Home  Partsroom Reviews Product Testing Stan's No Tubes
|
|
|
|
|
Stan's No Tubes |
|
|
Written by Dennis Morgan
|
|
Friday, 23 February 2007 |
 Tester: Dennis Morgan, Team Bikeman.com Rider, Certified Bikeman Product Tester
Conditions: Sweet New Hampshire singletrack.
Review: When I first really started riding I was very curious about tubeless set ups and the supposed benefits but I was too short on cash to go out and buy a new set of tubeless wheels. I had been looking around online and heard of Stan's, but did not really know what it was. So I did some research on it, read reviews and went to NoTubes.com. I liked the idea of being able to run my regular wheelset as a tubeless setup and also be able to run regular tires tubeless as well. Was it too good to be true?
 | | NoTubes Strip |
No, it was not. Actually it was better than expected. I was very happy to realize the benefits claimed by many. Stan's was a true way to go tubeless without the investment in expensive tubeless wheelsets. The basic Standard/UST system from Stan's contains the following:
Two molded rim strips with Presta removable valve cores
One pint of Tire Sealant with a 60g scoop and spout
One 10 Yd roll of spoke tape
NoTubes.com Decal
Detailed instructions
 | | NoTubes Sealant |
The sealant looks like 2% milk. I think it is actually a liquid latex that coats the insides of your tires and rims and creates a very tight seal that air does not permeate. The NoTubes system does not require much in the way of mechanical ability to install. It was actually pretty simple and all you needed to do was to follow the basic instructions of putting the rim strips in place, inserting the valve cores into the holes in the rims, putting the tires on and inflating. Everything sets into place and then you let the air out, put the Stan's sealant in and reinflate. Pretty simple. By using Stan's they say you can lose anywhere from 100 grams up to 400 grams of rotating weight per wheel set. Other significant benefits include the ability to use regular (non-tubeless or UST) tires, run lower air pressure in your tires, and avoid pinch flats.
Regular, non-tubeless or UST tires are generally less expensive and come in a much wider variety of models than do their tubeless versions. By using a lower air tire pressure you end up with better traction and a smoother ride that you would with a higher air pressure needed to run a tire with tubes. Lastly the tubeless set up also means that there is no tube for you to get the dreaded snake-bite or pinch flat as there is no tube to pinch.
I ran Stan's in various tires for a couple years until I bought a new bike and a new wheelset that was tubeless. I was not sure if I would need Stans anymore, but after riding the tubeless setup for a few weeks I was noticing I was needing to add air to my tires almost every time out. To solve this problem I decided to add some Stan's. Since I still had plenty of Stan's Sealant left, I let the air out of my tires and opened up a gap at the sidewall and poured a couple ounces of sealant inside the tire and put the air back in. After doing this with both wheels I have not had any issues losing air again. In fact, since putting the Stan's in, I have not had a flat in over 2 years (knock on wood). I would give Stan's a score of 5 Bikeman heads. A very simple idea that is very reasonable and works great. One caveat is to check the compatibility charts on the NoTubes website for your rim and tire combinations you plan to use.
My Stan's has been quite popular as I have lent the sealant out to a few other people so they could add it to their expensive tubeless wheelsets to stop the slow seepage of air from their wheels
Dennis Morgan
Rated:
 | $59.95
|
| No Tubes Standard/UST Tubeless System: Stan's Tubeless System will convert your existing wheel set to tubeless using either standard or tubeless tires. Each kit includes everything you need to convert two wheels to tubeless. You can also ditch those heavy UST tires on your tubless specific wheelset and use whatever tire you want with Stan's... |
 | $64.95
|
| No Tubes Freeride Tubeless System: Stan's Tubeless System will convert your existing wheel set to tubeless using either standard or tubeless tires. Each kit includes everything you need to convert two wheels to tubeless. Say goodbye to pinch flats and hello to crazy traction. This kit will fit the Mavic 521, Sun, Rhyno Lite, Rhyno Lite XL... |
| $64.95
|
| No Tubes Freeride 'A' Tubeless System: Tubeless System will convert your existing wheel set to tubeless using either standard or tubeless tires. Each kit includes everything you need to convert two wheels to tubeless. Say goodbye to pinch flats and hello to crazy traction. To be used with listed rims only. Usage: Fits Sun Rhyno Lite... |
 | $64.95
|
| No Tubes Downhill Tubeless System: Stan's Tubeless System will convert your existing wheel set to tubeless using either standard or tubeless tires. Each kit includes everything you need to convert two wheels to tubeless. Say goodbye to pinch flats and hello to crazy traction. This kit will fit the Mavic 321, Intense DH, rims 36mm to 39mm... |
 | $64.95
|
| No Tubes 29'er Tubeless System: Stan's Tubeless System will convert your existing wheel set to tubeless using either standard or tubeless tires. Each kit includes everything you need to convert two wheels to tubeless. Say goodbye to pinch flats and hello to crazy traction. Will fit Bontrager V brake, Salsa Delgado-X and Mavic 520 Touring... |
 | $18.95
|
| No Tubes 32oz Tire Sealant: Comments: Fills up to 16 tires. Usage: No Tubes systems need refilling every 2-7 months... |
 | $18.95
|
| No Tubes 16oz Tire Sealant: Comments: Fills up to 8 tires. Usage: No Tubes systems need refilling every 2-7 months... |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
; "Image")
; "NoTubes Strip")
; "NoTubes Sealant")
