The definition of squishy ...

[lulubel]

... or why I punctured with the Racing Ralphs.

According to my new SKS Airchecker, the definition of squishy is 8 front and 12 rear.

(Yes, I had it set on PSI. No, it isn't faulty - I checked the Surly's tyres as well and they were about 70, as expected.)

Seeing that has made me a little nervous, so I may increase them to 10 and 15 before my ride tomorrow, just to be on the safe side.

 

[Cubist]

Tubeless. You know it makes sense. With no tubes your thumbs can be as inaccurate as you like.

 

[lulubel]

Tubeless. You know it makes sense. With no tubes your thumbs can be as inaccurate as you like.

I've got my Airchecker now, and I'm having great fun playing with my new toy!

In any case, if I can get away with running them that soft with tubes, I'm not sure that tubeless is worth the bother of setting it up.

 

[al-fresco]

I'm hoping to go tubeless in 2013. Even at 35 psi front and rear I get way too many punctures on the hawthorn covered tracks around here. The other day I had 5 - FIVE! - on one ride. Tubeless sounds good to me!

 

[Cubist]

I've got my Airchecker now, and I'm having great fun playing with my new toy!

In any case, if I can get away with running them that soft with tubes, I'm not sure that tubeless is worth the bother of setting it up.

Indeed. A featherlite frame works wonders.

And expect your bike's pretty light too....

Add in some sympathetic line choice and you can avoid pinchflats.

Cubester and I are Clydesdale Class, and on his Minion-shod hooligan Ragley Cubester tends to batter his way along a trail. We have a snakebite ratio of about 25 to 1.

 

[screenman]

Lulubel, what advantages do you see in not going tubeless? apart from cost I cannot see any at all.

 

[lulubel]

Lulubel, what advantages do you see in not going tubeless? apart from cost I cannot see any at all.

I don't have to get the special edging stuff and valves, and the messy sealant stuff that you have to put in. I don't have to put it in the tyres in the dining-room (which is the only place I have to work on bikes) and make a mess, and have my OH moan at me for making a mess.

If I don't need to do it, what's the point?

Besides, what happens if you get a relatively small tear in a tyre if you're running tubeless? When you're running tubes, you can just use a tyre boot and ride home carefully.

 

[lulubel]

Indeed. A featherlite frame works wonders.

And expect your bike's pretty light too....

Add in some sympathetic line choice and you can avoid pinchflats.

Cubester and I are Clydesdale Class, and on his Minion-shod hooligan Ragley Cubester tends to batter his way along a trail. We have a snakebite ratio of about 25 to 1.

I am pretty skinny. I seem to have stabilised my weight, though, and I'm not losing any more, which is good.

And I suppose I do pick sympathetic lines when it gets bumpy. Maybe all the years of road riding have taught me to "be gentle" with the bike without having to think about it.

After my shock at seeing how soft they were, I put an extra 3psi in each this morning, and it was horrible. By comparison, I felt like I had no control at all over loose rock, so it came out again pretty quick. I'm going to stick with "squishy" (8 and 12) and see how it goes. For the amount of control it gives me, it will be worth going tubeless if I do start getting pinch flats at any point.

 

[screenman]

As you say what is the point, well one I can think of is the ability to run at lower pressures without getting snake bite punctures.

You would treat a small tear the same regardless of tubeless or not.

Please do not think I am having a go at you on this, I am just the sort of person that likes to really get where the other is coming from with their views.

 

[Cubist]

I am pretty skinny. I seem to have stabilised my weight, though, and I'm not losing any more, which is good.

And I suppose I do pick sympathetic lines when it gets bumpy. Maybe all the years of road riding have taught me to "be gentle" with the bike without having to think about it.

After my shock at seeing how soft they were, I put an extra 3psi in each this morning, and it was horrible. By comparison, I felt like I had no control at all over loose rock, so it came out again pretty quick. I'm going to stick with "squishy" (8 and 12) and see how it goes. For the amount of control it gives me, it will be worth going tubeless if I do start getting pinch flats at any point.

There's the most relevant part, seeing how you get on. It may be that your build and line choice mean that you will avoid them, and if experience suggests you need to go tubeless, well, it may be the catalyst you need to make your mind up.

As you say what is the point, well one I can think of is the ability to run at lower pressures without getting snake bite punctures.

You would treat a small tear the same regardless of tubeless or not.

Please do not think I am having a go at you on this, I am just the sort of person that likes to really get where the other is coming from with their views.

Lulubel is a pragmatist. She loves to research and experiment, and is always willing to explore advice. I'm not sure you look like you're having a go. Tubeless makes sense for hurling my 16 stone carcass mincing down Pennine descents on my bouncer, but a petite Lulubel on rocky hardpack may have a different set of factors in play.

 

[lulubel]

As you say what is the point, well one I can think of is the ability to run at lower pressures without getting snake bite punctures.

If I run them any softer, I'll be on the rims

Cubist got it right. I'm always willing to experiment and try new things, if I can see how they might benefit me. I'm also a great believer in, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

 

[screenman]

My Daughter in law weighs about 8 stone maybe less she is currently the UK national vets MTB Champion, she also was the person in the family first to start using tubeless and felt they were certainly a benefit. So I am not just coming from the point of a 12 stone lump of an age that I cannot remember what colour hair I had.

I used to be a believer of the if it ain't broke brigade but got fed up with only 5 gears.

 

[lulubel]

My Daughter in law weighs about 8 stone maybe less she is currently the UK national vets MTB Champion, she also was the person in the family first to start using tubeless and felt they were certainly a benefit. So I am not just coming from the point of a 12 stone lump of an age that I cannot remember what colour hair I had.

I used to be a believer of the if it ain't broke brigade but got fed up with only 5 gears.

There's nothing wrong with 5 gears, as long as the lowest one is low enough and the highest one is high enough (Although I have to admit the gaps between them would be huge if you tried to achieve the gear range I've got on my road bike with its triple chainset and mega range cassette.)

I appreciate your point about your daughter in law (although I weigh much closer to 7 stone than 8) but the fact that she's a UK champion suggests that she pushes her bikes a lot harder than I ever will, hence the greater demands placed on her tyres.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Tubeless. You know it makes sense. With no tubes your thumbs can be as inaccurate as you like.

It does make sense. But what happens if using non-tubeless rims and sealant and you want to swap tyres?

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

It does make sense. But what happens if using non-tubeless rims and sealant and you want to swap tyres?

Unlike tubulars, and unless you are allergic to sticky mess, there is nothing to stop you installing any clincher (and indeed installing any tube after pulling off the tubeless valve) on any (i.e. oem, taped or ghetto) tubeless rim.