Tubeless - it's the way forward

[colly]

The wheels on my currant ride are Campag tubeless ready and I'll be using tubeless when I replace the tyres I have on at present. I'm using Gatroskins and to be honest punctures have never been a big part of my cycling experience. Very fortunately for me. ( been and gone and done it now)

My tyres are getting a bit tatty and stuff so I doubt it will be long before I take the plunge.

For those who already use road tubeless have you any recomendations as to which are best or suit you best ?

I've been looking at Hutchinsons ( reviews suggest they might be fragile) Schwalbe, and Contis ( reviews suggest they might not be as grippy as you would expect)

None of them are cheap so don't want to spend a lot on something that goes home in next to no time.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Hutchinson Sector 28s are bomb prof and a solid choice for our rough roads out there.

 

[dodgy]

Hutchinson Sector 28s are bomb prof and a solid choice for our rough roads out there.

I had an unsealable puncture, and I didn't go over a bomb as far as I know.

 

[Littgull]

Thanks for interesting and informative responses re: sealant renewal/top up.

I'm not aiming to go tubeless soon but may well go that way some time in the future. Probably with my MTB initially.

 

[Will Spin]

Can anyone advise how often you need to replace/top up the sealant in the tyre? How is it done and is it a quick and easy job?

Presumably, an occasional 'shake' of the wheels should produce a 'sloshing' sound if the wheel is held close to the ear in a quiet environment and this will confirm the sealant is ready for action if 'punctures' strike. No sloshing sound equals solidified/redundant sealant?
Thanks

It's not possible to hear sealant sloshing around in road tyres unless you have put way too much in. Instead take the valve core out and turn the wheel so that the valve is at the bottom. You can then dip through the the valve stem with a piece of wire, this will tell you how much sealant is left. I usually do this about once a month or if I know that the tyre has punctured and sealant has been used.

 

[Will Spin]

The wheels on my currant ride are Campag tubeless ready and I'll be using tubeless when I replace the tyres I have on at present. I'm using Gatroskins and to be honest punctures have never been a big part of my cycling experience. Very fortunately for me. ( been and gone and done it now)

My tyres are getting a bit tatty and stuff so I doubt it will be long before I take the plunge.

For those who already use road tubeless have you any recomendations as to which are best or suit you best ?

I've been looking at Hutchinsons ( reviews suggest they might be fragile) Schwalbe, and Contis ( reviews suggest they might not be as grippy as you would expect)

None of them are cheap so don't want to spend a lot on something that goes home in next to no time.

If you are not getting many punctures then it probably isn't worth going for tubeless. I had reasonable experience with Hutchinson sector 28s, though had a couple of sidewall gashes that sealed enough to get me home but had to scrap the tyre. I ordered some Shwalbe pro ones but they look to be way to lightweight for winter use around here. I've recently fitted an IRC formula Pro X guard on my rear wheel, done a few hundred miles so far, it seems fairly robust.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I am being a bit thick. Not an unusual set of circumstances. Does the sealant actually go off (set)? Or is it always liquid? I am trying to get my head around how it seals off a puncture.

I am aware of pond liners that ‘self-heal’. Explain to the errant pupil at the back of the class please. Sorry.

 

[Pale Rider]

I am being a bit thick. Not an unusual set of circumstances. Does the sealant actually go off (set)? Or is it always liquid? I am trying to get my head around how it seals off a puncture.

I am aware of pond liners that ‘self-heal’. Explain to the errant pupil at the back of the class please. Sorry.

This from the Slime brand website:
"Slime coats the inside of the tire within the tread area, allowing the product to seal tread area punctures. When the tire is punctured, the escaping air carries the sealant to the puncture. The liquid portion of the sealant escapes and the fibers and binders build-up and intertwine to form a flexible plug. This will allow the product to instantly seal any puncture that may occur."

There's no sensation of it slopping around inside, probably because most of it is smeared over the inside of the tyre.

Some may settle if the tyre is at rest for some time, although I think my sealant is too thick to slop even then.

As regards what it's like in use, I think Steve Abraham is running tubeless for the year attempt.

That should give it a good test, and I've not heard Steve mention any problems.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

This from the Slime brand website:
"Slime coats the inside of the tire within the tread area, allowing the product to seal tread area punctures. When the tire is punctured, the escaping air carries the sealant to the puncture. The liquid portion of the sealant escapes and the fibers and binders build-up and intertwine to form a flexible plug. This will allow the product to instantly seal any puncture that may occur."

There's no sensation of it slopping around inside, probably because most of it is smeared over the inside of the tyre.

Some may settle if the tyre is at rest for some time, although I think my sealant is too thick to slop even then.

As regards what it's like in use, I think Steve Abraham is running tubeless for the year attempt.

That should give it a good test, and I've not heard Steve mention any problems.

Much appreciated. Thank you. There was a guy I spoke to on a 200 I did who was running tubeless WTB 700x40s with brown side walls. Fluro green Kinesis. Strong look, but I liked it and he said his tubeless set up was dreamlike.

