tubeless conversion on road tyres??

hiredassassin

Likes Dirt
Hi there farkers.

My commuter is an old GT Avalanche now converted to SS. I love it. It's fast.

I run Maxxis Detonators cos I like them but lately I've been getting way too many punctures (at least one a week - hooray for Sydney streets and their broken glass everywhere). I normally run them at about 70PSI.

So my questions are:

- would Stans or similar tubeless conversions be able to handle the pressure of my road tyres?? what is the likely outcome if I try this? Tyres blow off? worse?
- is there some form of tube protector you can add between the tyre carcass and the tube?
- Has anyone tried the self-repairing tubes (slime?)? If so, how do they go?
- what else could I try?

Any help appreciated.

A spare tube goes to the person with the best suggestion :)
 

DW-1

Dirt Works
- would Stans or similar tubeless conversions be able to handle the pressure of my road tyres?? what is the likely outcome if I try this? Tyres blow off? worse?
- is there some form of tube protector you can add between the tyre carcass and the tube?
- Has anyone tried the self-repairing tubes (slime?)? If so, how do they go?
- what else could I try?
Tubeless' main advantage, off-road, is that by eliminating the tube, you reduce the chance of pinch flats. A by product is that if using a sealant, you also reduce the chance of penetration punctures. (thorns etc).

Given that pinch flats will be somewhat less of a concern on-road... I'd be running something like my current commuting set-up.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus or Marathon Extreme tyres. (these can be had in 26" or 29"/700c)
Slimed tubes. Either the genuine "Slime branded" article. Or get some thorn-proof tubes (yes... I know they're stupid heavy) and get some Slime into them.

You can also inject some Stan's (or similar) sealant into regular (or thorn-proof) tubes.

And if you're still getting things (like roofing nails) through the tires (it happens on the M4), you can get some thick vinyl tire liners to go between the tire and the tube. Mr Tuffy is the most well known brand... but there are sure to be others.

WARNING: the above set up is bloody heavy. But then again I've never had a puncture since I started running it either. :D

Elvis.
 
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whatever13

Likes Bikes
I had great success commuting on my roadbike with panaracer tyre liners (from wiggle) was getting stacks of flats now I get none. Made of kevlar type stuff and pretty light. You can get them in 26inch or 700c.

Also, if you're getting daily punctures maybe check there's no glass embedded in the tyre.
 

actionchris

Likes Dirt
If your not set on the detonators, try a pair of continental gatorskin tyres. My friend uses them and hasn't got a puncture in months. This is on newcastle roads so glass and other crap is a regular occurence.
 

0psi

Eats Squid
Gatorskins, with tyre liners (like Mr.Tuffy) and a slime tube. If you get more than 2 punctures a year I will wrap myself around your wheel and you can ride that.
 

nexusfish

El Mariachi
+1 on the gator skins. i have them on my roady and i have come home from rides and had to dig big (5mmx5mm) shards of glass out of my tyre that got embedded in the rubber and slowly pushed in untill the hit the protective casing where they stopped. still no punctures. really good tyre and avaliable in 26"
 

Warwick

Likes Dirt
I had great success commuting on my roadbike with panaracer tyre liners (from wiggle) was getting stacks of flats now I get none. Made of kevlar type stuff and pretty light. You can get them in 26inch or 700c.

Also, if you're getting daily punctures maybe check there's no glass embedded in the tyre.
Right on! I fully deflate my skinny tyres every thousand k's or so and pick out all the teensy little bits of glass from the rubber before they slowly move their way inwards towards the tube. This will cut down on your road flats. Also the punctures start to come more often when the tyres are well worn.
 

flamin'trek

Likes Bikes and Dirt
My commute on maxxis detonator slicks was causing me plenty of punctures. The concrete cycleway has metal fibres for reinforcement and over the years the metal fibres have started poking up. At one point i picked 12 slivers of metal out of my tyres in one sitting.

Was looking at tyre liners online etc, but bumped into some cheapos at big w (yeah I know) so thought i'd give them a try. Presto, not one flat since. They are some sort of plastic stuff and the detonators haven't punctured since. They might be a bit heavier than brand name gear, but are simple, cheap, effective and can't weigh that much more.

The other method has been an Innova slick from a well known local online shop that doesn't seem to get flats. Disadvantage it's always been real hard to get on and off the rim when i change back to off rd tyres.

Also second from above where after I take the slicks off, give then a quick once over and pluck out the metal/glass etc that sticks into the tread.
 

hiredassassin

Likes Dirt
If you get more than 2 punctures a year I will wrap myself around your wheel and you can ride that.
cant imagine the rolling resistance being too good but thanks for the offer.

cheers all - i should have mentioned - i have a stack of detonators which i bought last time i saw them cheap, so not looking to change tyre brand anytime soon.

I did go and buy some slime tubes yesterday so i'll try that as a first. Will inspect it for repairs in a couple of weeks and if it looks liek the slime is working overtime I might look at getting some liners too.

I do also inspect my tyres every couple of days and remove anything visible, I also check inside whenever I change a tube (I learned the hard way at my first scott - 4 punctures in 1 lap at 1am - yeah derr - didnt check for the bloody blackberry thorn that was doing the damage).

back to the original question though (elvis kind of touched on it but didnt answer) - would running a tubeless setup be able to handle the high pressures of a road tyre or is that a recipe for disaster?
 

0psi

Eats Squid
In leiu of Elvis you have me and the answer Elvis should have given you :) Yes you can provided you use a tubeless tyre (I believe Hutchinson make one) and a Stans road kit (do you have them yet Elvis?) or a tubless specific road rim (like the DT Tricon 1450 wheels). But if you are thinking that Stans will plug up punctures, your slime tubes will do the same thing with a lot less hassle. They are just a sealant in a tube rather than a sealant in a tyre.
 

0psi

Eats Squid
Yup way to do it. Slime is basically the same stuff as Stan's, just conveniently packaged in a tube. I've even had the odd squirt up the back from a puncture when using them, just like a tubeless wheel. Actually, we've even done a tubeless conversion with Slime.

If you are going to use liners as well, I recommend using 'Slime lite' tubes. They are lighter than most normal tubes (even with a healthy dose of Slime in there) but will do the same job with out making it feel like you have 2 small children attached to each wheel. The liner will give you the penetration protection (hehe) and slime will fix the ones that do get through.
 

MTB Wanabe

Likes Dirt
Going back to the original question, has anyone used Maxxis Detonators for a tubeless setup on 26" rims? Reason is I want to get rid of the hassle of tubes. I will be setting up with a 20" split tube and using Stans latex. Has anyone used this setup and found it works well with these tyres?
 
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