2019 heritage 114 tires
- Thread starter starr
- Start date
liquid_wrench
Well-Known Member
My 2007 heritage had tubes with spoked rims.
Tubless tyres are suitable for tubless use they can also be used with a tube
Usually on a cast wheel they are used as tubless and on a spoked wheel they are used as tubed
Normally on a tubed valve stem there is a nut to prevent the sten from being pulled into the wheel if the tyre is deflated the nut is usually a round nut with with a rough texture on the edge to help grip as should only be hand tight
when replacing tyres it is good practice to replace the tubes and rim tape at the same time
It is fairly difficult to maintain a good seal on a spoked wheel due to the spokes all passing through the wheel rim and each sopke would need to be sealed
As the spokes can stretch and compress during normal use maintaing a good seal wold be complicated and although some after maket spoked wheels can run tubless i personally wouldnt take that chance
Brian
Usually on a cast wheel they are used as tubless and on a spoked wheel they are used as tubed
Normally on a tubed valve stem there is a nut to prevent the sten from being pulled into the wheel if the tyre is deflated the nut is usually a round nut with with a rough texture on the edge to help grip as should only be hand tight
when replacing tyres it is good practice to replace the tubes and rim tape at the same time
It is fairly difficult to maintain a good seal on a spoked wheel due to the spokes all passing through the wheel rim and each sopke would need to be sealed
As the spokes can stretch and compress during normal use maintaing a good seal wold be complicated and although some after maket spoked wheels can run tubless i personally wouldnt take that chance
Brian
dolt
Well-Known Member
Repairing a flat in a tubed tire on the side of the road is not fun; particularly in south Texas, in July when it's 100*+; actually riding in south Texas when ambient temps are 100*+ is a lot less fun than it was when I was younger, but I digress.
I will not run tubed tires. Every bike I have had that ran tubed tires was immediately converted to tubeless. I seal each spoke which is required as fin has pointed out. It's a two step process, time consuming but much preferred to a road side flat repair to a tube tire.
I do have to add air between rides as they lose a bit; no matter how tedious I am in sealing the spokes, there will always be one of two that will seep a wee bit of air between rides but checking tire pressure and adding air before a ride is part of my pre-ride regimen. I carry rope type "plugs" and the requisite tools to prep and install them as well as a small compressor. I can repair a tubeless tire flat and be back on the road in 30 minutes or less. I hate tubed tires.
I will not run tubed tires. Every bike I have had that ran tubed tires was immediately converted to tubeless. I seal each spoke which is required as fin has pointed out. It's a two step process, time consuming but much preferred to a road side flat repair to a tube tire.
I do have to add air between rides as they lose a bit; no matter how tedious I am in sealing the spokes, there will always be one of two that will seep a wee bit of air between rides but checking tire pressure and adding air before a ride is part of my pre-ride regimen. I carry rope type "plugs" and the requisite tools to prep and install them as well as a small compressor. I can repair a tubeless tire flat and be back on the road in 30 minutes or less. I hate tubed tires.
I checked the valve stem and it is threaded all the way down to the rim with a locking nut at the rim and a rubber washer under it. It doesn’t look like a tube type valve stem. But I’m not sure. It doesn’t have a rubber bulb on it like tubeless car tires. I’m thinking it has a nut and rubber washer on the inside of the rim. The valve stem is very solid, doesn’t move around at all like a tube valve stem.
I guess I could loosen the nut holding the valve stem to the rim and check to see if any air is escaping. If air is escaping that would indicate a tubeless tire, if it were a tube no air should escape.
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dolt
Well-Known Member
IIRC, HD has been supplying tube and tubless spoked rims for a while; some say since '14 and some say earlier. I don't know from when but do know that there are two type spoked rims; smooth and profile. I have read that smooth rims require tubes and profile rims can go tubeless and I have read visa versa. again, don't know for sure. However, if an HD spoked rim can be run tubeless, the rim will have a label that identifies the rim as tubeless; see the attached photo which shows that a threaded metal valve stem with a nut does not necessarily guarantee a tube.If I were the OP, I would check the rim for the tubeless label and if there is no tubeless label, HD sells liners for about $25 to convert a spoked rim that requires a tube to a tubeless rim which is much easier than the processes I have used in the past to seal a spoked rim. A front flat with a tubed tire will result in a call for a tow. Where I ride in the hill country of south Texas, that means sitting by the road side for hours waiting for the road side assistance which is not an option for me.
The OP can let most of the iare out of the tire; loosen the nut and if the valve stem can be moved up/down, there is a tube. Most will say running a tube in a tubeless tire is not a good practice as it over heats the tire
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dolt
Well-Known Member
A couple of edits required to my previous; reread it but too late to edit my errors.
I don't know from when but do know that there are two type spoked rims; smooth/profile and ridged. General rule has been that smooth rims run tubeless and ridged rims require tubes; don't know for sure but that is the general consensus across the various forums. If an HD spoked rim can be run tubeless, the rim will have a label that identifies the rim as tubeless; see the attached photo which shows that a threaded metal valve stem with a nut does not necessarily guarantee a tube. Also note that the rim appears to be a "smoothie" and the label includes the MTM designation vice the MT designation on a rim requiring a tube.
If I were the OP, I would check the rim for the tubeless label and if there is no tubeless label, HD sells liners for about $25 to convert some spoked rim that require a tube to a tubeless rim which is much easier than the processes I have used in the past to seal a spoked rim. However, if a liner is not available for the OPs front rim there are a variety of DIY conversion solutions n the internet. A front flat with a tubed tire will result in a call for a tow. Where I ride in the hill country of south Texas, that means sitting by the road side for hours waiting for the road side assistance which is not an option for me.
I don't know from when but do know that there are two type spoked rims; smooth/profile and ridged. General rule has been that smooth rims run tubeless and ridged rims require tubes; don't know for sure but that is the general consensus across the various forums. If an HD spoked rim can be run tubeless, the rim will have a label that identifies the rim as tubeless; see the attached photo which shows that a threaded metal valve stem with a nut does not necessarily guarantee a tube. Also note that the rim appears to be a "smoothie" and the label includes the MTM designation vice the MT designation on a rim requiring a tube.
If I were the OP, I would check the rim for the tubeless label and if there is no tubeless label, HD sells liners for about $25 to convert some spoked rim that require a tube to a tubeless rim which is much easier than the processes I have used in the past to seal a spoked rim. However, if a liner is not available for the OPs front rim there are a variety of DIY conversion solutions n the internet. A front flat with a tubed tire will result in a call for a tow. Where I ride in the hill country of south Texas, that means sitting by the road side for hours waiting for the road side assistance which is not an option for me.