Brothers and Sisters, some sage advice if you please.

 I'll be needing to replace my tyres shortly and was cosidering upgrading to tubeless.

So what I'm looking for is (A) any pros and cons of UST over conventional tyres in 'The Real World' and (B) has anyone used any of the UST conversion kits on their conventional rims. How easy is it? Does it work? Etc Etc. My rims are Mavic XC717's.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

G. 

You need to carry one of these with you

Apparently

And possibly this

and maybe another one of these

Just in case.

But apparently you dont get pinch punctures. 

UST all the way, on XM819 rims, + sealant = no punctures.

Also better grip and traction.*

*Note: IMO only of course.

Misty did you ever watch the commonwealth games MTB race held at Rivington, in the womens XC there was a contender miles in front but she got a puncture [UST] and tried reinflating it with a CO2 cartridge. Needless to say it didnt work and she lost a Gold Medal. This I believe happens when your out cycling [not loose a Gold Medal obviously] so you carry a standard inner tube or 2 as well as this just in case.

Adavantages may be explained by someone who runs UST but  I cant realy see the benefit out weighs the cost.

I've got converted rims (WTB) that came on my 5 and UST rims (fulcrum). Both work very well.

I've used UST tyres and converted standard tyres (with sealant).

My favourite sealant is the Stans stuff cos i can convert tyres (because it's latex based) and it plugs bigger holes than wheel milk or the bonty stuff. I don't think you have to worry much about the latex going off (in latex based sealants) because you should be checking it every month or two anyway. Either that or look a tit when you've run out of sealant due to all the thorns you didn't notice puncturing your tyres...

I've repaired on the trail using a standard halfords puncture repair kit on the inside of the tyre (after looking a tit and running out of sealant)

I've repaired using an inner tube - REMOVE THE THORNS ffs lol. There's normally quyite a few sticking in the tyre - the only time i remove them is if i need to fit a tube (very rare)

And I use CO2 to pump them up - those cans that cost £4. Again - no problems (providing you make sure the bead is seated first and the air isn't going to piss out).

I highly recommend the tubelss option. I can run lower pressures with no worries about pinch flats, but, best of all I'm not on and off the bike fixing flats. I've used a tube 2-3 times and repaired a tyre on trail twice in 2+ years of riding toobless.

Misty - you use a conversion strip and ust/standard tyre with sealant - don't bother with tyres taht are allready sealed (with a tube sewn in). You do have to remove the rim conversion strip before using a tube (piece of cake).

PS - like many on here I have a rubber fetish

Experimenting is the way to find out what suits you and the area you ride in the most.

 hth / cs

*clambers out of gimp suit*

feck me that post was too long

A couple of times I have had tyre rips on sharp slate. With UST the only way to fix would be with a tube.

Do all you UST'ers out there carry tubes with you?

I have been a long time tubeless convert. I was always getting thorn punctures and pinch flats. Since using the tubless tire and the sealant (without I found it was worse than a conventional set up) I have around 1 puncture per year which is usually when I have forgotten to put some new sealant in.

Many people are put off with the tubeless system because they think it is a lot of faff but in reality it is just as easy as a tire inner tube set up though some tires are complete bastards to get on the rim when new.

Tubless tires practically eliminate pinch punctures as there is no inner tube to get caught on the rim and small thorn punctures are stopped by the sealant. A big gash will mean putting an inner tube in there out on the trail but then you'd have to do that with a conventional set up too. Also when you do get a puncture that the sealant can't fill the tire lets the air out more slowly as the tires rubber doesn't stretch like that of an inner tube (ie the air forces the hole to get bigger). 

Tubeless is great.

(sorry, can't be arsed to type a long reply) 

Changed my mind.

I run a rear notubes arch rim with an olympic strip and a front dt5.1 with eclipse strip. I use JRA wheel milk and nobby nic/racing ralph snakeskin tyres. I've not had a puncture so far, grip feels better and the whole 'feel' of the tyres improves imo. I only carry an inner tube on long rides and the rest of the time take a tubeless repair kit and CO2. Have a look on www.justridingalong.co.uk as there is loads of good advice on the site and if you email Jon he gets back to you pretty quickly to answer any queries.