After running tubeless (Stan's) for the last three years, I reckon I'm done.

I reckon I get more pinch punctures tubeless than I did with tubes! Three our of my last four rides have resulted in ripped or pinched tyres. And half the time this isn't repairable, meaning a new tyre. I can't actually remember the last time I wore out the tread on a tyre. Not cheap.

I've blown tyres off the rim twice. Both times were kevlar-beaded Maxxis. Not confidence-inspiring…

Anyone else given up and gone back to tubes?

What tyres have you been running?

I gave up being fussy and finally went proper UST. It meant heavier tyres, with harder compounds, in narrower sizes than I like, but they pumped up with minimal fuss, have stayed up with zero sealant, and are pretty damn fast (probably cos I haven't hit any wet roots yet…).

sounds like you've been running very low pressures? I've not had any issues with my stans set ups for years, other than a couple of racing ralphs failing on the bead after a while. I love mine

Kenda Nevegals are pretty much indestructible

Run loads of things and at loads of pressures. Specialiazed, bontys, Maxxis, schwalbes.

Tend to stick at around 40psi in the back cos I'm fed up of pinch punctures!

Might try proper full-on UST, but it's expensive!

im just fed up of having to walk to a garage to use a compressor whenever I need to get more gunk in them especially as where we've moved to the nearest compressor is rubbish. tempted to save up for a stan rim, £60 though!

Have you tried CO2 pumps?

yup

im just fed up of having to walk to a garage to use a compressor whenever I need to get more gunk in them

Canny understand this. Once they're up and seated, they're up and seated. if they need more gunk, it goes in the valve hole and it'll pump up with a mini pump. Even on the first inflation I'll blow mine up with the compressor or Co2, leave a while, deflate, add sealant and then blow up with a track pump.

Brown, i feel your pain, for me, rim strips and non UST tyres was just as bad as regular tyres and tubes, only with more hassle. I use 819 and proper UST tyres now, and all those issues have gone away. Have had one puncture is maybe 6 months so far.

Specialiazed, bontys, Maxxis, schwalbes

At least 2 of those 4 are made of cheese. I've had loads of Bonty tyres as they always come cheap (or free!) and I've slashed sidewalls in about half of them.
As they all slowly die one by one I'm going over to Maxxis LUST as they just work.

I've had absolutely no problems myself, using good tubeless rims and standard tyres (Nevegals). Wee bit of a faff to seal them in the first place but they've been up and happy for 6 months now, seems like the tyres will wear out before I need to top up the sealant. Really pleased beyond my expectations.

i've gone back to tubes. done UST, ghetto and stans.
find tubes far more convenient, less faffing when tyre changes come about, rarely puncture anyway, and easy to fix when they puncture.

horses for courses though, i guess.

I've used bontrager tubless ready with ust tyres without sealant no problems. even with ;large dents in the rim.

shermer75 – Member
Kenda Nevegals are pretty much indestructible

and yet I had nothing but problems with them, sidewalls just splitting for no apparent reason. Some tyres just seem to suit some people. Got mud x tlr ATM running ghetto and touch wood zero problems for months.

I use tubes & rarely get punctures.

I still don't see the tubeless upside at all, when I am out on rides it does seem that those with tubeless proportionally have more issue's.

Tubes all the way here.

You only get problems from using non UST rims and tyres. How can you need 40psi with a UST setup? My UST run fine with zero issues with 25 psi and they could easily go lower. Go real UST and latex inside it works fine and you get all the benefit and none of the problems.

I have been tubeless for the same time as you Brown and tried various Stans, proper UST and converted rims. After a recent spate of torn or blown off tyres, I'm thinking about taking a step back too.

I have very rarely had a small puncture that tubeless gunk is able to remedy; they are generally slashes on the sidewalls/tread of a half inch or more or a complete blow off meaning the tyre is rendered useless without a tube.

I think the most stable combo I have used is Mavic 819s with Maxxis Lust tyres, however, they burp air if run at lower pressures. The most hassle is any lightweight tyre on a Stans rim, the first sniff of a rock at speed and you will be standing in a pool of latex cursing.

try proper UST if you can. I have run the ghetto tubeless and personally I think there is no comparison, proper UST wins hands down.
Admitedly I was forced into it with a bike purchase but I wish I could afford to change all my bikes.

I can't understand this – if the tyre walls are hitting the rim hard enough to pinch a hole in them how is this going to change just because you're using a tube to hold the air in not latex gunk and a rim strip?

