Going Tubeless with a Rolling Darryl Rim and a Nate Tire

Disclaimer:  The following worked for me. I cannot guarantee that it will yield similar results for other rim/tire combos.

Some folks were curious how I converted my Rolling Darryls and Nates to a tubeless setup. This is a brief rundown of the process. No videos and even the pictures are not of the best quality! Sorry!!

I have been running tubeless since April with great success. During this time I was using Gorilla Tape to seal the rims.  It worked fine, although it has a tendency to absorb some of the sealant. It is also a very tenacious tape and is a PITA to try a and remove. I had a small issue in November when my rear tire ran dry of the sealant and started to leak air. I broke down the setup but had no Gorilla Tape on hand so I tried a new tape - just for poops and giggles - to see if it would work!! Surprisingly, it worked incredibly well. The new tape is the 3M Safety Stripe. It is a PVC tape that is stretchy (unlike the Gorilla) so it can be worked into all the nooks and crannies of the rims. Plus it seals upon itself quite good. I used it for a few weeks before I broke it all down again. There was no apparent damage from the sealant, no absorption - all was the same as the day I put it in!  Short term test was a success!!

Fast forward to this weekend when I decided that it was time to stud the Nates!! I figured that if I am going to break down the tires, I might as well redo the tape and all. So here we go . . .

What I used:

3M tekk Safety Stripe Tale - purchased from Princess Auto.

Stan's NoTubes Sealant - purchased at Fun 'n ' Fast

Stan's NoTubes valves - purchased at Fun 'n ' Fast

Air compressor - the bigger the better

Hopbot IPA (optional) - purchased at the NLC store

The stuff that you need!!

The optional stuff!!

 What I did:


1)  Remove the wheel from the bike (d'uh!)

2)  Remove the tire and tube if applicable  (double d'uh!)

3)  I had to deal with the hassle of removing the existing Gorilla Tape strip and associated gobs of adhesive left behind (ugh!)

4)  If necessary, trim your rim tape if it necessary. There needs to be enough of  the rim's shoulder exposed so that the tape has something to stick to. (See second image below!)

Trimmed rim tape and ready for sealing tape!

 5)  Run a single strip of 3M tape all the way around. Make sure that the tape spans both the rim tape and the rim. This is crucial in order to get a good seal!! Ensure that there is a bit of overlap between the ends of the tape as well!

Running the first strip. Notice that sealing tape spans both the rim tape and the bare rim. (See step 4 above) 

6)  Apply good pressure to the tape to make sure that it stretches and gets worked onto the rim and the rim tape!!

Rubbing the tape hard enough to create heat seems to aid with it sticking and conforming to the required shape!

7)  Apply a second layer of tape as per the first!!  Make sure that you have a tight seal where the two layers overlap down the centre line of the rim!  This is one of the areas where leaking can happen.

Applying the second layer.

8)  Poke a hole through the tape for the valve.

9)  Reinstall the tire AND the tube*. Yes, the tube!! Inflate to a high pressure - 20 psi or so. Let sit for a while.

*This is a pretty critical function of the whole procedure. By reinstalling the tire and tube and reinflating to a high pressure, you are getting the tire beads to set nicely.

Reinstall the tire and tube.

Inflate that sucker till it feels like a road tire - almost!!

10)  After letting the tire sit for a while (15 minutes or so should be fine) deflate the tire completely and break ONLY ONE SIDE OF THE TIRE BEAD to remove the tube!!  By doing this, you are leaving the tire with one bead nicely set and that is half the battle!!  If the other bead breaks while removing the tube, reinflate and let sit for a bit longer.

11)  Install the Stans NoTubes presta valve in the rim. Hand tight should be fine for now.

Valve installed.

12)   Lay the wheel, loose bead down,  on a 5 gal bucket or other such device that will support the centre of wheel. This allows gravity to help!!  The loose bead will droop towards the rim and aid in the initial sealing - hopefully!!

That is only muddy ice water in the bucket!!!  Note the use of schraeder adapter for the valve.

13)   Inflate the tire with the compressor.  Hopefully the bead will be snug enough to hold air immediately. If so, continue to inflate to a good pressure - again, 20 psi is nice!!

The higher the capacity of the compressor, the better your chances of getting a seal right away as it forces more air into the tire quickly.

14)  Both beads should now be set!  Remove the valve core (not the whole stem) and let the tire deflate.

15)  Rig up a way to get the Stan's sealant into the tire through the valve stem. There are any numbers of way to do this. (View image below to see how I did it)

Homemade Stan's injector

16)  Inject sealant into the tire. There are a number of "recommended" amounts to put in there. Some say 4oz, some say 8oz. Personally, I am not sure if it needs to be exact. I'd be inclined to say more is better than less. But no so much that you can feel it sloshing around in the tire!!

