Going from tubeless back to tubes

Anyone else done it?

Always ran tubeless and saw the benefits of it (multiple thorns, holes sealed quickly) never been a fan of low pressures (i run 30psi f&r) so pinch flats with tubes have never really been an issue

But i got fed up of the mess every time i wanted to change the tyres, having to clean the tyres out to sell them on etc… (experimenting with different tyres in different conditions) the added cost of sealant, valves, tape etc…

Now back running tubes, been 4 months and no issues, i know at some point a puncture will happen but that can happen with tubeless too (albeit less often)

Thinking of filling the tubes with sealant that way if they do puncture hopefully they will seal but i wont  have the mess to deal with when changing tyres for different conditions etc…

Sounds like most of the hassle you describe is self inflicted due to over-fettling.

Yes on road, fed up of tyres not holding road pressures, despite sealing. No off road.

Haven’t even gone tubeless yet (because I am an over-fettler too). Have started experimenting with Slime tubes. Nothing interesting to report so far 🙂

Nothing wrong with over fettling, i like to get my bike running just how i like it and living near the South downs means it can go from dry and dusty (last Thurs) to slippery as hell (Sunday)

Its not just a pain when changing tyres but also if you need to replace a spoke too

Run tubs on the road bike so no chance of going tubeless on that although the tubs are pre treated with sealant (hence the thought of doing it on the MTB)

Still have plenty of sealant so will try filling a tube and see how it goes

Yes. Because I don’t ride hard enough to get many punctures anyway…

what you need is multiple wheelsets, set up tubeless.   or run a tyre that is good all year!  I know!

Nope

It’ definitely more hassle to change a tyre, but changing tyres in general is a bit of a hassle so for the last year have just left one set of tyres on the whole time

having to clean the tyres out to sell them on

Do you not have a shed where you can store all your old tyres just in case you want to relive how crap things used to be back in the day?

Also, do you not have 10 wheel sets so that you can just keep changing wheels until they’re all flat and you need to spend a week fixing them all?

Yeah, gone back to v-Brakes too. I hate progress 😉

oh slime tubes , i remember those – the worst of both worlds ! all the mess , none of the sealing properties.

who sells tires ? surely they come off the bike when they **** and they go in the bin or at best on the hack bike – aint nobody gonna want my used tires 😀

I use bikes with and without tubes – must say im alot less worried about smashing through rock gardens on my tubeless than i am on the tubed bikes and the lower pressures give more traction on climbs – less bouncing back off rocks etc.

Dont think there is a tyre that is good all year round for the conditions i ride in

Generally don’t find changing a tyre any hassle, good set of tyre levers and i can change two tyres in under 5 mins

Got a workshop where i keep everything, fed up of it getting dirty with sealant!

Will give the tubes with sealant added a go and see how it is

Cheers for the replies

Not for me – but I bang a set of tubeless ground controls on the XC bike and ride them till they’re transparent.

If you like to change tyres a lot then I can see it – tyres are pretty interesting, let’s face it 🙂 Particulalry if you ride very technical stuff in all weathers, where they become the biggest difference-maker on the bike.

Thinking of filling the tubes with sealant that way if they do puncture hopefully they will seal but i wont have the mess to deal with when changing tyres for different conditions etc…

I use tubes and sealant in the tubes. But I don’t care about the weight too much either. When I take the tyres off: yes the sealant does its job. There are always multiple spots where something poked into the tyre.

Tubes and sealant is low cost and trouble free.

Yeah, gone back to v-Brakes too. I hate progress

For me: that’s enough progress…

Dont think there is a tyre that is good all year round for the conditions i ride in

Generally don’t find changing a tyre any hassle, good set of tyre levers and i can change two tyres in under 5 mins

Got a workshop where i keep everything, fed up of it getting dirty with sealant!

I find the same thing but to be honest I’d usually have not quite the right tyre on tubeless than the best tyre for the place/weather with tubes…

I mitigate this a bit by having different wheels.. the spare set only cost £100 (price of 2 tyres)… (in one of the sales)… so I swap wheels or swap tyres across wheels.

I usually crack the seal on the rim and then syringe out as much sealant as I can outside… remove any lumps and reuse the sealant with a bit of extra.  I also found a hook outside the shed to be really useful when dealing with tyres with sealant in.. just hanging them while you get the tyre on takes away most of the mess.

