Road tubeless really worth it?

I’ve been commuting tubeless for around a year now and all has been well until this morning.

I punctured around a mile from work, the tyre seemed to seal but had lost most of it’s air so I just carried on gingerly to work, walking a bit of the way.

Just popped out at lunchtime to investigate, hoping just to put some more air in the tyre and be done.

Not to be, soon as I put some pressure into it the sealant started spraying out. I have a hole areound .75 cms horizontally across the centre of the tyre tread.

OK, no problem, I’ll put the tube that I’ve been carrying about in to get home. Then I discover that the tubeless valve screw is seized on. Luckily I’m at work so was able to hacksaw it off and will get home.

Have I just been unlucky? This is a new wheel just after Christmas, so the valve (mavic) has only been attached for 6 or 7 weeks. The tyre (schwalbe supreme) is older, maybe done something like 3k but doesn’t seem massively worn. The sealant is Stans and changed with the new wheel after Christmas.

Thinking of just going back to marathons (though I’m reluctant as the ride on the supreme is much better). Should I just or just put this down to a one off? Assuming I want to carry on tubeless is there a way to repair the type (patch on the inside?)?

A 8mm cut is a fair size to ask the sealent to seal on it’s own, have you tried a plug or anchovy?

FWIW I took my Hutchinson Fusion off the other day and counted 32 holes or bits of flint embedded in the tread, that’s some going.

Dunno what you did to the valve, presumably a tube valve would have suffered the same fate.

I’ve been using Stans Race sealent, put it in 6 months ago and it was still good when the tyre came off, seems to be full of little strands of something (fiberglass? monofillament fishing line ?) which seems like a good idea.

I’ve never used a the valve nut on a tube, guessing I probably shouldn’t have on the tubeless valve either. I’m assuming it’s just the road grime that’s gotten in and corroded the threads. The nut is certainly more substantial that a tube nut (maybe twice as thick).

Only happened this morning so not tried any repair yet.

You need the nut to pull the rubber ‘bung’ into the rim to create a seal, not sure why it would seize, are the mavic ones perhaps aluminium rather than brass, might be worth trying a smear of copperslip or some other grease but it’s not a problem I’ve ever encountered on road or off.

I’d get some anchovies or similar, the genuine inovations ones are usually about £5 for a kit with the little insertion tool and are a more usable size for road tyres than the bigger off-road ones (~1.5mm diameter rather than ~5mm).

You wouldn’t post a thread “innertubes, really worth it?” if you got a puncture and hadn’t attempted to repair it yet 😉

I’ve never used a the valve nut on a tube, guessing I probably shouldn’t have on the tubeless valve either.

You need to use the valve nut in order to lock the valve in place on a tubeless valve …

I’m not wholly convinced by road tubeless, but then hardly use my road set of wheels.

You wouldn’t post a thread “innertubes, really worth it?” if you got a puncture and hadn’t attempted to repair it yet

No! I would just have replaced the tube and carried on! What I was expecting to do here but not possible without a hacksaw this time! :)

That’s a tricky one, I guess the compromise that first year of puncture free commuting vs. the risk of more complicated repairs?

It’s why I doubt I will go tubeless on my road or gravel bikes, I don’t want to have to learn any new techniques, buy any more tools or learn the hard way about new things that can go wrong roadside, I’d rather just pump my tyres up a bit harder!

I’m assuming it’s just the road grime that’s gotten in and corroded the threads

Road salt can corrode aluminium quite badly. I had a rather expensive pump that I needed one day, only to find the hose was welded inside, requiring a pair of pliers and quite a bit of force to remove – so it’s not necessarily a problem confined just to tubeless.

I guess a plastic or brass screw nut might be a better option for the valves?

One thing that concerns me, is what happens when you put your tube in there and the tyre is full of thorns and flint.

It’s more a case of I seem to pick up a puncture at least 1in5 rides with tubes off road, on road it was less common, get a flurry as the tyre wears out and bin it. But this year the roads round here seem to be really filthy, probably why those 32 holes/flints appeared in the tyre.

No one want’s to be that one guy in the group still getting punctures when everyone else is tubeless 😂

It’s why I doubt I will go tubeless on my road or gravel bikes, I don’t want to have to learn any new techniques, buy any more tools or learn the hard way about new things that can go wrong roadside, I’d rather just pump my tyres up a bit harder!

It’s hardly a massive amount of new kit, a dynaplug or similar widget takes up less space than a pack of patches.

It’s why I doubt I will go tubeless on my road or gravel bikes,

It’s definitely worth it on my gravel bike IMHO.

