Specialized tyres and tubeless dilema / confusion

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Specialized tyres and tubeless dilema / confusion

14 posts & 11 voices | Started 6 months ago by julioflo | Latest reply from devs

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julioflo - Member

Close to buying a new pair of Advantage 2.1s as my favourite all round xc and trail tyres.

but want to go tubeless... Have gone ghetto before, but want to go the whole hog with rim strips this time.

If I choose the Advantages it would seem I have to buy the more expensive and heavier UST versions....To me the extra weight defeats one of the benefits of tubless....

So I've been looking at the Specialized 2bliss tyres. Namely 'The captain' and the 'Saucerwind'.

Does anyone have any experience of these being used tubless? And as an all round xc/trail tyre. Also is one better than the other as a front or rear tyre?

I will be racing on these tyres and can't be arsed to change tyres for conditions. I have found the aformentioned Advantages are fine for most conditions for me.

Posted 6 months ago #
Skyliner - Member

Just buy the Advantages (non UST) and use them with rim strips and sealant! No need to buy heavy UST unless using them on a UST rim. If you like the tyres so much you'll be faster by placebo if you are racing!!

Posted 6 months ago #
Northwind - Member

Maxxis tyres usually seal up very easily. You're right that UST is generally a bit pointless- I see it as like dualplies, something you use if you need to but not for everyone.

2bliss are a fair bit easier, and there's not much weight difference at all. But I used to have a sausagewind and I wouldn't consider it a general trail tyre- dry weather, it was fantastic. Haven't used a Captain. Eskar is a very, very good rear tyre but knobblier than an Advantage.

Posted 6 months ago #
sugdenr - Member

2bliss = tubless ready

Dont. Seal them with the milk, aint no tyre you cant seal up, watch the video on notubes.com

Posted 6 months ago #
julioflo - Member

Great advice chaps!
I had a feeling that rim strips and sealant would work with std Advantages and was just a little thrown by the UST thing!

Posted 6 months ago #
superfli - Member

I'm getting a bit fed up with tubeless cheapo method. Using Stans+Joes NF rim strip and valve, I've split Fire XC (wire), Rampage (sport), NN (evo), MudX (tubeless ready). All in 9months. Considering I rarely puncture tubed tyres, its proving a bit pointless. I do like being able to run lower pressures though.

Posted 6 months ago #
njee20 - Member

How is the fact you're splitting tyres related to the lack of tubes? You were lucky the Panaracers stayed on the rim!

I'm not a fan of the Sauserwind, just not very grippy, but not that fast considering the lack of grip! Captains are good, but reasonably slow. I'd buy normal Maxxis and convert, or look at Schwalbe.

Posted 6 months ago #
thisisnotaspoon - Member

I've used both maxxis' normal tyres and Specialized 2blis tyres. Both went up first time on non-ust/tubeless rims with stans rim strips and neither's burped. I did manage to tear the high roller (singleply 2.35) to shreds though on Skiddaw, but that's a horrible slate/scree surface so should have expected it, I tore another 2 tubes after that!

Wouldn't recomend Specialized tyres for being fast rolling either, my Eskars are dragier than the high rollers they replaced, but do grip better. The storm's are an excelent winter tyre for soft conditions, but struggle for grip in the dry.

Posted 6 months ago #
Hob Nob - Member

I've recently switched from Maxxis to Specialized tyres and actually got round to putting them on yesterday.

In my experience, geting a single ply non UST Minion/High Roller 2.35 onto either a UST rim or a Flow was a massive ballache. The floppy sidewalls made it hard work and I needed a compressor to get them to seat.

I also found I needed a 'lot' of sealant to make them work.

By comparison, the 2Bliss Eskars I've just put on went up with virtually zero effort on both the above wheelset from a track pump and I used a third of the amount of sealant.

The other advantage seems to be that a comparative sized tyre is about 250g lighter than the Maxxis ones I took off. I have no idea where all the weight is hiding on a single ply Maxxis. If you use skinnier tyres, that may not be so relevant.

Thumbs up from me.

Posted 6 months ago #
thisisnotaspoon - Member

Odd, I've got a high roller on my spare front wheel that's tubeless, haven't touched it in months and it's still fully inflated. I found a few layers of electrical tape to pad out the rim under the stans strip helped.

Posted 6 months ago #
owenfackrell - Member

I have been using some 2bliss the captian tyres for a few years now on UST wheels with no problems. I use them all year round and find them a good all round tyre. No they are not the fastest or the gripest but work well in all conditons. So far i have tryed them here on hte southdowns, in south wales, in the peaks, in scotland and in the south of france.

Posted 6 months ago #
superfli - Member

njee, I might well split tyres with tubes, I'm just saying I've not really noticed any difference in puncture protection with tubeless. Weight is negligable, only benefit is the chance to run lower pressure. I'm sort of perserveering though. Need to get a tyre repair kit really (I just slap a tube in atm).

Posted 6 months ago #
baznav73 - Member

Unless you use the proper ust tyres with their thicker casings don't bother with the tyre repair kit, with all the companies changing to tubeless ready crap {normal tyre with tubeless bead} you can't repair them any sense. where i am in the south flint cuts are a major problem but with proper ust tyres you can use the innovations tubeless tyre plugs to repair them in seconds but because the tubeless ready casings are thinner the plugs won't stay in they just blow out. Yes the ust tyres are heavier but far more reliable and fixable, i would rather ride a slightly heavier tyre than be standing at the side of the trail fixing a lighter tyre.
As has been said there is not realy any point in running tubeless anymore as the tubeless ready tyres puncture just the same, its a huge backward step in my opinion going away from proper ust.

Posted 6 months ago #
devs - Member

If you run single ply tyres tubeless at low pressure you are asking for trouble. There,s no need either.

Posted 6 months ago #

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