Noob tire question

Do I understand correctly that one can mount tubeless tires on their TE's? If so, would that involve running a tube anyway? I always thought the rim on a wheel requiring tubed tires was different than the the rim on cast wheels that could run tubeless, meaning the later was stronger.

I just got some new tire changing toys, so changing tires to suit conditions is going to be a lot easier. Shinko has some nice tubeless tires that would appear to work well at a good price. That would allow me to save my dirt tires for dirt.

The cheap way to run 'tubeless' road-type tires on your TE is just to put tubes in the tires. It'll work just fine. The better way is as Kelly sez, go with the Tubliss system. That's the way I'd go...

My buddy Goosedog who rides this super-trick SMR610 'converted' his rims to a true tubeless style. Start by installing an automotive screw-on valve stem where the tube valve stem would go, then carefully clean the area where the rim strip would be, then cover all the spoke nipples with RTV silicone. Cover the silicone with a layer of duct tape, (to keep the tire from smearing the silicone when you mount it) then mount the tire. When you air it up, the pressure forces the silicone to ooze into the nipples, sealing up the leaks.

We did the above procedure back in April on 4 wheels, and he sez it still works perfectly with no leaks on all of them. Downside is, spoke maintenance if you need it, and you can't run a rim-lock unless you can figure out some way to seal it. The supermoto guys don't run rimlocks. Here's a shot of Goose's Ohlins clad tubeless scoot:

What trials tires are you using? Happy with them? Was it 18 you run in the front? Lotsa questions

So, as I understand it, the problem is air leaking out the spoke openings. No wonder BMW makes such a big deal about their tube optional spoke rim wheels. Seems like the tubliss system is a winner in more ways than one. Thanks for your replies.