I’m amazed how few of you have mentioned 650b. That seemed an obvious choice for me.

Or is it just that not many have actually tried it yet? 😉

benpinnick – Member

Were moving all our bikes to tubeless as default rather than tubed (currently the lowest end are tubed) because it’s so much less hassle than fitting tubes irrespective of any other benefits.

As a relative newbie to the forum, the one thing I’ve gleaned is that tubeless can be the biggest PITA going.
It may be different for you as a company using combinations of rims and tyres that work well with compressors that the average punter will not own, but plenty of people seem to struggle.

PS. I like your bicycles, will the zero be available in any other colours? I’m a massive tart but can’t afford to change my entire wardrobe. 🙂

It may be different for you as a company using combinations of rims and tyres that work well with compressors that the average punter will not own, but plenty of people seem to struggle.

As a punter I’ve had no real issues, some tyres need a compressor but these have all been non tubeless tyres on non tubeless rims. On the real stuff I’ve had no issues at all.

As a punter I’ve had no real issues, some tyres need a compressor but these have all been non tubeless tyres on non tubeless rims. On the real stuff I’ve had no issues at all.

This + a million. It’s amazing what happens when you use the correct kit. Stuff works!

Anybody who has bodged non-tubeless stuff together as tubeless and hasn’t been able to get it to work well, has absolutely no right to whinge. It’d be like throwing a car together out of various bits of fiestas and metros, slapping a Ferrari badge on it then claiming all Ferraries are rubbish.

Still, I don’t really see how people can say it’s simpler than tubes tbh. Not for the home mechanic anyway. I’m a tubeless fan, with proper tubeless rims and tyres, and a compressor- I still think it’s easier to fit a tube.

I may not be typical but 15mm has made a real difference to my bike. Having just bought a set of Rebas off here (thanks Grant) I fitted them to my ’98 Hei Hei and fast off cambers are much improved although this may have something to do with riding a 16 yo Ti frame which needs all the help it can get.

Tubeless ready schwalbe ice spikers on bonty rims with a bonty rim strip went up with a track pump and sealed immediately.

A little more faff than fitting a tube maybe, maybe not.. But the results are easily worth it.

I still think it’s easier to fit a tube.

When I run tubes I ended up fitting them a lot, when I run tubeless I don’t except in some very unlucky times. That is the plus to tubeless.

Yep. Sometimes your tyres don’t go up, sometimes you spill the latex… But sometimes you nip the tube putting it in, sometimes you accidentally fit a punctured one.. Sometimes the valve rips off.. And sometimes you puncture.. And sometimes you run out of tubes on a ride…

How do you nip a tube putting on a mountain bike tyre?

Actually, I tried to fit a tyre on a set of Stans rims once, disbelief retracted.

I love tubeless but dislike the fact that some “tubeless ready” tyres clearly are not. My Schwalbe Nobby Nic and Racing Ralph take loads of sealent to seal, are a right faff to set up and loose pressure over the course of a week through the sidewalls.

UST tyres just work every time but are a little heavier. “tubeless ready” tyres should work a lot better than they do. I have a completely none tubeless Schwalbe that works so much better than the tubeless ready ones I have (goes up and stays up). the difference is the sidewall thickness. The two tubeless ready tyres are really lightweight racing versions with paper thin sidewalls where as the none tubeless tyre has thicker sidewalls.

This all makes perfect sense – A thinner sidewall will leak more air… and I don’t actually mind the extra faff for a lighter tyre……but I do object to printing “tubeless ready” on the side of tyre you have to pump up before every ride”.

plyphon – Member

How do you nip a tube putting on a mountain bike tyre?

The same way the drummer from spunge poked out his own eye with a pair of pliers while changing his spark plugs- raw skill.

@ndthornton thats just Schwable being crap, had much better with Maxxis

Yes, tubeless can be a PITA to set up. My first few efforts involved me standing outside with a track pump screaming “stay inflated you t***!”. The neighbours must have assumed I have Tourette’s.

When it works well, it’s great. I have to agree with the sentiments expressed about Tubeless Ready systems only being a partial solution, the sidewalls just aren’t robust enough to survive the flinty terrain round my way and I’ve killed several tyres thanks to torn sidewalls. You can sew them up to repair, but it’s a temporary solution at best.

I’m going to bite the bullet and invest in proper reinforced UST tyres next time round.

How do you nip a tube putting on a mountain bike tyre?

