Ask the experts

[Eluder]

What about desktop? Using Safari?

Currently, I am hosting photos elsewhere and adding them from a URL. Using Pinkbike for this is actually pretty easy, assuming its bike related...

[Roxtar]

Agree with toast but still thinking it's a tape issue. Now it might be worse due to a pretty good amount of sealant being in the rim, messing with the adhesion.
To eliminate any issues, start over with good stuff.

Rinse the crap out of the rim cavity with a garden hose to make sure it's completely clear of sealant. Blow it out and let it dry completely.
If aluminum, clean the rim bed with acetone. Several passes, especially now that you're probably dealing with Gorilla Tape residue (nasty stuff). If carbon, be a little more careful. Suspension cleaner or Brakeclean should be OK but go fast and dry asap with clean cotton. Finish with alcohol.

Buy new tubeless tape and valve. I have found a surprising best tape for difficult rims. Slime brand. It's a little thicker than others, molds to the rim nicely, and has great adhesion.
One problem I've seen people do is to not pull the tape hard enough to mold perfectly to the rim bed. Make that tape yelp in pain for best results.
After poking the valve hole, a punch works really nice to create a clean smooth path for the valve stem.

I used to do this next part before the advent of tubeless ready stuff. It might be worth it, due to the problems you've had. Can't hurt.
Install a tube and tire and inflate to top pressure and leave overnight.
Take out the tube and install the TL valve. Tip: Dip the stem seal in sealant before installing it.

Good luck!

[radam]

Agree with toast but still thinking it's a tape issue. Now it might be worse due to a pretty good amount of sealant being in the rim, messing with the adhesion.
To eliminate any issues, start over with good stuff.

Rinse the crap out of the rim cavity with a garden hose to make sure it's completely clear of sealant. Blow it out and let it dry completely.
If aluminum, clean the rim bed with acetone. Several passes, especially now that you're probably dealing with Gorilla Tape residue (nasty stuff). If carbon, be a little more careful. Suspension cleaner or Brakeclean should be OK but go fast and dry asap with clean cotton. Finish with alcohol.

Buy new tubeless tape and valve. I have found a surprising best tape for difficult rims. Slime brand. It's a little thicker than others, molds to the rim nicely, and has great adhesion.
One problem I've seen people do is to not pull the tape hard enough to mold perfectly to the rim bed. Make that tape yelp in pain for best results.
After poking the valve hole, a punch works really nice to create a clean smooth path for the valve stem.

I used to do this next part before the advent of tubeless ready stuff. It might be worth it, due to the problems you've had. Can't hurt.
Install a tube and tire and inflate to top pressure and leave overnight.
Take out the tube and install the TL valve. Tip: Dip the stem seal in sealant before installing it.

Good luck!

Don't have acetone on hand at the moment, so cleaned with alcohol. It looks pretty damn good to me, not really seeing/feeling any residue. Any liquid sealant is long gone at this point, there's a few dried up boogers stuck to some spoke nipples, but that's about it. The gorilla tape bit was intentionally small to avoid the hassle of removing that awful adhesive residue in the future, but I was able to also peel that off cleanly since despite my general lack of patience at this point, this was only a ~3" strip. I've been pulling the tape super tight. Went extra tight on the last attempt, literally can't go any tighter because the tape rips/snaps if I do. But then in a new twist (or maybe just my general suckitude), I no longer seem to be able to cleanly cut a slit for the valve. I'm using a fresh xacto knife blade, don't think I own anything sharper. I'd melt a hole with a punch but its powdercoating tape and I don't own anything hot enough to melt it. Latest attempt aired up for the first time in several attempts, but still yielded a barely perceptible leak at the drain hole. Getting very close to just burning the whole garage down in protest.

[toast2266]

I always use a drywall screw to make the valve hole. Just screw it in - seems to make a clean hole that doesn't spread.

[Dee Hubbs]

If I'm having issues with tape/rim adhesion I like to warm up the rim with a heat gun.
The 2 best techniques for "cutting" a valve hole so they don't spread are 1) a hot awl that melts the tape and creates a clean edge 2) a round file that cuts the edge of the rim tape around the valve hole edge.

I just had a retape job that failed because I rushed the job and didn't fully clean the rim bed before reapplying the new tape.

Clean rim, dry rim, wash hands, use iso alcohol on hands that handle the tape.

[XXX-er]

I would normaly warm up tires in the house before trying to change them which i didnt do and I had a little more trouble with an Assguy, Maxxis are usually trouble free but I had to strap the tire to get it inflated

It was tire day so I had to reseat some snow blower tires which I also had to strap those, I thot snow blower tires would have tubes but they are tubeless

[Roxtar]

I don't like heating the tape in any way. It makes it brittle if not done perfectly.
For my last several tapings, I've used the same method that has created a perfect valve hole every time.
I start with a small 1/8" hole from a sharp awl, followed by using a prick punch with a somewhat blunt taper (I'd show pics if TGR allowed me to). The punch makes a perfect hole that just stretches the tape down into the valve hole, leaving no exposed aluminum, even on the edge. Eliminates any chance of tape splitting and the subsequent pulling away.

