Thread: ghetto stans (mr AG's (?) idea)

I can't speak of the TrailBear durability yet, but at the low cost I can replace them if I must. I did catch the sidewall hard on a big sharp nasty yesterday and there is nothing more than a colored scratch, but that's very little proof, if any. I'm running them at ~40psi, which is plenty soft to me. The shape makes them ride smooth like a tire with more volume but they seem to roll fast too.

I really like the way they corner on loose sand and packed dirt. I can lean the bike and they just rail. Very confidence inspiring. I road temple quarry faster than I ever have, yet I also felt more in control. The little rock gardens were like butter and I still slowed to a crawl and said hello for all the hikers

I don't want to jinx my tires, so I'll leave it at this, and update if results change.

rode my ghetto stans setup on two laps through UPS in Moab this weekend and they worked wonderfully. Used 24 inch tube liners and about 3 oz's per wheel in 2.6 tires.

Originally Posted by Ski Monkey

rode my ghetto stans setup on two laps through UPS in Moab this weekend and they worked wonderfully. Used 24 inch tube liners and about 3 oz's per wheel in 2.6 tires.

Ditto, though my tires are a bit smaller. With (accidently) a bit more Stan's. So sweet!

bump, any opinions on using the mould builder vs Stans?

I am going to give this an attempt this afternoon.

bueno, it was friggin easy. I took my time, but it turned out $$$$, did 20 miles today and didn't lose a pound of air in either tire. Not use to the low pressures, I am sure i would have had 5 flats today otherwise at that pressure.

only issue that I see with mine is that there was a small amount of Stans that leaked out around the base of the valve today when i pressed on it to take the tire pressure. Anyone else have this?

I also used a 60mL syringe to put the Stan's in the valve, if you have access to one, its the way to go, didn't lose but 2 drops while putting it together.

Originally Posted by Crinkle

only issue that I see with mine is that there was a small amount of Stans that leaked out around the base of the valve today when i pressed on it to take the tire pressure. Anyone else have this?

I also used a 60mL syringe to put the Stan's in the valve, if you have access to one, its the way to go, didn't lose but 2 drops while putting it together.

Stans in the valve has happened to both yentna and i on the sets we've done. I so would like to have a syringe to put it in. I just cut the bottle tip to about the size of the stem but I still lose more than i would like.

I use a Hayes bleed bottle (small plastic bottle with a long, narrow nose; fits right into a valve stem), works great. Nice work Crinkle, you won't look back.

I just used the Maxxis strips on my DH bike, they are very sweet. The only thing I don't like is that they come with Presda valves only; you have to leave a few inches of tire unseated, pour in the Stans and then seat the tire completely. The strips are a bit of a pain to install but sweet once set up. They seem like they will be reusable for quite a while as well.

Just converted my single speed to ghetto stans.....its so cool when wierd shit like this actually works, beaded up instantly, I threw on a set of old UST Ignitors i had laying around cause they were pretty big and Im looking for some squish on this Rigid ride.

How low do you think you can go on the pressure with the ghetto setup?

try it and tell us


I would think 20ish is lowest...

Depends on how hard you corner and hit things.

Too low a pressure and your tires will roll laterally easier, causing them to squish out in corners and burp (break the bead seal).......especially sans the little bit of structural resistance a tube provides.

I think my xc bike with tubeless tires are around 35-40. Most people go lower but I keep burping my tires and dinging rims if I go that low.

Originally Posted by kidwoo

Depends on how hard you corner and hit things.

Too low a pressure and your tires will roll laterally easier, causing them to squish out in corners and burp (break the bead seal).......especially sans the little bit of structural resistance a tube provides.

I think my xc bike with tubeless tires are around 35-40. Most people go lower but I keep burping my tires and dinging rims if I go that low.

Gonna for a tad under 30, i used to burp my UST Setups all the time so I ended u p running them higher.

I run 2.5 Minion's on my trail bike so you may have to adjust for size but I keep them around 33 psi for all around riding; higher if a pure xcounty ride, maybe a little less if really nasty. On my DH bike, I've run as low as 17 psi with no issues, typically around 25-26 psi normal DH use. I think you'll be fine under 30 psi, especially if your not a 220 lb fat ass like me.

I had to redo my ghetto setup 3 times this year. Once from 2 burps on a night ride descent around corners, when i should have stopped and put more air in, I tried to squeeze down to the last turn and instead I rolled it off the rim and had to switch to a tube on the trail (basically my fault, but from very low pressure, using a Conti vert 2.3 non-ust)

Another time I did a 4 foot drop and blew the front tire off on landing, but didn't wreck. I guess using a non-ust tire has its limits.

and one more time when i hit a sharp rock and ripped a hole in the tire, patching with a gu pack and a tube.

So always carry a tube.

Originally Posted by Crinkle

Another time I did a 4 foot drop and blew the front tire off on landing, but didn't wreck. I guess using a non-ust tire has its limits.


So always carry a CAMERA.

FIrst ride on Ghetto Stans=Awesome

Ghetto Stans has been holding up real nice...been running like 25 PSI on some really rocky terrain.

Im in the middle of a Re-ghetto. My tire tread is shot so i bought a maxxis ignitor, (non Ust)

I took the old tire off and noticed the old ghetto rim strip looked pretty good and was sitting flush against the sidewall of the rim, so i just mounted another tire up poured some stans in...didnt even use soap and it beaded up when i took it to the gas station...It took the enitre 3 minutes that my 75 cents allows, but it did eventually set. Took it home layed it on its side pumped it up to about 40 PSI and it stoped leaking.

Probably more trouble than its worth to save 5 bucks on a new tube (which i bought anyway) but wanted to see if it could be done.