Tubeless solution to PXC2s
Re-hijacking the thread back to the original topic! I tried the velocity tape (25mm wide) and completely screwed it up. I found it incredibly difficult to push it down into the depths of the rim without it folding or bubbling so it failed to hold any air. A mate of mine has done it successfully though, he had the wheels on the bike and someone holding the brakes on while partly stretching the tape onto the rim and then pushing each couple of centimetres on with a small screwdriver end. Took about 30 minutes per wheel!
So I went to Gorilla tape instead. I struggled to find a really good guide to this so thought this might be useful to others. I've done it on three wheels now and it seems to be holding over the last month, can't guarantee it beyond that (or guarantee it at all for your application!). Anyway, here's what I did and I hope it's of use to others.
Giant PXC2 tubeless conversion
Needed
Tyre levers
Methylated spirits
Clean rag
Gorilla tape 26mm (1 inch wide) . In Australia, Masters Hardware stores normally have this.
Tubeless valve stems
A tubeless ready tyre will also help if your original tyre is non-tubeless.
Tyre sealant (Stans, Joes, Café Latex etc.)
Step 1 – remove the wheel from the bike and the tyre and tube from the wheel.
Step 2 – remove the existing blue rim strip, to get it started you may need to get a tyre lever under it.
Step 3 – Use methylated spirits and a rag to thoroughly clean the inside of the rim.
Step 4 get your 26mm wide Gorilla tape and start sticking it onto the rim on the opposite side to the valve hole. This is the critical part of the operation, you must get the tape centred within the rim first because there are only a couple of millimetres extra. Secondly you must ensure that it’s stuck completely onto the rim with no air bubbles under it.
To do this you need to stretch it slightly and push it into the deeper part of the rim. I went through doing about 10cm lengths at a time pressing it down with the end of a tyre lever all the way around the rim. Overlap the other end of the tape by about 20cm
Finally work back around the rim pushing the tape into the upper parts of the rim profile, again ensuring that it’s properly stuck down without any bubbles.
Step 5 – Once the tape is absolutely fully stuck down all the way around, then take a small Phillips head screwdriver and push it through the tape to open up the valve hole. Don’t clean up all the tape around this hole as the extra tape should help it seal better.
Step 6 – take the new tyre (or original tyre if you’re re-using it) and tube and install it as you would normally. Inflate it to 40psi or the maximum pressure of the tyre. The purpose of this is twofold, to further press the tape onto the rim and, if it’s a new tyre, to straighten out the bead in preparation for it to inflate tubelessly. Leave this overnight.
Step 7 – Deflate the tube and remove one side of the tyre only, try not to break the seal that has formed between the tyre and rim on the other side of the tyre. Remove the tube. Take the tubeless valve stem and install it into the hole. Tighten it up reasonably tight but it doesn’t have to be screwed super tight (overtightening may actually pull the valve stem through the valve hole).
Step 8 – Add sealant to the inside of the tyre before installing the other side of the tyre onto the rim. The correct volume for your size tyre should be written on the label of the bottle of sealant.
Step 9 – Inflate the tubeless tyre. This can be the most complicated part of the process and there are many many webpages devoted to the process which you should check. The important parts are to: use soapy water to lubricate the points of contact between the tyre and the rim, this helps the tyre bead to ‘snap’ into place properly; have a good high volume floor pump or compressor that is able to deliver a strong sustained surge of air into the tyre; once the tyre does start to inflate don’t stop pumping until it has reached a pressure of 40psi; once there is 40psi in the tyre pick it up and hold it horizontally and shake it to ensure that the sealant spreads over all the places where there is a gap between tyre and rim or holes in the tyre. Note that there will be some loud bangs as the bead snaps onto the rim during the inflation process, this is normal. Again though, you should check online for more information on inflating tubeless tyres.