Our complete wheelsets come taped, valved and ready to ride unless specifically requested!
Our TR28 rims have deeper center channels and shallower bead seat bumps. The access holes are drilled offset whereas the access holes on our other rims are on center. For these rims you should apply 24mm tubeless tape across the entire with. If you cannot find 24mm tape and don’t want to trim it, then buy narrower tape 18-21mm wide and do 2 laps. Offset the tape to cover the entire width. Don’t let the tape crawl up the side or that may effect the tubeless seal.
Most tubeless ready tires that are broken in or use a lighter casing are very easy to set up. The only trouble we’ve had was with a pair of brand new tires with a very stiff sidewall. Since the tires come folded up, they were hard to seat with a floor pump and we had to resort to compressed air. However, after a few rides, we were able to seal them up with a floor pump easily because the beads had straightened out.
If you wan to tape the rims yourself, we recommend using Stans 21mm or Orange seal 18mm tubeless rim tape as it’s widely available and works well. for Orange seal (or other thin tape), we like to use 2 layers. We offset the tape about 2mm from side to side, while making sure the hole openings are fully covered. This way the edge of the tape is only one layer thick, and when you remove the tires, it is less likely to push the tape and move it out of place. We use just one layer of stans tape and as with all taping procedures, overlap a few inches over the valve area.
Tubeless tape needs to adequately overlap the spoke hole openings so that fluid does not enter the rim. It does not need to flow past the bead seat bump on our TR/HD36 or TR/HD38 rims. Thicker tape that flows onto the bump may make some tires hard to install or remove.
If fluid enters the rim, it should be thoroughly dried out. You can hold the wheel on opposing sides with the tubeless tape or rim strip removed, and whip the rim so it spits out the excess fluid. Do not use compressed air to dry the inside of the rim, just air dry after you shake out the majority of the fluid. It is good practice to dry out the rim when changing tubeless tape and swapping tires to reduce the chance of nipple corrosion due to trapped moisture. Sometimes water can work it’s way through the nipples
There is a wide variety of tubeless valves out there and many of these will likely work with our rims. We have had good luck with Stans 44mm tubeless valves and these are widely available. You should use 40mm+ long valves as the rims are quite deep. The 35mm valves will only work on our 29″ – 28.2mm rims. When installing the valves, be sure that they are tight enough so that the rubber flares our a bit to create a nice tight seal. Push on the rubber end with your thumb as you tighten the collar. We can supply black anodized alloy valves with our wheelset builds.
NOBL makes tubeless compatible rims which are manufactured using tighter tolerances in the bead area. This means that some non-tubeless ready tires will be tight on the rims. If you happen to have a loose fitting tire, you could use thicker tubeless tape such as Gorilla tape in order to create a tighter tubeless seal.
Care should be used when mounting tubeless tires to not distort the tire bead. If you must use tire levers, use plastic ones and do your best to work the tire using the base of your hand. Try not to rely entirely on the tire lever to push the bead over the rim. A distorted tire bead will be easier to burp and could lead to failures.
Schwalbe Easy Fit fluid is ideal to aid in mounting tubeless tires. Soap & water is a less effective alternative.
There are not UST rims, therefore you would need to use a tire sealant with UST tires. UST tires will be harder to mount than tubeless ready tires.
Tire bead typically seats between 25-40 psi. Bring it up to 40 PSI for good measure. Do not exceed 50 psi to seat beads as this will void your warranty!
REMOVING A TIRE
You will have to push hard on the tire bead to break the seal. Push the tire bead into the center channel all the way around before attempting to use a plastic tire lever(s) to remove the tire.
If you have trouble removing a tire, make sure you have most of the air out and then close the valve so it doesn’t vacuum suck more air in. Go around one side and push upwards and inwards on the tire until you find a weaker spot that can pop the tire off the bead seat. You want to be careful not to push the tire onto the bead seat and then give up and move to another spot. This makes the tire tighter and tighter.
TIRE PRESSURE
Rider weight, riding style, terrain and tire choice all effect the optimum tire pressure. You must exercise common sense rather than a mathematical formula to determine what tire pressure you should be using.
A good starting point is to ride a 30 second section of your favourite local trail at 35 PSI. Adjust one of your tires by 5 PSI and try the same section again to gauge the difference. It is best to make one pressure adjustment (front or rear) at a time. You will be able to make smaller PSI changes as you narrow things down to optimize your tire pressure. Record the results so you have a good base to work from.
Signs your tire pressure is too low: You bottom the tire on the rim too easily. Tires squirm when cornering. You are able to burp the tire too easily.
Signs your tire pressure is too high: Reduced traction. Harsh ride.
TIRE CHOICE
Tubeless ready tires are ideal as the bead is manufactured to a tighter tolerance. They will be very reliable and would be the easiest to set up tubeless.
Non-tubeless tires are compatible with these rims. You can use these with tubes or set them up tubeless with tubeless tape and sealant.
Most UST tires will work but will be harder to mount. You will still need to use sealant for long term reliability.
It is rider preference and subject to the tires design, but generally speaking 2.2″ or larger tires have an excellent profile with NOBL TR/HD36 and TR/HD38 rims. 1.9-2.5″ tires on our TR28 rims will have a more traditional rounder profile. Some tires like a maxxis highroller have more square-edged knobs, so you may want to choose these tires in wider widths or try a tire with a more round profile. We think tire manufacturers will make models specifically for wide rims in the near future, but until then you may need to be more choosey. Remember that wide rims are much more stable and can be ridden at lower pressures than a narrow carbon rim, so your traction is much improved.
Wide carbon rims kick out the base of the tire which creates a lot more air volume and makes the tire look larger compared to being mounted on a narrow rim. Our wide rims can turn the side knobs upwards and this is typically the widest part of the tire. We have actually seen a gain in clearance when running our wide rims on certain bikes due to the change on side knob profile. No one has ever said they have had clearance issues with a tire that had previously worked with their narrow rim.
