how easy/hard to go tubeless?

[ton]

bike has wtb scraper rims with surly knard 3'' tyres.
never tried tubeless. will I explode from frustration if I try to do it?

[johnnystorm]

The only answer is, err maybe.

In theory you should be ok with that combo. Have a look on YouTube and get a feel for what's involved. With WTB rims I think it pays to go for tape at least 5mm wider than the internal width. Or use thinner tape and run it up the sides.

I've used the valves and OKO sealant from planet X to good effect recently. Their tape was rubbish though. Look for Tesa tape on eBay. It's what Stan's et al rebrand.

[Chew]

As long as the tyre is snug on the rim then its reasonably easy, with a bit of patience.

Take the rim tape off and then replace it with a wrap of Gorilla Tape.
It may need trimming down to size. I usually just wrap once, overlapping the the value hole by a couple of inches.

Put in the value without the core

Put the tyre on the rim and inflate. 9/10 it'll pop up straight up.

Add the sealant and insert the value core and pump back up.
Then slosh the sealant around and leave overnight.

50% of the time that'll be it, but it may have not completely sealed, so a bit more sloshing the sealing around inside the tyre.
I'll usually place the wheel on one side for a few hours and then keep flopping it onto the other side, until it seals.

Done this with various rim/tyre combo's

[ScotRoutes]

I've set up Scrapers a few times using WTB tape (5mm wider than the internal rim width). I've used WTB valves but also cheap ebay ones. I use Stans fluid. I've never needed anything more than a standard track pump with them.

[Lazarus]

It depends I have set up tubeless easily and I have struggled all day with it- Looks with hatred at 26" continental tyres

I have yet to put one on with just a track pump but my 3" tyres were amongst the easiest I have ever done

if you have a compressor or "strorage of air device*" then that is the best way to ge tthem on IME

* pop bottle with valves or fire extinguisher or a bespoke tubeless set up thingy

[middleagedmadness]

Same as Lazarus , most wtb combo I’ve done have gone up easy with gorilla tape , done the young fellas the other day , they had already came wrapped with Schwalbe tubeless tape , so I thought easy , popped it up with a compressor ,filled with sealant pumped it bag up within a hour every nipple was covered in sealant , popped off the tyre ,cleaned the rim wrapped in gorilla tape repeated as before but without the compressor only needed track pump and no issues , I normally use 30mm gorilla tape ,wrap round center then continue pulling it round to each side of the rim so it’s kind off 3 wraps just not all in center and I’ve found muc off sealant seals bigger holes better than stans

[Boab]

So far I've only setup tubeless on two bikes, my fatbike and my gravel bike. I did the ghetto tubeless thing on the fattie, so a split innertube as the "tubeless tape", the DT Swiss wheels on the gravel bike came with DT Swiss tape on them already. The Conti Terra Trail tyres on the gravel bike went up with just a track pump, the Kenda Juggernaught Pro and Schwalbe Jumbo Jims on the fattie needed a compressor.

The main issue I found to start with was confidence, as I didn't know what I was doing. After having the tyres on and off a few times, I'd learned how best to work the tyre on, fill it, pump it up etc, it's almost like experience is worth something. I started with cheapo Decathlon sealant, as it was cheap. It worked find for really small holes, but as the bridleways and byways I frequent have every conceivable tree ending in -thorn bordering them, it struggled with larger thorns and flint shards.

As the fattie tyres were on and off a lot to fix the holes, I switched to OKO Offroad, as you get waaaaay more for your money. It seals in a different way and was mostly fine, again it struggled with really large holes.

I tried Conti's Revo Sealant on the gravel bike when I first got it, as I was using Conti tyres. It was working fine until I pinch flatted, it wasn't going to seal that kind of hole. I switched back to the OKO sealant as I had loads of it left, however, it wouldn't seal the smaller tyres as well and the water leaked out, meaning the gunk couldn't move around to seal the holes.

I'm about to try some Orange Seal Endurance and see how I get on with that. The moral of the story is that it may take you a while to find the tyre/sealant combo that works for you, which may prove expensive. Also, don't be like me, as I couldn't bring myself to stab new tyres with the tubeless repair tools when I got punctures, which meant more removing of the tyres, replacing of the sealant, etc, etc. Just stab the tyres...