DH'ers - are you with or without tube?

Both my DH and AM bikes are sans tubes with few if any issues. 3 years running including racing and about 40 days in the park. They're slightly more trouble to set up (though not really once you've got a compressor and know what you're doing) and quite a bit less problematic once complete.

And I'm no lightweight.

Thanks kindly, appreciate the feedback. I figure I'm just shy of 200 lbs once I'm all geared up. The notion of tubeless appeals to me providing it's a less problematic approach, than, well, tubes. I know everyone's opinion varies - but thanks for this.

Looking forward to catching up with you in person on the flipside!! Till then [thumbsup]

DS

I don't really get what's wrong with posting a perfectly acceptable question that doesn't really offend anyone but simply asks about the personal experiences with a tube or tubeless setup on a DH rig. In fact I'd much rather see discussions like these as opposed to 100 slightly different versions of the "NSMB - 2012 4" travel lightweight 29er rig with a dropper post and 175mm crank arms build off"-topics.

Anyways… I'm strictly against running a tubeless setup on my DH bike. I still haven't found a tire that works perfectly in all those various conditions that I regularly ride in. I like the option of being able to run mud tires when conditions are horrible or cut down spikes when the ground is really soft. In addition to that, my rear rim has tons of dents and the way I ride, I will flat spot my rim very easily. A tubeless setup won't stay sealed for long, that's for sure. A lot of my riding buddies also have experienced burping issues when cornering hard. On the other hand, my 130gram tubes are going very strong with maybe 2 or 3 pinch flats per race season. So in short, I think the cons of a tubeless setup on a DH bike far outweigh its benefits - tubes for sure!

I don't really get what's wrong with posting a perfectly acceptable question that doesn't really offend anyone but simply asks about the personal experiences with a tube or tubeless setup on a DH rig. In fact I'd much rather see discussions like these as opposed to 100 slightly different versions of the "NSMB - 2012 4" travel lightweight 29er rig with a dropper post and 175mm crank arms build off"-topics.

Anyways… I'm strictly against running a tubeless setup on my DH bike. I still haven't found a tire that works perfectly in all those various conditions that I regularly ride in. I like the option of being able to run mud tires when conditions are horrible or cut down spikes when the ground is really soft. In addition to that, my rear rim has tons of dents and the way I ride, I will flat spot my rim very easily. A tubeless setup won't stay sealed for long, that's for sure. A lot of my riding buddies also have experienced burping issues when cornering hard. On the other hand, my 130gram tubes are going very strong with maybe 2 or 3 pinch flats per race season. So in short, I think the cons of a tubeless setup on a DH bike far outweigh its benefits - tubes for sure!

Hey thanks man!!

What PSI were you running when you experienced your not-so-good flats running a tubeless set up? Just wondering - I'm still teetering between the 2 different set ups. I've had NO issues with my UST tubeless on my SXC90 - and I hammer that puppy pretty hard. When I was riding hard DH, the biggest issue back then was constant pinch flats. I am sure things have bettered in the sidewalls, technology, and weight of tires and tubes, but having been out of the scene for a while now, I just wanted to get a sense as to one way or the other.

Thanks for your post!!
DS

Disappointed…

I thought this thread was going to be more:

"Dh'ers - do you ride with a -spare- tube, or just try and steal one from your buddy, or some other generous sucker, when you inevitably get a flat"

-D

Hey thanks man!!

What PSI were you running when you experienced your not-so-good flats running a tubeless set up? Just wondering - I'm still teetering between the 2 different set ups. I've had NO issues with my UST tubeless on my SXC90 - and I hammer that puppy pretty hard. When I was riding hard DH, the biggest issue back then was constant pinch flats. I am sure things have bettered in the sidewalls, technology, and weight of tires and tubes, but having been out of the scene for a while now, I just wanted to get a sense as to one way or the other.

Thanks for your post!!
DS

Sorry, no personal experience with running a tubeless setup on my DH rig. Just a lot of fairly negative stories from riding buddies and lots of Whistler locals that I met this summer. I'm not too concerned about burping tires but the rim definitely needs to hold up to the abuse, especially when it's a full UST setup. My Mavic 721 survived about half a season including several races and 6 weeks in Whistler and it's completely destroyed - I highly doubt that a Mavic 823 would survive everything I throw at it neither. So to me, tubeless on a DH rig means lots of troubles and it isn't even a lighter setup once you factor in that the rim itself is heavier than a non-UST rim. That's just my opinion though and I'm sure other people have had some better experiences. This is purely in regards to DH riding - tubeless on an AM rig is an entirely different story in my opinion!

