Tubeless question

[mynydd]

hi, I’ve just bough a boardman ADV via cyclescheme (should arrive this week.)
The wheels and tyres are apparently “tubeless ready” does this mean I simply need to remove the inner tube, change valves and add sealant?
And, assuming I can do the above... any thoughts? I’ve a pretty mucky commute, and am getting a bit fed up of early morning punctures on the way to work. Will going tubeless make a diffence?
Thanks

 

[JhnBssll]

In theory it means exactly that. Whip out the tubes, replace the valves, reseat the tyres and add sealant. In practice 3 of the 4 wheels I've done have worked perfectly and 1 has taken 4 months to seal I assume we're talking about a road bike with small tyres, I've had 100% success with those so it should be fine.

Regarding living with them and unplanned deflations I've found tubeless to be far less prone to problems but much more of a pain when they do happen. I'm sticking with it on my summer bike and mountain bike but am running tubes on the winter bike and commuter to make it quicker and easier to sort when it eventually does happen If you go tubeless invest in a tubeless repair kit, it's like a little metal prong and some strips of rubber rope to plug holes too big for the sealant alone. They've got me home a couple of times.

 

[mynydd]

Thanks. No they’re not small road tyres, they’re 38mm:

• Schwalbe G-One speed, 700x38mm, raceguard, folding bead

 

[JhnBssll]

I'd still class them as small, the tyre I had a problem with was 27.5 x 3.0 inches Steer clear of the finishline sealant too, it's rubbish. Get a latex based sealant and keep it topped up.

 

[JhnBssll]

This is the tubeless repair kit I use, you can buy extra rubber ropes too.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B139BA0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ITytCbPPTRTP1

 

[steveindenmark]

I have found that if you using tyres with 90psi plus there is not much advantage to being tubeless. If you get a puncture, the pressure is so high that it is often difficult for the sealant to do its job. I carry tubes. I can fix tubes at the side of the road in the dark. I cant do it with tubeless.

 

[screenman]

I cannot tell you about any problems with puncture since turning tubeless, I have not had one that has stopped or even slowed a ride.

 

[HLaB]

In theory yes. Just avoid the disappointing Finish Line sealant (stick to Latex stuff like Stans) or you'll end up in a bigger mess.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Tubeless won’t prevent intrusion punctures. They primarily allow you to run super low pressures, and avoid pinch flats. If you get a big hole in the tyre you’re going to have a messy nightmare to sort out. Small holes will seal, and you just need to put the pressure back up and job’s a good’un. However if you get a hole bigger than about 5 mm in size, you’re going to have a ‘mare. You can plug the hole with a ‘worm’ or a patch / 5 pound note / empty gel wrapper, but you’ll have to re fit the tyre, which almost certainly won’t be easy to re seat properly, without a capacitance pump. If you do go with the full tubeless set up, I’d advise carrying a spare inner tube anyway. You can use a tube in a tubeless set up wheel, but you’ll need to remove the tubeless valve to fit it, which negates the whole point. Tubeless is a poor idea on a road biased / adventure / gravel bike, which is used primarily for road / relative distance type rides. They do however work extremely well on MTBs, where the distances covered are generally lower, and the advantages of the super low pressure running are more apparent.

 

[Pale Rider]

A series of punctures about a year ago persuaded me to go tubeless.

I've done about 2,000 miles since then with no punctures, so in that respect tubeless is working for me.

The tyres don't hold pressure as well as a tube, so there's more topping up of air to do.

I also had a bit of a faff getting the rear to seal, although it seems OK now.

A bit more faff on the horizon as it's time to top up the sealant.

I carry an inner tube and a worm kit but have yet to need either.

 

[mudsticks]

The only reason i didn't go tubeless with my new bike is because of the problems with degunging ( i think thats the technical term) the stuff out of the tyres, and replacing with a tube and boot, in case of a biggish puncture when touring somewhere remote. and potentially miles from facilities to sort it all out.

Am i right in thinking the 'worm kit' is for aforementioned degunking??

I'm guessing that your commute is not hours out in the wilds, so i'd imagine that the convenience of tubeless would suit you.

I have no actual experience of going tubeless - it sounds like it has many advantages - just outlining my decision not to do it

 

[mynydd]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I’ll stick with tubes for the commute for now then.... and put up with the occasional annoying puncture. At least I can change a tube easily enough.

 

[mudsticks]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I’ll stick with tubes for the commute for now then.... and put up with the occasional annoying puncture. At least I can change a tube easily enough.

Wundring if you could get tougher tyres of some sort? If there's lots of muck on your commuting roads.

 

[screenman]

The only reason i didn't go tubeless with my new bike is because of the problems with degunging ( i think thats the technical term) the stuff out of the tyres, and replacing with a tube and boot, in case of a biggish puncture when touring somewhere remote. and potentially miles from facilities to sort it all out.

Am i right in thinking the 'worm kit' is for aforementioned degunking??

I'm guessing that your commute is not hours out in the wilds, so i'd imagine that the convenience of tubeless would suit you.

I have no actual experience of going tubeless - it sounds like it has many advantages - just outlining my decision not to do it

Think about it a little bit, the only way the sealant would not work is if it had all escaped. In 50+ years of cycling most of the puncture problems I have had would possible not have stopped the ride if I had been tubeless.

 

[Milkfloat]

In my experience, tubeless ready wheels are not actually tubeless ready as the rim tape is usually not tubeless compatible. @Racing roadkill is wrong in that a worm does not require the tire to be taken off, you just jam it in. In fact it can often be so fast you don’t even need to top with air up until you get home. In many tens of thousands of tubeless miles I have only needed to use a worm once. They may not be for everybody, but don’t let people tell you that they are not suitable for road bikes.