Old School Bike Gets Stan's Tubeless System

After a few weeks with the Surley (see earlier post), I began
to look towards my next upgrade. Being a hardtail with a rigid
fork, I figured a tire with more air volume would be in order.
While the 2.3" tires I'd been riding are plenty comfy and offer excellent
grip, I figured it would be even better with lower pressure and
more air volume. That meant it was time to consider a tubeless
system.

I'd used a UST system back in the days of early tubeless, but the
tires ran without sealant, were VERY heavy and were a real pain
to seat. However, tubeless tire technology has come a long way in
the last five or six years. So, I started asking around, reading reviews
and scouring websites and one brand really stood out.
Stans NoTubes.

I've built several wheelsets for customers using the Stan's Crest
tubeless rims, so I figured I'd just order the components and build
up a set for myself. After pricing the rims, hubs, spokes, tape and
valves I realized that buying a complete Stan's Crest wheelset would
be cheaper and save me the trouble of building the wheels. I pulled
the trigger and ordered the wheels.

The Surley Karate Monkey has loads of tire clearance. It's actually
rated for up to 2.55" tire widths, so I felt confident ordering 29X2.4"
Schwalbe Racing Ralph tubeless tires.

The wheels and tires arrived Tuesday with the rims pre-taped out of
the box with valves installed. I mounted the tires, dropped 2oz. of
sealant into each one and chucked up the compressor hose.The front
tire inflated on the first try, and the rear on the fourth. Amazing! You'll
understand this if you've ever tried to get other tubeless systems to seal and
inflate. It can take up to ten minutes and sealant blows out all over you.
The Stan's didn't lose a drop. After installation, the bike weighed 26 lbs
even, with pedals and water bottle cage. That's 1lb, 12oz of weight lost in
the wheels alone!

So, wheelset mounted on the bike, the afternoon was spent experimenting
with various tire pressures in our shop test field and on the test trail behind
the Old Nunnery. Clint, Zac and I all came to the conclusion that 22psi
front and 22psi rear was a good starting point.
Wednesday, I hit the trails at Paris Mountain State Park. The weight
reduction in the wheels was immediately apparent. The bike climbed great,
but the rear wheel was a little squirmy when cornered hard, so I made a
mental note to up the pressure slightly. On the other hand, the front wheel
was a little bouncy so I planned on a little less pressure. Overall, the ride
was much improved over  my previous wheelset with the tube type tires.

For Thursday morning's Thanksgiving ride, I showed up with 21psi front and
23psi rear. Dang! I couldn't believe how much of a difference one psi made
at these low pressures. No more squirm and bounce. Both tires were firmly
planted and the bike seemed to roll even better that the day before. The road
section of the climb to the top was much easier than Wednesday's ride and
I had way too much confidence on the downhills for an old guy.

About the wheels: The Stans NoTubes 29" ZTR Crest wheelset is $530 and
1570 grams (Compare to Mavic's C29SS Max UST wheelset at $775 and
1755 grams). Stan's recommends this wheelset for riders up to 190lbs. I'm
around 180lbs dressed to ride, and after a couple of two hour rides on Paris
Mountain's root and rock strewn trails, my wheels and tires are perfect.

These wheels are a no brainer. Needless to say, we're now a Stan's NoTubes
Dealer.

http://www.notubes.com/


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