UST tyres

[flanglian]

Hi. I am struggling to negotiate the UST/tubeless tyre mire! In the majority of cases, none of the tyre manufacturers make a clear differentiation on their sites between their UST and tubeless models.

I'm hoping that friendly CT member(s) can advise, if running UST, which tyres they're using and why!   

[Sitar_Ned]

Hope you don't mind, Flanglian - Moved your thread to the components section.

Good question, and a pretty confusing topic when you first dive into it. I'm no expert so please correct where I'm wrong but I think the most important thing to do when attempting to negotiate the UST/tubeless tyre mire is to make sure you have a solid understanding of all the different definitions.

UST tires are thicker, heavier, and mostly (or completely) air tight. The benefits supposedly are more securely seated, more dependable tyre set-up. Then there are tubeless ready tyres that are lighter, thinner, and may require more sealant to keep them air tight. I would venture to guess that tubeless ready is what most people use when running tubeless set-ups, but that is just a guess. In reality, you could run a standard tubed tyre tubeless and in fact many people do. Personally, I'd avoid going that route. Not that you mentioned taking, but thought it was worth pointing out. Bottom line is "tubeless ready" is most likely what you want to look into getting. And actually, most manufacturers do list what type of tyre it is on their websites it's just that you have familiarize yourself with even more definitions bc they all use different marketing phrases to designate what is what. For instance, I believe Specialized has their UST tyres and then their "2bliss" tyres which are the tubeless ready ones.

You also should consider the type of rims the tyres will be going on. You didn't mention the wheels you'll be running?

[Carbon_Dude]

Ned has pretty much summed up the tubeless vs UST tire market.  UST was created by Mavic and does not require sealant to make a good seal, however, I would still run sealant to prevent flats and if I'm going to run sealant, why get the thicker, heavier, more expensive UST tire?

So I run Tubeless ready tires with sealant (Stans, or I now prefer Orange Sealant), this is pretty much what everyone is doing.

[flanglian]

Thanks for moving to the appropriate section, Ned!

I haven't come to any conclusions yet but I trying to be methodical about determining what it the 'best' build solution for me. The UST solution appears to be the most 'elegant' 'tubeless' solution since at least Mavic's UST rims are not drilled, tyre bed is extruded to secure the tyre and it does not require liquid sealant (but might be sensible to run anyway).

I take on board your comments re weight C_D and certainly, Mavic's own UST tyres do appear to be heavier and less appropriate to the type of riding I'll mostly be doing which is fire roads and sandy forest trails.

I have a preference for Continental as my tyre provider but their site is extremely unclear with regard to which, if any, of their 29er tyres is UST compliant (as opposed to tubeless ready). They claim that their Protection range are UST compliant but then none of the tables state UST compliant on the 29er sizes, just the 26" tyres.

As far as I can make out, TLR does not necessarily make a tyre UST compliant!

Aidez moi, svp!   

 

[Carbon_Dude]

Yes, checking Continental's website, it looks like they are not supporting UST in the 29" size.  I really do believe that Tubeless Ready is the new standard that everyone is choosing, UST really seems to be going away.  At one time I was told that any company that makes a UST listed tire had to pay money to Mavic for every UST tire sold.  Who knows how true that is but it could be a reason that manufacturers are not supporting UST as much as they are TLR (tubeless ready).

[Sitar_Ned]

Thread about the tyre I have:  http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,27.0.html

[Patrick C.]

I have the Conti X-king Protection folding bead, and they are tubeless ready.  Relatively easy to get on the rims as well (Shimano MT75 tubeless compatible).  I needed a compressor with a lot of air to get them seated, but both held air fine.  One lost about half the pressure over a week or so, while the other didn't lose any.

Edit- they held air without sealant, but after letting them sit for a couple of weeks I added sealant for puncture protection.

[Carbon_Dude]

I just added another bottle of Stans (picked up the bottle free at a bike show) because my rear tire would loose all the air overnight.  That is my biggest complaint about Stans sealant is every 90 days or so the sealant dries out and more needs to be added to maintain its effectiveness.

