Sodding road tubeless tyres

Six months into running with tubeless on road bike and I’m not convinced.   Both front and rear were slit today resulting in super messy failed temp repair and then subsequent fitting of tube to get going with resultant sealent everywhere.   Tempted to give up on them, schwalbe L1.   Anyone recommend a tougher set of tyres that won’t die at the slightest whiff of a rough road.   Both tyres knackered so happy to give another set one last try.

What’s an L1 ?

roubaix pro are almost indestructible IME
I had the old version of pro 1 and they were fragile shite – thought they’d been beefed up a bit since

Been there, done that and cleaned all the sealant off my down tube. I’ve been running Cadex Classics for a year or two now and had no problems with them at all – great tyres.

https://www.cadex-cycling.com/global/showcase/cadex-classics-tires

I have used Continental GP5000 for a couple of years and have been pleased with them (or just lucky).  In fact, I fitted a pair of GP5000TR to a new set of wheels yesterday – went on with no tyre levers and pumped up first time with a track pump…….I felt like a tubeless god 😂.

They have been much more durable that the Schwalbe Pro One tyres that I used before.

Pirelli Cinturato Velo TLR on my winter road bike, chosen specifically because they have a thicker tread than similar tyres on the market, despite going tubeless (for lower pressures and grip) I didn’t want to rely on the sealant at 75psi in a 26mm tyre 🙄

G One Speeds failed to seal after a similar small slit. now running with a tube. i broke a tyre lever removing a tube that pinch punctured during install. loose non tubeless and latex tubes are the way to go.

Bontie r3s are pretty good…

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Bontrager/R3-Hard-Case-Lite-TLR-Folding-Clincher-Tyre/EO53

I’m not convinced that tubeless is as effective when the pressure is so much higher than on a mountain bike.

I always think sealant works *better* on road tyres, because of the higher pressure.

Well I had a tubless fail today, Veredistein senso…these are only a few months old and the rear got a 8mm slice which the sealant did its trick….trouble is every Sunday the tyre is flat , I pump it up and it seals again in the same place.

After a few weeks I thought , I know I will put a stans dart in it…BAD IDEA!!

Because to do this the dart actually makes the hole bigger so initially the pressure held …till 1/2 mile up the road.

So I limped home, and decided to do a internal patch, dried the tyre and used a sticky patch…it worked for 20+ miles….then didn’t, although the pressure would last a few miles.

So which road tyre gives the BEST puncture protection from the rough Surrey hills roads…

I’ve had Hutchinson Fusion they were OK…definitely better than the Senso

I’ve been using the Hutchinson Fusion for a few years now and have no complaints but I purchased some Mavic Yksion after a PSA in here and have been very impressed! Fitted very easily and look new after a good few miles so quite durable.

That’s the problem with road tubeless – the sealant is more of a “get you home” feature. Once you get a serious puncture then the tyre is basically toast.

Same with mountain bike tubeless though, right? Big enough slash, and the tyre is dead.

My wheels came Mavic Yksion, but I sold them and got hutch fusions…which were great, then mistakenly got a puncture which I couldn’t fix.( turns out it it was sealant on the valve which was letting air out, always carry a multivale tool)…which brings me to Senso….never had a puncture in over 5000 miles with these…but the tubeless tyres suck!!

Just ordered a good year 4 seasons to replace the rear…fingers crossed.

Got to say I run my fatbike tubeless (maxxis 4 .8) ….and I had 1 puncture that needed a stans dart and it works perfectly…It still holds now…so tubless do work , you just got to realise what works with what

+1 for Bonty R3s (or AW3s)

Disclaimer – I run them on bontrager rims with bontrager rim strips (other rim/strip combos may not work)

update, was fixed on 30mm which reduces options so have plonked for the continental GP5000 S TR, and will see how we get on with them.  have to say though if still problematic that will be the end of tubless road tyres for me.  Fingers crossed.

gave up. am back on tubes, really not sure the benefit is worth the pain

There is only one really noticeable benefit and that is punctures that could be fixed by sealant which would puncture an inner tube.  Weight is not even a consideration as TPU tubes are lighter than sealant and rolling resistance if negligible difference.

If however you only get a punctured inner tube say once a year it is very different than if you get 20 a year so just need to weigh it up – I still use (TPU) tubes.

I’ve been on Zipp 303s with 30mm Schwalbe Pro One tubeless for the last couple of years, had one puncture that wouldn’t seal so replaced the tyre, other than that been faultless and the ride comfort at 60psi is sublime

My 40mm gravel tyres won’t hold more than 20psi over 24 hours, multiple small punctures to both judging by the OE sealant weeping out, with an anchovy repair to the front which looks like it is slowly working its way out… at some point I may plug/patch from inside but for now I just pump them up to suit conditions and generally they seem fine for the duration of the ride.

Is it the higher pressures which overwhelm the sealant? Since replacing the valve and sealant (now Stans) on the rear tyre on the XC bike, it holds pressure despite clear sealant weeping out of multiple tiny holes.

That said, I would have thought an 8mm slit would need more than sealant anyway even at lower pressures?

