Allan Kelly : Al's Half Tubes

DIY Tubeless bicycle wheels for pennies

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What this is: traditionally bicycles use innertubes. There's a problem there because innertubes puncture easily and they stiffen up the tyre. If you remove the innertube then you can eliminate almost all punctures and you get a more supple tyre. To do that, you need to make an air-tight seal. There have been various approaches taken, either making an air-tight rim and tyre combination as for cars, or using a rubber rim-strip and a latex-based solution to form a seal. Here I show you how to do this yourself for very little money.

I invented this method of converting standard tyres and tubes to tubeless - then discovered that it's a widely-used technique. It works very well, I've riden various events including TransScotland, Singlespeed Worlds 07, Strathpuffer 08 with this tubeless set-up, and it's been flawless.

Here's how to Al's Half Tubes a 26" mountain bike wheel. It's exactly the same for a 700c wheel, just use a 26" mountian bike innertube! This works for cyclocross wheels and 29er mountainbike wheels.

Ingredients

1. BMX Inner tubes - I use Schwalbe with presta valves. I have to recommend Schwalbe because their Schraeder valves have lock rings, and the lock rings on their Prestas have a collar that sits inside Schraeder-drilled valve holes. Really nice attention to detail, essential here because we need the lock ring whatever type of valve.
2. I'm told that "Halfords "lightweight" inner tubes with long presta valves are the removable core type".
3. BEWARE! that really cheap presta tubes do not have removable valves. Don't buy them.
4. Fairy Liquid, Water, dishes brush or paint brush
5. "Just Riding Along Wheel Milk"
6. Scissors or a Stanley Knife blade
7. Valve core remover (pliers does it for valve-removable presta)
8. A big pump
9. A Co₂ inflator (optional)

Recipe

• Mix up some warm soapy water with the Fairy and water
• Pump up a BMX inner tube
• Stretch tube onto the rim, valve in valve-hole obviously. You should screw on the lock-ring now as well, nice and tight.
• Cut the tube around the outside diameter, so it deflates and forms a flat rim-strip hanging over the edge. I'll call this the rim-strip from now on.
• Run your finger between the rim and the rim strip to even it out.
• Use the brush to clean the chalky stuff out of the rim-strip. Get it pretty clean, but don't bother rinsing or drying it.
• Mount the tyre on the rim, so it's sitting inside the rim-strip.
• Use the dishes brush to get soapy water all round the edge of the tyre where it's sitting on the rim strip. Get it good and wet.
• Sort of pull the tyre onto the rim edge. Do your best.
• Remove the valve core. This'll let more air in quicker - a Good Thing.
• Pump it up. You might have to pump really fast. If you just can't get this to work, then either the CO₂ inflator or do it at the local garage forecourt air machine. I find it's usually OK with a track pump as long as you've removed the valve core.
• Wow! It inflated!
• Get it up to 60 PSI. The tyre is now seated on the rim. It might make a few 'pop' or 'ping' noises. That's good, it's seating onto the rim.
• Let the air out. Now that it's seated it'll go back up OK.
• Pour 50ml of Wheel Milk into the valve. The 100ml JRA Wheel Milk bottle comes with a handy narrow nozzle that's perfect for this. If your rims are very narrow, you might have to pull the tyre bead out to avoid the Milk pouring out the sides.
• Ready to inflate: You have 50ml or so of Wheel Milk in the tyre. The tyre's on the rim. The rim-strip's hanging over the sides.
• Re-insert the valve core quite firmly.
• Blow it up to about 40PSI.
• Slosh it all about. Rotate 30^o and slosh it all about. Do this for a while.
• Wipe off foamy stuff. Look for leaks. Rotate the leaks to the bottom and wait for them to heal.
• If your tyre's really knackered you might have to patch it. Do this with normal patches on the inside of the tyre. Works really well in my experience, because the air pressure's pushing the patch onto the hole instead of off the hole as with a tube. Another advantage!
• Once things seem stable (which is often immediately), then cut the extra rim-strip off. To do this, either use the scissors or CAREFULLY put the blunt edge of the Stanley blade against the tyre sidewall, hold the rubber with the other hand, and run the blade around the rim edge so the extra rubber comes away neatly. Easier to do than to explain!
• Go for a quick ride to the end of the street. Bang up some curbs and stuff if you want, you're immune now!
• Leave it overnight. It'll likely be fine. If not, just re-inflate and re-slosh-it-all-about.
• Ride hard on roots and rocks. Do not puncture. Amazing.