Ask the experts

[plugboots]

Well I don’t notice the darkness change, which is what I like. I did a back to back with the Prizm trail yesterday and I liked the Reactiv more. I could see more w/ the Reactiv, it’s really that simple. I have clear for night fat bike snow riding, etc.

[XtrPickels]

For Ghetto tubeless, I need a size smaller than the wheel, right?

My kids' bikes (Woom Off 5) Came with non-tubeless, Schrader valve, 24" rims. I'm thinking my best is the ghetto-tubeless route as the tubeless ready Schwalbe tires fit fairly loosely.

[J. Barron DeJong]

For Ghetto tubeless, I need a size smaller than the wheel, right?

My kids' bikes (Woom Off 5) Came with non-tubeless, Schrader valve, 24" rims. I'm thinking my best is the ghetto-tubeless route as the tubeless ready Schwalbe tires fit fairly loosely.

You don’t want to just build up layers of Gorilla tape until you have a snug fit?

[Tailwind]

another vote for 2-3 wraps of gorilla tape.

You don’t want to just build up layers of Gorilla tape until you have a snug fit?

[sethschmautz]

For Ghetto tubeless, I need a size smaller than the wheel, right?

My kids' bikes (Woom Off 5) Came with non-tubeless, Schrader valve, 24" rims. I'm thinking my best is the ghetto-tubeless route as the tubeless ready Schwalbe tires fit fairly loosely.

Post back on how this goes. My daughter is on a 20+ bike. I tried to set up tubeless but struggled with the loose fit of the tire also. Didn't think about ghetto with the smaller tube...

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[Beaver]

I saw a video (that i cant find) where the guy did a basic ghetto tubless install but instead of cutting off the excess tube he contact cemented it to the outside of the tire sidewall. It made it burpproof.

[J. Barron DeJong]

I saw a video (that i cant find) where the guy did a basic ghetto tubless install but instead of cutting off the excess tube he contact cemented it to the outside of the tire sidewall. It made it burpproof.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0R8uyY0Yytg

I think I’d only consider this as a last resort option if all else fails

[smmokan]

another vote for 2-3 wraps of gorilla tape.

2-3 wraps? I’ve used Gorilla Tape dozens of times for tubeless and never needed more than one layer.

[toast2266]

If the tire bead is loose, it's always gonna be loose. You can stack up tape or tubes to get it to seal, but the tire is still grabbing on to a relatively small piece of the rim. Unless you're running very high pressures, that tire is prone to blow off in a corner. Which I can assure you is usually unpleasant.

To which the answer may be: kids don't weigh enough to rip a tire off in a corner. In which case, the kid probably doesn't really benefit from tubeless anyways.

[J. Barron DeJong]

2-3 wraps? I’ve used Gorilla Tape dozens of times for tubeless and never needed more than one layer.

one wrap is enough to seal the rim. The extra wraps are to to take up extra space to help seal the tire bead against the rim bed.

I think Toast is right that if the issue isn’t just that the bead won’t seal, but that the tire is really easy to get on and off the rim, then tubeless probably isn’t the best idea.

[BFD]

thanks for the advice. I think I will check out the rockbros. I am not very good at holding on to sun glasses. Ready for a few more weeks of fall riding.

[grskier]

If the tire bead is loose, it's always gonna be loose. You can stack up tape or tubes to get it to seal, but the tire is still grabbing on to a relatively small piece of the rim. Unless you're running very high pressures, that tire is prone to blow off in a corner. Which I can assure you is usually unpleasant.

To which the answer may be: kids don't weigh enough to rip a tire off in a corner. In which case, the kid probably doesn't really benefit from tubeless anyways.

What if I need that checkbox to fulfill my RadDad card?

[XXX-er]

color me unimaginative, i wouldn't have even thot of going tubeless on a kids bike

was the end user getting a lot of flats ?

back in the day junior had a flat and I fixed it tubeless by stuffing the tire with grass & sod

[HAB]

Because the industry is annoying, I might need to try to fit a 1.8 tapered fork into a bike with a 56mm lower headset cup. Does a headset cup to do that exist? I assume it would need to be external, but I can live with that. Haven't been able to find one though.

[skaredshtles]

<snip>

To which the answer may be: kids don't weigh enough to rip a tire off in a corner. In which case, the kid probably doesn't really benefit from tubeless anyways.

This^^

It's a waste of time...