I’ve had 3 road/gravel instances where tubeless hasn’t sorted it. One glass cut in a gravel tyre, just near work. Walked the last bit, left the sealant to pool around the cut for the day and was fine by home time. One was a sharp jagged nail that pierced the tyre through the sidewall and out again through the centre of the tread. A couple of anchovies (had I had them at the time – I do now!) would have worked. The other time a sharp metal sheet slashed a 20 mm slice through the sidewall. Inner tube and tyre boot sorted that enough to get home.

Putting a tube in a tubeless tyre is messy, but it’s perfectly doable as a ‘get me home’

One thing that concerns me, is what happens when you put your tube in there and the tyre is full of thorns and flint.

True. But run your fingers around the inside of the tyre and pull out anything that’s there?

Half thought about picking up some ~£38 GP5000TL in Merlin’s weekend promo that’s still active to try tubeless for first time, but ended up getting some standard GP5000s for a few squids less instead.

I’ve run tubeless on my computer for the last year and during that time I’ve covered 7000 odd miles with only 4/5 punctures total across both wheels. At least that is ones that where too big for the sealant to seal though in all cases they held enough once the pressure dropped and i could stop when convenient rather than straight away, I’m sure i have had a number of other ones as i have had a number of times found a soft tyre but to then gone on to hold the air. I do however run 32mm tyres at around 40psi as it is comfier on the poorer roads I ride on with no noticeable loss in speed that i can notice at least.

I’ve used road tubeless for years now and I think it’s great. It does seem to divide opinion though and I’m surprised by this as it’s been brilliant for me commuting and allowed me to use much faster tyres than the horrible Marathon things I used to have to use.

I’m not really sure you can blame the valve screw on tubeless. Surely that could well have happened with a tube as well. I’ll just blame weak fingers! :-p

Not having to remove your wheel to fix a puncture is bloody brilliant. Not having to carry a tube, tyre levers and being able to inflate easily with any pump. Awesome.

+1 tubeless

I’ve commuted for, what, 6 years now. Wouldn’t use anything else.

Definitely seems to polarise opinion. I’ve not tried it in a road bike, but after very poor experiences on light gravel tyres I’m in no hurry to either. I seem to get holes too big to seal every time I try it, that’s using Panaracer, Schwalbe and Maxxis tyres. I put it down to a combination of South downs flints, and trying to ride a gravel bike like a mountain bike, but have heard many stories of road riders having similar problems. Used to commute daily on GP4000’s and gatorskins, tubes, hardly ever punctured. Can’t see how it’s worth the faff. I have slightly better luck on MTB tyres but I guess being tougher and with thicker tread helps a lot. Now got Schwalbe mondials on the gravel bike, horrible heavy tyres but not a single puncture ….

https://www.polaris-bikewear.co.uk/searchresults.asp?Search=tubeless&Submit=&utm_source=Polaris+Pedalers+Post+Newsletter&utm_campaign=67674ab849-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_28_11_07&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_897d869ee3-67674ab849-316831413&goal=0_897d869ee3-67674ab849-316831413&mc_cid=67674ab849&mc_eid=13c42d4ee4

Nuf said.

Now got Schwalbe mondials on the gravel bike, horrible heavy tyres but not a single puncture ….

Conversely I’ve got Vittoria Terrano’s which are lovely and supple and light, inflated first time (on Crest rims) , and (drum-roll please………..) not a single puncture.

What stops me trying Tubeless on road or commuter is that punctures are really infrequent – the tyres would need topping up with sealant far more often than I get punctures.

Whereas off road with tubes combination of thorns or pinches, and inevitability of everything being covered in mud AND holding up a group while fixed. On the commute it’s a grimy job that only delays me about once a year – I reckon chances are when I didn’t get a puncture I’d not have enough jizz for it to seal in any case.

Conversely I’ve got Vittoria Terrano’s which are lovely and supple and light,

Good to hear, I am tempted by them (in 31c) as although my Giant Crosscut Tour are good on gravel and work well tubless they weight 550g each. What have you got – dry, mix or wet?

Good to hear, I am tempted by them (in 31c) as although my Giant Crosscut Tour are good on gravel and work well tubless they weight 550g each. What have you got – dry, mix or wet?

Wet, in 40c, although they’re labeled as 38. Can’t remember as I’ve got some CX Comps that are 38c, but the molding on the sidewall says 40. Either way the Terrano’s come up at the wide end of 38-40.

I’ve done ~17mph average road rides on them (because we figured that handicap pretty evenly matches me with a colleague on standard 700*25 tyres) so they’re pretty quick rolling.