17)  Reinstall the valve core and reinflate the tire to a nice high pressure - 20 psi or so.

18)  Perform the Stan's Dance!!  Spin and bounce the tire off the floor. This helps slosh the sealant around and aids in its finding any leaks to seal!

Safety Dance!!  Best to wear gloves when doing the Stan's Dance with a DIY studded tire!!

19)  It is a good idea to get out for a ride right away to help with the sealing process. I urge you to take a pump with you - just in case!!

20)  Monitor the tire to see how well it retains air.


So, there you have it!!  Hopefully I have not omitted anything of importance!!  If so, there is a plethora of videos and such on the Interwebs showing exactly how to do this!  Some even have videos!! LOL!

Thanks for dropping by!!

Making a Silk Purse out of a Pug's Ear!!

I must start this blog entry with a bit of explanation of the title. The saying "making a silk purse out of a pig's ear" implies trying to make something beautiful/valuable out of something that is already ugly/useless!!  Such is not the case with regards to my stock Pugsley - see image above!!  I just thought the saying fit so nice as a blog entry title, so I went with it!!  Blogger's prerogative, I guess!!

After converting the Pug to a 1x drivetrain, I started looking at other ways of upgrading! I must admit that I love doing upgrades - not always so much for the benefits, but for the fun, and sometimes challenges, that come with them!!

After the 1x conversion, I decided the next upgrades on the list were to swap out the stem, bar, seat and seat post. I tracked down a good deal on a Nukeproof saddle and FSA stem from Chainreaction in the UK. 100.00 delivered for the pair. I found the carbon fibre bar and seat post  a little closer to home - MEC.  These four components were substantially lighter than stock - and look better, to boot!!  Images later on will show these new additions!!

I've always had a new fork in my mind. The Moonlander fork that came with the bike is a real beast - and rightly so!! It was designed, primarily, to carry racks and the associated weights! I doubt that I will ever be loading down my bike for any extended expeditions, so I figured I could do without all the braze-ons and the extra weight!!

I'd been doing some half-hearted searching for a fork for the past number of months but never pulled the trigger until I stumbled upon the Sarma Hoboy. Sarma carries a fork that pretty much drops right into a Pug - 1 1/8 straight steerer with quick release and an axle to crown distance of 450mm!! The website was advertising a sale price of 250.00 US and when I checked further, I found that this included free international shipping!!  Decision - made!! Order - placed!!

I placed the order on Sunday (May 10). The fork did not ship until Thursday (May 15)  but it arrived in St. John's on Monday (May 22). Tracking was provided so I watched my fork wend it's way across the Pacific and then from BC to here. I was most impressed with the shipping time and packaging!!

I knew there would a few modifications required to fit my stock brake configuration. I would need to shift my rotor outboard 5mm and the fork posts were designed for 160mm rotors so I would need an adapter to accommodate my 180s.

I could either order the spacer or make one. I opted for the latter and acquired a piece of 6mm plate aluminium and got to work with the drill, jig saw and files!  A few hours later, I had a spacer!! I managed to find a longer set of bolts on another bike - another problem solved!!

Drilling out the centre!

Completed spacer

How it looks on the rotor.

The matter of adapting for the 180mm rotors was overcome by an 11.00 part from a LBS. It was a Shimano part so we were not entirely sure if it would work with my SRAM Guide RS calipers. These fears were later dispelled! 

Shimano 160 to 180 adapter.

And now for the star of the show . . . .

I picked up the fork at the post office. It felt like an empty box - it was that light!!

The fork - uncut!

And for the weight weenies!! Spongebob approves!!

With all the parts assembled, it was time to get at 'er!!

The crown race came off the old fork with a screwdriver and a few taps of the hammer. Phew!!  The crown race fit onto the new fork with a piece of ABS pipe and a few taps of the hammer. Double phew!!!

Time for a test fit:

Uncut fork!

There's an old adage - "Measure twice, cut once". When measuring the steerer tube, I measured twice and cut only once but - I almost royally screwed up on the second time I measured!! D'oh!! The second measurement was made with NO SPACERS on the steerer, so I almost ended up cutting the steerer too short!! It was one of those "Oh my F#ck" moments when I started to sweat profusely and I got this loud buzzing in my ears. It was a horrible feeling to think that I just shagged up a brand new 300.00 piece of gear. Lucky for me, there was enough steerer to fit the stem and with room for one 7mm spacer. Phew!! It did mean that I would have to fool around with bar heights later but crisis averted!!

How did this happen? I haven't the foggiest!!  It was just one of those moments where your mind is not at all where it should be.

Making the cut!! See the line about 1.5" to the right? THAT is the one I was supposed to be cutting!!!

The headset and fork dropped in with no incident. The 5mm spacer for the rotor worked like a charm with no need for further modifications.

