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I'm wondering whether to bother with the faff...?
i'll never use tubes again. love tubeless but wont use the tape conversion kit only tubeless rims. thats part of why i got ride of my hope enduro wheels and bought some easton havens
Tubless curious is as far as I've gone.
The faff of tubes is definitely not worth it.
Likewise, been tubeless-curious for a while. Seems like a good idea, then every time I'm out with someone running tubeless we end up with a burping incident - "which doesn't usually happen" of course
dont run low presures, just run the pressue you'd use with tubes and burping is a thing of the past (thats what i found)
Well, its no longer the hot topic it once was since the choice of three different wheel sizes arrived
I prefer a less 'squirmy' tyre so re-fitted tubes for summer
Tubeless for me.
After puncturing on nearly every stage at every enduro race this year I switched.
No faff converting, had both done first time in a little over an hour.
Well worth the cost.
I don't have a choice with my wheelset although I am fairly curious and when its time for new wheels and / or new bike I'll be giving it a go.
Love tubeless, have run mine with ZTR rims and jollop for 2 years and they have been great and reliable on both bikes... Don't really love standing around /helping fellow non tubeless riders who don't get the tubeless thing whilst they mend another bloomin puncture...(Think Charlies singlespeed outing this year during the Gravel dash) With the right wheels and tyres its a doddle to do.
UST tyres on UST rims are brilliant. They just work. Everything else is a faff and will fail/let you down eventually, - my experience anyway.
I've been tubeless (ZTR rims and a mix of TLR and normal tyres) for a couple of years now. Judging by half the threads on here I've been very lucky though. Everything I've tried has gone up with a trackpump, the only burping I've had was with a shonky Schwalbe (proper tubeless one too), seen it seal plenty of punctures that would've burst a tube and the only proper blowout I've had destroyed the tyre so a tube would've also been done for. It takes maybe an extra 5-10mins to switch tyres for different conditions (which I only do maybe a couple of times a year), which I don't see as too much considering the benefits. As above though, just because you can run crazy low pressures doesn't mean you should.
I originally used XM819s and found them to be no less faff than any of my current (non-UST) rims other than initially taping them up. I use gorilla tape as the tape and it works better than tubeless tape IME. It used to be a faff but I'm getting the hang of it now and can usually get tyres to go up first time and stay up. I also don't experience burping but I run the same pressure as I would with tubes.
he faff of tubes is definitely not worth it.
+1
Only ever burped one tyre, and that was a 6 year old maxxis high roller and I landed pretty sideways accross some rutts, it bent the wheel too! Still held enough air to get to the bottom of the hill.
I'd say it's reached the point where I get itrritated with people having to stop to fix punctured tubes, faff at home isn't an excuse, you faff at home to make sure your gears work, your brakes work, your bearings aren't worn so that you don't have to faff on rides and hold them up. Why are tyres a special case? Once they're up (which 95% of the time is a 5 minute job, as quick as tubes) that's it for 6 months untill the sealent dries out and it becomes a game of puncture roulete Vs the 'effort' of putting another scoop in.
I don't have a choice with my wheelset although I am fairly curious and when its time for new wheels and / or new bike I'll be giving it a go.
Just wrap the inside of the rim with electrical tape. If at first it doesn't seal, add more tape, a whole roll is only about 30g so you're not adding any significant weight (compared to a 150g for a normal 26" tube). Either cut the valve from an old innertube (with a locking collar, not one with a smooth shaft) and fit it tightly, or buy some tubeless valves (they're almost as cheep as cheep tubes now). Pump it up with a trackpump (or handpump if you're feeling masochistic) to chekc it steats (it doesn't need to be airtight, the sealent will deal with small leaks). Deflate and pop it off again or add sealent through the valve and you're done.
I've done a bike in 20 minutes.
The only combination that sruggles is non-tubeless tyres on non-tubeless rims, as long as either the rim or the tyre was made for it then it'll work, and most of the time it works regardless I'd just avoid buying normal tyres if a bike ahs normal rims.
Tubeless all the way!
Along with dropper posts, tubeless is on my list of 'must haves' for any new bike. I've not bought a compete bike for years, but if I was in the market for one, the lack of tubeless ready wheels would be a factor.
