Yeah a compressor works great, my handpumps not so much. Rarely have to deal with that unless changing out the spooge.I haven't noticed a difference. I mean nobody balances their bicycle wheels right? As long as the sealant is fresh or you use the bike it's no problem. If you didn't use it during winter and do the first ride in spring it can be a bit bumpy because the sealant will have dried out and the solid parts of it are sticking to some part of the tire which makes it imbalanced, but that fixes itself in the same day just by riding it.
The most challenging thing for me going tubeless was to get the inital seal. I usually remove the valve insert from the stem and put a compressor to it to get that first "bang" that pushes the tire bead into the rim. It's exactly like a car tire really. If you don't have a compressor, you'll need a good pump with a big cylinder (I use a Topeak) but even with that I've pumped until I was sweaty and exhausted and it wouldn't sealYMMV.
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You're off into exclusivity and snazzy tire stuff. I used Continental Town & Country tube tires on the last mountain bike for street use and it was zero maintenance. No pinching, no leaking of any concern. Tough tire for sure. I bought a handheld CO2 pump for roadside emergencies when I rode far out of town along the road to the ski mountain but I never owned a manual air pump because I simply did not need one. The shop serviced everything every 3-4 months for me and they did a good job of whatever they did.I haven't noticed a difference. I mean nobody balances their bicycle wheels right? As long as the sealant is fresh or you use the bike it's no problem. If you didn't use it during winter and do the first ride in spring it can be a bit bumpy because the sealant will have dried out and the solid parts of it are sticking to some part of the tire which makes it imbalanced, but that fixes itself in the same day just by riding it.
The most challenging thing for me going tubeless was to get the inital seal. I usually remove the valve insert from the stem and put a compressor to it to get that first "bang" that pushes the tire bead into the rim. It's exactly like a car tire really. If you don't have a compressor, you'll need a good pump with a big cylinder (I use a Topeak) but even with that I've pumped until I was sweaty and exhausted and it wouldn't seal
digitalfrost
Major Contributor
I have to say I'm on the heavier side and I used Continental tires in the beginning. I should like them because they're from my country (at least the expensive ones
) but I ended up with a Maxxis Aggressor in the rear with the DoubleDown casing, because it can just take anything, and I run an Assegai standard in the front. It's a killer combo for me, but I would not recommend it if you ride street. Like it has some rolling resistance.e: Just noticed these are 2.5". Not even recommended by my bike manufacturer
Those look like enduro tires if my motorcycling brain can apply bicycle and motorcycle treads.
digitalfrost
Major Contributor
FWIW I've not ever had problems with my mountain bikes on the street for pinch flatting, rocky singletrack is another thing..... Most of my mountain bikes traditionally have been tubed (and 26" too
), these days on my newer bikes they're tubeless 2.6" and 2.8" 27.5". I use Maxxis myself.
Have you or anybody you know of ripped out a mountain bike knobby? Our motorcycle dirt bikes would have knobbies ripped out every year on the rear. Mostly running in round shaped rocks, a lot of sand and mountain logging/fire access roads with some high altitude shale that got pretty sharp and was dangerous just being around; it gets that sharp.
I have had some knobs ripped out in the past, been a while. Don't remember the brand particularly....think it was WTB off the top of my head....but usually it's on the lightweight stuff rather than more suitable stuff....
The 100mm fat tires were invented in Alaska, as I understand it, by ultra-endurance riders. One of the principal proponents of that design was Pete Basinger, many times winner of the Iditarod Invitational Bike Race, and the ultimate winter bike event by any measure. We are acquainted, but his parents are close friends of ours so I was introduced to the concept from one of its progenitors.
And then there’s Jan Heine, sort of a similar force in cycling to Amir and ASR—data-driven and annihilating years of myth and lore. He taught us that suppleness is what makes fat tires work.
All my bikes were made before all that enlightenment, so I put the widest tires that will fit. But I’m a fair-weather cyclist, too—my days of enduring winter conditions on the bike are behind me.
Rick “still uses rim brakes” Denney
And then there’s Jan Heine, sort of a similar force in cycling to Amir and ASR—data-driven and annihilating years of myth and lore. He taught us that suppleness is what makes fat tires work.
All my bikes were made before all that enlightenment, so I put the widest tires that will fit. But I’m a fair-weather cyclist, too—my days of enduring winter conditions on the bike are behind me.
Rick “still uses rim brakes” Denney
I really like my rim brakes with Shimano wet use pads. They don't trumpet and make noises although that can be handy alerting people to it. I have never had discs. I found they work wonderfully in deep sand.
I had a really steep descent in the rain on a particular day, and was using my awesome ceramic rims (Mavic) with appropriate compound pads (forget which one, but tried a coupla leading brands and the best of the bunch was on the bike that day). I couldn't control the descent and pretty much went disc on all my bikes from there and out....
But it’s hard to build bikes with non-standard wheel diameters or extra-fat tires with rim brakes. A lot of that has been facilitated by the emergence of disk brakes.
Rick “had to hunt around for decent rim brakes that would wrap around 38mm tires” Denney
38mm is ~1.496" What bike are these from?
Marc v E
Major Contributor
Width of the handlebar now is 680 mm; that is about 26,77 inch. I couldn't find the old specs either.
Marc v E
Major Contributor
@Doodski the mtb fat bike I tried out was a revelation to me. I went on a trail with my neighbour and we switched bikes for a while just to give it a try.
His was a Trek with carbon frame and full suspension. It just glided through the trail. I could hardly notice any potholes. It was way faster downhill than my Bianchi. It needed very few steering corrections and it was much easier to maintain speed in a landscape that alternates between uphill and downhill.
Just going uphill the trek was at a disadventage, but only slight. Total weight was 13 kg and the grip was endless.
His was a Trek with carbon frame and full suspension. It just glided through the trail. I could hardly notice any potholes. It was way faster downhill than my Bianchi. It needed very few steering corrections and it was much easier to maintain speed in a landscape that alternates between uphill and downhill.
Just going uphill the trek was at a disadventage, but only slight. Total weight was 13 kg and the grip was endless.
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I've used 680 as well (two of my older mountain bikes are still at that width) but my two newer bikes are at 780 (and I had to cut them, came with 800/810s).
I take whatever frames and put whatever wheels on them. I’m a bike mechanic of old.
In this case, I have 38mm tires on an old Cannondale touring bike, which had been designed for 27” wheels, center-pull brakes, and fenders. I’ve built two of these—one for me and one for my wife. I used MLB side-pull brakes (French) on mine, and Dia-Compe center pull brakes on my wife’s.
(Yes, that’s a Campy Racing Triple on mine.)
Added: These are for dirt and gravel, plus pavement. These are not for single-track—I have an old Schwinn Homegrown for that—but my single-track days are behind me. I broke up long ago with that particular girlfriend.
Rick “frames from around 1987” Denney
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You mean that huge crank and sprocket? That requires some serious stomping.
It’s a 50–not that huge. But I use this on pavement, too, and we have hills. These bikes descend marvelously, and I’m nearly always pushing hard when I’m not with my wife. This is my go-to bike for a quick afternoon workout ride, which is a hilly 24 miles, including about 8 miles of (hillier) dirt roads. I push as hard as I can on that ride, but it has to be able to step it up on pavement.
Rick “versatility” Denney
So for shifting you have a lever that positions the gear changer mechanism and no ratcheting stuff like today's gear? I actually prefer that over the ratcheting shifter. One can jump the chain 3 or 4 gears in one shift with a kick of the pedal. Can't do that on any ratcheting shifter I've seen.
