Seems its the season of farmers obliterating their hawthorn hedges and spreading thorns everywhere…

I realise I am late to the party with tubeless, but I seem to be getting at least 1 flat tyre per ride so it might pay-off to look into it.

I have 29″ WTB i23 speed disk wheels, currently using Chunky Monkey and Beaver tyres.

Whats the easist/cheapest way of trying tubeless?

Beavers are a bastard to get sealed. I gave up.

Was that due to rim-fit or are they porous?

I have a Chunky Monkey on WTB i23 tubeless up front.

I use Superstar tape and valves with Stan’s sealant.

@breadcrumb – cheers – good to know that combination is do-able

Leaky beavers mate.

Imho, tubeless tyres don’t mean fewer punctures, it just means more complicated punctures…

(random unexplained deflations, burping, more prone to catastrophic tyre wall damage, and tyres full of sealed thorns that mean a tube won’t get you home)

Better grip for sure, but not the puncture-free nirvana that the internet promises.

I’ve tubelessed beavers and chunky monkeys in the past without issues. As above, assuming the rims are tubeless ready, superstars 25mm rim tape and valves are all you need. Ignore the naysayers and go for it 🙂

Nobody likes a leaky beaver.

ahwiles – Member

Imho, tubeless tyres don’t mean fewer punctures, it just means more complicated punctures…

I reckon I’ve had 6 or 7 punctures in the last couple of years and all but 2 were on tubes- even though rides on tubes make up a tiny fraction of my rides. Of the tubeless punctures, every one would have flatted the same if it’d had a tube, and every one was fixed exactly the same way as if I had tubes (ie, I fitted a tube).

It’s definitely more hassle… But the difference is, it’s hassle in the garage with the heater and stereo on, rather than hassle halfway down a race stage or in the middle of your favourite descent while your mates wait at the bottom, in the rain, when you’re running late. Because punctures have timing.

Haven’t tried a Beaver but I’ve not had any other maxxis tyres that were any bother. And WTB tubeless rims are pretty well done (I don’t if yours is actually tubeless mind)

I used to pinch flat pretty much every ride when I ran tubes (sometimes twice). Have had 2 punctures in the last 3 years since going tubeless, both fixed without even removing the tyre. Anchovy through the hole, pump and go.

it’s hassle in the garage with the heater and stereo on, rather than hassle halfway down a race stage

I wish I had your luck…

OK, sometimes it’s still hassle halfway down a race run. I mean the extra hassle of fitting, sealing etc.

Imho, tubeless tyres don’t mean fewer punctures, it just means more complicated punctures…

(random unexplained deflations, burping, more prone to catastrophic tyre wall damage, and tyres full of sealed thorns that mean a tube won’t get you home)

You’re doing it wrong.

That’s more or less my point.

Tubes are easy, tubeless takes practise, and care, and extra equipment, and luck. There’s a lot to be said for the devil you know.

Don’t get me wrong, my bike is (usually) set up tubeless, but sometimes (often), I find myself wondering why?

No problem getting a beaver inflated tubeless in 29er flavour here, though was on mavic rims.

Last weekend I was in an orienteering event when I picked up a blackthorn “bough” that would barely fit under the fork arch. When I pulled it out it was at least an inch long stuck in the tyre and started to hiss alarmingly. I just pushed on and 2 hours later finished the event, coming second by only 25 seconds. If I had had tubes I would have dropped 5 minutes at least and would have been out of the top ten easily.

Since going tubless some years ago ive had one mtb puncture needing a tube and two on the cross bike ( non tubless ready tyres used tubless anyway )

Road bike has been tubless for three years and never had to fix it other than replacing worn tyres

More grip and almost no punctures for me it is win win

There’s always ghetto tubeless. No faffing with valves, tyres go up easily with a track pump, even new ones.
I did try a normal tubeless on some Minions, was ok but such a game getting air in them first time, ended up doing it at work on the compressor.
Ghetto hardly ever loses any air, & if you leave them in-trimmed like I do, it’s a bitter of extra rim protection.

was a doubter like you till the beginning of this year. Swapped over and have not looked back. No more likely to puncture but sealant saves you 99% of the time. Never had a problem with Maxxis or WTB tyres but watch out for the lighter contis as they can be a sod without an airshot/compressor. Reckon an airshot is worth the money as well….

That’s more or less my point.

Tubes are easy, tubeless takes practise, and care, and extra equipment, and luck. There’s a lot to be said for the devil you know.