The caliper adapter in place and showing the nice detail of the post mounts!!

The new fork installed!!

Profile shot showing new seat and post!

New fork, bars and stem! Stem soon to be replaced - sigh!!

The screw-up on the fork steerer length meant that my bars would now be sitting a full 1" below the height I normally used. This put the bars about 1" below the saddle height.  I took the bike for a few rides and I could feel the difference in the height. Especially since I have a shagged up right elbow and the extra weight of leaning forward was making it ache even more. The new FSA stem I bought only had a 6 degree rise, so I began looking for another stem that might give me some more "lift".  In the meantime, I found out that there have been some issues with using the FSA stem with carbon steerer tubes (clamps were too small and put too much local stress on the carob tube), so maybe it was fate that started me looking for another!!

On a whim I dropped by to see Harold and he gave me free reign to browse the "stem box" at his shop!! I'll be damned if there wasn't a 15 degree riser - and just the one,though!! And not some clunky-assed piece of stamped out steel. It was a nice and light Giant unit - actually lighter than the FSA I ordered in. Nice and sturdy clamps, so no issues with use on a carbon steerer!! Things were finally looking up - pun intended!!

New stem!

I popped the stem on and did a measurement. BINGO - we're right back to normal. 

I always try to rationalize my mistakes, SO I will now argue that it was good thing that I cut the steerer too short because you don't want too many spacers on a carbon fork and besides, I've made up the lost height by using a stem that weighs less than the one used previously. It's a win-win-win situation!

I'm a happy camper!!

As for the fork - it's pretty sweet. Looks great and seems to dampen the ride a bit. Further testing will either prove or dispel this notion!!

As for the total upgrade package, I am now looking at a 30lb Pugsley!! And the loss of those 5 lbs (over stock) is noticed like you would not believe!!  The bike now has a completely different feel - almost unfettered, dare I say!! 

And that is the end of my tale - a happy ending out of what could very well have been a tragedy!!

Thanks for dropping by!!

One Ring to Rule Them All . . .

I've been riding the Pug Ops for three months now and I've come to the realization that, during this time, I may have used the large front chain ring less than a handful of times!! The bike came with a 36/22 setup on the front with a 11-36 cog on the rear. Regardless of the riding conditions, I seemed to always find myself in a very small range of gears - none of which included the 36t front ring. With a little poking about and asking some Surly gurus, I decided to ditch the front 36/22t  combo for a single Wolf Tooth 30t Drop-Stop Chainring. But in choosing to do, this I would be losing some of my lower range gears. Enter the Wolf Tooth 42t GC - a rear cog that is basically the size of a small frisbee!!  Combined with the 30t front ring, the low range is pretty close to stock. So, with the new setup, the range from high to low is pretty much the same - there are just only 1/2 the number of gear steps within the range. Hopefully, no biggie but I am sure it will require some changes in riding!! Stay tuned for that!!

The Pug Ops in stock form!!

I ordered the parts from Wolf Tooth Components based out of Minnesota. They are a small company that manufacture all their own products. The order was placed on March 18th, shipped within hours of initial contact and showed up in my mailbox on the 24th. I have NEVER had such quick shipping from the US before!!

The Goodies!! 

When you add the 42t cog, you need to remove one of the smaller ones - usually the 17t. Wolf Tooth offers a 16t that you can add to the range to smooth out the shifting. In this case, you remove the 15t and 17t and substitute the 16t. The 16t is the small silver cog in the above image!

Time for the conversion!!

First order of business is removing the crank so that I could remove the chainrings!! My bike has the Surly OD crank which makes removal a snap - no special tools required!! Simply loosen two small allen head bolts on the left crank arm, pull it off the splines and slide the whole axle assembly through the sealed bottom bracket bearings! Easy Peasy!!

Pulling the crank out of the bottom bracket.

Removing the chainrings.

Removing the chainrings did have its moments of fear!! Most of the bolts were very hard to remove and I was worried that they would either strip or, worse, snap off in the crank!! Using the extra leverage from the handle of an adjustable wrench, I managed to break them loose. And here is why they were so hard to remove . . .

 . . . Loctite on the threads!!

With the old rings off, it was time to do a little weigh-in. Not the primary reason for doing this conversion, but you know folks are going to be curious about the weight reduction!! Appears there is a 84 gram weight savings with the single ring!

Old rings - 132 grams

New ring - 48 grams

The new ring all mounted up and ready to go!!

Popping the crank back on the bike was simply a reversal of the removal. I can certainly get used to this setup - especially after having fought, many times in the past, with stubborn cranks and crank pullers that were just a royal PITA to work with!!! 'Nuff said!!

The people at Surly certainly are a different crowd and they let you know it - sometimes in very subtle ways!!. Check out this little message that was stamped on the inside of the crank arm right next to the pedal! I assume it means to not over-tighten your pedals!!

