So I found a shop in Hull that had a little sign in the window saying they sold "STANs" which is an adhesive fluid that allows you to run your tire with no tubes! Asking the price, they quoted me $25 per tire.. that's the cost of a replacement tube alone. So I went for it and it's been fantastic ever since. I'm taking more trails then ever before!
The trick is, you have to get the STANs replaced every six months or so, so I've read. Or you can just add more fluid once in a while, to fill out anything that might be getting thin. In order to get the tire to install on my 26" rims I had to buy a 24" tire and stretch it over my rims, split the tube in the center, clean out the talcom powder from inside of the tube and let the rubber hang over the side.
Once the rubber was on, put a little pressure on the tube to force the walls to extend out to the lip of the rim and then gave it a shot of air. Boom, sealed!The Ghetto is the addition of the inner tube vs just packing the rim and hoping the seal is good enough for the lip to connect with the rim.
Lessons Learned:
- Let the experts do the work. I watched, learned and assisted.
- The experts were able to do the job in 1hr vs me, which would of taken a few days, I am sure of it. I would of made it way more complicated then it needed to be.
Be interested to see how Stan's sealant holds up over the winter. I thought about doing it on my mountain bike so I could run lower pressures.
ReplyDeleteThey have different formulas for different seasons. Including one just for winter.
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