Going tubeless on an older bike?

[Bill]

Ok, not old old, but two fairly low spec bikes from 2016ish.
I have 2 bikes that are tubeless but both came "tubeless ready". AIUI I'll need to tape the rims, but is there anything I've missing? Any reason it won't work.

Bikes are a Trek Marlin 7 with Bontrager AT-650 32-hole double-walled rims and a Spec Rockhopper Sport with Specialized Stout 29, disc, alloy, double-wall, pin joint, 25mm inner width, 32h rims. Both 29".

[olo tation]

Bontranger wheels should be very easy to make tubeless. They have a bontranger specific plastic tape/strip thing, there is a good chance that it came with it when new so have a look if it is there already. If its not they are dead easy to slot in as it comes in one complete piece.
They should then need a specific square valve stem which fits in to the strip.

[InitialDave]

Have you done tubeless tyres before?

Sometimes they can be an absolute pain to get the bead to seat first time.

A ratchet strap around the circumference of the tyre to force the air to push the meat "out" not the tyre "up", and pumping up with a track pump or compressor and the valve core removed to maximise the volume of airflow, is my technique when they really dont want to cooperate.

[_Hoppers]

InitialDave said:

Have you done tubeless tyres before?

Sometimes they can be an absolute pain to get the bead to seat first time.

A ratchet strap around the circumference of the tyre to force the air to push the meat "out" not the tyre "up", and pumping up with a track pump or compressor and the valve core removed to maximise the volume of airflow, is my technique when they really dont want to cooperate.

A CO2 inflator works for me

[lufbramatt]

olo tation said:

Bontranger wheels should be very easy to make tubeless. They have a bontranger specific plastic tape/strip thing, there is a good chance that it came with it when new so have a look if it is there already. If its not they are dead easy to slot in as it comes in one complete piece.
They should then need a specific square valve stem which fits in to the strip.

^ this

The bontrager rim strip system works really well if you can get the right bits. Worth messaging Trek tech support for the part numbers

[Bill]

I've been ok (so far...) using a track pump.

olo tation said:

Bontranger wheels should be very easy to make tubeless. They have a bontranger specific plastic tape/strip thing, there is a good chance that it came with it when new so have a look if it is there already. If its not they are dead easy to slot in as it comes in one complete piece.
They should then need a specific square valve stem which fits in to the strip.

That's good news, ta!

[river_rat]

Of the several bikes that I have bought new 'tubeless ready' but came set up with tubes in, all of them were already rim taped and just need a tubeless valve and sealant and were ready to go.

[witko999]

lufbramatt said:

olo tation said:

Bontranger wheels should be very easy to make tubeless. They have a bontranger specific plastic tape/strip thing, there is a good chance that it came with it when new so have a look if it is there already. If its not they are dead easy to slot in as it comes in one complete piece.
They should then need a specific square valve stem which fits in to the strip.

^ this

The bontrager rim strip system works really well if you can get the right bits. Worth messaging Trek tech support for the part numbers

It does, although the rim strips are fairly incompatible with some tyres. They're thicker than rim tape and the valley in the middle is narrow and square edged, which makes seating some tight tyres (eg. Schwalbe) almost impossible. I once tried to seat a Wicked Will on some Bontragers and no matter what, I couldn't seat one of the beads. It held air, but the bead was stuck in the square valley despite lube, and wouldn't come out. I decided to stick a fairly high pressure in it and leave it overnight, thinking it might slowly slide itself into place. About 2 hrs later, I was sat watching TV in the next room and there was an almighty bang. After I'd cleaned my pants, I went and discovered that the tyre had exploded off the rim. No harm done luckily, but I gave up with the Schwalbes and put some Maxxis on.

If I was starting from scratch I'd just use rim tape.

[lufbramatt]

Funnily enough my trek fuel has schwalbe tyres front and rear using the bontrager rim strips, never had any issues like that?

[POIDH]

Tyres are a bigger issue than rims IME. Tape well and all is good.
Leaky tyre sidewalls on new or older tyres = pain in the proverbial.

[DrugHunter]

If you are serious about tubeless, then a reservoir device can be a lifesaver (if you don’t have access to a compressor). I use an AirShot and it has been super. If you are lucky and/or have a decent tyre/rim combination, then a track pump is all that’s needed. I set up my 2015 Giant carbon pSLR1 17mm internal rims with Conti GP5000 TR 25c with just a pump. Was simple. By contrast, the same tyre in 28c needed the Airshot to pop onto a (wider) HED rim. Both wheelsets are a joy to ride, but the 28c make the Surrey roads much more tolerable, whereas the 25c are more aero by far and were just fine in Mallorca for a week and 800km. I’ve consigned them to smooth circuit racing here.

Use decent rim tape, valves and sealant. I use Silca. I also use a mini brush electric pump with tubeless because CO2 will damage sealant.

[DrugHunter]

If you are serious about tubeless, then a reservoir device can be a lifesaver (if you don’t have access to a compressor). I use an AirShot and it has been super. If you are lucky and/or have a decent tyre/rim combination, then a track pump is all that’s needed. I set up my 2015 Giant carbon pSLR1 17mm internal rims with Conti GP5000 TR 25c with just a pump. Was simple. By contrast, the same tyre in 28c needed the Airshot to pop onto a (wider) HED rim. Both wheelsets are a joy to ride, but the 28c make the Surrey roads much more tolerable, whereas the 25c are more aero by far and were just fine in Mallorca for a week and 800km. I’ve consigned them to smooth circuit racing here.

Use decent rim tape, valves and sealant. I use Silca. I also use a mini brush electric pump with tubeless because CO2 will damage sealant.

[witko999]

lufbramatt said:

Funnily enough my trek fuel has schwalbe tyres front and rear using the bontrager rim strips, never had any issues like that?

Dunno. Maybe the newer Schwalbes are a bit slacker, or the newer rim strips have changed shape. Tbh though, it's just as easy to use rim tape, so unless OP already has the plastic rim strips, I'd make it easy as possible and use tape.

[paulrockliffe]

For the older wheels we used to stretch a smaller inner tube over the rim, ie 20" on a 26" rim, then split it down the middle and fold it out. Install the tire on that, inflate without sealant to seat the bead, then reinflate with the sealant to 50psi and leave it over night before setting the pressures properly. Finish by trimming the excess innertube back.

Used to seal better than the proper kits back then and was easier to inflate too.