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I'm going tubeless on my roadbike, but just doing it was and when the existing tyres wear out, which won't be at the same time. Just idly wondering if there is any benefit, however marginal in going front or rear first with tubeless. So the question is...
If you HAD to go tubeless but only on one wheel on your roadbike (if you HAD to) which wheel would you choose?
(the sensible answer of 'whichever one wears out first' is not acceptable).
Yep, utterly pointless!
Ha tough question. Main benefit of tubeless on the road bike for me is reducing punctures, and I don't see any front/rear bias on that. Unless you think you will benefit from reduced pressure at either end, I would just toss a coin (keeping to your criteria of not using 'whichever one wears out first'). If you really want an answer....rear.
Front for comfort and grip reasons.
whichever wears out first.
*LOL emoji*
I'd say the front purely because front needs to grip more and tubeless can help with that with slightly lower pressures.
But if you've got the faff of doing the tubeless, may as well do both together (you will find that unless you have sacrificed a chicken or similar to the tubeless gods, one will always go up fine, the other will be a right git, despite using identical rim/tape/tyre/sealant... it's the law)
Front.
No, rear...
Rear - less hassle to change the front tyre if you get a puncture & you can run it slightly softer for comfort.
reasons and weightings below:
front because a front puncture is scarier than a rear puncture (30%)
rear because a rear puncture is marginally more faff than a front picture (27%)
front because it runs at lower pressure for grip / comfort (18%)
rear because it wears quicker than the front (25%)
referendum result: 48% rear / 52% front
Definitely the rear, I've only had one front puncture in 10 years but ten's of back ones. Less weight on the front so can run lower pressure anyway.
My CX / Gravel bike is tubeless at the back and tubed front (due to front tyre not being tubeless). Works fine.
Although I live in the flatlands the likelihood of getting a front puncture when descending fast is low.
referendum result: 48% rear / 52% front
I'm not convinced that some of your numbers are based on fact and thus would like a re-run.
Rear because when you hit a pothole, you can unweight the front wheel to reduce the chance of a puncture.
er... I think
Conventional wisdom was that rears puncture more because the front wheel flicks up the offending stone/glass/flint and the rear runs straight over it. Seems a bit daft now I've written it but that's what people always said.
However, if tubeless offers a more supple ride like they claim, you'd get more benefit with it on the front.
I think I might install a middle wheel so I can run that tubeless
Front. Not necessarily <span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">because it's tubeless, but because I always put the freshest tyre on the front for reasons described above.</span>
Rear, and it's not marginal. As said above, way more punctures incurred on the rear, so that's where the tubeless magic needs to go first.
rear, because when you puncture and 95% of the air escapes, you can still steer on your way home
road tubeless are not fit for purpose, only road tyres I've ever taken off before the tread wore out.
road tubeless are not fit for purpose, only road tyres I’ve ever taken off before the tread wore out.
A rather bold statement, so why is that then?
Do both at the same time & keep your better tyre incase u ever need it 🤣I recently did my Tarmac Tubeless with the Scwalbe 1 kit dropped 20psi on usual tubed set up bike feels Quicker Much comfier & definitely handles better , I did 1 wrap of stans tape & Scwalbe supply a Bead lubricant weird the tyres never even popped onto rim ( i was kinda worried 1st ride 😢 ) but absolutely chuffed to bits with them
Rear, more punctures, more weight so rolling resistance benefits will be greater. Comfort is a balance between both tyres.
For ultimate on limit handling it might make sense to put it on the front to take advantage of the increased grip particularly at lower pressures, however on a road bike this is less important.
road tubeless are not fit for purpose, only road tyres I’ve ever taken off before the tread wore out.
Schwalbe one are great imo. Only criticism I've heard of them is that they can be a bit slippery out of the box, and need a couple of rides to take the sheen off. Not really noticed that myself.
A rather bold statement, so why is that then?
the sealant cant hold the pressure. on rides that means they wont seal until they are too soft to ride, latex all over the frame, and white puddles on the garage floor.
ended up taking tubes anyway, but the bead were so tight they snapped levers.
clinchers and tubes are far more effective
(please note, I run tubeless on every other bike I have, including gravel, DH, XC and my kids bikes. I ride ~16,000 km annually on the road.)
the sealant cant hold the pressure. on rides that means they wont seal until they are too soft to ride, latex all over the frame, and white puddles on the garage floor.
Mine hold at ~100 psi if I want them that high, so it can definitely be done. Problem with your set up maybe?
If everyone had the same experience as you, I don't think anyone would be running road tubeless.
Mine hold at ~100 psi if I want them that high, so it can definitely be done. Problem with your set up maybe?
If everyone had the same experience as you, I don’t think anyone would be running road tubeless.
Maybe different sealant rather than a problem with the entire concept? Any sealant recommendations as road tubeless is kinda on my to do eventually list.
I've had no issues at all with Schwalbe G-One Speed tyres on commuter or Roubaix tubeless road tyres on road bike, both have been excellent and i'm a big lump so high pressures.
