Tubeless ready rims and punctures

[Pale Rider]

Does anyone have experience of fixing punctures on tubeless ready rims?

One of my bikes has tubeless ready rims with inner tubes.

Fixing today's puncture wasn't quite straightforward.

First problem was unseating the bead from the rim.

Hand pressure wasn't enough, although I did manage it with my heels.

Tube in, it was then a matter of reseating the bead by inflating.

It did reseat, with a couple of satisfying pops.

Not too hard with a track pump, but it occurred to me it might not be so easy at the roadside with a hand pump.

The tyre is a Schwalbe Rock Razor 650b/27.5"X 2.35", and the rims are Alex MD40 27.5"+, although I suspect all tubeless ready rims will be similar.

I suppose one good thing about the tight seal is tubeless should work well, if I decide to go down that route.

Interested to hear any thoughts.

 

[I like Skol]

Been there myself recently and thankfully didn't get into a puncture repair situation that had to be carried out at the roadside. This is a serious issue and as the wheels become more widespread I can foresee numerous victims being left stranded after suffering an otherwise simple puncture.
In my case switching to alternative tyres was the answer.

 

[Pale Rider]

Ah, I didn't see your thread.

The bead on mine popped back on at about 30psi, which I suppose there's reasonable chance of achieving with a good quality hand pump.

When doing car tyres, we used to use Fairy Liquid.

Schwalbe make lubricant which evaporates.

Presumably, that would enable the bead to pop on easier, but it would be something else to carry.

Like you, not being able to fix a puncture at the roadside is not an option.

 

[Sea of vapours]

You've prompted me to experiment with my tubeless rims and tyres. I can't speak to the 'getting tyre off' issue as I carry tyre levers and I'm fairly confident that getting them off without those would be at best pretty difficult. I do know that I can put the tyres on without levers though. What I didn't know was whether I could pump them up from being unseated and get them to reseat using my very small hand pump which I carry with me. The answer is, reassuringly, yes.

Just to be clear, all I did was deflate the tyre and unseat both beads all the way round then pumped it back up again. I didn't put a tube in, though it's reasonable (I think?) to assume that if I can get them reseated without a tube then I certainly could with a tube. (I wasn't about to get a tube covered in latex sealant for this experiment - too much faff and mess.) This is with Stan's Grail rims and Hutchinson Sector 28 tyres. Clearly other combinations will vary in all sorts of exciting and potentially problematic ways so all this proves is that 'some tyres on tubeless rims will reseat with a small hand pump' ...

My thoughts are that I'll stick with this combination then.

 

[Pale Rider]

You've prompted me to experiment with my tubeless rims and tyres. I can't speak to the 'getting tyre off' issue as I carry tyre levers and I'm fairly confident that getting them off without those would be at best pretty difficult. I do know that I can put the tyres on without levers though. What I didn't know was whether I could pump them up from being unseated and get them to reseat using my very small hand pump which I carry with me. The answer is, reassuringly, yes.

Just to be clear, all I did was deflate the tyre and unseat both beads all the way round then pumped it back up again. I didn't put a tube in, though it's reasonable (I think?) to assume that if I can get them reseated without a tube then I certainly could with a tube. (I wasn't about to get a tube covered in latex sealant for this experiment - too much faff and mess.) This is with Stan's Grail rims and Hutchinson Sector 28 tyres. Clearly other combinations will vary in all sorts of exciting and potentially problematic ways so all this proves is that 'some tyres on tubeless rims will reseat with a small hand pump' ...

My thoughts are that I'll stick with this combination then.

I reckon reseating a road tyre will be a bit easier because there are plenty of hand pumps which can punch 80psi+.

Not the case, as far as I can gather, with a mountain bike hand pump which is all about volume, not pressure.

You've still done well to unseat the ruddy thing by hand.

It may be a mountain bike tyre has a wider bead, so grips the rim more tightly.

 

[Sea of vapours]

You've still done well to unseat the ruddy thing by hand.

Ahhhh..... but I didn't. After a quick try with my thumbs I leant the tyre against a vertical edge and pushed it rather firmly with my foot

 

[Will Spin]

I've got Ultegra tubeless ready wheels on 2 of my bikes, on one I've put tubeless tyres (a whole new adventure!). I've had various experiences of fixing punctures in tubes on these wheels whilst out on the road. The first time was absolutely horrible, took me ages to get the tyre off and nearly lost an eye due to a flying tyre lever and then a huge struggle to get the tyre back on the rim. However once I mastered the technique it has become easy, the trick is to unhook the tyre bead and push it right down into the well in the rim before trying to lever the tyre off, same thing in the reverse to refit.