Tubeless tyre setups are becoming an increasingly common sight on both cross-country and downhill bikes. The benefits they offer include the ability to run lower pressure in your tyres without worrying about pinch flats, increased traction and better tyre profile, which makes them an obvious choice for downhill riders.
The problem that faces most of us when it comes to tubeless tyres though, is the fact that only a few manufacturers service the market, meaning that there’s a limited choice of tyres and wheels and that those that do exist are more expensive than a normal tyres and tubes wheel set.
There is a way around this problem though, and so, farkin.net is proud to present to you; GHETTO TUBELESS! A tubeless system that allows you to change just about any rim and tyre into a tubeless system, thereby gaining all the advantages of tubeless wheelsets, without the added cost of buying a specialist system.
What you need:
- 1 wheel to convert to tubeless
- 1 tyre, preferably new
- 1 Schraeder (car valve) 20” BMX tube
- 1 valve stem remover (ask your LBS or check at K-Mart)
- Modeling latex (go ask at your local hardware or art supply shop)
- 1 squeeze bottle with an end that can fit inside a Schraeder valve
- 1 spray bottle, filled with 1/3 dishwashing detergent, 2/3 water
- Preferably an air compressor, although a track pump and an enthusiastic friend can be substituted in a pinch.
- A pair of scissors.
Difficulty: Easy
Time required: Half an hour per wheel
Directions:
It’s best to prepare all the things you’ll need later on in the operation before starting the tubeless conversion process so fill up your spray bottle with the detergent / water mixture and prepare a 50/50 mix of modeling latex and water in your squeeze bottle.
Your 20” BMX tube is going to be used as the rim-strip for this system, so carefully split the tube along its seam (which should be easy to identify) using the scissors. Remove the valve stem from the tube’s valve using the valve stem remover and mount the tube on your wheel, with the valve in it’s usual position and the tube stretched out and hanging over the sides of the rim.
Now mount your tyre onto the rim, being careful not to tear the BMX tube. The tyre will be harder to get on than when mounting it on a bare rim, and when you’re finished you should have about 10mm of BMX tube protruding on either side of the tyre.
Rotate the tyre so the valve is at the lowest point and pour approximately 200ml of the latex / water mixture in through the valve stem. Reinsert the valve stem, and tighten using the valve stem remover, then spin the wheel to spread the latex / water mixture out around the inside of the tyre.
Now comes the tricky bit, getting the tyre to seat and seal with the rim-strip. Hook the wheel up to your air compressor, or tell your friend to pump like a man (or woman) possessed. As air starts to find it’s way into the tyre, begin spraying the water / detergent mixture around the bead of the tyre, and pressing on the centre of the tyre to push the edges up against the rim-strip. Watch carefully, and anywhere you see the latex / water solution bubbling out, give an extra spray with the detergent and a bit more attention to get them to seat and seal up. By the end of this process you should no longer be able to see the latex leaking out anywhere, and will have one seriously stuffed mate.
Now the tyre is seated, sealed and inflated, all that’s left to do is wait for the seal to become permanent. To achieve this, pump the tyre up to around 45-50psi and leave it to sit overnight. If everything has gone right, it should hold pressure and seal up perfectly. If you’re running rim brakes you can now trim the protruding rim strip back to allow your brakes to work properly and make sure you completely remove any traces of detergent from the braking surface. If you’re running discs, all that’s left to do is stick the wheel back on your bike and start enjoying the benefits of tubeless wheels.
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