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Tubeless
I've just got a bike with tubeless wheels and I know nothing about them. Couple of really basic questions: They seem to lose a little bit of air over a few weeks - is this normal? Also when you are out riding what do you take in case of puncture (or whatever tubeless do when they deflate?)
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They do leak a bit depending on the conditon of the tape on the rim and a few other things but if the bike is second hand you should make sure there is plenty of Stems fluid inside the tyre and not just dried up gunk.
In case of a flat take a spare tube. Its the only real quick fix if your stuck out on a trail.
Best thing to do if you know it's tubeless setup already put wheel in pool ie submerge and find out where it's leaking air that is your starting point if it's coming out of the spoke nipples it is the rim tape and so forth
Tubeless tyres will lose about 5 pounds per week,that is normal. You wont puncture no where near as much because the sealant you use in tubeless systems seals the hole fairly quickly unless the hole is a big one or you tear your sidewall of the tyre.Have a look at Stans sealant on youtube if you are interested.The guy I watched on youtube repatedly stabs the tyre right through both sidewalls with objects up to 6mm and it seals almost instantly.Change the sealant approximately every three months as it goes hard.I take a co2 canister or two to inflate a tubeless tyre,as you will have alot of trouble getting the air in fast enough with a pump to get the tyre seated.I also take a patch kit in case I get a big hole or tear in thr tyre. Hope this helps
This vid might help out in the future, I use this method when having trouble seating beads, it works well.
http://youtu.be/y0MTvLs79E0
I've been running tubeless for 5-6 years. I hate tubes off road! The traction improvement and reliability of tubeless is hard to give up.
I carry a spare tube for just in case. Only had one actual puncture, that was due to a rock grazing through a well worn sidewall. It's just a matter of unscrewing the valve collar, pushing it out and fitting the tube and you're away.
I'd second the advice to check the sealant evety 3 months. I hadn't bothered for about 6 months and had an, erm, interesting time last weekend. Some tubeless ready tyres are fragile. UST are much better.
@hawkeye had me very nervous during my mid week blast down Commenara parkway at 60km/hr hearing his story of his tubeless tyre coming off the rim at 10psi.
I give the wheels a shake everytime I take them off to wash the bike (every week) to make sure I can hear the sealant swooshing around. Had my new bike 3 months and reckon it's got another month before needing to top up. I still take a tube plus patch kit on every ride.
Tubeless really does transform the mtb experience.
You may check valve core if tight enough. It happens to me a few times. Once tight up, leaking is much less obvious.
All good now that I've replaced the sealant. Pumped them to 40psi last Sunday and still close to that when I was sessioning kerbs and messing about today. It's just a pity the rear sidewall got so trashed.
I should have taken a photo of the latex spider I pulled out of the rear last weekend - looked like a facehugger from Alien!
Learned my lesson. Pay attention to detail and don't be in a rush with things related to safety. Arm is mostly healed but with a big bright pink patch of new skin
To put it in context, a mate of mine went OTB quite heavily when the tyre rolled off after getting a front pinch flat down the Manly Dam descent from Allambie. Neither is bulletproof against user stupidity but on balance tubeless is much safer IMO.
Great stuff thanks very much.