Can 2019 Rad Rover rims be converted to tubeless?
- Thread starter Pay Jota
- Start date
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
nope. you need rims designed to be tubeless.
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
you can do it but its risky. plus can you even get tubules tires for it?
I am riding on Maxxis Minions that are tubeless ready. 4.8 " wide.
I have tubes and liners inside. But cholla spines still get through, even with Slime.
There will be all kinds of opinion on this subject, but having done a few hundred conversions, unless a rim and tire are tubeless , your likely asking for a lot of work and most likely heartache in the end. And in a true fat bike tire there is lots of room for error and wasted sealant. And riding a loose tire off a rim isn't much fun.
It's the 26 inch version. I have the FBF and FBR tires. 4.8". What do you mean by "DH oriented tire"?
Heavy? Yes, I suppose so, not being very familiar with MTB tires. Everything about this bike is heavy. But these tires are so superior to the original, stock Kendas.
I am not a hard core rider, as I approach 68, but I love riding in generally flat, lush desert in Mexico, which means my share of encounters with cacti. These tires allow me to crawl along and out of sandy arroyos that sometime have ELEVATION gains of 30+ feet with gravel or sandy inclines. PA5, 1st gear, all the way up.
Dropping to 8 psi, I can ride on beaches if loose sand is no deeper than about six inches with hard pack underneath. Great for surf fishing on long stretches of beach. I can stay off the wet sand and avoid the ravages of salt corrosion.
My more hard core riding friends say they simply dont get flats with tubeless tires. Just sealant and the tire. Cholla are the main dangers. Some goat heads, too.
Heavy? Yes, I suppose so, not being very familiar with MTB tires. Everything about this bike is heavy. But these tires are so superior to the original, stock Kendas.
I am not a hard core rider, as I approach 68, but I love riding in generally flat, lush desert in Mexico, which means my share of encounters with cacti. These tires allow me to crawl along and out of sandy arroyos that sometime have ELEVATION gains of 30+ feet with gravel or sandy inclines. PA5, 1st gear, all the way up.
Dropping to 8 psi, I can ride on beaches if loose sand is no deeper than about six inches with hard pack underneath. Great for surf fishing on long stretches of beach. I can stay off the wet sand and avoid the ravages of salt corrosion.
My more hard core riding friends say they simply dont get flats with tubeless tires. Just sealant and the tire. Cholla are the main dangers. Some goat heads, too.
Last edited:
mrgold35
Well-Known Member
I had my Radrovers since 2016 with +7200 miles between them. I do a combo of work commuting and single track riding and had flats from both types of riding (sharp branches on trails or road debris when commuting). I use a combo of Vee8 120tpi tires, Kenda or Vee tubes, Mr. Tuffy liners, and two 2-oz bottles of Stans tire sealant per tire. I'm well protected against goat-head stickers. Having a spare replacement tube was the only way to get me back on the road with a 1/8 to 1/4 inch hole in my tire. Going tubeless would have left me stranded 5-15 miles from work or home at least 5-6 times in the last 4 1/2 years.
I haven't checked in a while; but, fat tires don't seem to up to the same level of flat/puncture resistance as plus size or thinner width tires. My old Kenda tires were horrible at getting flats from goat heads because of the spaced out knobbies and how thin the tires was in between the knobbies. It wasn't until I switched to the thicker Vee8 tires with 20X more knobbies is when my goat head flats went down to 1-3 a year compared to 1-3 per month with Kenda tires.
I haven't checked in a while; but, fat tires don't seem to up to the same level of flat/puncture resistance as plus size or thinner width tires. My old Kenda tires were horrible at getting flats from goat heads because of the spaced out knobbies and how thin the tires was in between the knobbies. It wasn't until I switched to the thicker Vee8 tires with 20X more knobbies is when my goat head flats went down to 1-3 a year compared to 1-3 per month with Kenda tires.
I have basically the same setup, with the exception of using Slime instead of Stans sealant. "Jumping" cholla still an issue.
mrgold35
Well-Known Member
I've learn to never pull out any thorn until I get home because that might keep the tire from going flat. Learned the hard way the first time I pulled them out from the prickly pear type cactus (prickly pear are delicious on the grill when you add them to fajitas).
Yeah, I agree.
I felt very fortunate when I got home and put the bike to bed for the evening, without any sign of something wrong. Then, I woke up to a complete flat in the morning. I figured it must be a really slow leak. So, I re-inflated and it was completely flat within an hour. I was lucky to get home. Turns out there were four cholla spines that had made it through the tire, liner, tube and Slime. Probably not all from the same ride.
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
I get that I go to the store come out and the tire is flat.
Tars Tarkas
Well-Known Member
Nothing you do will eliminate flats, but I'd probably just add more Slime and keep the tubes. Going tubeless isn't the panacea it's made out to be.
TT
TT
High Plains Rider
Member
So Pay, what did you do? I just joined this thread, as I have the same problem as you and am considering going tubeless. After reading all the comments, I definitely will replace those Kenda tires. From what I have been reading, if I go tubeless with the Rad Rover, not only will I be buying new tires, I should probably buy new rims.
