Tubliss for Oz desert conditions?

[955616846]

It is sad how one bad experience has a negative impact... A tube failure has similar consequences.

I have close to 40k on the DR-Z with Tubliss and only a little less with the TE630... 16 club bikes with about 400k between them plus a half dozen private bikes using Tubliss... and a dozen or so mustering bikes each putting on about 20k pa for the past few years. A few liners have gone in the bin due to the IO grabbing it with irons, but beyond that they have been trouble free.

[Adrian V]

Thanks for th extra info 'A', but I've been giving this a bit more thought and I'm going to give Tubliss a go, for a number of reasons:
It's got to make sand riding easier and my riding involves a fair bit of sand.
Putting mousses in sounds a pain in the proverbial, where as Tubliss looks relatively straight forward.
Bergdonks painful experience not with standing, Dennis and Numbers have obviously used Tubliss a lot, with very good results and for long periods out bush.
The 'improved' beadlockers seem a lot stronger than the earlier version.
If it fails out bush, I can just put a tube in.

Numbers, Dennis is using the ED78 and a Cheng shin C183s (both 6 ply), do you prefer any particular tyres with the Tubliss?

Cheers,

Adrian

[WayneC1]

The most experienced riders I am aware of who have put them through their paces in both arid and wet conditions are MetalJockey and the Sth African Crew he rides with. Do a search on advrider for his ride reports. They trust them for 4000 km + trips through remote regions. Three RR's are below

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=584006
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=269251
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=517112
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134368
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=447931

[Adrian V]

Thanks for that WayneC1, I'll check those RR's out.

[WayneC1]

No worries, the Angola one sent shivers up my spine with the mistake they made tackling Skeleton Coast, they were lucky to get out in one piece, I grew up with coastal conditions and they made a basic beginners mistake with the beach, but my hat is off to them with what they take on

[955616846]

Originally Posted by Adrian V

Thanks for th extra info 'A', but I've been giving this a bit more thought and I'm going to give Tubliss a go, for a number of reasons:
It's got to make sand riding easier and my riding involves a fair bit of sand.
Putting mousses in sounds a pain in the proverbial, where as Tubliss looks relatively straight forward.
Bergdonks painful experience not with standing, Dennis and Numbers have obviously used Tubliss a lot, with very good results and for long periods out bush.
The 'improved' beadlockers seem a lot stronger than the earlier version.
If it fails out bush, I can just put a tube in.

Numbers, Dennis is using the ED78 and a Cheng shin C183s (both 6 ply), do you prefer any particular tyres with the Tubliss?

The bike has MT-21s on it which are the standard fit for many of the bikes. I like the Pirelli XCMH...
There is very little that I'd consider specific to Tubliss. Ride the tyres that you already like or trust.

Most repairs can be done with stringy plugs and bigger repairs with tubeless patches... but yes, definitely take a set of tubes. It is far more likely that a tube will be needed for terminal tyre damage or a heavily dinged rim than because the Tubliss liner failed. I've never seen a punctured liner.

Jeff (Neutech) recommends Zip-Ty spoons. I agree and use the mid length version with red handles - they're workshop tools that are worth carrying on the bike. They have a complex head shape which is designed to hold the rim in each of the normal tyre operations and when used properly it is difficult to grab the liner. My only suggestion would be to run a sander over them followed by polishing to remove any forging marks.

[outback jack]

I have no expierance with using Mousse tubes, however i'm surprized by the number of claims of lower pressure pinch flats on HD tubes. After doing 20,000 k on the DR i got my first pinch flat on the rear running at 16 psi, which is what i normally run offroad. Even rides like Captains Crossing with lot's of rock and ruts no flats. At Moto X we often run 10-12 psi on soft tracks and 14 psi on hard packed, and those tubes and tyres are getting compressed off 60 foot jumps continuously, we haven't had to many failures over the years. Are you guy's using Talc powder over your tubes, i swear by it.

[BergDonk]

Originally Posted by outback jack

I have no expierance with using Mousse tubes, however i'm surprized by the number of claims of lower pressure pinch flats on HD tubes. After doing 20,000 k on the DR i got my first pinch flat on the rear running at 16 psi, which is what i normally run offroad. Even rides like Captains Crossing with lot's of rock and ruts no flats. At Moto X we often run 10-12 psi on soft tracks and 14 psi on hard packed, and those tubes and tyres are getting compressed off 60 foot jumps continuously, we haven't had to many failures over the years. Are you guy's using Talc powder over your tubes, i swear by it.

Another common cause of pinch flats is poorly setup suspension. Too much high speed compression damping means that the wheel doesn't move fast enough and the tyre takes the hit.

I run 10-12 psi in UHD tubes on my Bergs on rocks no worries and 14-15 with HD tubes in the DR with a load and don't have pinch flats.

What I do get is tyres spinning on the rim even with locks, and that for me was the major attraction of the Tubeliss, its bead lock function.

[outback jack]

Originally Posted by BergDonk

Another common cause of pinch flats is poorly setup suspension. Too much high speed compression damping means that the wheel doesn't move fast enough and the tyre takes the hit.

I run 10-12 psi in UHD tubes on my Bergs on rocks no worries and 14-15 with HD tubes in the DR with a load and don't have pinch flats.

What I do get is tyres spinning on the rim even with locks, and that for me was the major attraction of the Tubeliss, its bead lock function.

Your right i forgot to mention rim locks, most important with lower pressures on tube tyres.

[Adrian V]

I've done a fair few loaded desert trips now and plenty of day trips, fanging through the bush in rocky conditions and I have never had a puncture with UHD tubes. Luck perhaps, but as Begdonk says, good suspension must pay a part, that and keeping the pressures up a bit in the worst conditions. I have had the tyres creep round even with 2 rimlocks, but I just re-position the tyre when that happens.

What really interests me about Tubliss is the ability to really lower the pressure in sand, so allowing more control and a more measured approach in bottomless sand rather than relying on momentum and speed to get over the hard stuff.

Maybe I'm just getting soft , but steady away on a trip out bush is increasingly appealing to me and I'd rather sit around the fire at night nursing a port than an injury, from riding out of my comfort zone for too long............

[philth]

how far and fast could you run a mousse before it got hot?
80 kph?

[WayneC1]

One thing I noticed reading the RR's from the Sth African riders using Tubeliss in remote areas is that they keep a careful eye on the pressure to the internal bladder to ensure it has the 100psi. This may be the key in the failures reported and it would also be important to ensure the rim locking of the system

[rvt]

Just say I were to install these in the dr650 and use them for adv type riding, including high speed transport sections, are there any likely negative consequences?
That is, legal and insurance issues aside.
Should they really be "off road only?"

[955616846]

Originally Posted by rvt

Just say I were to install these in the dr650 and use them for adv type riding, including high speed transport sections, are there any likely negative consequences?
That is, legal and insurance issues aside.
Should they really be "off road only?"

You mean other than not fitting DR650 rim sizes?

No...

[rvt]

Originally Posted by 955616846

You mean other than not fitting DR650 rim sizes?

No...

More research next time.
Or an 18" rear