Is this actually a torque value?

While working on the bike, I had to have a bit of "tunage" playing. What is more appropriate for the job than Jethro Tull's Songs from the Wood album?

One of my favs!!

With the chainring and crank all taken care of, it was time to tackle the cassette! I managed to dredge up my old chain whip from way back when. It's been languishing out in the shed (with a host of other old bike tools) so it was showing it's age and subjection to lots of moisture!! I could not find my cassette remover, so a 10.00 purchase was in order. No biggie, I know I will be using it again sometime!!

A piece of the past!

As per the instructions, I rebuilt the cassette - removed the 15 and 17, replaced it with the 16 and then installed he Mother-of-all-cogs - the 42 toother!!  As expected (hoped) it all went without a hitch!!

All together again!!

When breaking the chain, I pushed one pin too far and, plop, it ended up on the floor. Damn!! No way to put that sucker back in. I simply took out two more links, popped it back together and, by chance, I think it was just the right length I needed. Must have a horseshoe hidden somewhere in my body, I guess!!

The new setup - and a VERY old bike stand!!  (See below**)

With a bit of tinkering with the "B Screw" on the derailleur and bit of tweaking with the limit screws, I managed to get the thing shifting pretty much as good as stock!! Some field testing is still required but I am confident that things will be just fine. The derailleur is certainly not protesting with the jump from 36 to 42 and it does not appear to be overtaxed with having to accommodate such a large cog. Fingers crossed!!

As with the chainrings, I am sure that people are interested in the weigh loss when you remove the front derailleur and shifter. The package comes to a total of 331 grams. This was a SRAM X7.

Another quirky thing about the Pug is that all the cables are held in place with open braze-ons and by nothing else other than  . . .

. . . cable ties!!

Just another utilitarian aspect of these bikes - they are meant to be easy to fix/maintain while using easy-to-find parts.

All ready to hit the trails again!!

The whole operation took less than 2 hours but I was in no hurry. I was just enjoying working on bikes again. It's been a while!!

Which brings me to . . . 

**   The old bike stand that I am using is a piece of St. John's bicycle history. I am sure that many of us, of a certain vintage, remember Pike's Cycle on Springdale Street? Well, this old stand came from that very store. That store closed many, many years ago but in 1990, a "new" Pikes was opened on Kenmount Rd. A lot of the old equipment and tools ended up coming out of storage and into the new store. This rack included!! I worked at this store as a mechanic when it first opened and was there a year or so later, when it shut down. One of my parting gifts was the old stand and all the tools - including a very expensive Hozan truing stand - from the new store. It was a treasure trove for an avid biker but, alas, over the years a lot of the better stuff disappeared. I still have a whack of old tools but you'd be hard pressed to find a bike that they would still work with!!  Anyway, it was nice to put a new bike on the old stand and go back in time - if only for a few hours!

Fat Biking to Brock's Head

I have paddled to Brock's Falls a number of times in my sea kayak but I have never been to the source of the falls before. That is, not until today when a group of us left Hibb's Place (just off Bauline Line) and headed overland to Brock's Head via fat bike!

It was a lovely morning. The thermometer in the car read -5 on the drive down. There was a bit of wind but not enough to be uncomfortable. Here's a brief account and a few images from the day!

Forming up the group!

The 20.4 km ride was a varied combination of fields, wooded trail, open barrens and the crossing of five ponds!  There was a lot of exposed ice on the ponds, so studded tires were the shoes of choice.  This was my first real test of my DIY studded tires and they worked most admirably!

Crossing the ice!

Just small specks in a vast whiteness!

And yet another crossing.

Ron entering the woods.

Following Dean.

And Ron!

Tom!

Loyal!

The whole group minus your's truly!

Two small crosses at the mouth of a small river. A forlorn reminder of, presumably, a tragedy in this spot.

We stopped at the end of one pond and left our bikes to hike the short distance to the head of Brock's Falls.

The end of the "road" to Brock's Head.

An opportunity to take shot of the bike in its natural setting!

Walking out of the woods out onto the edge of Brock's Head revealed the most interesting ice formations on the trees. I assume that they are the result of the wind pushing the water from the falls back onto the trees where it froze. This was a great spot to take some great shots!! And yep, we were pretty high above the cold ocean below!!

After a short walk back to the bikes - and, no, none of them were stolen!! We are a trusting bunch leaving what was probably the equivalent of 15,000 worth of gear alone in the open!!

Ron and Loyal back at the bikes!

The ride back was much quicker than the one out eventhough there was a lovely hill that we had to hike-a-bike!  The reward was on the other side with a wonderful swoopy downhill!

All in all, it was a great morning on the bike with a great bunch of people. Seven of us left and seven of us returned, so all was good. I hope we get another chance at this ride before the season's out.