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  • Tubes or Tubeless…. Wassit all about?
  • womble72
    Free Member

    What’s the benefits of going tubeless?

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    Save rotating weight. Punctures (generally) seal themselves if using jizz.

    matthew_h
    Free Member

    Tyre is more complient so can roll over obstacles better lowering rolling resistance and can give more grip. Secondary advantages are the reduction punctures and sometimes a small weight saving.

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    mrblobby
    Free Member

    Tyre is more complient so can roll over obstacles better

    Think this is generally from being able to run them at lower pressures as you don’t really get pinch punctures.

    Edit: Some people reckon they can tell the difference between the feel of a wheel with a tube and without a tube. Though I can’t say I felt any difference when run at the same pressures.

    matthew_h
    Free Member

    It’s more to do with the reduction in effective thickness of rubber due to not having a tube there too. The pressure thing is true though.

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    Maybe with big thick DH tubes, but with normal XC tubes I’d be surprised if you can tell the difference.

    matthew_h
    Free Member

    You can definitely tell a difference. You’re taking away a fair thickness of rubber and an interface between the tube and tyre.

    Anyway, that’s what it is all about and weight and punctures are secondary to the decreased rolling resistance and increased grip

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    TBH I’ve not done a back to back test with same pressures etc. Do prefer running tubeless at the lower pressures with more grip, feels quicker, and I’ve only had one hole that didn’t seal itself quickly.

    vancoughcough
    Free Member

    Once you’ve put in sealing globby stuff and stuff though.. how much weight are you really saving?

    Also perhaps an oxymoron to ride with little shed operation ‘green oil’ when depositing said globby stuff on the trails?

    I fear change. I ride tubes. Thank goodness Conti tubes seem consistant in quality again, or was that bad batch I had just me?

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    TandemJeremy
    Free Member

    Hang on – something wrong with that pic

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    Once you’ve put in sealing globby stuff and stuff though.. how much weight are you really saving?

    It’s probably not that much, especially if you have to use the rubber rim strips. However it is rotating weight where any saving is apparently a big deal.

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    Hang on – something wrong with that pic

    He’s using tyre levers when he should be doing it with his thumbs?

    Klunk
    Free Member

    when it works it’s great, when it doesn’t it’s a wasteful messy PITA.

    mboy
    Free Member

    Main advantage is massive reduction in punctures. Using sealant, thorn punctures no longer matter, and as you’ve got no inner tube you’ve got nothing (except the tyre itself, which though possible is much harder and you’d have to be running silly low pressures) to pinch. I’ve taken tyres off to change them and found numerous thorns in on occasion, and I’ve never suffered a flat since running tubeless (8 years now). Nor have I rolled a tyre off the rim, but I’ve always done my homework though…

    Secondary benefits… Usually you save a very small amount of weight, though not always. Rolling resistance is reduced, not massively but removing the inner tube removes a slight amount of friction. And you can run slightly lower pressures for increased grip, though most people usually seem to take this too far, and end up with loads of grip, briefly until they then ding the rim or roll the tyre off it! So top tip number 1 if you go tubeless, don’t lower your pressures by more than 5-10% over pressures you’d run if you were running tubes…

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)

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