I run lower pressures tubeless than I would with a tube on the road bike and so benefit from more comfort and grip, and probably speed. Had one puncture and the sealant only held at about 35psi, so enough to get home, but the sealant just blasted out at higher pressures. Stiff like small thorns seal – this was a rip from stone/glass/debris. Ultimately I patched the inside of the tyre which is obviously not a roadside repair, but I’ve had to do that with MTB tyres too. YMMV but I prefer tubeless on the road.

I’ve done tubeless on the mountain bikes, tbh it worked fine.
but i swap tyres regularly, between big apples mtb and chubby, and tubeless is no good for me.
however, if i got lots of punctures my opinion would be quite different.

I see a couple of bontrager R3 recommendations already. I used them for audaxes and they were brilliant right up until the tread started bubbling off the carcass. Not an uncommon issue with them as it transpired. Now my go to for road tubeless are vittorias. Either corsa control (£££) or rubino, both in 30mm. I wouldn’t bother going tubeless in anything narrower.

Schwalbe pro one 28mm great for road riding, hard wearing, grippy and cheaper than conti’s

Vittoria rubino’s in 28mm or 30mm for winter riding, tough tyres and cheap

My experience is positive, punctures just seal, very rarely need to plug. If sidewall is gashed or slit sew it with floss (this really works well) and patch with a puncture patch on inside of tyre, good as new

Overall been riding tubeless on 3 road bikes and 1 mtb for 4 yrs and wouldnt go back, just dont have punctures! Came back from wales after 350m loop and G1’s hadnt gone down but were full of thorns, amazing. They do need patience and getting used to but overall worth it

Can I ask what pressure you put in your 30mm tyres

I had a go with the original GP5000TL gave up as after a couple of un-sealable sidewall holes it just wasn’t worth the hassle on smallish (28mm) tyres, step up to 32mm Roubaix Pro 2bliss and it’s ace, as is CX and gravel tubeless.

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Schwalbe pro one 28mm great for road riding, hard wearing, grippy and cheaper than conti’s

Vittoria rubino’s in 28mm or 30mm for winter riding, tough tyres and cheap

My experience is positive, punctures just seal, very rarely need to plug. If sidewall is gashed or slit sew it with floss (this really works well) and patch with a puncture patch on inside of tyre, good as new

Overall been riding tubeless on 3 road bikes and 1 mtb for 4 yrs and wouldnt go back, just dont have punctures! Came back from wales after 350m loop and G1’s hadnt gone down but were full of thorns, amazing. They do need patience and getting used to but overall worth it

What sealant are you using?

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Can I ask what pressure you put in your 30mm tyres

The ‘low’ recommendation from here:

https://www.renehersecycles.com/tire-pressure-calculator/
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update – 4 months now on continental GP5000 S TR, no problems at all, much better- even managed to withstand a massive pothole that broke the rim!

Those low recommendations from Rene Herse are a bit higher than the SRAM recommendations which I use. I have a set of Challenge Getaways in 40mm on a 24mm rim which have a max pressure (45psi) not far off the low Rene Herse pressure.. I run my Getaways at 37psi in the wet on gravel. I use Challenge own brand sealant in these and it has sealed thorns well enough. I have some GP5000S TR in 30mm on a 21mm rim with Stans in that I run at 66psi in the wet and they are puncture free so far on the shitty north east roads. Both hold air between rides pretty well. The Getaways lose about 5psi over 3 days and the GP5000S’ lose 5psi over a full week.

SRAM Tyre

Silca have a calculator too that gives similar results to the SRAM one..

Silca Tyre

+1 for Bonty R3s (or AW3s)
Edit:
Ignore that – groundhog day was over a week ago.😉

GP5000 S TR, no problems at all, much better- even managed to withstand a massive pothole that broke the rim!

Your rim broke but your tyre stayed inflated?! That’s impressive!

how often are folks topping up the sealant ?  I keep a note and just checked – Apr 23 was last time on my 2 road bikes, must add to list of jobs for the coming weekend !

I’ve got these Hutchinson storm tyres set up tubeless (25mm I think but can’t remember without checking)

They’ve been on the bike a couple of years, no punctures, no problem setting up, very little pressure loss. I’ve not ridden my road bike for about 3 months now and the tyres are still nice and firm. I would argue road tubeless is great 😃

https://www.merlincycles.com/hutchinson-fusion-5-performance-11-storm-tlr-folding-road-tyre-700c-116837.html?utm_source=PHG&app_clickref=1100lygCV3fX&source=PHG&utm_medium=Affiliates&utm_campaign=genieshopping

Also a road tubeless fan. GP5000TLs on 2 bikes. Have had 2 punctures in 2 weeks which self sealed and just needed a top up of air. The tyres are almost worn out, and until now I’ve not had any trouble. GP5000TLs are light weight race tyres with very thin sidewalls so they are easily cut if you ride through rough stuff. As above the pirelli cinturatos have a much thicker sidewalls so are good for touring or gravel. I’ve not tried the new GP5000AS yet as I can’t stomach the cost.

I run 70psi for 28mm and add some oko road tyre sealant to my standard sealant  which adds extra grit.

Anyone seen any good offers on sealant thats less than £25 a litre?