I'd be looking at your riding style rather than the tyres
You must ride very 'heavy' to be constantly pinch flatting

I thought most people went tubeless because it's lighter as much as anything else? If so, how come more & more are converting to UST going by the number of threads on this recently?
I still use tubes & wouldn't consider tubeless for the sheer simplicity of changing a tube if/when you puncture. 2mins out on the trail & you're up & away again.
Then mud-how many decent narrow tubeless compatable mud tyres are there? I'm not on about 1.9-2.0, but 1.5-1.8's?

try running higher pressures? – I ride using the same pressures as I would with tubes and have no problems

I still use tubes & wouldn't consider tubeless for the sheer simplicity of changing a tube if/when you puncture. 2mins out on the trail & you're up & away again.

Pretty much the same procedure & time for tubeless

Most group rides i go on it's tubeless causing issues .I've just drilled rims out for Schraeders , put Slime in tube jobs a good 'un .Might be a bit heavier ?but 1/2 a bottle of Slime weighs 4ozs !!!

Brown. I've been on countless rides where everyones had pinch flats.

I run 30-35psi on the rear and use a Mavic 321 rim with a 2.25 Maxxis Ardent (standard Specialized innertube). I also weigh over 220lb.

I think rim choice can REALLY help avoid pinchflats. For instance when I ran DT4.1 and the thinner Mavic I always pinchflatted.

8 years on UST. No issues and in the last few years loads of tyre options, even soft compounds.

ran tubes all winter in 1.8 tires no issue

run tubeless on non tubeless kenda small block 8s all summer no issue

Trashed schalbe rocket rons in a couple rides

all on stans 355s … tried a no tubes kit – it was **** – kept burping using the same tires as above….

UST Maxxis on DT5.1s

A whole season's guiding in the Alps, zero punctures.

I've seen people with tubes get 5 punctures in one descent!

I went back to tubes.
Left untouched my Mavic 819s and either Bontys or Schwalbes were fine.
My first issue with them was during an enduro race when I punctured, firstly the valve took ages to remove then the tyre wouldn't go back on with a tube in it. Replaced it with a undersized inner tube and it went in.
The other issue was race day tyre changes and sometimes tyres that had been fine for months when disturbed wouldn't re inflate ( I assumed that small punctures wouldn't re seal)
I also only ever experienced tears with UST tyres.
Happy now to carry a tube and Co2

I've had no issues using Mavic 721's, Stans rim strips and Maxxis tyres.
I went tubeless for a trip to Spain back in October to save on the punctures (of which I had none) and haven't looked back.
The bike even sat in the shed for two months over the worst of the weather and they just needed a quick top up of air and were fine again.

I really don't get this – I weigh over 16 stone and ride pretty hard/clumsily. Used to get pinch flats all the time with tubes, but since using tubeless, both ghetto and with Stans rims, tubeless and non-tubeless tyres – I've never had a single problem, ever.

Including doing the Megavalanche on ghettoed 719s and dual ply high rollers.

I really can't see the point of tubes.

More hassle to put on and off than UST, heavier, slower and more punctures.

Put sum dukdown fethers in with seelent so the seelent stiks to the tire betar peepul larf and sey it must be a jok but mekanik in shop tort me this trik seen is beleving dude this is wikid good

I don't think that's a fair comment.
Say for example my Ralphs can go on and off by hand no levers required and can be inflated by hand or Co2 and be ready to go.

On the other hand UST IME needed levers, they needed sealant put in, then they needed to be inflated first time round with a compressor. And whilst Co2 works they can inflate so quickly that they don't seat properly. On the trail if you puncture you need to remove a valve and fit an inner tube (so don't ban them yet)

I'm pretty certain that from scratch I could fit a tyre and tube and be ready to go quicker than I could fit inflate and seat a UST tyre and go.
That said I did use UST on mavic 819s for five years.

I use 90g inner tubes <500g tyres, hardly pinch or puncture, I am firmly in the 'why bother with tubeless' camp.

i'm seem to be one of the rare people who are indifferent to tubed vs tubeless.

tried it, no idea what the fuss is about. I only run tubeless with proper UST tyres, find normal ones have no sidewall support and way too flexy.
Don't think i'll continue with it once the current tyres wear out. I never had many punctures and fail to see any other advantages.

Whenever someone has a problem with their tyres on rides, its always someone with tubeless though. I think because it works so well people forget to change the sealant, get a puncture, then spend ages trying to get an incredibly tight tyre off the rim.

If you are changing tyres often then there are arguments about not having ghetto, but it's not that much more hassle to fit and inflate a UST tyre really… maybe an extra 5 minutes?

I'd say it was worth it for not getting punctures…

The time when I think tubeless is at it's best is in the middle of winter when you are riding through the thick gloop… getting a puncture then and having to change a tube is just grim. In previous rides around my area I'd be looking at getting a puncture every few rides. Since I've not had any… I even had a large burp on the front wheel of the 5 Spot while riding around Whinlatter, but was fine just being pumped up with a trail pump…

As for pinch punctures on tyres while running tubeless… how is running with tubes going to help here? Surely you'd just pinch the tubes too, so why is this the fault of the tubeless setup?