Papa Wheelie

I am running Stan's "No Tubes" system in my bike, and everytime I have a trailside "issue", one of my ridding buddies chides me about my "airless" system.



I like running Stan's, and will continue to do so, but I ran into a bigger issue yesterday.

I am running a non-UST tire set (Michelin Dry 2), so I will accept the fact that I will occasionally have to add a little air, as it might not be as "air tight" as a UST tire would be.

I am 210 pounds, so I like to keep my tires close to about 40 psi. Top it off once a week or so, and I am usually good to go.

Yesterday, I went to top it off, and as I pulled my pump chuck off the stem, air came hissing out. WTF?!?!?!?

I tightened the valve, and air kept coming out, to flat within seconds.

Huh?

I refilled, pulled the chuck off again, and it was flat before I could tighten the valve.

So I rode my hog (1979 Honda CT 70) to work.

Got home, pulled the tire off, pulled out the rim strip, and realized that my stem is almost entirely pulled off the strip.

How do you combat that?

The system has a stem nut, that I was using, and all I can gather is that prevents you from pushing the stem into the rim when you are putting the pump chuck on, but when you are pulling the chuck off the stem, you are pulling the stem from the strip, and that caused this rip.

Is that correct thinking?

Is this common?

Do I need to hold the stem securly when removing the chuck to prevent this from happening?

I just put this system on my bike this spring, so I am a little dissapointed that I have a failure.......

Here is my hog.

ca7erham

Cant comment on anything other than that sexy 70...mmmm I love those things, I've got access to a 110 that I'm going to try to get up and running over the summer...the only thing that screws with me is the lack of clutch and the fact that you use your hands for all the braking

kenhill3

Pretend it's a bicycle.

ca7erham

But I'm not good at those

Papa Wheelie

Take your time, and don't be afraid to "invest" in that bike. They REALLY hold value well. So many people have a CT110/90 in their past, there is ALWAYS a strong market for those bikes.

This one is a little modified. Started life as a 70 cc with a 3 speed auto transmission, and now has a 125 motor, with a 4 speed manual transmission. It will actually do about 50-55 mph. It is a smile and "thumbs up" factory. People really dig it.

ca7erham

I just like how quiet they are haha, though not sure how much I can spend on one, I'm kinda poor

born2bahick

I have seen a rim strip pull away from the stem once before. don't think it's real common though.

ncfisherman

What kind of trailside issues are you having w/ your setup? I run Stan's rims on 2 of my bikes and tubes on one and actually find that my tubeless setups hold air just as well, if not better, than my tubed tires - will be going back to tubeless on the 3rd bike soon(inbetween wheelsets). I pump my tires up before every ride anyhow, so not really sure it even matters(for me). Having ridden tubeless for about 3 years, I see no reason to go back to tubes.

scrublover

They can do that if you've over-tightened that nut.

Papa Wheelie

Nothing really. I am a REAL cheapskate, and so I buy tires when I find a good bargain. I have yet to put a UST tire on.

Earlier this year, I was running a Bontrager XR1 on the rear. I loved how light it was, and the Small Block 8/7 really works well in the Boise foothills. BUT, it seemed to seep out a bit of air, and I had to do some trailside "pump ups" a couple of times, and re-add sealant (at the house) a couple of times over the life of that tire.

I also was told by several people that one of the biggest benefits of going tubless was to air down, and lay down a better patch of tire. Through that process, I "burped" my front tire several times, so that would also require a trailside fill up.

I am currently running Michelin Dry 2 (both front and back), and even though they are non-UST, they seem to do a much better job holding air.

Nothing major, just learning my proper pressure setup, and dealing with issues that I associate with not running UST tires.

Papa Wheelie

I spoke with Peter at Stan's No Tubes, and he told me that was *probably* the issue. He said that after you get the initial pressure set in the tire, go ahead and pull that nut off the stem.

I have a new strip, and I am going to pull that nut off after it is set up, and see if I have better luck.

dsprehe89

If you pull the nut off be careful when airing them back up because the exact opposite problem can happen if you push in to hard on it. You can end up pushing the stem into the tube/strip, and getting a flat. I've never used Stan's No Tubes (have been wanting too) but I've had that happen to me on schrader tubes. That nut shouldn't be tight, but it is there so that when you put a pump on the valve, you can't press the valve into the tube.

Papa Wheelie

I hear you clearly dsprehe89. In my discussions with Peter, I surmised that the purpose of the nut was exactly that: To prevent the stem from being pushed into the tire during filling.

Peter said that after you get the initial pressure in the tube, to go ahead and remove the nut, as the pressure in the tire will hold the stem in place.