Ooze and Rubber; or the Ups and Downs of Tubeless Tires

Some people love Stan's tubeless system, some people hate it. If you look at internet review sites, it's either got 5 stars or 1 star. I haven't made up my mind yet. I think it is a killer system because of how it performs, but you must recognize that setting it up is an exercise in frustration. 

These are the things I have learned since using it. 

• Lower tire pressures are really nice for mountain biking, like everyone claims.
• The sealant works. When you get a puncture, it will seal up right away. 
• You can waste a whole day trying to set it up before you shallow your pride and go to a bike shop where they can do it in 10 minutes.
• Don't even bother trying to get your tires to seat with a floor pump. Use a compressor. Take your wheels to a gas station or bike shop if you have to.
• Tubes are way easier. Except that they get flats.

Last spring, I decided to jump belatedly on the tubeless tire bandwagon and find out what the big deal was. I bought the Stan's No Tubes kit and thought I would give it a shot. I followed the instructions exactly, and everything was great until I tried to inflate and seat the tires on the rims. It wouldn't work, at all. I had sweat running down my face while pumping with one hand and trying to coax the tire bead to seat with the other. Finally, I gave in and took the wheels to the shop. $10 and ten minutes later I was on my way to tubeless bliss.

The last few months they have ridden well and have held air - no complaints. Earlier this week I got a puncture on the sidewall and after splashing some sealant around it was sealed. I noticed that there didn't seem to be much sealant left after 4 months of summer, so this weekend I decided to add some. Thinking I could simply pop part of the tire bead off, pour in the sealant, pump it up and be on my way, I tried it myself.

It didn't seat, again. I even bought a garden sprayer to use as sort of a homemade compressor. That didn't work either - not enough pressure. So again, I took it to the shop. They let me use the compressor and a few minutes later I was done. Hopefully I'm good for a few months.

So when people talk about how great Stan's tubeless system is, they are right. They are just leaving out the part about setting it up.