8 tips for fitting a tubeless tyre with ease

21 March 2022

By Nicki Giles

Watch our short video for some hints from Saddleback’s resident expert Rob Borek on how to achieve trouble-free tubeless setup  

Fitting tubeless tyres might seem simple on the surface of it – just whack some tape around your rim, stick a valve through and pump your tyres up!

If you want to make an easy and quick job of it, though, watch our video, “How to set up road tubeless tyres”, to benefit from Service Technician Rob’s years of experience and get it right first time.

Here are his 8 top tips for fitting a tubeless tyre:

• Check your tubeless tape and valves before you begin, to ensure that the tape is 2-3mm wider than the internal width of the rim and the tubeless valve stopper is the right shape to fit that rim. 
• Clean your rim thoroughly to remove any residue and sealant that might stop your new tape from forming a good seal.
• Make sure the fresh tape is properly centred in the channel of the rim.
• Don’t just stretch your tape over the channel, make sure it’s pressed down firmly so that it adheres to the middle of the rim, otherwise it might move when the tyre’s installed. 
• Consider how many layers of tape you need to achieve the optimum bead seat diameter to seat your tyre firmly. 
• Overlap your tape and trim it with scissors, to avoid tearing it by mistake.
• Poke a small hole for the valve with a pick tool, then insert it carefully, again to minimise the risk of tearing.
• Press the rubber stopper down firmly with a 6mm Allen key to load it and ensure it’s a good fit.

If you follow Rob’s tips for fitting tubeless tyres, you should achieve an effective and reliable tubeless setup.

Watch the video now to see Rob put his words into action and take you step by step through his 8 tips, so you can follow along while fitting a tubeless tyre of your own.