I just wish Continental did road tubeless, always liked GP4000's and Four Seasons as tyres and would be ace tubeless.
Not fit for purpose is OTT, but definitely sealant technology is not where it needs to be for the road. Had a few punctures seal to approx 40psi, get you home, but couldn't take any higher.
Expect this problem to be solved, though - the new finishline stuff looked promising but seems to have gotten mixed reviews.
everytime some-one goes tubless on a roadbike, God kills a walrus
True fact.
Any sealant recommendations as road tubeless is kinda on my to do eventually list.
I just use std Stan's - no issues.
Wasn't Steve Abraham running tubeless for his year record? If that's not an endorsement for tubeless on a road bike, I don't know what is. He claimed he was getting punctures most days before that.
As for the original Q. Swap the tyres round and wear them out at the same time?
Any sealant recommendations..
Mavic. Sealed everytime, when I went through a patch of [i]front[/i] tyre punctures recently. S-One btw.
For the above reason I'd go tubeless on the rear first.
I've been using Stans Race and Orange Seal and both have been fine, with regards not being able to handle 40psi and above, i found the opposite to seal when there was a hole, i'd pump tyre as high as i could and spin tyre in the frame and the higher pressure i found helped "push" sealant into the hole.
Schwalbe G-One Speed have been easy to get on, seal and really comfortable to ride, only issue was wearing quite quickly
Tyre talk eh? Really liking the Spesh Roubaixs I got on their recent deal. Had them pumped too hard to start with but at 50-60psi they're great. Much easier to fit than those bastard Tubeless Easys (arf) too.
[i]road tubeless are not fit for purpose...[/i]
What? All of em?
Not fit for purpose is OTT, but definitely sealant technology is not where it needs to be for the road. Had a few punctures seal to approx 40psi, get you home, but couldn’t take any higher.
Expect this problem to be solved, though – the new finishline stuff looked promising but seems to have gotten mixed reviews.
What happens when you get home then? Do you simply have to re-inflate and the sealant holds or is a tyre repair required? repairing tyres can get old very quickly
If current sealant systems can't hold above 40psi with a puncture, and as a minimum I'd want them to go to about ~60psi, slinging a tube in starts to seem like a "better" option, I think the "Not fit for purpose" judgement seems justified or maybe "Not quite fit".
It all comes down to the fact that MTB tyres have ~5 times the volume, and run at 15-25% of the pressure when compared with a road tyre, fundamentally they work in different ways in different environments...
Couple of punctures I've had, as mentioned earlier - have only lost around 15psi (from 80-90 psi in the Schwalbe) before the hole has sealed. Got me home with no problem at all (aside from a spray of tyre jiz in the face)
I always check my bike for punctures at lunchtime too - had a couple of those, where it has gone flat in the bike shed.
Spin the wheel, pump it up, ride home with no faff. Can't beat it.
Only downside I can think of is that they don't hold air as well as tubed tyres and need topping up with air about once a week. Small price to pay.
Mrs DD has a remarkable aptitude for puncturing all manner of tyres and I'm bored of buying new ones to try out for her so squirted a load into the inner tubes - seems to be a reliable solution so far, none of the suppler tyre/etc benefits but definitely winning on the roadside repairs front and no concerns over exploding sealant episodes!
I know it's not what your asking, but isn't that the point of forums? ;-P
I'm with bigrich on this. Yes they prevent punctures, but will struggle to reseal up to even 60 PSI when reinflated, before the latex plug blows out - this with Orange sealant, which is excellent.
On the road, I've run Schwalbe Ones (nice tyres but really no better than their non-tubeless counterparts), Schwalbe G One Speeds (nice tyres, didn't seal a glass intrusion on the front) and of course, the majestic Corsa Speeds (fast and fragile impossible to get on and off, NO puncture protection at all, did I say they are fast?).
I had better luck on the front with sealing punctures, but ultimately, changing the tyres when it goes pear-shaped out on the road is too much of a compromise for me. As is repairing them back at home with an internal patch which needs the tyre removed, cleaned of sealant and replaced.
If you must, I'd go with the front for handling and suppleness. But I much prefer non-tubeless Schwalbe Ones and Corsa G+ with latex tubes.
but will struggle to reseal up to even 60 PSI when reinflated, before the latex plug blows out
Not my experience at all.
If current sealant systems can’t hold above 40psi with a puncture, and as a minimum I’d want them to go to about ~60psi, slinging a tube in starts to seem like a “better” option, I think the “Not fit for purpose” judgement seems justified or maybe “Not quite fit”.
It's not justified, because mine hold at 100 psi, no problem.
4,000 miles on a pair of Schwalbe G-One 30c with Stans at 90psi. 5 punctures and only 1 didn't seal and hold and oozed a bit until I got home. Left it and pumped it up the next day and it was good as new.
Had a couple with Stans that would only seal to about 60, got me home no bother.
Latest one sealed with Orange and held 100 psi
Helps to have a small bottle of Loctite 440 to reinforce the outside.