Tubeless Cyclocross - Part 2

My Stan's Notubes 29er wheels are now built. They hold air great and I'm ready for a test. Before I do that, I wrote up some building and mounting notes. If interested, click the MORE link...

• A note on tires:
  Stan's says some tires won't work very well in a tubeless application. Their site has a list of good and bad tires.

  The hot tire these days in the Michelin Mud, at least here in Portland where we do have plenty of mud. Stans does not recommend using Michelin tires because of their weak bead. You don't want a weak bead because it could fail, popping off the rim and potentially causing a nasty fall.

  After working with the wheels, I am starting to believe any tire out there will work just fine when used with Stans ZTR rims. But do your research and choose your tire well.

  FYI, I chose 700x32 Continental Twister Pro. They fit really tight on the rim and I don't think I'll ever get a failure. In fact, they're so tight, I could barely get the tires on the rim at all. And I couldn't get the tire on at all with a tube. If I were to do it again, I would probably try a Maxxis tire.

• Building the wheels:
  These wheels build up just like normal wheels do. I was very happy to see how laterally true and sturdy the rims are.

  Be careful about dropping spoke nipples into the rim. There's not enough clearance in there to get them out easily, so you might have to use tweezers.

• Yellow Tape: Stan's yellow tape is the perfect width for these ZTR rims, and it is essential. Get it. The notubes site has an instructional video for installing this.

  I prepared the rim bed by first wiping down with rubbing alcohol, drying, then running some fine sandpaper along it. Be sure to get the bead of the rim, too. When done, wipe the rim again with rubbing alcohol.

  When you put the tape on, start just above the weld, in between two spoke holes. Unroll about 12 inches at a time, hold the top of the tape on the rim with one hand, and pull down as hard as you can on the roll with the other. Make sure you pull the tape really tight, and get it centered in the rim. It's not hard if you go in small increments.

  End with about 2-4 inches of overlap, make sure it's all tight and stuck down to the rim.

• Use a tube:
  Next, install a tire on the rim using a tube, and inflate to 60psi or so. This will help get the yellow tape stuck down to the rim. Let it sit 30 mins or so, deflate, remove the tube.

• Install the valve stem:
  Insert the valve stem into the rim, and fasten the round valve nut nice and tight. Hand tight is fine. Push down from the inside and tighten up the nut.

• Mount the tire:
  Now it's time to put on the tire. Make sure it's mounted in the right direction, if it's a directional tire.

• Inflate to seat the bead:
  You can probably inflate the tire with a floor pump. Pump it up to 50psi or so and you'll start hearing popping noises as the bead works its way into the rim.

  If you can't get the tire to fill up with a floor pump, head to the gas station and use an air compressor. If you wipe the tire beads and sidewalls with soap suds (the bubbles from soapy water), it helps seal up a little better.

  If you STILL can't get the tire to fill up, try this:

  • insert an innertube and inflate to 60psi or so
  • You should hear the tire bead popping into the rim
  • after about 5 minutes, remove ONE tire bead, take out the tube, and replace the valve core
  • Now you've got one side sealed up. Suds up the other bead, and again fill the tire with an air compressor.

  When you do get the tire inflated, it will most likely NOT be air tight, which is to be expected.

  Wait a few minutes, then deflate the tire. Now the bead is in place, and you can add sealant.

• Add sealant:
  Be sure to shake up the sealant so everything gets mixed up. Shake for a good 10-15 seconds.

  The valve stems are removable with Stan's valves. Unscrew the valve stem (this part of the valve is silver in color, the top 5mm or so of the valve). You'll probably need to use pliers.

  The Stan's sealant comes with a cone shaped nozzle. I cut mine so it was just big enough to put OVER the valve stem. I got the smaller size bottle (I think 16oz) so it would fit in between the spokes. You can also buy a little 2oz applicator bottle to make things easier.

  Regardless, squirt about 1.5oz or so into the tire. Make sure to rotate the wheel around before you remove the bottle, such that the bottle is upright. Otherwise, sealant might squirt out as you remove it.

• Screw the valve stem back on:
  Screw it back on, use pliers to fasten it tight. Make sure the valve isn't pointing downward, or sealant will probably squish out while you're doing this.

• Inflate:
  Inflate the tire to 40 psi. It should hold air no problem.

  Hold the wheel upright, and shake the tire. Rotate about 15 degrees, and shake again. Keep doing that until you've rotated the wheel all the way around. When done, set the wheel sideways on top of a bucket of something. Let it sit for 15 minutes or so.

  Then, again pick up the wheel, hold it vertical. Wait for the sealant to pool at the bottom and again shake the wheel. Now set it sideways on the bucket again, but the other side up.

  That should be enough to seal up the tire for good. Again, Stan's has an instructional video for sealing a wheel. You should watch it and follow the directions.

That's it. Now you should mount the wheels on your bike and go for a test ride!