footloose crow
Veteran
- Location
- Cornwall. UK
Tubeless seems to work better on wider tyres, say 30/32 mm. I do all my road biking (and have done the 500k of Audax achieved so far in this season) on 32mm tubeless Panaracer Gravel Kings (which are not thought to be particularly puncture proof) and so far have been OK. I am going to regret writing that. I run them at 55-60 psi and weigh 72kg. I like the wider tyre as it copes better with the rough back lanes, muddy roads and bits of gravel that most of my rides seem to involve even though I plan them as road rides. Previously had Mavic tyres and had bad rips on front and back that I couldn't seal with a tyre worm and had to put in an inner tube. It wasn't that hard, just a bit messy.
Everything I read about other people's experiences with tubeless suggests that running 25mm or less and trying to keep 120psi is just not compatible with tubeless - for the majority anyway. I know there are those who manage to do it and I salute you!
So in my limited experience, I would say tubeless is best on wider tyres and where roads are poor like deepest darkest rural Cornwall at the moment but probably aren't so effective on narrower tyres or where you have good surfaces. Inner tubes are less hassle when they puncture (compared to a tubeless when the sealant can't cope) and are less time consuming on maintenance. I prefer the lower pressure I can run on my tubeless tyres for comfort and also I like the fact that the sealant has stopped punctures that I would otherwise have had to mend.
So the decision come down to:
1. What kind of tyre width you run
2. What kind of roads are you on
3. How prepared are you to manage the messy inner tube switch if needed or do the regular maintenance of sealant levels
And possibly.....
4. Where you sit on the tubeless/inner tube debate which is probably similar to disc/rim brake, helmet/no helmet, steel/carbon, lycra/what you found in Lidl yesterday type debates. (ie. entirely down to your own experiences, prejudices, what you are used to and that your mates think).
Everything I read about other people's experiences with tubeless suggests that running 25mm or less and trying to keep 120psi is just not compatible with tubeless - for the majority anyway. I know there are those who manage to do it and I salute you!
So in my limited experience, I would say tubeless is best on wider tyres and where roads are poor like deepest darkest rural Cornwall at the moment but probably aren't so effective on narrower tyres or where you have good surfaces. Inner tubes are less hassle when they puncture (compared to a tubeless when the sealant can't cope) and are less time consuming on maintenance. I prefer the lower pressure I can run on my tubeless tyres for comfort and also I like the fact that the sealant has stopped punctures that I would otherwise have had to mend.
So the decision come down to:
1. What kind of tyre width you run
2. What kind of roads are you on
3. How prepared are you to manage the messy inner tube switch if needed or do the regular maintenance of sealant levels
And possibly.....
4. Where you sit on the tubeless/inner tube debate which is probably similar to disc/rim brake, helmet/no helmet, steel/carbon, lycra/what you found in Lidl yesterday type debates. (ie. entirely down to your own experiences, prejudices, what you are used to and that your mates think).