Orange sealant is said to last longer, so far it's been doing well in my carbon rims.  I have not needed to add any yet.

[JackBNimble]

Everything is pretty much covered. All I will add is that Orange Sealant is def better than Stan's and that you should definitely check out the Maxxis tubeless ready 2.35 Ikons with exo wall protection. I've run lots of tires and these are the best combo of light weight, grip, cushion, and durability that you can get imo. If you need a really meaty/grippy tire, then maybe they aren't for you but for most trails they are plenty knobby enough.

[Carbon_Dude]

Thanks Jack!  When I am ready for a new set on Chiner, I will definitely give them a try.

[frits777]

I just the Maxxis CrossMark UST tubeless tires. With the Joe's no flat sealant.
Joe's no flat is a great sealant.
It is not the lightest tire but very robust, strong and maximum grip in all terrain

http://www.mtbr.com/cat/tires-and-wheels/tubeless-tire/maxxis/crossmark-ust/prd_412864_1508crx.aspx

I Cycled the Trans Alp 2013 and the Andalusia bike race 2014 with one set tires and no single failure. Also my buddy drive the Maxxis tire with out a failure.

[brmeyer135]

Another thread should be started about orange seal vs. stan's or one's experiences with different sealants but:
I don't see where OS is appreciably better - just read through the 'make your own sealant' - they are using the old stan's formula(in some form) and just trying to get as good as results as stan's
I see other places where slime is used and isn't as thick as stan's and can't seal up XC specific tires like a Schwalbe Thunder Burt - I put OS more like slime(more runny? stays 'wet' longer'(subjective))
I guess, from a 1000ft up one would put stan's on top with OS close second and then slime third and a far fourth would be the rest:  caffelatex, bontrager, spec and on

[Carbon_Dude]

I've used Stan's for years but put some OS in my set of Geax tires on my IP-036.  From my personal experience, OS is winning over Stan's at the moment.  The OS so far is doing a better job of sealing these tires and retaining pressure.  Also, when I recently removed a tire to replace the melted carbon rim on my front wheel, the OS cleaned off the rim and tire much easier than Stan's.  So, for me anyway, OS>Stan's, for now.  I may change back at some future time or to something else.

[tasty.dirt74]

I have done ghetto tubeless(using a tube), true UST rims, and taping rims.

The UST rims have a pronounced bead lock on the inside of the rim to "lock' the tyre into place. Standard style rims worked ok with a 20"tube slit lengthways to seal the tyre/rim interface.

I now have a set of carbon 29er rims using gorilla tape(that is the brand name) to make them tubeless. Best solution I have used..

Now tyres...

UST designated tyres need to use a specific bead design to be classified as UST. Most people are using tubeless ready tyres, which are lighter than UST tyres and NEED sealant. UST specific tyres DO NOT NEED TO USE SEALANT, but I would always recommend using sealant, not to assist with the inflation and air holding capabilities, but to seal punctures when they occur. Light weight tyres dont seem to have the sidewall support when going tubeless and using low pressures, as the light weight is achieved by using a high TPI count, and less rubber.

There are too many choices! I like the WTB tyres, as they are a large volume tyre with a reasonably low weight. The Specialized tyres are also very good. Maxxis is always a favourite too.

[Aoiree]

Was in a 24hr Adventure Race this past weekend and had my maxxis ignitor tire develop a large de-lamination bubble which subsequently exploded leaving a big messy tear in the tread.

Spent half an hour applying a few radial patches to both the inside and outside of the devastated area in hopes that it would protect the tube I would run inside the tire and then even wrapped the area in ducttape to provide extra compression/protection.

Any suggestions on how to avoid this? Not sure I ever plan to run tubeless again on a race. Much easier/quicker just to swap out a tube then deal with the above. Sample picture of what the de-lamination bubble looked like like below.