I dont know about the east side of the pond, but here in the US, many cyclist seem to love tubeless tires. I see one problem tho. If you run over a piece of trash that cuts a large hole in the side wall, you are probably going to walk home. I carry a boot for my tires with tubes. So if the same thing happens to me, I put a boot in the tire, and a new tube, and ride home. If you dont have a boot a dollar bill will work quite well as a boot. This might be good advice to cyclist that ride gnarly trails with sharp rocks.
Tubeless tires
- Thread starter rydabent
- Start date
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88robb
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Netherland
Fair point. Tubeless can seal small holes, but a big sidewall slash is a showstopper. I still carry a tubeless repair kit with plugs and a bacon strip tool for bigger punctures. For a true gash, I also pack a lightweight tire boot and a tube as a backup. On rough trails, having that tube and boot is cheap insurance against walking. Dollar bill trick is a classic.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
You boot the tubeless tyre and then pop a tube in. Then when you get home, spend ages cleaning the gloop off the bike and you.
I've not bothered 'yet' with tubeless as I don't get enough 'holes'.
I've not bothered 'yet' with tubeless as I don't get enough 'holes'.
Dogtrousers
Lefty tighty. Get it righty.
It's easy. You put a tube in, and put a boot in as normal. I've done it and it was no fuss. Well, no more fuss than it would be for a tubed tyre. And no, it wasn't messy either, the sealant all (well, mostly all) stayed in the tyre.
Of course, when you get home and take the tube out, yes, it is messy.
chriswoody
Legendary Member
- Location
- Northern Germany
You know in over 40 years and countless thousands of kilometers of cycling, I've yet to put a slash bigger than half a centimetre in any bike tire. I run tubeless on both my gravel bike and mountain bike, they allow me to run much lower pressures, and hence be much more comfortable and safe, off-road. In over 4 years and 18,000km I've never had a single problem or deflation. I carry spare tire worms and a boot kit in my tool kit, but I've never needed them and to be honest I'm not at all worried about problems.
Tubeless does come with a few niggles, like valves that can clog up with certain brands of sealant and rim tape that needs replacing every few years. Worrying about splitting a side wall though? no can't say I am.
Tubeless does come with a few niggles, like valves that can clog up with certain brands of sealant and rim tape that needs replacing every few years. Worrying about splitting a side wall though? no can't say I am.
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
A lot of tubeless riders carry a tube with them.
PaulSB
Squire
- Location
- Chorley, Lancashire
It's easy. I carry a tube and a boot. Problem solved.
I've carried a boot for 30 - 40 years and never used one. Bizarrely about a month ago I had to help out two buddies, within a week, by giving them a boot.
I've carried a boot for 30 - 40 years and never used one. Bizarrely about a month ago I had to help out two buddies, within a week, by giving them a boot.
When I first saw these at a bike show, I asked how you're supposed to fix a flat on the road. The man said, "You just put a tube in it." I said, "Oh, great! Now I get to fix it twice—once out on the road, and then again at home if I want it to be tubeless again." Now they use a sealant liquid which is supposed to reduce that need; but it only lasts something like six months. I go at least that long without having to fix a flat with my tubed tires anyway! You also need a special pump to blast the bead against the rim to establish the initial seal.
A couple of my friends have tried tubeless, and did not appreciate having their legs sprayed with sealant when they did get a puncture. Further, a tubeless tire with sealant has just as much rolling resistance as a non-tubeless with a thin latex tube in it. I've also seen video of a bead breaking away from the rim in a corner and the sealant sprayed out even without a puncture.
At the show, the value initially touted for tubeless is that you won't get pinch flats. Almost none of the flats I get are pinch flats. The last time I got a pinch flat was many years ago; but if you don't keep enough pressure in the tires to avoid pinch flats with tubes, you'll damage the rims when you bottom out, especially now I'm sure with the hookless rims made to reduce wind resistance. When I did get a pinch flat, it was because I hit some railroad tracks so hard it seemed like it would break the wheels. It did crack the rim; and a cracked rim won't hold air like a new tube will, and it will be a lot more expensive to fix. Leave the tubeless for cars!
