Tubeless advice

[autopsyhater]

Hi there, I am trying to fit a Schwalbe Land Cruiser tyre on a 29'er rim that I have converted to tubeless with 3m tape and a tubeless valve stem.

At the moment, sealant or not, I just can't picture how the tyre will seal at all, there are gaps between the tyre bead (which is very flexible, no steel bead like motorcycle or car tyres).

I read about soapy water and a trick to put the tube in to seat the bead on one side and then do the other side but I can't see it working but will give it a try none the less.

Is this why there are certain tyres specifically for tubeless use. And certain rims too, but I've read about people converting regular rims and tyres.

[BOR]

It's more difficult, but still do-able.

It is not really worth trying to inflate with a hand pump, due to the gap as you say, but a garage airline will work.

If you connect the airline and start to inflate, you then press down on the tyre with your thumb, directly above the valve, which will help to force the sidewalls out.

There are tubeless kits which use a rubber band as the rim strip, which helps position the tyre closer to the bead.

Remove the valve core to inflate, and use some suds to allow the tyre bead to slide into position.

Be carefull not to burst the tyre with too much air pressure. You should hear a couple of pops as the bead seals.

You will need to keep re-inflating over the following few days until the sealant works its black magic.

[.Adam.]

When I was having trouble getting a new tyre to seal, I made one of these, worked a treat. Taking the valve core out on the wheel helps as well to get it seated if using this method, once it's seated pop the core back in and inflate with a normal pump.

[autopsyhater]

That looks like a really good inflator, I've seen a similar hack utilising an old fire extinguisher, but a 2 litre drinks bottle is far more common to have around!

I do actually have a fire extinguisher, but I like to keep it in my garage, in case of any accidents when occasionally using my blow torch.

Although, I've had another look tonight (as I came out to find my tyre flat after a little cross country action yesterday), so instead of going where I was going, I went to my garage to replace the tube.

Before doing so, I took the tube out of the tyre (Schwable Land Cruiser-non tubeless specific) and without the tube in the tyre, there is just are just massive gaps between the sidewall and the rim.

The tyre doesn't keep it's shape or hug tightly to the wheel rim like you would expect a car or motorcycle tyre to.

I did successfully convert one of my old supermoto wheels to tubeless (the other one leaked), so I've done it before and I've tasted success in doing so.

I can only imagine that the Schwalbe Land Cruiser is not suitable for tubeless use.

Edit: I forgot to ask the most important question! Looking on the Schwalbe website, I can 't figure out which tyres are even tubeless ready or not. Any pointers?

Also, since this tubeless thing seems so complicated and fraught with problems, I was looking into Tannus armour. The only problem is, it is specific to the tyre size, so if I wanted to switch to a wider tyre, I would have to buy a new one.

And at £30, they are the price of a pair of budget tyres for one!

Tannus armour

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tannus-Armour-Puncture-...

Edited by autopsyhater on Friday 27th September 21:41