After getting a pinch flat in my biggest race of the season last weekend, I’ve decided to finally take the plunge and go tubeless, on my ‘race’ bike at least.

If I’m gonna do it I’ll do it properly rather than a ‘conversion’ – so have ordered a set of XT UST rims and UST tyres. And, I refuse to muck about with the white goo stuff, as seeing people sitting by the side of the trail covered in the evil sticky stuff is what’s stopped me going tubeless so far!

So, my question to the tubeless veterans is – assuming no white goo, what do you do if you get a puncture? I assume still carry a spare tube and put it in to get home, but then what? Can you repair a puncture in a tubeless tyre with a standard puncture repair kit? How easy is it to find a small puncture – do I need to dunk the whole wheel in a bath tub?

Thanks.

UST tyres & rims & you shouldn’t have a problem. I run stans in mine just for the small punctures you’re worried about.
People covered in goo (eww!) are probably running inappropriate tyres.

Never had a goo incident but I do stick to tried & tested rim/tyre combinations Arch/Ralphs. I’ve got another bike with UST rims and tyres & they’re totally bombproof. In fact, I’ve run them without sealant for ages with no problems. You do pay a weight penalty though. I’d recommend a bit of goo just for pinhole punctures.

more trouble than it’s worth if you don’t use the goo

If you don’t use the goo you will have a LOT more punctures- you can take a UST tyre off that’s riddled with tiny thorn holes and never know that you’d punctured. The only time to goo won’t help is if the tyre is totally ruined.

waste of time and money if you dont put a small cup of spaff in.
IMO.

The only reason people have ‘goo’ issues is from using inappropriate tyres, using goo makes no difference to this.

Take a spare tube, stick it in, go ride. Make sure you check the tyre for thorns though – the goo may be concealing several thorns depending on where you ride. Unless you’re put a massive slash in your sidewall (in which case, race over anyway), it’ll be fine with a normal tube.

You don’t really need to fix punctures in tubeless tyres if you’re using goo. Any small holes will just fill up automatically. Other options for fixing tubeless tyres include the bacon strips (http://www.genuineinnovations.com/bicycle/accessories/tubeless-tire-repair-kit.html) for bigger holes. You can do this without taking the tyre off. I suspect these will still need a bit of good to seal completely though.

If only everything on my bike was a reliable as my XT rims and UST tyres.

There is a weight penalty for sure but having messed about with lighter set ups I’ve come to the conclusion its a price worth paying for having a reliable set up

Use goo to seal small punctures that you’ll never know about.

Tubeless puncture kit for bigger cuts, and you don’t need to remove the wheel.

I’ve used tubeless for 5+ years, using every combination. UST tyres with UST wheels (with goo) will be bomb proof. But I also run a DT5.1 standard rim, with electrical tape wrapped to seal the valve holes and a non-tubeless Maxxis Minion on the rear with some goo, and that’s been faultless too.

I appreciate there’s a lot of goo fans here, and I’m not saying its not a wise precaution. However, where I ride (Western Australia) I haven’t had a ‘normal’ puncture in a year, so I’ve decided the benefit of goo isn’t worth the hassle. Really, I’m just not gonna go there…

But – murphy’s law will no doubt ensure my first outing with my new tubeless setup I’ll get a nail thru the tyre, so I was just wondering how to fix holes in a tubeless tyre – will a normal puncture patch glued on the inside of the tyre do it, or do I really need those plugs like car tyres use, and Superficial linked to above? Thanks.

perthmtb – Member

assuming no white goo, what do you do if you get a puncture?

You say “Bugger, should have used some sealant, like everyone else does”. Then when fit a tube, and when you get home you remove the tube and add some sealant.

If you do get a hole that doesn’t seal, you can use a standard innertube patch (I cut them quite small- doesn’t need to be big, because the air pressure holds it on). If there’s a cut/slice in the tyre that’s opening up, that’s not so easy- you can sew it up then patch it though.

One of these Tubeless Repair Kit

No need to remove wheel from bike, let alone remove tyre from rim. And I don’t think a tube patch will stick to the inside of your tyre very well, they do seem seem slippery smooth from the mould release stuff they use.

But seriously, a bit of goo will also help identify where the hole is, which might be hard if the offending spikey thing is no longer in the tyre.

Ahh well I’d not go riding without proper tyre patches. I’m tubeless and have been on other bikes for 3+ years and never had punctures, but then I’ve always dribbled spaff in them there rims see. I’ve done the same on my my new beau and continue to carry tyre patches.

They’re a bit like tube patches only black 😆

Last tyre changed on my previous bike I counted 26 thorn puncture marks, tyre stayed up no bother.

Just use sealant! I’ve had no flats since going tubeless 5 years ago. A few punctures, yes, but nothing that didn’t seal.

(I’ll probably get a rash of punctures now)

+1 for the tubelss puncture kit.

ive patched the inside of tyres before, a hairdryer to tacky everything up helped it bond properly. i just used to take a spare tube to get me home.

however, since seeing jedi mend a tubeless puncture in the alps in the pissing rain in about 30 seconds with one of those kits I am a definite convert! he’d never used one before either so it could be even quicker with a bit of practice. I’ve not had to use it yet but its in the bag ready.

Another +1 for using the Goo and the tubeless repair kit if you need it. The UST tyres are thicker/heavier but they do still get punctures.

As others have said, you’ll only generally see goo from weaker tubeless setups. Done with the right kit, you’ll be pretty much bombproof.

+1 more for using sealant

Excluding the “white goo stuff” negates half the benefits of going tubeless IMO as it increases the risk of a thorn giving you a flat…

And Yes goo or no goo you still need to carry spare tubes as nothing is ever going to be completely infalable and ultimately should you have a flat with a UST setup that you can’t simply re-inflate out on the trail then a tube will be the only way to get you home…