A little bit extra, having the tool to take the valve core out, and something like an airshot means it’s simple. On the trail I’ll give a CO2 a go but top up the sealant when I get round to it. Luck is removed by doing it right 😉
Modern tryes on decent tubeless rims like Stans are simple. The only deflations I suffer is from stuff that would have obliterated a tube.

I carry two spare tubes.

Better grip for sure, but not the puncture-free nirvana that the internet promises.

It was for me. 1 puncture in 18 months rather than 1 puncture every week or 2 when using tubes.

All handled with the same track pump I have had for years. That was proper tubeless ready tyres and Stans rims.

Just put up some Schwalbe G-Ones in tubless, they came with inners fitted, did a dry run with no sealant on the first go, worked fine, dove straight in with the second one went up first couple of strokes of the pump.

WTB tubeless rims.

I have a tubeless repair kit, and a spare inner, so haven’t saved much in weight, but homefully it will save time if I end up punctured somewhere.

A little bit extra, having the tool to take the valve core out,

dont need a special tool, just the end 2 or 3 links from a chain (9sp i think)
the middle is a perfect fit for the flats on the core so you can use it as a homebrew spanner 🙂

TBH I can’t see why anybody would want to run tubes in this day and age. I have also run Beavers tubeless in 29er with no issues.

Went tubeless 2 1/2 years ago. 7000Km later I’ve had precisely zero punctures*. Prior to that it was probably a puncture every 6 months or so but that was on much less distance, probably a quarter or even less than I do now.

A lot is down to the area you ride, how you ride and good old fashioned luck, or lack thereof.

* There may have been occasions when the tyre has self-sealed but I’ve not noticed, either at the time or later when cleaning the bike. Certainly never noticed sealant in places I wouldn’t expect it – like outside the tyre.

dont need a special tool, just the end 2 or 3 links from a chain (9sp i think)
the middle is a perfect fit for the flats on the core so you can use it as a homebrew spanner

Wheyyabugga! Really? All these years mangling the things with needle nosed pliers going “WTF don’t I just buy the proper tool?”

One of hte standard spoke keys is also the right size for a valve core btw.

ahwiles – Member

Tubes are easy, tubeless takes practise, and care, and extra equipment, and luck. There’s a lot to be said for the devil you know.

What extra equipment? A good quality track pump is fine for most wheels and tyres, I usually use my joe blow even though I’ve got a compressor. It gets iffy if you’re using ghetto setups or inappropriate tyres, but that’s easy, if you’re in any doubt you just stick to actual tubeless parts. (there’s no way I could inflate my fatbike tyres without the compressor or similiar, but that’s because it’s a bodge)

Oh OK, you need 2 tubeless valves. But you need less tubes so that balances out.

Do you need to have special rims to go tubeless? I’ve been in my luddite phase for the last few years and am running tubes and Mavic EN521 rims, but am considering tubeless.

I’ve had great success going tubeless using Gorilla tape and modern tyres. Even stuff not specifically tubeless such as the Smorgasbord.

Wish I’d done it years ago. No punctures so far this year and running much lower pressures than with tubes.
Really is no reason to use tubes these days.

A lot is down to the area you ride, how you ride and good old fashioned luck, or lack thereof

No, it really isn’t. It’s about understanding your equipment, choosing the correct items for the job and using them correctly. Anything else is user error, or equipment failure. Luck doesn’t come into it.

I went tubeless using a combo that is not really recommended – very porous tyres but they eventually stayed up and while I have seen a lot of tubeless failures on other folks bikes I have had none

Do you need to have special rims to go tubeless? I’ve been in my luddite phase for the last few years and am running tubes and Mavic EN521 rims, but am considering tubeless.

nope, first time i ever tried it was ghetto with some bog standard mavic rims and normal tyres. i went with the ‘split a BMX tube in half then trim later’ method. worked a treat, therell be plenty on youtube showing the process i imagine.

Both yes and no Mr Scienceofficer, I’ve had 8 or 9 punctures this year, while tubeless. ALL have been big holes through the tyre (I ride somewhere pretty rocky), but compared to last year, where I was using tubes – I must have gone through 30-40 tubes last year!

What I now know I need is tyres with think carcasses. I LOVE not getting pinch punctures though, which used to happen all the time because I ride hard. But I had to use the tyres I had, not a lot of choice – all are Bontrager Team Issue tyres, XR2 and XR3 in a variety of sizes.