For what it's worth, I'm running 2-Ply Maxxis Tires (Minion DHF or High Roller II) on Mavic 721 rims, XC tubes and a tire pressure of roughly 28psi, maybe a tad less.

And to think I started this thread under the "presumption" that "most" DH cats were indeed tubeless.

Well, hence the reason I asked… Learned a lot from this thread - thanks guys… And hey, any more yay or nay replies, all the better.

Peace,
The Dirty

I was also curious about this for DH specifically.

I was shredding tubeless on my 6" do-it-all bike and absolutely loved it. I loved the ability to ride at lower pressures without worry. The only problems on downhill trails was occasionally I felt the tire sort of "roll" off the rim on big corners. This mostly happened at places like Silverstar with their glorious berms. The only other time it let me down was when I blasted through a gnarly rock section and the tire blew off the rim. However that tire was at the end of its life and I already had to patch it before. Both of these cases were probably my fault for running too low of pressure though. A mechanic at a resort told me that tubeless was generally not the best idea for lift accessed parks. I could see why, but I personally love them.

Anyways, I just made the jump to a 8" big rig, and I am contemplating putting my Stan's conversion on. I think I will try it out for a couple weeks at least and see how it goes. If it ends up as a failure, it only takes 10 minutes to clean the tire and rim and throw a tube in.

A mechanic at a resort told me that tubeless was generally not the best idea for lift accessed parks. I could see why, but I personally love them.

o rly :devil:

I've been shredding SS and SP for the last three seasons UST tubeless without hassles.
200+lb ogre, not too smooth and though not the fastest cat on the hill, more than fast enough

I just run a bit higher pressure for bike parks, enough that I can roll fast and shred smooth jump lines, but not lose traction on teh rox and gnurrs

UST hasn't failed me yet for DH

UST with Stans is money.

o rly :devil:

I've been shredding SS and SP for the last three seasons UST tubeless without hassles.
200+lb ogre, not too smooth and though not the fastest cat on the hill, more than fast enough

I just run a bit higher pressure for bike parks, enough that I can roll fast and shred smooth jump lines, but not lose traction on teh rox and gnurrs

UST hasn't failed me yet for DH

Let me know the rubber and rims if you don't mind 8)

I used to run a ghetto split inner tube setup. UST minion DHF on MTX33. no issues at all even with a few dents in the rim, but I didn't have much of a race season last year. that said I only got a couple pinch flats the season before and that was at the mt. washington race.

I didn't bother to set it up again when I built some new rims this fall, although I might try the ghetto duct tape setup for the summer.

A ghetto setup works as long as you have a tire that doesn't leak air (usually through sidewalls) and keep the pressure sufficient. Very easy to setup too.

Using a tube can still be fine if you wrap your tube or use a heavy DH tube and a heavy duty tire (think Michelin 2.8). Ends up pretty heavy, but is good for plowing through things.

I'm a tubes kind of guy. The alternative here is XC tubes, presta in the front and schrader in the rear. No presta in rear cause it's a possibility that you'll rip it out while riding…

With xc tubes I run 23-28 Psi, no problems maybe 4 dent's in my 721, and several barely noticeable ones. I actually rode incline-ned's once with 19 psi(remember to check your psi) and survived the day plus another year's worth of riding… With the same tubes… I have a buddy who can vouch for that too…

Just pick smoother lines, and don't case jumps.

I'm a tubes kind of guy. The alternative here is XC tubes, presta in the front and schrader in the rear. No presta in rear cause it's a possibility that you'll rip it out while riding…

With xc tubes I run 23-28 Psi, no problems maybe 4 dent's in my 721, and several barely noticeable ones. I actually rode incline-ned's once with 19 psi(remember to check your psi) and survived the day plus another year's worth of riding… With the same tubes… I have a buddy who can vouch for that too…

Just pick smoother lines, and don't case jumps.

Why would the likelihood of ripping a presta versus a schrader out of the rear be higher?