I got them when they were cheap at Evans, not sure I’d have paid £40 each for them as I’m quite hard on tyres, always seem to wreck them before they’re worn out, but they have performed very well so I’d get them again at the full price.

A follow up on this having gotten around to some repairs last week…

So turns out Dynaplugs are some kind of voodoo and I take it all back, should have been prepared beforehand I guess, next time I expect it to be a trivial roadside repair.

What stops me trying Tubeless on road or commuter is that punctures are really infrequent – the tyres would need topping up with sealant far more often than I get punctures.

Same here. I got a free set of tubeless tyres when I bought my last set of wheels, and they worked very well, but I just went back to tubes after that. Commuting punctures are such a rare event for me that there is no compelling reason to use tubeless.

I’ve just gone back to tubes on my roadie – had no end of trouble with punctures that wouldn’t seal, sealed with an anchovy but only to a certain pressure, sealant all over the bike frame, me, my gloves etc, the valve getting gummed up so hard to inflate the tires, didn’t hold air from one week to the next especially well, yadda yadda yadda massive faff _all_ the time.

Swapping from tubeless to tube isn’t really a roadside repair with cold hands so if you really can’t get a seal you’re doomed.

Punctured on Saturday – such an easy and quick fix with inner tubes!

Road tubeless really worth it?

Nooooo! Nope. Nay. No chance. Not on your nelly. Non. Nein.

Utter marketing BS, and it’s notable that even the loudest cheerleaders for it (Bikeradar being one) come out periodically with articles stating “no, *THIS* time it actually works!!” – their most recent piece being about 6 months ago.

Oh, and the time I managed to spray sealant everywhere in the hallway when I tried to top up without deflating the tire a bit first. That was fun. User error, but still, its a lot easier to f up with tubeless than tubes!

Same here. I have been commuting for 15 years ish. I did go tubless on the road bike and overall found no difference. Both can be trouble free for months / years and then you get a run of problems and flats. In the end I would put a tube in to get me home and then not bother to take it out. I have a set of tubes in now on a bike that could just run with sealent but its more faf to set up with sealent so I dont bother.

I’m a regular commuter and I use tubes, I have very few punctures and when a stop and replace is required it never takes that long. if you have a cluster of punctures then that’s a sign that the tyre is ready for replacement, which I don’t hesitate to do seeing as how grip and puncture resistance are important and even a half-decent tyre can be had for £20/30

personally I don’t see the benefit for road but if it works for you then happy days.

Having had a nightmare removing a tubeless valve nut following a slashed tyre, I think I’m going to buy some Peaty’s tubeless valves, they have flats on the side so should be easier to get some purchase on and bonus that the valve caps double up as valve core removers, another tool I always like to have (following an incident with a loose core on a ride)

I’ve had seized valve nuts on a tubed tyre too, had to tear the tube off in the end, so it’s not confined to tubeless. My powerlink pliers (always carry them after another unfortunate incident on somebody elses bike) now have a small notch filed in them that fits valve nuts nicely.

Utter marketing BS

Ok. I must’ve imagined using road tubeless successfully for the last five years.

Utter marketing BS

Yep;
Lighter than using tubes
Small punctures seal which would have you putting a new tube in if using tubes

I reckon the main benefit is the comfort. On 25mm tyres I always run inner tubes tyres at 90psi to avoid pinch flats. On tubeless I run 25mm tyres at 80psi. Doesn’t seem like much in theory but in practice it’s way more comfortable. Just fitted GP5000TL 28mm tyres on my new bike. Will run these at 70psi. Expecting much comfort.

I have had some issues with road tubeless but it’s usually user error. Group charge up Alpe D’Huez front tyre went psssst on bend 1. Dynoplugged it back down to start again for segment time. Back up to bend one and pssst again. Climb abandoned for the day. Back at digs took the tyre off no sealant.

If you are careful with tubeless, look after them regularly check sealant don’t let the valve rust etc then they are brilliant.

Yup been running it for ages and not a single puncture, run lower pressures than I did with tubes and it feels nicer. So all good

Super quiet on the roads so I just nipped in to Didcot to get a couple of packs of fishfingers. Just over a small rise i found the road covered in broken glass that looked like it had been a bottle thrown from a car, I did my best to steer through it but heard a hiss that lasted for three or four seconds. And that was it. Drama avoided.
I like tubeless.
One disadvantage of the quiet roads – some of the few drivers out there are treating it as a track day and certainly approaching blind corners with a high degree of faith.

Problem solved

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres-tubestubeless-tyre-spares/problem-solvers-big-pnut/