Help me decide Tubeless or Not
- Thread starter fraz101
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Sittingduck
Legendary Member
- Location
- Somewhere flat
I got 2 sets of nice gum walled TLC panracers and 2 sets of wheels… try as I might, was unable to seat the first combo after a lot of faffing and cleaning up mess etc I did the obvious thing and put a tube in. thinking about it I haven’t had a visitation for ages… decent tyres and not riding in the gutter / over potholes can help 
Might try again one day but for now - life is too short.
Might try again one day but for now - life is too short.Craig the cyclist
Über Member
I got 2 sets of nice gum walled TLC panracers and 2 sets of wheels… try as I might, was unable to seat the first combo after a lot of faffing and cleaning up mess etc I did the obvious thing and put a tube in. thinking about it I haven’t had a visitation for ages… decent tyres and not riding in the gutter / over potholes can help
I have just got some replacement gum walled TLC Gravelkings @38mm for my gravel bike.
It took about an hour to sort them both out, in the end I seated them with an innertube, when I took the tube out the seated much easier! They have been on for a couple of months now, no problems.
I will stay tubeless from now, much nicer ride too.
Sittingduck
Legendary Member
- Location
- Somewhere flat
They're the ones that I failed with. They had been on rims with tubes for a few weeks before hand but are ridiculously loose fitting to the rims - I don't see how air can possibly stay inside it enough to seat to the rim. Maybe one day I will try again with other tyres and or rims but blown one of my 2 bottles of sealant now...
The fact I probably didn't install the tape tightly enough could also be a factor but cba now - for a while anyway.
OP
OP
fraz101
Senior Member
I tried that trick with my 25mm tubeless tyres but they unseated when attempting to remove the tube.
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
I know that the OP @fraz101 has already made a decision but FWIW...
I use an AirShot thingy to seat tyres (28mm Pirelli Cinturato Velo) The first time I did it was not pretty but I think that was mainly a learning curve thing. I'm pretty good at it now, I've done it about 3 or 4 times. As with most things, the faff levels do definitely decrease as you get competent at what you are doing.
CO2 is not recommended by some people for tubeless as it turns the sealant sour or something like that. I don't know if it's true. I never use CO2 anyway, even for tubes, and I think the OP is already aware of this, so that's a bit of a pointless point.
@Sea of vapours notes on increased flow valves. Hmmm. Very interesting. Thanks. (Unfortunately they are out of stock except for super-long stem ones)
@fraz101 good luck with your garden spray conversion! Let us know how it goes.
I use an AirShot thingy to seat tyres (28mm Pirelli Cinturato Velo) The first time I did it was not pretty but I think that was mainly a learning curve thing. I'm pretty good at it now, I've done it about 3 or 4 times. As with most things, the faff levels do definitely decrease as you get competent at what you are doing.
CO2 is not recommended by some people for tubeless as it turns the sealant sour or something like that. I don't know if it's true. I never use CO2 anyway, even for tubes, and I think the OP is already aware of this, so that's a bit of a pointless point.
@Sea of vapours notes on increased flow valves. Hmmm. Very interesting. Thanks. (Unfortunately they are out of stock except for super-long stem ones)
@fraz101 good luck with your garden spray conversion! Let us know how it goes.
Craig the cyclist
Über Member
It was strange, I had the technique suggested by a mate from a bike shop. It seems odd, but it must just do something magical. Like @Sittingduck I could not get them to seat. So I put in the tube pumped it up way above the tyre suggestion and left it a little while, then deflated and took it out. When I tried to reseat it without the tube it only took one quick blast of CO2 and bingo, first time on both tyres!
No idea why.
Craig the cyclist
Über Member
chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
Even with high volume/ low pressure gravel tires, I still pump my Airshot up to about 120 PSI in order to get the initial bead seal.
A cobbled together solution, or fizzy drinks bottle is just a little bit to dodgy for my liking and not worth saving a few quid over, it's not like an Airshot tank is hundreds.
A cobbled together solution, or fizzy drinks bottle is just a little bit to dodgy for my liking and not worth saving a few quid over, it's not like an Airshot tank is hundreds.
Sea of vapours
Guru
- Location
- Clapham, Yorkshire Dales
Oh I don't know. What could possibly go wrong with a pointy, metal thing, attached to a sturdy, plastic cap attached to a bottle under relatively high pressure
matticus
Guru
it worked for me. When removing the tube I supported the wheel horizontally on a bucket. I only removed one side Trying hard not to squeeze the tyre against the rim. A combination of being half way there and the tube having shaped the tubeless tyre did the job.
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
I think with a brand new tyre the bead has to stretch a bit to hop onto the seating bit of the rim. Putting a tube in pre-stretches the bead by forcing it to seat so it goes on easier next time. That's my theory anyway.