Mounting a tubeless tire onto your mountain bike allows you to ride your bicycle with a lower air pressure in the tires. Lower air pressures can allow for greater traction and smoother rides on rough or rocky terrain. Mounting a tubeless tire is a deceptively straightforward task that may take a few times to complete correctly. The process is very similar to mounting a tubular bicycle wheel with the notable exceptions of a tubeless system lacking a tube and the danger of using tire levers.
Step 1
Spray soapy water around the tire rim and the walls of your tire. This will insure a clean surface and a tight lock for your tires and will also make it easier to install your tire onto your rim.
Step 2
Align your tire so that the directional arrow points in the direction your wheel will spin. Align the tires so that your tire’s stem indicator is in line with your rim’s stem valve.
Step 3
Mount one tire wall over the wall of your rim by pushing small sections of the tire wall over the rim wall until the entire rim wall is inside the rim flange.
Step 4
Mount the second wall of your rim over your rim wall. Start with the section on the opposite side of the valve stem. Carefully push the tire wall over the rim wall in sections until both side walls of the tire are inside the rim flanges.
Step 5
Pump air into your tire, quickly inflating it to about 60 psi to lock your beading into place. You will hear a snapping sound indicating that your beads are locked. You will also see an indicator strip around the rim if your tire is properly seated. If it is not, deflate your tire and repeat this step.
Step 6
Release the air in your tire. Visually check around the edges of your tire to be sure that the tire did not separate from the rim. This is an indicator that the tire did not seat properly into the rim. In case of gaps between the rim and the tire, repeat step five.
Step 7
Inflate your tires to your desired psi level by utilizing your air compressor or an air pump.
Tips and Warnings
- Inflate your tire quickly with a compressor in order to lock the tire locking system. An air pump does not inflate quickly enough to lock the tire into the rim in an airtight seal.
- Do not use tire levers on tubeless tires. Tire levers can cause damage to the locking system which will create an imperfect seal. If you are having trouble setting your second tire wall into the rim, spray more soapy water onto the area.
Things You'll Need
- Spray bottle filled with soapy water
- Tubeless tire system
- Air compressor
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