Edit: Here is link to punch example:
https://www.amazon.com/Mayhew-23001-...DKIKX0DER&th=1

[Andeh]

I take a sharp needle / screw / nail / dental pick and poke a bunch of holes in the valve location. Then just push the valve through. The extra little holes make sure the tape doesn't split past.

[jm2e]

I'm in tubeless hell. Swapped a tire on a gravel wheel (Easton AX70, pretty sure its the same as a non-offset AR24 or ARC24 rim, welded seam). Previously was holding air just fine. Seemed fine at first, held pretty well for a day or two, but seemed a little low, so added a bit of sealant before a ride. Slow leak during a gravel ride, got down to ~15 psi, decided to see if topping it off with the hand pump would be sufficient, I think maybe the valve core or stem was a little clogged up because it was leaking more air than was going in as I was pumping and it wasn't working. Hit it with CO2, that also didn't really work, ended up spewing sealant out the valve stem base. Gave up and threw a tube in. When home, pulled tire, inspected the tape. It was lifted ever so slightly in a spot or two, there was some sealant under the tape in the rim channel in spots, but edges seemed to be adhered pretty well. Tried to just clean it all up and throw a fresh layer of tape over it (I'm using kapton/powdercoating tape, even used it just fine on the other AX70 wheel no problem). Aired up, bead seated, all good... holding air at ~40 psi just great, but then come out the next day and shit's flat again. Re-air, check with soapy water... some very very faint leaks at the bead in a spot or two (the kind you need to put your lip up to to feel, or that are only visible with extremely soapy water). Add some sealant, hope for the best.. no go. Air it up again, re-check with soapy water plus a dunk in a tub of water... air's coming out the rim vent/drain hole. Not a ton, but obviously enough that it goes flat after ~8 hrs. Pull tape, clean, dry, re-tape.. same deal. Try again, with a double layer. Nope. Repeat. Same problem. Try it all again, this time attempting the tube at max pressure overnight to help seat the tape. Nope, still leaking at the vent hole. Maybe even getting worse? Try it all again, this time with a little plumbers tape on the valve stem base to see maybe that'll do anything... nnnnnope. Ok. Try again. Clean, re-tape, this time with a small bit of gorilla tape covering the valve hole and adjacent spoke holes, just thinking maybe that since it conforms a little better and is more durable than the kapton tape, this'll do it. Nope. somehow it's even worse than before. Having a lot of trouble getting the bead to go even with things soaped up and when I do get it to go, now it's leaking at the vent hole so fast the time goes flat in a minute instead of hours.

I know a different tape is an option (don't have any on hand, but obviously can get some). But what the fuck am I doing wrong??? This is not my first tubeless rodeo. I've converted arguably non-tubeless rims and tires in the past (albeit with a similar amount of cursing), but I feel like this should not be some frickin hard. And I "know" that if the air comes out anywhere other than the tire that it's a tape issue 99% of the time, but I'm starting with a clean, residue free rim bed each time and getting what looks like great wall to wall adhesion, so is there anything I'm missing? Some random trick that's so obvious I'll put my fist through a wall afterwards?

This sounds EXACTLY like what I’ve been going through for the last few months. Only difference is that all my rides have been either in the Bike Park or on the Ebike, so I’ve spent a LOT more time saying Fuck It, and rolling along with semi inflated tires with Cushcore.
Here’s what I’ve done that’s helped:
1. New valve from another brand. Muc-Off, CushCore, and old school Stan’s have all fixed my valve issues.
2. Muc-Off tape. I used to love me some Amazon tape. All kinds of different colors and mismatched widths. Lately I’ve decided the wide Muc-Off tape is worth the money and usually a couple bucks cheaper than other boutique tapes.
3. Ditch CushCore. I’ve had multiple tape jobs fail because all the fuckery that goes into CushCore. When it works it’s awesome but don’t let it make life worse.


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[Yukonrider]

Every now and then my AXS transmission has a really hard shift, or seems to drop a gear. It happens randomly, and I cannot replicated it in the stand so its hard to say exactly what its doing as I can't spend all ride looking down and backwards. Happens most when shifting to harder gear around gear 3 or 4.

I have set up properly, and triple checked.

Anyone have any thoughts on diagnosing?

[evdog]

Currently, I am hosting photos elsewhere and adding them from a URL. Using Pinkbike for this is actually pretty easy, assuming its bike related...

Interesting. I have used hostgator for hosting pics for a few years now and just copy in the image address (URL) with IMG tags. I noticed a while back none of the pics in my past TRs display anymore. I can make it work from using a pic from a random website (AZ sunset pic below) but not from Hostgator (sunrise pic that doesn't display). Looks like older TRs using photobucket also don't display pics. Both hostgator and photobucket links work on some other local forums I post on. I removed the last ] so the text will show. Curious why linking will work from random sites but not from hostgator/instagram.

