 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
So.. Probably a noob question but I need some help please.
Had an old school hard tail for 10+ years.. Read bike mags and went into shop last weekend and am now the owner of a fantastic new giant fathom 1 29er.
However.. All the documentation says that this bike is tubeless.. How do I tell if its been setup with tubes or is tubeless.
I purchased online and it was promised to be rideable all that was needed would be to turn the handlebars.
Bike arrived with the front wheel complety flat.. Rear was ok. My normal track pump inflated the tyre ok.. I though you need a special pump for tubeless?
But the giant spec on this bike seems to suggest it's setup as tubeless from the factory.... Am really confused.
First proper ride on it tomorrow (a few small rides today to check all in operation OK ).
Any help and advice greatfully received.
Thanks
Matt
Take a wheel off and give it a shake. You may hear the sealant sloshing about if has been set up tubeless.
Alternatively remove a valve core and poke a thin twig or zip tie in and see if it comes out with sealant on it.
Once a tyre has been seated you can easily inflate it with a track pump.
In truth you only need a special pump to pump up a tubeless tyre when you're inflating it for the first time. This is because until the tyre connects with the rims air will escape easily and sometimes you need to be able to pump a large volume of air in quickly to push the tyre into the rim. However lots of rim/tyre combos can be inflated from scratch without needing any help.
To be honest the wheels could be built up either tubeless or with tubes. Probably depends on the provider. Certainly easier for them to do with tubes. Flat tyre isn't indicative of either. I bought a Giant Trance 2 last year. Tubeless compatible but had tubes.
I wouldn't worry, just enjoy the bike, it'll be a hoot. And carry a spare innertube just in case!
I wouldn't count on the tyre having sealant in it even if it has been delivered already tubeless.
A friend of mine took delivery of a new Giant road bike that arrived tubeless but it didn't have sealant in it.
My new GT has tubeless rims & tyres but has tubes fitted even though it even has tubeless rim tape already installed.
I suppose the easiest way to find out for sure is take one side of the tyre off the rim but could be fun reseating it if it is tubeless and you don't have a good track pump or conpressoc.
Very likely to have tubes in it as the bike could be sitting around for months before being sold which is not good if using sealant as it doesn't last forever.
Unscrew the valve holding nut (the knurled thing at base) and push down the valve. If there is a tube in there you will feel it as it will resist being pushed down.
As others have said, i doubt they'd put sealant in given the risks of the bike sitting for months. Similar to kerley, unscrew the valve holding nut (the knurled thing at base) a little way and push down the valve and if air starts escaping, its tubeless.
did it come with tubeless valves separately? Personally id probably phone the shop you bought it from for a quick answer as they should know
So.. I took a wheel of and beard a sloshing sound. Some knowledgeable folk on my first outing also looked at the valves and concluded that they were tubeless.
So it looks as though before dedpatch some sealant had been put in.
Low pressure on rear after 30 mins.. Have pumped up again and it now seems OK.
Thanks for your replies.