Tubeless Coker tyre idea

[TonyMelton]

I thought I could save some weight from the enormously heavy Coker wheel
by going tubeless. 'NoTubes' ( www.notubes.com ) sell a 'kit '
(http://www.notubes.com/notubeskit.htm) which you can use to convert a
standard tyre and rim into a sealed, tubeless tyre. It consists of a rim
strip to seal the spoke holes, valve core and sealant. Has anyone tried
using this kind of system on their Coker?

I've already emailed the NoTubes people and they've indicated that 120g
of sealant will probably be required. If this works it'll be great,
but I have a few reservations. The first is that the wheel might
actually end up weighing more than when I started. (What does the Coker
inner tube weigh anyway - in grams, please!). Also you have to keep
adding more sealant every so often. And thirdly the bike shop guy told
me that if your wheel has side-to-side flex in it (which almost all
non-wide hubbed-Cokers will have) then the tyre bead is liable to pop
off, resulting in a flat tyre and a big mess of sealant everywhere....

....Having said all that, is anyone willing to be the guinea pig on
this??!?:D


Tony

Coker 1/2 Century tomorrow. or 80km for metric folks


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[harper]

How much does the tube weigh? What's the difference in weight between
(required_sealant+tubeless_repair_kit) and (tube+standard_repair_kit)?


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[joemarshall]

TonyMelton wrote:
> *(What does the Coker inner tube weigh anyway - in grams, please!). *


Quite a lot. I think it weighs more than a nokian downhill tube.
Probably about 800g or so.

Joe


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[U-Turn]

Nathan Hoover says a guy on the most recent Mount Diabolo Challenge did
this with great success. He apparently drilled the rim quite a bit as
well to eliminate weight on the hill climb. This wheel was apparently
built for this race alone, and I'm hoping that someday we'll be able to
hear more about it.


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[john_childs]

For a humorous look at an anti-notubes site check out 'yestubes'
(http://www.yestubes.com/) :)


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[joona]

john_childs wrote:
> *For a humorous look at an anti-notubes site check out 'yestubes'
> (http://www.yestubes.com/) :) *


Damn you posted it first. I was thinking about this page too. And I
really wouldn't like to go tubeless. It seems to me that it only makes
life harder. I have never tried tubeless on my uni or bike but people I
know mostly have complained.

Though it might work better on road than trails.


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[john_childs]

TonyMelton wrote:
> *(What does the Coker inner tube weigh anyway - in grams, please!). *

I put a Coker tube on my kitchen food scale and it is 19 oz which comes
to 538 grams. It's not a very accurate scale. I'd give it an accuracy
of about +- 2 oz or +- 56 grams. But even with that cheap scale it is
obvious that the Coker tube is a hefty tube weighing in at more than 1
pound.

The Coker tube weighs about the same as my heavy duty 24x3 Intense DH
tube that I use on my muni. The Intense tube weighs in at 19 oz on that
same scale. The Intense tube is the heaviest and thickest of the 3" DH
tubes.

Good luck on your 1/2 century Coker ride tomorrow.
That's a 50 mile ride for you metric folks. :)


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[MUNIYETI]

Thanks for the YesTubes link...that made me bust a gut..... I read
Mountain Bike Action all the time and they are constantly writing about
how great the "No-Tubes" system is , while never mentioning any of the
obviously ugly problems it introduces ........ John_C is my new hero .:D


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[jagur]

MUNIYETI wrote:
> *John_C is my new hero .:D *
take a number and get in line...


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[john_childs]

MUNIYETI wrote:
> *Thanks for the YesTubes link...that made me bust a gut..... I read
> Mountain Bike Action all the time and they are constantly writing
> about how great the "No-Tubes" system is , while never mentioning any
> of the obviously ugly problems it introduces ........ John_C is my new
> hero .:D *

I saw the 'yestubes' (http://www.yestubes.com/) site mentioned in the
discussion list for the local MTB club I'm in. The topic of tubes vs.
tubeless is a regular feature. To really appreciate the yestubes site
it helps to have been subjected to the NoTubes hype in forums and
magazine articles and to have read the 'NoTubes'
(http://www.notubes.com/) web site.

I'm not sure how the NoTubes system would fit the Coker. I don't think
he has a rim strip that will fit a 36" rim. Maybe Stan has something
that would work with the Coker, but he doesn't list any rim strips for
large diameter rims. Maybe the rim strips will stretch enough to fit
the Airfoil Coker rim.


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[joemarshall]

john_childs wrote:
> *
> I saw the 'yestubes' (http://www.yestubes.com/) site mentioned in the
> discussion list for the local MTB club I'm in. The topic of tubes vs.
> tubeless is a regular feature. To really appreciate the yestubes site
> it helps to have been subjected to the NoTubes hype in forums and
> magazine articles and to have read the 'NoTubes'
> (http://www.notubes.com/) web site.
>
> I'm not sure how the NoTubes system would fit the Coker. I don't
> think he has a rim strip that will fit a 36" rim. Maybe Stan has
> something that would work with the Coker, but he doesn't list any rim
> strips for large diameter rims. Maybe the rim strips will stretch
> enough to fit the Airfoil Coker rim. *


Incidentally, gaffa/parcel tape (basically any airtight, waterproof
tape) can be used instead of the notubes rim strip and the liquid latex
used to seal the system can be obtained from certain 'specialist'
shops.

Joe


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[TonyMelton]

john_childs wrote:
> *I'm not sure how the NoTubes system would fit the Coker. I don't
> think he has a rim strip that will fit a 36" rim. Maybe Stan has
> something that would work with the Coker, but he doesn't list any rim
> strips for large diameter rims. Maybe the rim strips will stretch
> enough to fit the Airfoil Coker rim. *


Stan just emailed me back and says he has made a special rim tape to fit
my Airfoil rim. He also said to use 2 or 3 'scoops' of sealant. I don't
know exactly how much this is, though. However, by the sounds of what
I've read about NoTubes and the hilarious yestubes.com site, I don't
think I'll take him up on his offer.



Tony
Successfully ridden 80km on yestubes!


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The first NZUNi Weekend - October 25-27, Wellington. More info at
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'My Photo Gallery' (http://gallery.unicyclist.com/albur10) has new
photos and has been generally re-arranged and spruced up. 9/9/03

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[uni-2-death]

they deflate within 2 hours of riding


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[nathan]

Very sorry we don't have any photos, but yes, Glenn Drummond went
tubeless a while ago on his custom 13.5 pound 36" cycle. Read 'my
description from the Oct 2003 Mt Diablo Challenge'
(http://tinyurl.com/xnw1). His tire does not go flat right away - he
says it's no problem. Email me if you want his contact info.

---Nathan


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