 

[Pale Rider]

Much appreciated. Thank you. There was a guy I spoke to on a 200 I did who was running tubeless WTB 700x40s with brown side walls. Fluro green Kinesis. Strong look, but I liked it and he said his tubeless set up was dreamlike.

First decent ride on mine earlier today - about 40 miles.

I can confirm the bike rolls a bit easier and is more comfortable.

That's on my Super Moto X 650b/2.4" balloon tyres.

The effect may be exaggerated by me previously running the same tyres tubed at a higher pressure than I needed to.

I can't guarantee you will get the same improvement, although Schwalbe make a general point that tubeless tyres roll better than tubed.

Quoting from their website:
"Tubeless tyres provide clear advantages in speed, comfort, grip and puncture protection. They avoid unnecessary friction between tyres and tubes, which reduces the rolling resistance even more than with super light competition tyres."

https://www.schwalbe.com/en-GB/tubeless.html

 

[Elybazza61]

"I am being a bit thick. Not an unusual set of circumstances. Does the sealant actually go off (set)? Or is it always liquid? I am trying to get my head around how it seals off a puncture."

You should re-fill with sealant about every three months,,,,,if you can remember .

 

[colly]

If you are not getting many punctures then it probably isn't worth going for tubeless. I had reasonable experience with Hutchinson sector 28s, though had a couple of sidewall gashes that sealed enough to get me home but had to scrap the tyre. I ordered some Shwalbe pro ones but they look to be way to lightweight for winter use around here. I've recently fitted an IRC formula Pro X guard on my rear wheel, done a few hundred miles so far, it seems fairly robust.

Thanks for the link to the IRC Pro X guard tyres.
They look just the job if i do go tubeless.

 

[Pedropete]

Can anyone advise how often you need to replace/top up the sealant in the tyre? How is it done and is it a quick and easy job?

Varies hugely between the different sealants. Stan's is notorious for drying out well before the advertised (2-7 month) top-up interval, creating the famous 'Stan's Boogers': hideous looking lumps of latex that rattle around in your wheel. Orange Seal Endurance was better and lasted around 6-months before needing a top-up, and Magic Milk seems to be comparable with the Orange Seal in terms of lifespan though perhaps not quite as effective at sealing holes.

I am being a bit thick. Not an unusual set of circumstances. Does the sealant actually go off (set)? Or is it always liquid? I am trying to get my head around how it seals off a puncture.

me1tdown on the singletrackworld forum posted this brilliant explanation last year:

"It seems that the active ingredient that does the sealing is the latex. In the sealant this is a liquid and it turns to a solid to seal a hole.
Actually, the liquid is a dispersion of small particles of solid latex mixed (not dissolved, it's a bit different) with water. As the water evaporates, the small particles coalesce (join together) and form a solid lump.

A small amount of ammonia (which is alkaline, and thus prevents the liquid from becoming acidic) is usually added to the liquid to stop it solidifying too easily, I expect this affects the bonding in the liquid dispersion and makes all the tiny solid latex particles repel each other, which stops them sticking together into clumps prematurely.

And when you get a puncture, you're relying on the small particles of latex being forced together by the bottleneck and coagulating to form a solid plug. Possibly this is accelerated by the drop in pressure from inside to outside the tyre. I expect you need a lump big enough for other bits to stick to it, until the entire hole is covered.

I should add that this is different to how paint works. They use a solvent ('VOC') to dissolve a solid (pigment) and make a liquid paint. As the solvent evaporates (that's why paints smell strongly) the solid comes out of solution and is a solid again. Paint = liquid. Stans = dispersion of solid latex in liquid.
HTH."​

 

[Crankarm]

Seems like a solution looking for a problem.

 

[Andrew_P]

Just to add what I have said before I enjoyed my Tubeless experience on the whole. I found the tyres that were available ot me in 23mm coupled to a Fulcrum Zero 2 Way made it not really financially viable. At around 1200 miles they really started to get unreliable. This seemed the same for Schwalbe Ones, Panaracer, Hutchinson Atom\Fusion 3. The Fulcrum Zero 2 Way seemed to make clinchers hard to put on let alone a 23mm Tubeless. Roadside when I finally had one not seal on me it took me an hour to get it sorted in the dark raining night at least it was late summer so wasn't freezing. It was at this point I decided to not use them anymore on the Cannondale. That and the punctures it did seal the 90psi seemed to spray a lot of sealant over my legs and bike which was horrible getting off the bike after a week commuting with all the road gunge and grease.

On my other bike I used Schwalbe 30mm Gravel and Sector 28's which was a much more positive experience less problems overall on a Gravel Stans Wheel with Mudguards. Really easy to work with only ever tested getting a tube in, never had to do it roadside but took me no longer than replacing a tube on a normal set up. Plus the lower PSI's meant it sealed a lot quicker much like a MTB tyre would tubeless.

Hindsight and all that I didn't trial many types of Sealant and only ever ran 23mm on the Fulcrum 2 Way, a different combo may have been easier to work on and this was 2014-2016 so Tyres\wheels in 23mm may have improved or more variety at 23mm.