[886] Converting to Tubeless, Lessons Learned

One of my goals with my gravel bike build is to go to a tubeless tire setup. This week when I got the wheelset I decided to attempt it. I watched a few videos online about how to do the conversion, specifically for non-tubeless ready rims. Here are two good videos I watched, one from Park Tool and another from Dusty Betty. Also a very useful video from Oz Cycle teaching you how to remove and install a tire without tools.

Now before I continue I have to admit that I struggled a lot. I learned a lot of important things during my attempt to go tubeless. At the moment I have so far succeeded in having one tire hold air. I'm letting the sealant set as I write this. Anyway here are some lessons I learned during my attempts.

1. Minimize the air bubbles on the tubeless tape, but I really don't think it will have zero air bubbles. On my end at least, I checked online and confirmed that other people also had air bubbles on their tubeless tape. Specially over the spoke holes of the bike.
2. Patience is a virtue. I know I was excited but I was always tempering myself and setting expectations that I won't succeed the first time.
3. The method shown by Oz Cycle how to install a tire was very, very useful. Seriously, that's how I managed to mount my tire.
4. The only time I needed to use tire levers was when I wanted to remove the tire from the rim. I chose to remove it to make sure I sealed the tubeless valve properly. And I needed to take stock if what I was doing was correct.
5. No matter how much you inflate the tire if there is no sealant the beads won't seat. This was what frustrated me the first time I tried to inflate the tire. I had this misconception that you needed to inflate the tire to get the bead to seat before adding sealant. Silly me didn't realize that no matter how much air I pump in it will escape from the gaps.
6. Sealant is the key. This morning I decided to throw caution to the wind and add sealant inside the tire. Probably added too much if you ask me, but better safe than sorry. I moved the tire around the same way I saw in the videos. Then when I tried to inflate it for the nth time, it finally did! I heard the popping sounds signifying that the beads were seating.
7. Give it time. Let the sealant seep around, then when you inflate the tire it will naturally have the sealant leak out from the massive air gaps. Just wipe it a bit so it doesn't get the rims dirty and keep moving the wheel around so the sealant has a chance to fill in all the gaps. Let it stand for a few minutes before inflating and the tire will hold air.
8. You have to move the tire occasionally while waiting for the sealant to set. Also make sure you check the air pressure. I'm at this stage with my first wheel.

By tomorrow I will be applying tubeless tape to my second rim, then hopefully I'll be able to add the sealant and have it be ready for use by the weekend. All that's left is to get finish assembly of my bike.

Special thanks to my friend JD who encouraged me to keep at it with the tubeless conversion and who shared his experiences with me doing the same thing. I got him into gravel bikes but he got a gravel bike earlier than me.

Out.

[885] My Current Top Three Attainable Dream Cars (As of Now)

You guessed it! It's time to start posting about cars yet again! I'm going to write about the top three attainable dream cars I want in order of practicality. So here we go.

1. Honda Jazz GE/Gen 2. It has four doors. It has an amazing interior that can fold flat and fit almost anything. It has an air conditioning system. It has airbags. So yes, this is the top choice I would love to own. Other generations of the Jazz are also welcome but the GD/Gen 1 had possible issues with the CVT and the newer ones are just too expensive. The most important mods I would add to this Jazz would be roof rails, a roof cargo basket, and roof mounted bike racks.
2. Honda Civic EG Hatchback. Another Honda? Yeah I really like this hatchback as well. Similar to the Jazz just add roof rails for extra cargo.
3. Volkswagen Super Beetle. This is the least practical of the three for plenty reasons. No aircon, lack of safety features, and possibly reliability issues. Still, I really, really love the classic VW Beetle. I'm picking the Super Beetle because the MacPherson suspension gives it a better ride plus with all the restomods I have planned it would just be better to work on a Super Beetle. And yes, roof rails, cargo basket, bike rack.
4. Classic Mini Cooper. This gets a special mention. I'm not talking about the modern looking ones. I'm looking for the ones that look like the classic Mini Cooper. With the roof cargo accessories as always. Also heavily retromodded.

As always in the event that I'm fortunate enough to own a car I will have a checklist off stuff I will do before I even start modifying it. Stuff like making sure it is reliable, rust free, and safe.

Out.