LTJ
Active member
- Likes
- 26
- Location
- California
I just installed ultra heavy duty rear tube in my 18" rear tire. The trick is to insert the rim on both sides of the tire (similar to doing tubliss install). That allows a lot of room to install the tube between the rim and the tire. As you install the tube, bounce the wheel on the ground to force the wheel deeper into the tire as you work your way around the tire. I know it means levering on the tire on both sides of the rim once the tube is installed, but for me it's much easier than trying to cram a tube in while fighting the small opening between the wheel and the tire if one side of the tire is already levered onto the rim. Another trick is to use tire grease (search on amazon). It makes installing tires so much easier than without it, especailly in cold weather. Using the Baja No Pinch tool with tire grease makes it so easy without worrying about pinching the tube, and scratching the crap out of your rims. For a cheap tubliss equivalent, use Muck-Off tire sealent for mountain bikes and squirt some inside the heavy duty tube. That stuff is awesome for mountain bikes as it doesn't dry up like Stains sealent. Another bonus it's water soluble (as with the tire grease), so it's easy cleanup. Now you can run low tire pressures with a near bullet proof cheap set up.