With tyre levers, if you end up thinking you need them.

Re sidewalls, I’ve got non tubeless ready light weight RRs that stay up for about 5 days even though the sealant is totally dry because I haven’t ridden the bike for years!

I find that with thin sidewalled tyres they will continue to leak for a month or so, but it gets less and less as the sealant begins to work. Eventually they stay up.

thats just Schwable being crap, had much better with Maxxis

Yes – my Maxxis Ardent LUSTs are superb – but a little heavier so they go on the big rig

My Maxxis TR’s are lighter and very good.

im obviously suckered in by all the marketing hype

coz…
tubeless i think is great, after tubed pinch flats ruined a few race runs, can be a bit of hassle but soapy lube and a track pump its fine!
bolt thru upgrade on hope hubs helped my multi pivot full suss back end stiffen up when i was turning my rad up to 11
my press fit bb seems to last longer than my htii ones and the bike looks nicer, whether its stiffer?
tapered steerer forks definitely feel stiffer
and wait for it…… I think my 650b bike is da bomb!, and I think the wee bit bigger wheels are better on techy climbs, smooths the trail a bit more on fast rough stuff and it descends great, saying that id be very keen to try a 29er with similar enduro! geo and 140mm of travel as i like my 29er hardtail but its definiately not so much fun to jump

anyway the only one that i think is pointless is 15mm, certainly better than qr but 20mm was perfectly fine and we shouldve stuck with that, although hope or superstar hubs make it relatively painless

Were moving all our bikes to tubeless as default rather than tubed (currently the lowest end are tubed) because it’s so much less hassle than fitting tubes irrespective of any other benefits

I thought they were much more hassle to fit than tubes

Compressor or track pump to get them seated etc

This is why there’s a new thread on here every 3 days from people having issues getting tyres and tubes seated. 😉

Pressfit etc. definitely. Dumb design, that can just about be justified for a carbon bike BB shell that you probably don’t want to machine threads in to. The actual bearing is still just as exposed… some are direct in the frame with a seal, some are pressed in to a screw in shell with a seal, some are pressed in to a plastic pressfit shell with a seal. the seal bit is to all intents and purposes the same.

Why use a nice convenient wrench and turn it in either direction, when you can use a hammer and a bearing press?

STW.. sometimes there are great threads that capture my interest, and then there’s an argument about tubeless. Why am I doing this instead of the stuff I need to be doing?

I’m in the for camp for tubeless. I don’t really have much of an issue with my tyre rim combinations but did find Stans sealant a bit rubbish…it didn’t realy seal my Conti tyres. Popped some JRA wheel milk in and that worked a treat.

Bolt through forks are a good thing in my mind but I don’t see why the 20mm standard had to be dropped. Thanks Fox / Shimano for that one.

I’ve adopted most of the current trends and am quite happy…wide bars, dropped post, tubeless etc. I’ve been running 1x set ups for a while now. They just easier to live with these days.

I’ve even adopted 650b but that as more by force…the frame I wanted was only available as a 650b. I can’t really tell if there’s a benefit over 26 inch wheels but I do like the bike (Stanton Switchback).

I guess for most of these you’ve got to make you’re own mind up about what progression, and what’s just change for the sake of it. I’ve been tubeless for years now, only puncture in that time was a careless snakebite that was entirely down to me. That’s a win overall. My 20mm axles tapered steerer forks go where I point them, without the useless twangy sensation of old, another win. press fit BB [for me] are no more of a faff than external cups, neutral. Wide handlebars over more control, win. 142×12 rear axle is too new to comment on.

Happy days here.

48h Deodorant not any better than claimed 24h stuff.

Hands up who goes 48h without washing their armpits.

Actually, hands down again please.

I dunno – if a through axle is a good ideal for forks, then it’s a good idea for the rear of the bike too – they’re more or less the same structure.

Not at all, 20mm thru axles made a difference because it’s a cantilevered structure with a lot of stress going through it. The rear end is quite different – massively so on a road bike or HT

I suppose some bikes are fairly similiar- bendy Orange swingarms and the like, basically just 2 spars joined at one end, a long way away.

But even then they do a very different job, and there’s an argument that flex is beneficial on the rear as long as the wheel’s more or less under control and not banging the swingarm etc. (Lapierre gave Nico Voilioioullzlzlz a new stiffer rear end, he stuck the axle in a lathe and chopped bits off it til he liked it)