Tubeless woe
 

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[Closed] Tubeless woe

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I’ve been running tubeless on the MTB for what must be nearly a decade. Never had an issue, always been easy to setup and just worked.

Trying to set a new gravel wheel up however and I’m stumped for the first time. The inner part of the rim isn’t flat like an mtb rim, so the valve hole is on a angle.

I’ve done the valve up pretty tight and it also has a rubber washer under but air and fluid is just pi$$ing everywhere!

Anyone had an issue with similar rims? I’m a bit stumped.

BA0-DB04-F-CCC2-4-EBC-A5-C1-00-F26964-A570

A0-EFEBFE-0330-4-A8-A-80-EF-AC9-E1824-BC01


 
Posted : 28/02/2021 7:04 pm
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Would a valve with a narrower section inside the rim help?


 
Posted : 28/02/2021 7:09 pm
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I had the same recently with both wheels. Using Mavic XC421 and some generic tubeless valves and the sealant did eventually stop the air coming out. Guessing the problem is that I didn't use Mavic valves as stated on Mavic site which are a different shape and look like they go into rim bed better.


 
Posted : 28/02/2021 7:11 pm
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Yes, the Mavic wheels came with a special cambered cap that fitted in the screw down nut and fitted the rim profile perfectly.

You might find the expensive but good valves work with the different shape rubber, find one that works with the rim


 
Posted : 28/02/2021 7:17 pm
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Try a square ended valve .


 
Posted : 28/02/2021 7:20 pm
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May be daft suggestion, has the nut got a rubber washer underneath it? Also try turning the threaded nut the other way round so the lip sits in the hole (you’ll need to relocate the rubber washer obviously)


 
Posted : 28/02/2021 7:25 pm
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A few squares of gorilla tape over the tubeless tape on the valve hole. Its think and soft so might help seal any gaps.


 
Posted : 28/02/2021 7:26 pm
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American Classic valves have a curved washer/bit for curved rims.


 
Posted : 28/02/2021 7:29 pm
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You want this


 
Posted : 28/02/2021 7:31 pm
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Thanks all. I did have some Mavic valves but gave them away with a recent bike sale, doh.

These are just cheap Lifeline valves so it sounds like I need to grab some others.


 
Posted : 28/02/2021 8:02 pm
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Muc-off valves come with a choice of 3 sealing washers for the valve base.


 
Posted : 28/02/2021 9:05 pm
 pdw
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Apologies if this is stating the obvious, but the valve passes through two holes, and the one that you've pictured doesn't need to seal.

The problem is likely to be the shape of the rim bed. I had one pair of CX rims where the rim bed was too narrow for a "proper" tubeless valve with a conical base, but was absolutely fine with an old inner tube valve cut to have a square base.


 
Posted : 01/03/2021 9:33 am
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What @pdw said. If you need a seal at the outside hole, you have a rim cavity entirely full of sealant. It's the shape of the rubber block at the base of the valve that matters, and how malleable the rubber is. Generally a conical base will fit most rims, but some valves have squarer bases that don't work with the inner rim profile.


 
Posted : 01/03/2021 9:44 am
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@pdw & @onewheelgood ... thanks, those are good shouts! I forget that it's the inside seal you can't see that's the important part.

Still sounds like I'll need some new valves to try, the Muc Off ones seem to have different bases that can be swapped out so I'll give those a try.


 
Posted : 01/03/2021 10:50 am
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I put Muc Off valves on my gravel bike - Hunt Carbon Gravel Wide rims. They work fine, fit much better than the valves Hunt supplied, but the thing I really like about them is that they are beautifully made.


 
Posted : 01/03/2021 11:15 am
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Have done a fix by using a piece of old inner tube about 25mm x 20mm with a carefully cut as small as possible for valve to pop thru hole...think this was tip on a previous thread ...


 
Posted : 01/03/2021 11:23 am
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After much swearing, three types of tape and two different valves ... I finally seem to have it sorted.

The new MucOff valves were still leaking badly so I thought the tape must be at fault somewhere. Back to square one, stripped off the expensive Peatys tape and tried some cheap Gorilla tape, I know it gets mixed reviews as tubeless tape but it seems to have done the job!

After much fluid shaking it’s holding 60psi at the minute, hopefully it’s still looking good in the morning.


 
Posted : 07/03/2021 4:50 pm

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