FWIW I've run DTSwiss conversion kits which were close to lethal, with several blow outs at high speed on corners. Since then I've run various Mavic UST rims ranging from superlight XC ones, to 819 and 823 without issue, but found the 819 too narrow and 823 too heavy, so switched to Stans rims about 5-6 years back. I'll never go back to using tubes.
started using tubeless conversions years ago when I was working for Freeborn - the original importer of Stan's No Tubes to the UK
been using it ever since with great results and few if any problems
key is good preparation and careful setup. I stopped using the over priced "rim strips" as I found they often leaked, and if you ruined the tire by slashing it open on some glass (requiring an inner tube to get home) you'd end up with a sealant covered rim strip and a naked rim bed which could easily puncture your tube!
Found the best setup is to degrease the rim bed with iso alcohol, wrap several times in electrical tape, then twice with tubeless tape, prick a tiny hole for the valve, use a good tubeless valve core (the best have o-ring under lock ring) and be liberal with the sealant to ensure a good seal and long running life.
If you do ruin the tire (this has happened 3 times in 5 years to me) you can just remove the valve core, and install an inner tube with the rim bed protected by the tape
Used this setup on Mavic, Sun, Stan's and Roval rims, found Specialized Control 2-Bliss tires the best for easy setup
Still using Stan's sealant as I found it the best. Worst was Specialized or Bontrager.
That sounds like a lot of faff to me. Don't think I've ever spent 5 mins inflating a tube, even with a rubbish mini pump and they don't need changing every 6 months.Once they're up (which 95% of the time is a 5 minute job, as quick as tubes) that's it for 6 months untill the sealent dries out and it becomes a game of puncture roulete Vs the 'effort' of putting another scoop in.
tubeless, it's a no-brainer
it's a bit of faff initially but you get to do the faff at home in the dry not by the trailside on a dark wet night ride
amongst the crew I rode with 80% of the flats are experienced by the 20% still on tubes
I pulled an inch long nail out of my rear tyre the other day, no idea how long it had been there, I never noticed picking it up
I'm wondering whether to bother with the faff...?
What faff? The trying to change a tube whilst covered in cack in the p***ing rain?
Running tubes these days is a very selfish thing to do as it causes your tubeless riding buddies to stand around in the cold/wet/muddy/snowy/icy conditions waiting for you to sort yourself out.
Running tubes these days is a very selfish thing to do as it causes your tubeless riding buddies to stand around in the cold/wet/muddy/snowy/icy conditions waiting for you to sort yourself out.
on the other hand we have experienced more than one extra pint due to coming out of the pub and a tuber finding a flat, we leave them to it and go back in.
LUST UST tyres on standard DT Swiss rims working perfect for me. The combination of beefier sidewalls and low but not silly low pressures keeps them burp free. Goes up easy with the track pump also.
I have them on the rear of both my bikes after getting sick of pinch flats. Still tubes on the front but will probably go UST when the tyres wear out - but front tyres never do !
lol @ mattjg - I assume they also pay for the round (in view of the inconvenience & all that).
No punctures last year using Panaracer Flataway tape with tubes. Easy to swap tyres over too.
But being curious I switched to Bontrager Rhythm tubeless (UST compatible system) and the same tyres just feel so much better.
It's lighter so that's a lot to do with it of course.
no their fingers always seem to be too cold to open their wallets
Re pressures: is it still weight (in stone) times 2 then +1 for rear, -1 for front? PSI of course.
Tubeless all the way for me. Never burped a tyre, never had punctures that didn't seal....but I have slashed 2 tyres in the last 4 weeks though. Bad luck probably, but both were at really bad times. 1 was on a perfectly (up till that point) timed ride before a kids pick-up and the other was in a race. That 2nd slash was probably touch and go for a seal as it didn't deflate immediately, just sprayed jizz out in a catherine wheel-style fashion, all over me, and no doubt the rider behind (apologies!) as I tried to ride it off. That lasted about 150m, then it was flat.
Overall it's better.
there's a formula on the Stans site for it, I use that reduced by a couple of psi
Sceptical when I switched a couple of back but definitely won me over, not flatted since.
Considering it on the road bike when it's new wheels time...
mattjg: Ta, it's here - http://www.notubes.com/help/tirepressure.aspx obviously in pounds as the US don't use stones.
Maybe its just this pair of Nobby Nic SS TLR's that have defeated me then. Must admit I've no problems with Ralphs or Bonty Mud X on AC's or Crests, but I have to go through the 48hr tube-in/tube-out 2 x CO2 process with the TLRs which has just frustrated me.
That sounds like a lot of faff to me. Don't think I've ever spent 5 mins inflating a tube, even with a rubbish mini pump and they don't need changing every 6 months.
It's the same steps, you just fit a valve rather than a tube, and you don't have to 'faff' with half inflating tubes, messing about trying not to pinch it as you get the tyre seated, etc, etc. OK that's slightly pedantic, but it's certainly less faff than installing a tube in a new bike, then having to do it again every few rides.
