Cheepo TubeLESS Tire

Has anyone tried to tape the rim with that stretchy rubber tape electricians use to make an airtight seal?  A person could then use a fat o-ring on the valve stem and rim lock on the inside of the rim to make those areas air tight.  Then if a flat on the trail were to happen, all you would need is a tubeless tire patch to get you home.
Any thoughts??

Yes, people have tried that and it has not worked.

Then again, why would you want to try it? The cheapest (and to a lot of people, best) solution is Ultra Black RTV.

Irrespective of the method used, the most critical part in sealing the wheels is the preparation, which can take quite a bit of time and effort.

Depending on how you ride the bike, I am sure why any one would want to do this.

Most the systems I have seen involve sealing up the spoke nipple. If you do that you lose the ability to true your wheels over time. On my WR250R I had to do that twice in 14,000 miles. I guess you could always remove the sealant if you needed to true the wheel but I would imagine the total time to do that is likely more that what it would cost you in the extra time it takes to replace the tube.

The other advantage I see with going 'tubeless' is reduction in repair time for a puncture. With tubeless you just plug the hole but with a tube you will need to pull and either replace or patch the tube. I have been pretty fortunate with my WRR since I have not had a single puncture in all those miles - then again I use HD tubes and always add RideOn balancer/sealer after I balance the wheel assembly.

For me I am not sold on the Tubeliss system either since it just doesn't make sense for how I use the bike. My buddy was out in CO with 4 other riders last summer, two of those (including him) were running Tubeliss. They had a total of 4 flats - all on them were on the Tubeliss set ups. When he got back he pulled the system off his wheels and went back to regular tubes.

I think one reason I am not really sold on the benefit is I can change a tire/tube pretty quick when out in the road so a flat is not a big concern for me... rather it is just part of the adventure.

Thanks guys for the replies, I was looking for an easy way out without having to pack all the tools. Guess I'll just sharpen my tube patching skills.

In case my previous posting was misunderstood: I have converted my WRR wheels to tubeless, and this is a modification I would recommend to anyone with a dual sport.

Old Blue wrote:

Thanks guys for the replies,  I was looking for an easy way out without having to pack all the tools.  Guess I'll just sharpen my tube patching skills.  

What about carrying a bottle of Slime (the version meant for tube setups) with you on the ride?

turnfast wrote:

Old Blue wrote:

Thanks guys for the replies,  I was looking for an easy way out without having to pack all the tools.  Guess I'll just sharpen my tube patching skills.  

What about carrying a bottle of Slime (the version meant for tube setups) with you on the ride?

Most flats I have seen on the trail are pinch flats which usually occur from running the tire pressure too low for the load that the bike is carrying. The next major flat issue I have seen is when running the tire pressure too low (without rim locks) and you spin the tire on the rim which tears off the valve stem.

Unfortunately products like Slime or RideOn are not very effective in sealing leaks for these events.

That being said, I usually put a bottle of RideOn in my tubes right after I install and balance the tires more as a preventative measure than for balance benefits. Typically I don't go below 14 PSI on my tire pressures and generally run in the 16 - 18 psi range when on dirt or gravel. I have not had a flat when doing that for 16,000 miles.

Now that I said that I will get a flat.

johnkol wrote:

In case my previous posting was misunderstood: I have converted my WRR wheels to tubeless, and this is a modification I would recommend to anyone with a dual sport.

Your original post seemed more of a question than a statement. Did you convert your wheels to tubeless, or to Tubliss (the commercial application with a higher pressure core to prevent pinch flats and rim damage? How is the change working out?
I have converted mountain bikes to tubeless, it is not that hard, but tire choice makes a difference. In the bicycle world, there are TR or "tubeless ready" tires and regular tires. TR tires have a different casing that doesn't leak sealant, likewise, I believe the bead is slightly different.
This is similar to M/C tires which are rated "TT" or "TL" for Tube Type or TubeLess. With M/C tires, however, the TT tires seem to be able to be used tubeless if you run sealant, or go with the Tubliss system.
For MTB applications, the preferred method of sealing around spokes for cheapskates is to use Gorilla Tape (Yes, specifically this brand) cut to the width of as wide as possible but so not as to interfere with the bead.
Next, the valve is replaced with one that screws in and has some rubber o-ring that prevents it from pulling through the rim.
Load up the tire with sealant, and you should be good to go after inflating with a high pressure/volume source such as an air compressor. Some tires mount way easier than others.

If you are off roading, I have been using the Tubliss system for about a year. It was really hard to grasp the installation initially, but since, I have had very good luck with it ( I still carry a tube).

The best part of the Tubliss sytem is the ability to run 5-7 psi and have no rim issues whatsoever. Without the inner air chamber, I am sure I would be either flatting or crushing my rim.

I will say that Tubliss is one of the best things I have done to this bike.

On the road, or for ADV type riding, I use a tubed tire with a tube on another set of wheels, as I don't have too many problems with flats and am pretty adept at changing them.
I prefer to use regular tubes over HD ones, as in my experience, at higher pressures, the extra mm of tube weight does little to prevent flats from sharp or protruding objects (most of which penetrate the tube by a good inch or so) and the added weight changes the feel of the bike. That's just ne though.

What type of riding are you doing with the tubeless system?

woofer2609 wrote:

Your original post seemed more of a question than a statement. Did you convert your wheels to tubeless, or to Tubliss

I have converted my wheels to tubeless, that is, I sealed them and don't use a tube anymore. I don't consider Tubliss a "conversion", it's simply an installation.

I have been converting my wheels to tubeless for more than a decade, and the WRR is the fourth bike I have done it on. All the bikes have been used for dual sport and adventure riding, and I have never had any major problems with the conversions.

Tubeless or Tube Type tyres make no difference in the conversion. I am aware of the claims that Tubeless tyres have a special coating to prevent air leakage, but in practice I have seen no difference in the rate of air leakage between TL and TT tyres.

Gorilla tape does not work for motorcycle tyres; due to the higher speeds the wheels get quite hot, and any kind of adhesive tape starts losing its strength; after a few months the tape ends up in a ball inside the tyre.

I have gone as low as 7 psi in my tubeless tyres without any major incidents; at this pressure the rear slips a bit in the wheel (and obviously you cannot install a rim lock).

Having said all that, I also have a second pair of wheels with Tubliss installed. The advantage of Tubliss is that you can run as low as 0 psi if you want; the disadvantage is that the system is quite heavy.

Johnkol,
My original idea was to seal the spoke area, install a tube with an o-ring and if I picked up a nail far from home I would stick a tubeless tire patch in it and hopefully ride home.  Then replace the tube when I got home in the comfort of my garage.  As of yet I have not tried this.  I usually ride with more than 15 psi, so pinch flats are not my concern.
What method do you use to seal the spoke nipples?

Old Blue wrote:

My original idea was to seal the spoke area, install a tube with an o-ring and if I picked up a nail far from home I would stick a tubeless tire patch in it and hopefully ride home.

The idea being that the O-ring will seal the tire chamber, so that if the tube punctures the pressure stays within the tire? I don't think that's going to work, but you can try and see whether it seals or not. Don't forget that you will similarly need to seal the rim lock hole.

I used Permatex Ultra Black to seal each spoke individually; the sealing is straight-forward, the prep is the crucial step in this process.