I recently built up a <£200 bike for messing on DJ’s and stuff and took a play at 417 on the blue and red’s… I got a puncture pretty much every run… but swapped bike and took the FS down after switching 2 tubes.  Lunchtime I fixed the punctures… stuck in more pressure and got a few runs then ended up back on the tubeless bike.

I also found out that fitting tubeless was something I was now much better and quicker at and takes no longer than fitting tubes really…

 also found out that fitting tubeless was something I was now much better and quicker at and takes no longer than fitting tubes really…

Yep. I’m definitely no slower changing tubeless tyres than I am fitting a tube.

Part worn tyres? Ooft! 🤣

I put on a new tyre, tubeless, last night. Was very little hassle. Old tyre had an anchovy in the running surface and had stood unused for over a year and consequently had a “wobble”.

Take wheel off and allow to stand so that the sealant drains to one place.
Use this time to get tools together.
Remove tyre taking care not to spill sealant.
Clean rim and put on new tyre (making sure you get the rotation direction right 🙂 ), leave one side open.
Pour sealant straight from old tyre to new.
Finish mounting new tyre
Inflate
Fit back on bike and go for a ride.

A bit of wastage of sealant, maybe 5ml, and about ten minutes total including the getting of kit ready. The tyre (Bontrager XR2) went up just using the track pump, no need for the Airshot.

The tyre will stay on the wheel for a good few months now.

“Tubes and sealant is low cost and trouble free.”

Just sealant is cheaper still and also trouble free.

whitestone has it. thats how i do it when tire change season is upon me …. got a pair of 2bliss fast traks to fit when i get home to replace a ralph with many missing knobs.

I’m a mtb tubeless convert , can’t ever see me going back. I’m happy faffing in the work shop if it means a trouble free ride. If I puncture on a ride now I just stick a bung in the hole and inflate. It’s quicker than putting a tube in and there’s little or no mess.

Road bike tubeless on the other hand? Front is tubeless and been spot on for over 2 years. The back runs with a tube!

Sealant in tubes is the worst compromise ever.

Won’t seal pinch punctures, but stops patches being able to stick.

escrs – I live on the South Downs as well and we all know that there is not tyre in existence that will cope with wet chalky tracks as well as the dry dusty ones.  I have just come to the conclusion that I have to use the 80:20 rule; the tyre is good for 80% on the time and the rest will be a sketchy as fury no matter what I do.  Living with that means I just use 1 tyre all year (tubeless high roller if you must know) and pick the tracks that are likely to be the least worst, especially as there are so many routes on the downs.

If not then you may be about to do a good impression of Sisyphus, pushing the rock up hill forever, constantly changing tyres/tubes/wheels.  You pays your money and takes your choice, but you could investigate changing the way you think and have a much simpler life?

Cheers manton69

Tried the one tyre all year route for a good few years, wasn’t happy with it in winter conditions and even in summer conditions its still a compromise,  after experimenting with different tyres in different conditions Ive found my ideal tyres for dry conditions and my ideal tyres for when the weather turns and its just slippery roots, mud, chalk and also sand when riding Rogate downhill

Buying tyres to try and then re sell wasn’t any hassle, tended to only loose a couple of £ on each set as i  got them cheap (eBay is great for people selling brand new tyres they have just taken off their new bike!) and i had some given to me to try out, plus have a friend in the industry so got very good deals and sold those on for profit after testing

Will be setting up my tubes with sealant this week and when the weather changes ill be happier not having to deal with any mess

I change mtb tyres once per year and generally it’s quite easy with tubeless. The only question I have is what to do with the old sealant if you aren’t using it again? At the moment I have a jamjar part filled with old sealant that I’m not quite sure how to dispose of!

I guess if you are a serial tyre changer it could get a bit annoying though. That said I’ve not made a sealant kind of mess with any changes so far.

Not gone road tubeless yet, I’m a bit hesitant having read cases online where sealant can’t cope with sealing worth the higher pressures involved (in using 100 psi rear / 90 psi front). I have tubeless ready rims and valves but current road tyres aren’t tubeless so would need to source some new ones.