And have you ever gone 6 months without puncturing a tube? That's stretching credibility more than me saying tubeless isn't more faff.
Tubes for me at the moment.
Tend to swap tyres and the cost/faff of changing them when tubless is hideous.
I've not had a puncture in over 3000 miles.
everything tubeless, including both roadies.
Some tyres are sods though. Easiest for me are specialized and bonty's. Just get them off the packaging, put them on and inflate with a track pump. No need for washing up liquid, tubes in/out, ghetto coke bottles etc. Perfect.
Unless you use proper UST tyres and rims, I honestly wouldn't bother.
I converted Mavic 521's with a stans kit, and tubeless ready butcher tyre - all as per instructions, various pressures, and I just could not stop the front burping, as soon as it got steep/rocky it just shat itself and nearly threw me off a good few times. Stuck a tube in, no worries since.
Now, those kits aren't worth it. Tried them once with mavic 719s, and no joy. Swapped to tubeless ready rims and all fine since.
my group doesn't seem to get many punctures, lots of smashed mechs, but not many punctures, certainly, all the annoying* punctures 'we' get are tubeless failures**. Those few 'tubed' punctures we get don't seem to cause any hassle beyond stopping for a few minutes and a chat+snack+photo.
a few of us have given up on tubeless as they found their valves get bunged up.
(*those that mean you all stand around for ages, before eventually giving up and going home)
(**small hole, jizz everywhere, reassurances that it'll definitely seal in a moment)
i'm not anti-tubeless, i even made my own ghetto-inflator-bomb, which is great fun to use, but i've got tubes in at the moment, and haven't had a puncture for chuffing ages.
Yak - MemberNow, those kits aren't worth it. Tried them once with mavic 719s, and no joy. Swapped to tubeless ready rims and all fine since.
i really will consider tubeless ready rims the next time i've got £300 lying around that i can spare for new wheels.
ahwiles - Member ...you all stand around for ages, before eventually giving up and going home
small hole, jizz everywhere
I think you have the wrong forum... 😯 😀
I only have one bike, which is my commuter, MTB, sportive machine, etc... That means I change the tyres quite regularly. So tubes for me.
Also I'm quite lucky with punctures, but when they happen - I've mastered the repair procedure, it's a muscle memory thing now! LOL
I've never had a pinch flat, and I run quite low pressures: 22-25 PSI front, 25-30 back (depending of the conditions and terrain).
Funny thing is when I went for a ride on rocky tracks near Princetown in Dartmoor with two friends, who were both running tubeless, we had 3 punctures in between all of us. I didn't have any. 
Luckily I had 2 spare innertubes in my backpack... 🙄
Kryton57 - MemberI think you have the wrong forum...
you mean this [u]isn't[/u] doggingtrackworld ?
I'd never go back to tubes. It made such a huge difference on the Patriot with its 2.3" tyres that I can't imagine struggling around with the higher rolling resistance.
I've only ever had one suspected burp in about 2009 ish - finished an XC race and discovered I had a pretty soft tyre. Only had one puncture that required a tube (it was the second big puncture in a few hundred yards, glass on cyclepath I think) and that was no worse than changing a tube normally.
Seems like modern tyres are better designed for it too - Maxxis ignitors have lovely stiff sidewalls which allow me to go down to 20-25psi fine. Sealed immediately too.
I use Stans strips and Stans sealant, and non tubeless tyres. However I don't use my trailrakers any more since I was warned not to. One bike has Stans rims, these will go up with a track pump; one uses Mavic 317s and needs CO2; the Patriot has Sunn Singletrack rims that also need CO2.
im sticking to tubes. also naff all wrong with my V brakes, rigid seatpost, narrow bars, long stem and 26" wheels thankyou very much.
tubeless every time. Cant see a downside (based on my experience). I'm finding it cheaper, less faff, zero punctures (over 2.5 yrs or more I cant remember). Never had issues setting tubeless up, regardless of proper kit or ghetto, type of rim or tyre etc. Might have got lucky but it gets the thumbs up from me and now ive converted most of my mates as I was getting bored with constant hanging around for puncture repairs
95% of the time tubeless is ace.
However there's a lot of flinty chalk round my way and when you tear the sidewall of your three day old, £50 tyres then you start to wonder why sidewalls aren't thicker to compensate.
My Spesh Purgatory was the latest victim at the weekend, although I've been able to rescue it with some fine fishing line and a needle. Killing two brand new Conti Black Chillis last year was a spectacular low point.