I've had tubeless rims (Stans 355) for a year now. I keep trying with tubeless, but I have never had more than a month with two working tubeless tyres... They always tear so badly that I have to put a tube in. Sometimes through the tread, sometimes in the sidewall.
Now, I know some people seem to get on with them so I'm looking for possible explanations:
Tyres: I've tried Maxxis Ignitor and Ardent (normal) and Bonty Mud-X (tubeless). Would the tubeless Maxxis tyres fare beter?
Pressure: With tubes, I run 30-35 psi. Without, tubes I go a little under 30. I wonder if this is the culprit and I should just go with higher pressures. That seems to negate one of the advantages and failed experiments are getting time-consuming!
Locale: The Chilterns, Bracknell-ish, Surrey Hills mostly.
Goop: I use a cup full of Stans solution.
Any bright ideas?
you tried snooker ?
Maxxis tubeless tyres have a thicker sidewall, so if that's the problem you're seeing then proper tubeless tyres would help.
I'm running 20-25 PSI in my setup (Maxxis UST tyres / Mavic 823 and 819 rims) and haven't had any problems.
you tried snooker ?
🙄
I'm running 25psi, the same as I was when I had tubes. I'm not running ust tyres they are regular tyres with stans tubless conversion and sealant. I did notice that for the same pressure the tyre felt softer and gave more grip tubless. I'm thinking this is because I have in effect reduced the sidewall thickness my removing the tube.
can't you just stick a tube in for the remainder of the ride - then fix the tyre when you get back?
I've just patched up holes with a regular puncture repair kit. Sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs here.
I must admit to finding standard folding ardents to be very fragile in the side walls. I normally get over a year out of tyres before they're dead, but only got about 6 months out of Ardents before they gave up. I now have Advantages on crests with sealant and at 20PSI they're over a year old and still looking pretty good considering the peaks bashing they get.
grievoustim - I have been putting tubes in during the ride, but it's a pretty messy process when there's Stans liquid sloshing about. Obviously, it's not the end of the world but so far I've had more of this kind of trouble than I used to get normal punctures with tubes.
Maybe I'll try some tubeless specific tyres when I have the cash and the current ones are worn out.
Aidan, I've had exactly the same problem over the winter riding in the Chilterns, slashing four tyres whilst running tubeless. It was incredibly frustrating, and in my search for stronger (but not too heavy) tyres, I settled on a Race King on the rear & Ignitor EXO on the front. Neither would inflate tubeless so I've been running tubes again for a few months now. The Ignitor has been excellent, the EXO seems to be a good sidewall. The Race King also has had no sidewall issues, but I have split it in a few places through the tread. Will be trying a Crossmark on the rear next.
The Chilts just seem to be a nightmare for tyres (and Ti frames...watch out!). If you find a reliable tubeless solution, do let me know! I was kinda hoping those Ikons might be the ticket.
oh, and I'm running around 35psi
proper ust/tubeless tyres are generally tougher and less likely to tear. however i found them to be heavy and slow feeling. i use non ust tyres on stans rims. i found that i need a bit higher pressure for these tyres. i know that sounds wrong but the 'run lower pressure' claims didn't work out for me. it would cause pinch flats through the tyre sidewall. even though i put more pressure in, the tyres still feel softer, grippier and faster due to the lack of tubes. some non ust tyres are built tougher than others, i find geax and michelin to have great sidewalls whereas schwalbes are fragile unless you get snakeskin versions.
try higher pressure first, at least that won't cost you anything.
Conti rubber queens seem to work brilliantly, never had a tear.
Oops.
UST racing ralphs: fast, tough, and light enough. 100% reliable for me.
Maxxis FTW on a rear tyre - I have 355 with Larsen TT and fantastic - I have a thin walled front and it slashed on the back but has been great up front? Also depends on terrain - is it flinty?
In about the last 6 years of being tubeless I can safely say that I have had never had an issue.
I always use UST tyres so pay the price with a little extra weight but worth it as less overall faff.
I run a crest front and flow rear on my HT with Fat Alberts and a flow F&R on my Full Suss with maxxis tyres. I have just started to run really low pressure on the front (21 ish psi on a 2.5 minion for the FS and 25psi on the Fat Albert for the HT) Im deffinately loving the low pressures that tubeless allow.