[XtrPickels]

If the tire bead is loose, it's always gonna be loose. You can stack up tape or tubes to get it to seal, but the tire is still grabbing on to a relatively small piece of the rim. Unless you're running very high pressures, that tire is prone to blow off in a corner. Which I can assure you is usually unpleasant.

To which the answer may be: kids don't weigh enough to rip a tire off in a corner. In which case, the kid probably doesn't really benefit from tubeless anyways.

Only reason I care are goat heads.

[toast2266]

Only reason I care are goat heads.

That makes sense. Tube + one of those plastic strips that goes between tube and tire might be easier / more effective.

[Toddball]

This stuff worked pretty well for goat head amelioration back in the 00's:



but we also used plastic strips.

[Dee Hubbs]

Does anybody have any info on how to get OEM pricing from Shimano/SRAM/Fox for a smallish frame builder.
Just trying to understand the process.
You can PM if you don’t want to share openly.

[skizix]

This stuff worked pretty well for goat head amelioration back in the 00's:



but we also used plastic strips.

That stuff does work pretty darn well (in tubes). Plastic strips are hit-or-miss. Both would be pretty bulletproof, I think, if not the lightest setup.

Just to save you the trouble: what does not seem to work well is Stan's juice, injected into tubes (in my case: also for goathead mitigation). I tried that with my daughter's previous bike (Trek 27.5 mtb, which, cheesily, had schraeder valves - upside being that all schraeder cores are removable), and was surprised to find that in short order, a tiny, invisible puncture did not seal, then a few weeks later, another. Not sure what the difference is - maybe the Stan's is not viscous enough...? Sure works well *not* in a tube.

You can also buy pre-slimed tubes, but I doubt any w/ presta. If you want to use the Slime w/ presta, make sure you get presta tubes that have removable cores (they are out there).

My 13 y.o.'s current bike is a Giant Trance. Nicer bike than I had until I was like 35 (but she's way into mtb and is shredding pretty hard these days, so wtf). It came stock with tubeless (even came with sealant and did not come with tubes - way to go Giant!), and life is good (not one flat all summer).

[skizix]

Does anybody have any info on how to get OEM pricing from Shimano/SRAM/Fox for a smallish frame builder.
Just trying to understand the process.
You can PM if you don’t want to share openly.

SRAM website has a "Dealer support" link (thought I'd remembered seeing that), which leads you to "Dealer Portals". But you need an account first, and there is no automated way to set that up. But at the bottom of the page, it says, "If you are a USA Dealer in need of sales support or would like to set up a Sales account, please call SRAM Customer Service at 1-800-231-6755."

Seems pretty simple - guessing it's similar for Shimano, Fox, etc.

[joetron]

Does anybody have any info on how to get OEM pricing from Shimano/SRAM/Fox for a smallish frame builder.
Just trying to understand the process.
You can PM if you don’t want to share openly.

For Shimano, contact your local rep- probably Bradley if you’re in CO. He should be able to get you set up with a frame builder account.


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[Dee Hubbs]

SRAM website has a "Dealer support" link (thought I'd remembered seeing that), which leads you to "Dealer Portals". But you need an account first, and there is no automated way to set that up. But at the bottom of the page, it says, "If you are a USA Dealer in need of sales support or would like to set up a Sales account, please call SRAM Customer Service at 1-800-231-6755."

Seems pretty simple - guessing it's similar for Shimano, Fox, etc.

There a difference between a dealer account for bike shops and OEM pricing for manufacturing/builders.

I’m trying to understand the difference of purchasing parts in North America to assemble custom frames here, or paying a Taiwanese factory for the parts (plus their markup) and assembly fee.
Completely assembled bikes carry a higher tariff, while individual bike parts carry a lower tariff.
I am assuming that full build (plus markup and assembly) offshore would be cheaper (due to their volume discount) than sourcing the parts and assembly in here in North America with the purchasing power of a frame builder account.

[mall walker]

I’m sure this has been discussed ad infinitum but what pump do you bring with you? I’ve had a couple now that really suck to use / pieces fall out when riding. Presta only needed.

[klauss]

The rear wheel on my kids commencal has all kinds of dents that I ghetto repaired with knipex and it's also out of true bigly. Problem is it's a 27.5 wheel with quick release style hub spacing (135x10mm ??) for low end 11-speed sram.

I've perused and haven't found a good way to source a 27.5 mtb wheel replacement with the standards (i.e. QR sizing and 11 speed sram cassette)


Any solutions out there?