Thread: bodgy tyre repair job

Go ghetto tubless.

Cool bodge Dobbo, I like your work.

A couple of things (and bear in mind I've been out of the MTB latest tech loop for a little while)

1. First up, double check your clearance, and it does depend on the course, but over a certain weight (eg, if you aren't a jockey) you'll go faster on fatter rubber with lower pressures.
I've nearly always run a fatter tyre on the front.

2. Latex tubes are faster, lighter and resist pinch flats much, much better than butyl tubes, I even run them on the roadie thanks to my fat arse.
Good luck trying to find them in Oz though, you'll probably have to mail order through someone like PBK or Chain Reaction in the UK.

2. Some tyres aren't anywhere near as big as the sidewall says, Conti were notorious for this, eg my front Conti's say 2.3, but they are only as big as others 2.2 and some 2.1's.

3. Schwalbe make some stupid fast, stupid light XC tyres. I have some weights written down somewhere and still have a pair of original Fast Freds.

Stupid light, stupid fast and stupidly sketchy
FF's are long gone, but Schwalbe are probably still my favourite off road tyre brand.

4. If you're game, run Stan's NoTubes or the Eclipse/ DT Swiss Tubelesskit.
Beats pinchflats and thorns, although you are still stuffed with gashes.
Arguments still rage over who's system is better and if I plonked down my hard earned I'd probably use the Eclipse kit.

and FWIW I still have the original recipe for Stans before he went commercial.
I'd have to dig it out, but we just used a type of 3M packaging tape in the rim bed, a cut off presta valve, I think some 3M eleccy tape over the packaging tape and a latex brew slopped around inside.

It all started on the MTBR Weight Weenies forum something like nine or ten years ago and we all tried and ran variations on it.
Hell, I think I'm still immortalised on the Starbike/Weight Weenies weights list as one of the 'original' weight weenie contributors.
Have digi scales, will buy, modify and fit the lightest