I am leery of the contentions that converting tube rims to tubeless with fat-bike widths is asking for trouble. I am going to live with the combination of tire liners and Slime (for as long as I have these monsters) because I love these tires so much. As well I should love them, for what I paid for them. I am basically on a motorcycle now, as I am taking the level single tracks at 12-17 mph, even through corners. This is trail riding, not a course or downhill runs. I am around 9-11 in tire pressure. A fair amount of sand and gravel, everywhere I go. I have probably gained about 5 mph in the curves, over the original Kendas. That may change once I take my first BAD fall (they have all been fairly controlled sliding/falls). But it's bound to happen. I keep pushing my envelope and have only scraped arms and knees to show for it (acceptable outcomes), so far. BTW, my 2019 Rad Rover now has 2500 miles and there has been no failures. Still the original chain. Shifting cable might be needing replacement soon. Third set of back brake pads, but the originals on the front. My only real complaint is the 0.25-0.50 second delay for the motor to kick in when you begin to pedal. I am wanting quicker response for coming out of turns. Some have told me that that delay is the nature of a rear, geared-hub bike; that the mid-drives are more responsive. Are they?
My wife wont let me own a moto, so this is my outlet. These tires are fantastic. I am not going to jeopardize my love for them by converting them. I will just live with the occasional flat. Which, BTW, I havent had a single one since I posted this, naturally.
This wont be my last bike, even at 68. I am going to look for a used, full-suspension bike when I get back to Idaho. I will probably put some three inch street tires on the Rover and use it for Boise Greenbelt runs and shopping errands. Or maybe some limited touring. I have panniers for the back. Might turn this into an SUV.
My wife wont let me own a moto, so this is my outlet. These tires are fantastic. I am not going to jeopardize my love for them by converting them. I will just live with the occasional flat. Which, BTW, I havent had a single one since I posted this, naturally.
This wont be my last bike, even at 68. I am going to look for a used, full-suspension bike when I get back to Idaho. I will probably put some three inch street tires on the Rover and use it for Boise Greenbelt runs and shopping errands. Or maybe some limited touring. I have panniers for the back. Might turn this into an SUV.
High Plains Rider
Member
Yup, after reading everything above, I think I’ll stick with tubes/slime and just get higher quality tires. Now my question is, what kind? I ride almost 65% on pavement and 35% gravel or crushed rock. Does anyone have any advice?
Kyogiro
Member
- Region
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- Paris (France)
Just thought to add my own experience in case future users would like to have additional information. I quickly converted to tubeless tires using the split tube method (also called ghetto style).
I used this exact method showcased in this YouTube video (easy setup) :
You don't have to use dedicated tubeless tires but this method don't allow for very low pressure (I usually ride between 12 - 18 psi for 4 inches tires). I first used the stock Kenda tires and then I swapped then with Schwalbe Jumbo Jim ones. I am currently using Orange sealant but it's not very effective, I will swap to Stan No Tubes in the near future.
With the current Jumbo Jim, I've had 4 punctures on my last 2000 miles (90% pavement, 3 in the rear, the last one, yesterday, though two of my punctures happened off road).
That being said, when the sealant was ineffective (most of the times, it does slow down the leak and show you where it is), I just plugged the hole with any regular plug that is used for tubeless tires (bicycle, motorcycle or car). It's very quick (much quicker than removing the wheel, the tire and replacing the inner tube), you keep your wheels on the bike and during winter time, you can also keep your gloves on.
I do always carry with me a mini pump (soon to be electronic, just much less effort) and my plug kit without a spare tube when I'm commuting. I do carry a spare tube for long distance rides (over 120 miles).
When I was just a "regular" cyclist (normal bicycle), I was also carrying a spare tube and a mini pump, so not much has changed there.
A video below displaying how you plug a hole for any tubeless tires :
Not saying this is the ideal solution for everyone but it sure suits me and I won't go back anytime soon.
I used this exact method showcased in this YouTube video (easy setup) :
You don't have to use dedicated tubeless tires but this method don't allow for very low pressure (I usually ride between 12 - 18 psi for 4 inches tires). I first used the stock Kenda tires and then I swapped then with Schwalbe Jumbo Jim ones. I am currently using Orange sealant but it's not very effective, I will swap to Stan No Tubes in the near future.
With the current Jumbo Jim, I've had 4 punctures on my last 2000 miles (90% pavement, 3 in the rear, the last one, yesterday, though two of my punctures happened off road).
That being said, when the sealant was ineffective (most of the times, it does slow down the leak and show you where it is), I just plugged the hole with any regular plug that is used for tubeless tires (bicycle, motorcycle or car). It's very quick (much quicker than removing the wheel, the tire and replacing the inner tube), you keep your wheels on the bike and during winter time, you can also keep your gloves on.
I do always carry with me a mini pump (soon to be electronic, just much less effort) and my plug kit without a spare tube when I'm commuting. I do carry a spare tube for long distance rides (over 120 miles).
When I was just a "regular" cyclist (normal bicycle), I was also carrying a spare tube and a mini pump, so not much has changed there.
A video below displaying how you plug a hole for any tubeless tires :
Not saying this is the ideal solution for everyone but it sure suits me and I won't go back anytime soon.
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