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Just watching the World cup and there's been some punctures and Fort Bill is notorious for flats apparently. Now i'm not a full on DH'er but ride pretty hard and in 4 years of tubeless have only ever had 1 flat and that was practicing on the Mega course before the race, so why do they stil run tubes, the only thing i can think of is burping but again i'd say there was more chance of a flat than a burp?
Some do some don't. E.g the hondas all ran tubeless etc.
There are pros and cons, some may prefer a thick tube at fort bill to help with burping issues, and you can flat a tubeless wheel at fort bill by cracking it (been there done that).
Burping issues because they corner too hard.
Its no lighter either, and if you get a proper ding you will lose all pressure, where with a tube there is a chance it won't flat.
it was also a suprise to see Hills tubes hanging out after yesterdays crash,
I'm guessing even with tubes if you had an impact big enough to have cracked a rim it would be a pinch and the end of your run?
tyre changes?
I run tubeless, however I do tend to mince down the track at Fort William.
Tyre changes here, especially with the lovely Scottish weather patterns!
Doubt it's for tyre changes for the top guys, they have a mountain of wheels with different tyres on sat there ready and waiting.
I have 2 sets of wheels & still don't bother with tubeless. It offers no benefits over a tube in a DH capacity really.
Gracia actually said it's because of burping off the rim from hardcore cornering forces so what Hoh Nob said +1...
He said they have to over inflate the tyres so the pressures aren't too low later in the course.
[edit] garylake beat me to it 🙂 ^^
I've used tubeless for years on DH bikes. On the whole I prefer it. Especially when riding away from home on proper rocky alpine tracks at high speed. However I've twice blow tyres clean off the rim (second time yesterday) and have burped air a few times. Those times it's 'failed' has been with a poor setup, eg: damaged rim bead, abused tyre bead or dirt in the rim edge. I still prefer tubeless. If I ensure the rim is in good condition and tyre fitted 100% clean it has never failed for me.
Most average Joe DH'ers can't be bothered with the hassle or struggle with the setup. I don't think for a race run it actually make a speed difference, so in the end that makes the difference for most riders. I can't see tubeless working fault free till we have seriously tight tyre fitting tolerances like cars.
The performance difference for a trail rider running thinner cased tyres is a much bigger advantage for tubeless and really worth while.
I would have had to buy a new rear wheel at last years mega if I was running tubeless. Put a monster ding in the rim.