don't use any rim strip in addition to the yellow tape.)

[Harry Meatmotor]

Is three layers enough rim tape to keep the air pressure from stretching the tape into little divots over the spoke holes? In my limited experience (with narrow-ish road tubeless rims), I can only get a tubeless tire to seat with fresh rim tape.

for most of the rims I've dealt with at the shop, 2 wraps is good enough using stan's tape. At home, however, I used 3M blue packing tape you can get on amazon and according to the innernets, it's a teeny-tiny bit thinner than stan's. So at home I wrap 3 wraps. Haven't had any major issues yet between the two bikes in the house running tubeless, aside from burping in races and getting a bunch of crap in the bead because my GF corners at ludicrous speed.

[hozn]

for most of the rims I've dealt with at the shop, 2 wraps is good enough using stan's tape. At home, however, I used 3M blue packing tape you can get on amazon and according to the innernets, it's a teeny-tiny bit thinner than stan's. So at home I wrap 3 wraps. Haven't had any major issues yet between the two bikes in the house running tubeless, aside from burping in races and getting a bunch of crap in the bead because my GF corners at ludicrous speed.

Yeah, I use Tesa 4289 (bought on ebay), since it is the same tape as Stans but a fraction of the cost. I've considered using the blue 3M too, though I had one bad experience with blue tape (I think it was either the Pacenti or Velocity tape) peeling up after a few tire changes, so I've gone back to yellow.

[Tania]

I'm at a happy status quo* I think. The valve no longer seem to be leaking air (or not nearly as much) and I can still pump air into it when I need to (carbon rims and rocks!) and let some out when I need to (turns out those rocks are really wet and covered with wet leaves and I'm NOT going fast!).


* I haven't bothered to see if I can twist it fully open or closed. I'm good with half open and usable.

[Harry Meatmotor]

OK - so I'm offishully done with tubeless for CX. Got taken out at Biketoberfest by a C3/Twenty-Twenty dude within 2 minutes of start, went down, and ripped the f@cking front tire off the rim. Race over.

DONE. WITH. TUBELESS.

That's 4 races so far botched due to either burping down to rim-riding, or in the last/final case, general catastrophic failure. I'm typically running 25-27psi so it's not a question of pressure.

old skool tubs, here I come.

[hozn]

OK - so I'm offishully done with tubeless for CX. Got taken out at Biketoberfest by a C3/Twenty-Twenty dude within 2 minutes of start, went down, and ripped the f@cking front tire off the rim. Race over.

DONE. WITH. TUBELESS.

That's 4 races so far botched due to either burping down to rim-riding, or in the last/final case, general catastrophic failure. I'm typically running 25-27psi so it's not a question of pressure.

old skool tubs, here I come.

Which rims & tires are you using? I'm not a 'cross racer, but it seems surprising you've had so many problems. Lots of folks do run tubeless, right? (I know November thinks it's "ready": https://novemberbicycles.com/blogs/b...for-prime-time)

But those are pretty low pressures for a 32/33mm tire, so maybe that just pushes the setup a little too far.

I hear of people rolling tubs off their rims too, but probably not with the frequency you've experienced.