A couple of my friends have tried tubeless, and did not appreciate having their legs sprayed with sealant when they did get a puncture. Further, a tubeless tire with sealant has just as much rolling resistance as a non-tubeless with a thin latex tube in it. I've also seen video of a bead breaking away from the rim in a corner and the sealant sprayed out even without a puncture.
At the show, the value initially touted for tubeless is that you won't get pinch flats. Almost none of the flats I get are pinch flats. The last time I got a pinch flat was many years ago; but if you don't keep enough pressure in the tires to avoid pinch flats with tubes, you'll damage the rims when you bottom out, especially now I'm sure with the hookless rims made to reduce wind resistance. When I did get a pinch flat, it was because I hit some railroad tracks so hard it seemed like it would break the wheels. It did crack the rim; and a cracked rim won't hold air like a new tube will, and it will be a lot more expensive to fix. Leave the tubeless for cars!
Dogtrousers
Lefty tighty. Get it righty.
Simple solution @GarthW You don't think tubeless is a promising idea - don't try them.
Or you could try running them for a year or so and then you'll have an informed opinion that is actually worth listening to.
There are plenty on here who have tried them, didn't like them, and went back to tubes. And there are plenty who have adopted them and are happy with them. Both of those groups are qualified to comment.
Or you could try running them for a year or so and then you'll have an informed opinion that is actually worth listening to.
There are plenty on here who have tried them, didn't like them, and went back to tubes. And there are plenty who have adopted them and are happy with them. Both of those groups are qualified to comment.
N0bodyOfTheGoat
Über Member
- Location
- Hampshire, UK
One day I'll get around to trying tubeless...
But I rarely get punctures, last one I recall was summer '21, after finally climbing the Southwick (Hants) hill between the roundabouts... In a headwind!
I like the idea of being able to run lower pressures for comfort, but while I'm overweight at ~91Kg, I'd worry about damaging rims by going too low.
I used to be a serial frequent tyre swapper, but that's not been something I've done much in over three years.
But I'd like to try it sometime, maybe on a hire bike, so I miss out on the fun of setting them up properly and I miss out on the fun of possibly swapping back to tubes.
But I rarely get punctures, last one I recall was summer '21, after finally climbing the Southwick (Hants) hill between the roundabouts... In a headwind!
I like the idea of being able to run lower pressures for comfort, but while I'm overweight at ~91Kg, I'd worry about damaging rims by going too low.
I used to be a serial frequent tyre swapper, but that's not been something I've done much in over three years.
But I'd like to try it sometime, maybe on a hire bike, so I miss out on the fun of setting them up properly and I miss out on the fun of possibly swapping back to tubes.
Ian H
Ancient randonneur
The touring Hallett has 38mm tubeless at relatively low pressures and is pretty much faultless. I top up the sealant when the pressure starts to drop a bit. I carry a tube, a plug tool and a 50ml bottle of sealant.
The blue Hallett runs 25s and they are potentially more problematic because of the higher pressures. So, as the rear tyre had worn out and I had a non-TR one lying about, I made my first 'faux-tubeless' set-up. We'll see how the system goes.
The blue Hallett runs 25s and they are potentially more problematic because of the higher pressures. So, as the rear tyre had worn out and I had a non-TR one lying about, I made my first 'faux-tubeless' set-up. We'll see how the system goes.
oxoman
Senior Member
My CX, Gravel and MTB bikes have been tubeless for a long time and never had a problem, used to get constant flats with thorns etc prior to going tubeless. My road bike is tubeless and only had one problem with that and a tyre boot and tube wouldn't have worked either. If I was going to stick with tubes it would only be on the roadbike, but have been tubeless nearly 10yrs now so can't see me changing.