My own photo from hostgator (nothing displays):

[img]http://www.habventures.com/photos/03-Socal/PalmSpringsRiding/PCESuperMega_11-21-20.jpg[/img


Photo from random website (photo shows up fine)

[img]https://arizona-content.usedirect.com/storage/gallery/0004/0024/A939DF2F81DE4CAAA4A510CA966C7C84/large.jpg[/img




Trying from Google photos...even this works now (have never been able to get it to work before)

[Andeh]

Nice, that's pretty easy (Google photos URL / IMG tags), since all my photos get uploaded there anyways. With forum upload, I'd have to go and download the images then upload them onto TGR.

[evdog]

Its great for a single photo. For a full TR it would be a PITA.

[Thaleia]

Bike choice question for an upcoming race. I think it's roughly 40% road, 40% gravel rail trail, 10% bumpy farm fields and 10% mud shoots. Pretty flat with one fairly big steep muddy climb.

40% chance of rain as of now.

Road bike (Giant Contend) with 38C gravel tires

or

Full squish Mtb (Giant Trance)

Leaning towards to mtb due to the bit of mud, but tempted to try the road bike for the pedaling efficiency.

Any thoughts?

[skaredshtles]

Bike choice question for an upcoming race. I think it's roughly 40% road, 40% gravel rail trail, 10% bumpy farm fields and 10% mud shoots. Pretty flat with one fairly big steep muddy climb.

40% chance of rain as of now.

Road bike (Giant Contend) with 38C gravel tires

or

Full squish Mtb (Giant Trance)

Leaning towards to mtb due to the bit of mud, but tempted to try the road bike for the pedaling efficiency.

Any thoughts?

Depends - do you care what place you finish in?

[Thaleia]

Yeah I should have clarified, I'm not a racer, just doing this for fun. I have been on the trainer all winter and feel really confident though. I'm usually a jittery mess before these things but not this time. But yeah my class is really stacked from what I hear, I don't think I'll even be in the top 50%.

[buttahflake]

Take the road bike

[skaredshtles]

<snip> just doing this for fun.

Sounds like instead of choosing between a mtb and a road bike you should be seeking therapy.

[VTskibum]

100% road bike w 80% of the effort being applicable. Racing or not, it’s pretty sole sucking to be riding a full squish bike onroad.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Thaleia]

Sounds like instead of choosing between a mtb and a road bike you should be seeking therapy.

You don't know the half of it.

It doesn't finish at the start so there's a slew of logistics issues. Not too bad if you're in a group but I'm solo. Take a glance at the Logistics page - http://www.parisancaster.com/P2ALogistics.html if you need your eyes to glaze over for any reason lol.

It's also ~two hours away from me, and plate pick up day is a day prior to the event. Also the weather is always notoriously bad, as an added bonus!

[skaredshtles]

You don't know the half of it.

It doesn't finish at the start so there's a slew of logistics issues. Not too bad if you're in a group but I'm solo. Take a glance at the Logistics page - http://www.parisancaster.com/P2ALogistics.html if you need your eyes to glaze over for any reason lol.

It's also ~two hours away from me, and plate pick up day is a day prior to the event. Also the weather is always notoriously bad, as an added bonus!

Well done, man... well done indeed.

[Thaleia]

Thanks, I think.

[Huskier]

Carbon nerds: I think this is the year for me for new hoops. I'm envisioning keeping my stock rims for park duty and having a swappable set to move between my downcountry rig and 160 mil bike as the mood strikes.

1) Cost savings of building your own wheel vs frustration factor: Worth it?
2) Alternatively, used carbon... There are some tempting deals to be had. Am I taking my life in my hands going used? Any manufacturers or models to stay away from?
3) My swapping plan will unfortunately mean trying to mate an XT cogset with a GX deraileur and vice versa. I know the bike won't explode necessarily, but is there one combo that is least conflict-prone? (i.e a GX cogset playing better with a XT deraileur than an XT cogset plays with a GX deraileur)

[Huskier]

Double post

[toast2266]

Carbon nerds: I think this is the year for me for new hoops. I'm envisioning keeping my stock rims for park duty and having a swappable set to move between my downcountry rig and 160 mil bike as the mood strikes.

1) Cost savings of building your own wheel vs frustration factor: Worth it?
2) Alternatively, used carbon... There are some tempting deals to be had. Am I taking my life in my hands going used? Any manufacturers or models to stay away from?
3) My swapping plan will unfortunately mean trying to mate an XT cogset with a GX deraileur and vice versa. I know the bike won't explode necessarily, but is there one combo that is least conflict-prone? (i.e a GX cogset playing better with a XT deraileur than an XT cogset plays with a GX deraileur)

1) for most reputable brands I've seen, you don't really save much money building your own wheel vs. buying complete. But if you already have a nice set of hubs, I'd probably build myself. Kinda just comes down to how comfortable you are building wheels.

2) buying used seems like a crapshoot. I'd say a warranty is worth having, and you probably don't get one if you buy used.

3) I think it'll work either way. Personally I'd rather have a sram shifter / deraileur with a shimano cassette / chain.