Tires

Since a bike shop charges $30-$50 to convert a tire to tubeless. I figured I’d do it myself. I used these valves and I put two layers of 1″ Gorilla Tape since one layer was not air tight. Not sure if 3 is required, but 2 seems to be working. At only $3.00 a roll and capable of 2 layers on a pair of 650B wheels with several feet to spare this is a great deal compared to specific tubeless tire tape. I didn’t want to use any sealant until I ran them dry for at least 50-100 miles. After using Re-fuse tires on my Anthem for several months, I finally put sealant in. It’s pretty easy, just use one tire iron to open up a gap between the rim and tire and pour in the sealant, then pump up. No air compressor or injector needed. The front was holding air fine before the sealant. The rear one was not and still leaks all the air out after about a week or two. I’ll live with it.

These are the tires I’m evaluating for riding on gravel:

Maxxis Rambler 650×47 tires. Clearly the best for off road riding, but would it be fast enough for the asphalt? Would a hybrid set up be best? I’ll update after testing.

WTB Byway 650Bx47 This is a very similar tire to the Maxxis Receptor and since I had nothing but problems with the Receptors I wanted to try a different brand but a similar tread pattern. I’ll update after testing.

Maxxis Re-fuse 27.5×47 and 700×40 tires. Clearly the fastest on asphalt but how would it be on the dirt and single track? Would cornering traction in dirt be sufficient?

2021 Giant XTC SLR 29er. Replaced the stock tires with Re-fuse 700×40. The wheels were already set up tubeless, though had no sealant. The front wheel mounted perfectly the first time and holds air no problem even with no sealant. The rear tire took 3 mountings to get perfect but it holds air indefinitely.

The Re-fuse tires accelerate faster, roll smoother, and feel better all around on asphalt, gravel, and single track compared to the Receptors. This isn’t a totally fair comparison since the Receptors weren’t mounted properly and had low and high spots so the wheel/tire was not round. This was evident in looking at it while rotating and the fact that I could not take my hands off the handlebars and expect the front tire to track straight. I tried several times and it just would pull to one side or the other. When performing this test with the Re-fuse tires it worked fine.

Maxxis Receptor 650×47 tires. I was pretty stoked that the Receptor tires became available in March 2021 since it seems like the perfect tire for my riding. I bought 4 as soon as they were available. What I thought would be my ideal tire turned out to be a major pain the ass.

2021 Liv Tempt – These tires were set up with tubes from the factory so I had to get some Maxxis welter weight 27.5×1.50/1.75 tubes. I mounted the Receptors three times, but the bead refused to seat correctly. Soapy water didn’t make any difference. I still don’t have these tires mounted correctly and plan to replace with WTB Byways.

2014 Anthem 3 – I mounted the Receptors tubeless with no sealant on an Anthem with SXC-2 wheels. I mounted one tire three times and still could not get the bead to seat properly with low spots every time. I then noticed it had a defective sidewall, but on the fourth attempt I got the Receptor to mount perfectly with no high or low spots and the bead line visible 360 degrees on both sides of the tire. Success!!! I had used soapy water and saw no bubbles so I figured I’d ride it for a while. I rode the Receptors 15 miles, parked it in the garage, and the next day the tire was flat! I assumed it was my tubeless set up, but then installed a Re-fuse tire and on the second mounting, the bead was perfect and no air leaks testing with soapy water. I rode it 10 miles and the next day it had lost no air. None. Apparently the Receptor tires are the problem. They are extremely difficult to mount properly and don’t hold air even when mounted correctly. Granted, I’m not a bike mechanic with 1000’s of tire mountings under my belt, but using this small sample, I’d say that the Receptor tires are too difficult to mount properly and even when properly mounted, they will leak air. To be fair, the Receptors say on the side, “Warning: Tire will not hold air without inner tube or sealant,” okay, but the Re-fuse tires definitely hold air with no sealant or tube and have the same warning.

The front wheel was particularly frustrating since even after 7 attempts, the Receptors would still not mount correctly. I gave up and installed Re-fuse tires instead. I was really looking forward to using these Receptor tires, but now I’ll run Re-fuse tires most of the time and maybe have a spare set of wheels with Ramblers. I’m also considering a hybrid set up with a Rambler in front and a Re-fuse in back. So unfortunately I do not recommend Receptor tires due to difficulty to get them to mount and subsequent air leakage. Re-fuse tires are great so far on the gravel that I ride on, smooth, fast, predictable handling, easy to mount, holds air.

On March 21, 2021 I emailed Maxxis about the problem with their Receptor tires and included pictures and after an auto-reply and 14 days, have not heard anything from them. Not impressed with their customer service. They finally got back to me and replaced the tires with new ones but it took a couple of months. Not sure I trust these tires now.