Originally Posted by
chaadster
I don’t agree there. I mean, yes, the issue is no interference between rim and bead (i.e. looseness), but some tires, like Compass, are well-known for supple sidewalls which don’t sit uniformly on the rim bed, creating opportunities for air escape. Sometimes adding layers of tape works, but only to an extent; too much tape can interfere with bead seating. And then the amount of tape which works for one brand may not work for the next, so then what? Spend time and money to remove and retape with less? I prefer to be more economical and use the air compressor as a tool, rather than just a method to get air in the tire. And don’t some rims not need tape at all?Working the tire a bit with air flowing can get the job done sometimes, with the least cost, time, and fuss.
Originally Posted by
chaadster
Right...my point was that adding more tape is neither a cure-all nor even a substitute for air volume in some cases.
Wrong, it is the other way around.... more air volume is a poor substitute for an inadequate taping job.
If the bead is loose enough on the rim that it requires the method you described (futzing with the tire as air continues to blast through), I would not ride that setup. It is too loose and will be too prone to burping or blowing off..... which previous generations of Compass tires were known for. I have a current generation of the Barlow Pass, and while I did use a compressor to seat them, they snap in place with the first initial blast a second or two at most.
Yes, it does sometimes take extra time to get the tape right for certain tire/rim combos. But that is what is required to do it properly. If the tape required to seat the bead is so much that the bead won't seat properly..... that is a bad tire-rim combo and IMO is unsafe (older Compass tires with some rims, for example). The fact that you are able to force it to seat without enough tape does not change that.
However, the reality is that in all the tubeless setups I have done (well over a dozen) I have never changed the tape setup. In retrospect, I should have in one case (the Maxxis mentioned below)
Ideally, you don't even need a compressor for a well-fitting tubeless setup (that includes being properly taped), at least not for typical MTB tires. I went 8 years and a dozen tubeless setups before I ever even needed to use a compressor to set a bead. I did use one for my fat tires and my Barlow Pass Tires, and one 2.3" Maxxix MTB tire that I was not tubeless ready. I now know that with proper taping, I could have set that Maxxis with a floor pump, and I will likely go back and fix that. But in ALL cases, the tire snapped into place immediately with a compressor.