Maxxis Ardent: Ghetto (Gorrilla) Tubeless

Having been out on the Goblin now for a few test rides there’s a few areas I need to do something about, the 660mm bars I have on there feel a little short, so perhaps Santa will bring a new set (hint, hint, if you are reading this dear wife!).  But much more pressingly the rather worn and used Kenda Small Block 8 on the goblin clearly wasn't going to cut it, and having a few front wheel washouts meant I quickly needed to research something with a little more bite. 

My criteria for a new tire was as follows:

• Under $50
• Fast Rolling
• Good in the corners
• Would be a good all rounder working in hard pack, loose and hold up if it got muddy.

This led me to the Maxxis Ardent, which I picked up from Amazon with free shipping.  With a new tire on its way, it seemed the perfect time to try and see what all the fuss was with going tubeless, I started to look into the most cost effective way to do this.  Due to the large center groove in the rim of the WTB Laserdiscs on the Goblin it seemed the most effective would be to give the Gorilla tubeless method a go.  I headed off to Home Depot, and picked up a roll 1.88” thick, then off to Performance Bike to get some Stan's Sealant (Which was on offer at $11.99) and some tubeless valves.

I set about the project using a YouTube tutorial as my guide

Part 1:

 

Part 2:

I followed the tutorial pretty much word for word however not having an air compressor meant there was a lot of trial and error involved, and it was a challenge to get the bead seated correctly.  I found the best way to do this with only a floor pump was to mount the tire, throw in a tube and seat the bead.  Carefully break the bead on one side, making sure the other side bead stays set, remove the tube, add the tubeless valve and then try and work the bead back into place as close as possible by hand.  Lots of pumping and a little bit of swearing later the bead popped into place and the tire was ready for sealant.

The finished article:

I’m excited to go give this a try, I’ll leave the rear Small Block 8 for now and intend to run it until its worn out and provided the tubeless switch holds up on the front I’ll do the same on the back.  Again I’m thinking a Maxxis tire possibly a Crossmark would be a good rear tire to compliment the Ardent up front, suggestions welcome!