Tube in a tubeless tire, and flat.

I just took my wheels in to get new tires put on. When I picked them up, the mechanic informed me that the rear wheel was fine, but there was a tube in the front wheel and he had no choice but to re-use it since he didn't have any new tubes or a tubeless valve. I have tubeless tires, but he said it would be fine.

I mounted it on the bike and left it, and a couple of days later noticed that it's not inflated, and the tire isn't held against the wheel wall... I guess the bead isn't in.

The only compressor I have at my apartment is a little battery powered guy from sears that works great for topping off a low tire. I put it on, and it read 0 psi.. with it running, it would read 7 psi and hold there, but drop back to 0 as soon as I released it.

Any idea what this implies, and what I should do? Do I need to get a tubeless valve and get that tube removed? Or would a more powerful compressor maybe get it all seated right and working?

Thanks!

 

If it's not holding pressure in the tire then either there is a hole in the tube or the valve is bad. The tire not seating on the rim would have nothing to do with the tube holding air.

 

*sigh* that's what I figured. Stupid HOA complained that I'm not supposed to take wheels off my vehicles in the neighborhood, but I guess it needs to come off.

I'm just going to order a replacement tubeless valve and get rid of the tube altogether. Why would it even be there? Aren't the OEM valves for tubeless tires?

 

Did the guy who changed your tire look at the rim at all. It could be that the rim has some damage in it and needed the tube because the tire alone wouldn't hold air due to the damage.

 

He didn't mention anything, but probably didn't look too hard. The tires mounted on it were bald and hard as a rock, and I couldn't find a date stamp.

 

The tube was probably pinched and punctured during tire removal if they were hard as a rock. I had a tube in the back of mine when I got it. It left with the old tire. Though I did have some difficulty getting correct valves. Apparently all are not created equal. Bikebandit got me the right ones after two dealerships gave me the wrong ones. I'm sure chacal has them too he has everything else.

 

Somebody put a tube in the front tire for a reason; either to extend the life of a marginal tire or because of a rim leak.

You should be able to go back to a fully tubeless configuration as long as you install the correct valve, and ensure the rim is not damaged in any way.