Thorns a problem

[sinister.designs]

OK so here is the deal I ride in Palmer Park, Co and the is lots of cactus like thorns around and gets punctures and what to know what others do or suggest when riding in these type of areas? I don’t want to be putting new tubes in all the time.

I was wondering if going tubeless would help or not?

I currently run WTB cross country speed disc wheels and want to know if anyone has had success converting to tubeless setup?

Regards Jason

[Dustin Gaddis]

Tubeless is the way to go for sure.

I can’t offer any advice with those wheeels though, since I have no experience with them.

Check http://www.notubes.com they probably have them listed somewhere.

[GoldenGoose]

Stan’ Notubes has a rim strip for almost every rim out there. The guys I know who live in the desert swear by it as well.

[trailrider247]

im a big fan of running tubeless with sealant, i ride palmer all the time and know the thorns your talking about thier all over the place just straying your tire barely of the trail can get you a flat. ive been running my bike tubeless for awhile now and have had zero flats. i highly recomend going tubeless, but i would look into actual tubeless rims or tubeless compatible rims like Stans No Tubes before you buy a conversion kit, as the tubeless or tubeless compatible rims will be more reliable than a conversion kit, but if all your budget allows is the conversion kit look into the Stans No Tubes as recomended earlier and shoot them an email or give them a call to find out what kit will work best for your rims.

[sinister.designs]

Thanks for the replies guys I am not sure what I will do as I don’t feel like spending the money for tubeless wheels just yet ( I have no job atm) but will see if I have too I will I guess. I may just buy new rims and swap them over and then just get them trued at the bike shop.

[GoldenGoose]

if you just swap rims, you’ll need to find something with the same ERD (effective rim diameter) as your current rims so that your current spoke lengths will work on the new wheel.

[sinister.designs]

Good call I forgot about that, back to the drawing board 😀.

[trailrider247]

another thing i just thought of, is that i think Bontrager makes inner tubes with removable presta valve cores, you could get a couple of those and fill them with some Stans tire sealant and that should work for some good thorn protection.

[Steven_Ned]

"trailrider247" wrote

another thing i just thought of, is that i think Bontrager makes inner tubes with removable presta valve cores, you could get a couple of those and fill them with some Stans tire sealant and that should work for some good thorn protection.

Would cutting a small slit, inserting Slime and patching the hole work?

if so, it would be a MUCH cheaper option

[sinister.designs]

Has anyone used these? http://shop.truegoo.com/product.sc?prod … tegoryId=8

[trailrider247]

"Steven_Ned" wrote

[quote="trailrider247":27ge7470]another thing i just thought of, is that i think Bontrager makes inner tubes with removable presta valve cores, you could get a couple of those and fill them with some Stans tire sealant and that should work for some good thorn protection.

Would cutting a small slit, inserting Slime and patching the hole work?

if so, it would be a MUCH cheaper option[/quote:27ge7470]
ive heard of people doing that and it works, but id rather use Stans Tire Sealant over Slime as i personaly think it seals punctures better, also Stans when dry will move with the tube because it drys to form a strecthy membrane to help keep the hole sealed as with Slime it dosent dry at all and every time you roll over the hole in your tube it flexes and slightly opens the hole requiring more Slime to fill the void to stop the air leak so with Slime you will always have a slow leaking tube.

[Dustin Gaddis]

A stans kit is like $50. And you wont have to buy any more tubes for a long time. It’s not that expensive really.

Also, you can inject the stans through the valve stem, even without taking the valve core out. It takes a few seconds longer, but it works. I’ve always done it that way.

[trailrider247]

"dgaddis" wrote

Also, you can inject the stans through the valve stem, even without taking the valve core out. It takes a few seconds longer, but it works. I’ve always done it that way.

ive never done that or thought of doing that, but looking at a presta valve right now it looks like it would work, it also looks like it will be a little bit messy if you try to rush it.

[Dustin Gaddis]

"trailrider247" wrote

[quote="dgaddis":2rj07k02]
Also, you can inject the stans through the valve stem, even without taking the valve core out. It takes a few seconds longer, but it works. I’ve always done it that way.

ive never done that or thought of doing that, but looking at a presta valve right now it looks like it would work, it also looks like it will be a little bit messy if you try to rush it.[/quote:2rj07k02]

Yes, it is. Also, don’t be stupid and forget to let all of the air out of the tire/tube before trying to put the sealant in. I did that once…it did not end well. The sealant wouldn’t flow out of the syringe and into the tube…so I pressed REALLY hard, which was finally enough to open the valve, then I released pressure…and the valve stayed open. The air pressure shot the plunger out of the syringe, and all of the sealant as well. It was a mess. Glad I did that one outside! 😆

[Corey Maddocks ✓ supporter]

I also live in Colorado and I run TrueGoo tubes:
http://truegoo.com/

They are a lifesaver, and of course a lot cheaper than converting to tubeless. They are also a Colorado company, if that matters…

[sinister.designs]

"maddslacker" wrote

I also live in Colorado and I run TrueGoo tubes:
http://truegoo.com/

They are a lifesaver, and of course a lot cheaper than converting to tubeless. They are also a Colorado company, if that matters…

Does anyone know if you can buy these from a bike shop in the springs?

[Corey Maddocks ✓ supporter]

"sinister.designs" wrote

Does anyone know if you can buy these from a bike shop in the springs?

Not first hand, but up here in Denver Treads and Performance carries them.

[sinister.designs]

So I have decided to go with the slime tubes as they are the easiest to get hold of so just hoping they work for me.

[dozzerboy]

Good Luck!

Let us know how well they work for you!

Dozzerboy

[trailrider247]

"sinister.designs" wrote

[quote="maddslacker":3mww4sc1]I also live in Colorado and I run TrueGoo tubes:
http://truegoo.com/

They are a lifesaver, and of course a lot cheaper than converting to tubeless. They are also a Colorado company, if that matters…

Does anyone know if you can buy these from a bike shop in the springs?[/quote:3mww4sc1]
the Performance Bikes, on Austin Bluffs and Academy, now carrys TrueGoo tubes, i know you said you were just going to use Slime tubes, but i just thought id let you know just in case the Slime tubes dont work and you wanted to try the TrueGoo tubes out.

[Mark Larson]

Here in Tucson I used to run thorn-proof tubes, Slime tubes, True Goo tubes, and got fed up with a) the extra weight, and b) pinch flats. The tubes don’t do much against them. Also, the thorns and cactus round here are vengeful bast**ds, and the sealant struggled to keep up sometimes. I changed to tubeless, and have had no problems so far in the last couple of months. Admittedly, I am lucky enough to be able to afford UST wheels and tires, but a Stans kit, or even running ghetto would be extremely worthwhile. I cannot sing the tubeless praises enough.

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