Going tubeless on a fatbike

[Rakku]

I just came home from a ride.
With a flat.
Again.

I just had my first flat 2 days ago, got a new tube from schwalbe and now its flat again.

I ride a Radrhino with Kenda Juggernauts.

It could be that I run too much pressure (1,5 bar/22 psi) for a 26x4" fattire.
But I just love the high pressure, because it reduces rolling resistance by a huge deal.

Either the Kenda Juggernauts are crap, or Im doing something wrong.

Yes, I wont lie.
Got both flats in a forest path where there was a lot of small wood chips/junk on the road and I flew over it with like 20 mph, so maybe my fault.
But then again, how do people not get flats when they rush downhill through rock gardens and so on?

So now Im thinking of going tubeless.
I already contacted the Rad Power Bikes support and they told me the Kenda Juggernauts (got the old/normal ones, not pro or sport), are not tubeless ready.

And the tires pop off the rims without me even doing anything, thats supposed to be a no go for going tubeless.

So, how do I know if my rims are even capable of going tubeless and which tires should I get for going tubeless? (26x4" fattires).

 

[Reid]

I just came home from a ride.
With a flat.
Again.

I just had my first flat 2 days ago, got a new tube from schwalbe and now its flat again.

I ride a Radrhino with Kenda Juggernauts.

It could be that I run too much pressure (1,5 bar/22 psi) for a 26x4" fattire.
But I just love the high pressure, because it reduces rolling resistance by a huge deal.

Either the Kenda Juggernauts are crap, or Im doing something wrong.

Yes, I wont lie.
Got both flats in a forest path where there was a lot of small wood chips/junk on the road and I flew over it with like 20 mph, so maybe my fault.
But then again, how do people not get flats when they rush downhill through rock gardens and so on?

So now Im thinking of going tubeless.
I already contacted the Rad Power Bikes support and they told me the Kenda Juggernauts (got the old/normal ones, not pro or sport), are not tubeless ready.

And the tires pop off the rims without me even doing anything, thats supposed to be a no go for going tubeless.

So, how do I know if my rims are even capable of going tubeless and which tires should I get for going tubeless? (26x4" fattires).

I do not think this sounds like a time and way to go tubeless. I have no experience, but how about just treat the tubes with a sealant instead?

 

[Rakku]

I do not think this sounds like a time and way to go tubeless. I have no experience, but how about just treat the tubes with a sealant instead?

Thats the last straw Im going to pull, if everything else fails me.
I dont know much about sealants, but arent those for tubes not only a temporary fix?
Though they should work the exact same as the ones for tubeless.

Nevertheless, Im not going tubeless ONLY for the benefit of avoiding most pinch flats, I get rid off weight and there is less rolling resistance supposedly without tubes.

Basicly a overall improvement on the bike.

I patched up my tube today, installed my seatpostsuspension, installed a masterlink into my chain and calmed down a bit.

Im not going to rush this.

Maybe next month, I´ll get the new tires, test them out on the current rims.
If they work, great, no additional costs, if not, then I´ll just run the new tires with tubes and hope, that it was just the crap Kenda Juggernauts tires which caused so many flats.

I have some options to go from here, so Im taking it slow.

Though I dont know if I can keep my sanity if I get another flat in the next few weeks.

 

[mrgold35]

I have a Radrover I ride work commuting and trail riding. My last flat was similar to yours and I ran over a branch and an 1 inch thick sharp stem pieced my rear tire and it broke off inside. My tire was completely flat and falling off the rim in about 5 feet. I have Mr. Tuffy liners and Stans sealant; but, that didn't help with that kind of flat (I was also 8 miles from home if I had to push the bike). I carry all the tools and parts I need to repair a flat including a spare tube. Changing out the $13 tube was the only way to get me back on the road. Not sure how going tubeless would have worked in the same situation. I ended up replacing the rear tire because it was so badly damaged from the branch.

I would look into Mr. Tuffy liners, adding tire sealant, upgrading your tires to something more flat resistant, and pack all the tool/parts you need to change a flat on the go. My flats were cut by 3/4 when I switched from the Kenda to Vee8 120tpi tires.

 

[Rakku]

Now I always carry tools, a spare tube and a flat repair kit with me.

I looked into Mr. Tuffy liners, but the ones I need arent avaible in germany, at least for a reasonable price.

Laugh at me, the only thing I found was Mr. Tuffy 3XL for around 200 or 300€... you heard right.
For that price I can get a full set of new tires, new rims and new tubes.

There are other companies avaible but they are rated poorly and arent cheap either.

You are right with "branchflats", even tubeless wouldnt help in those occasions.

But my second flat would have been avoided by running tubeless/or tube + tireliner + sealent.

Well, 15km ride today without a flat, Im slowly regaining my confidence to go further distances again

 

[mrgold35]

OUCH! Those liners are around $60 US or 50€ on Amazon in USA. It would be cheaper just to change out the tire than buying the liners. I like Mr. Tuffy; but, they are not flat proof. I still had flats from road debris (glass, metal car parts, nails/screws) and off road (tree branch, cactus thorns). The liner extra layer really helps me with smaller flats caused by goathead thorns that grow everywhere in the southwest. I still have to refill my tires with Stans every few months from all the sealant used to fill the 5-10 goathead thorn leaks I get weekly.

 

[Reid]

Am rather useless to your quest because I have no experience with huge volume tires.

However, I expect in the next few days a pair of 2.35" Schwalbe tires from Germany, the obsolete named Big One (today called G-One) in Liteskin and not tubeless ready

But I will mount them tubeless to my CCS.

The tires will be very, very thin and have zero puncture protection and thus be vulnerable to road adventures.

We may be swapping stories of Gorilla tape inside the casing patches, lol!

 

[Mr. Coffee]

My understanding was that the big challenge of tubeless is that you need a big blast of air to seat the tire on the rim. So you often end up with requiring a different kind of pump.

I was also put off about tubeless when the folks pitching it said I'd need to carry a spare tube for field repairs.

 

[Rakku]

My understanding was that the big challenge of tubeless is that you need a big blast of air to seat the tire on the rim. So you often end up with requiring a different kind of pump.

I was also put off about tubeless when the folks pitching it said I'd need to carry a spare tube for field repairs.

I have a compressor, so no issues with that and I carry a spare tube with me always anyway, even now where I run tubes.
So those wouldnt put me off at least.