Editor’s note: This podcast episode is one of our favorites, and it originally aired in 2020. Check back next week for a fresh episode.
Mike Bush is the President of Stans, a brand whose founder Stan Koziatek pioneered the use of tubeless tires in mountain biking. Today the Stans brand® designs and markets its own line of popular wheels and tubeless tire accessories to keep mountain bikers rolling.
In this episode we ask:
- Why did it take so long for tubeless tire tech to become widely-adopted for mountain biking?
- How does tubeless tire sealant work?
- Has the Stans sealant formulation changed much over the years to improve performance or to make it more environmentally friendly?
- What are the tradeoffs involved in designing a tire sealant?
- Have tire companies had to adjust their formulations and manufacturing processes to improve tubeless performance, to prevent weeping for example?
- What’s your take on mountain bike tire inserts?
- Is there another way to address the remaining shortcomings of tires and rims that doesn’t involve inserts?
- How have rim designs evolved over the past several seasons?
- Do you think the 30mm rim width becoming pretty standard for most mountain bike applications?
- Is a rim’s bead socket a weak point in terms of sealing tubeless tires?
- What are some of the ways Stans optimizes rim design to work with tubeless tires?
- Is carbon a superior material for building mountain bike rims? Why or why not?
- What took so long for mountain bike tire plugs to become mainstream?
- What makes the Stans Dart tool unique?
- Do you have any tips or tricks for dealing with tire issues on the trail?
- Is there a better way to connect tires and wheels, assuming the whole industry agreed to work together? Are there any existing standards that are a barrier to future innovation?
- What are some of the current problems with mountain bike wheels and/or tires that Stans is focused on solving in the future?
Learn more at notubes.com.
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