DH bike tube or tubeless?

njkayaker

njkayaker

Active Member
when I purchased my Session the LBS set it up tubeless but I have heard that most people run tubes DH. Opinions?
Thanks
 
+1 for tubeless. I have had issues but that's not tubeless's fault. Had multiple issues with Maxxis UST Minion DH tires either getting holes in the sidewall, or actually pinch flatting the tire - creating a hole directly at the bead that will never seal. I haven't bought tires in a few years but i'd stay away from Maxxis UST ones if i were you. I hear their normal DH tires actually hold up better when set up tubeless than the actual UST ones. Only other issue is how much Stans you'll go through with the high volume tires - stock up!
 
yeah i do get a little stans leaking out of the sidewall. thinking of taking the tire off and re seating it using soapy water on the sidewall.
 
njkayaker said:
yeah i do get a little stans leaking out of the sidewall. thinking of taking the tire off and re seating it using soapy water on the sidewall.
Click to expand...

perhaps there is a flash at the joint that is holding the bead a bit high off the rim??? (tire or rim)
 
I haven't made that jump to tubeless.
What PSI are you guys running?
I have always been afraid of blowing a tire off. Way back before tubeless had stans we tried going tubeless with slime and duct tape but would end up blowing the tires off. Guess I need to set up and give it a go.
 
I run tubeless on the DH and enduro wheels. I don't know how guys can run tubes these days at the speeds they go, but many Pros still do. Oddly enough, DH riders have become a rather curmudgeonly bunch. Note how they were the last to embrace larger wheels. To me, going tubeless is a no-brainer, but I also ran UST tubeless back in the day with Michelin tires on Mavic D3.1 rims. 28 PSI was the bare minimum on those otherwise it felt really squirrelly.

I'll admit I was leery of Stan's systems (often with the comment, "I ain't putting monkey cum in my tires..."), but after flatting 1/4 way down my first practice run at Windham in 2014, I went straight to the Stan's tent, the man himself hooked me up and I have been a convert every since. My ego isn't such that I can't admit when I was wrong.

I run pressures in the upper 20's. One of the big advantage of tubeless is you can get the tire compliance of low pressure (with tubes) but while keeping a faster rolling resistance and less roll-off worries. Especially since modern DH rims run on the narrow side (29mm or so) compared to "plus" and fat bike rims. Modern DH racers can be serious weight-weenies, so it'll take time before anyone is willing to try "plus" wheels/tires, although I can definitely see the non-racing/park riders going that way. I think a lot of pros still run tubes so they can swap tires quickly. Personally, I just keep a second set of wheels already set-up (right now with mud tires) in the van.
 
I am not so sure plus will catch on for DH, we ran 3.0" tires in the hay day and the delay at speeds made them cumbersome. The extra traction and umph is what all the suspension is for. Unless you ride at the speed of smell.
 
i ran gazzolodi 2.7's on my big hit (26 front, 24 rear) back in the early 2000's. I used DH tubes and also wrapped my tubes in another tube and covered everything in baby powder to keep pinch flats down a bit. i ran like 18 psi at plattekill and doing stair gaps at SUNY New Paltz and never got flats but that shit weighed so much it was ridiculous.

I run tubeless on my trail bike and ride it at creek regularly and never have a problem so I would think tubeless on a DH bike would be pretty standard now but i guess not...
 
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