Tubeless worth it for a road bike?
- Thread starter LewisLondon
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Will Spin
Über Member
My own experience with tubeless: They weren't difficult to fit - Shimano Ultegra rims, Hutchinson Sector 28s. I've done about 3000miles so far and only had one puncture incident that caused me to stop beside the road. I fitted an inner tube and carried on, provided you know there's sealant in the tyre and deal with it appropriately i.e. tip it out of the tyre, there's no mess, in my experience. The tyres have punctured several times but apart from the one episode have sorted themselves out and I've carried on without stopping. The one episode that caused me to stop was due to me fitting a plug in the tyre after a previous puncture and it came out again, now I don't bother with plugs and leave the sealant to do its job.
Elybazza61
Guru
Ok having run tubeless for a while I'll add my thoughts.
On the commuter(s) I've run the following on H+Son Archetype rims(not officially tubeless but they work fine).
Hutchinson Sector 28 - Nice rolling and pretty durable.
Schwalbe S-One 30(now G-One Speed)-Very good on looser surfaces,cut up a bit but ok as long as you keep an eye on them and glue any cuts.
Schwalbe One(old version)-Got these cheap from the Cycle Clinic and they fit the Robinson better with mudguards;too early to gauge durability but roll quicker than both the Sectors and S-Ones.
On the Helium with Hunt wheels I've mostly used 25c Schwalbe One Pros;really tight fit but very quick tyres although not the most durable(can't have the penny and the bun
).
As for punctures I've had about 3 in roughly 9,000kms last year(some distances were on non tubeless) and none this year after about 3.000.One sealed the others I just put a tube in.
This leads me to sealant;Stan's is rubbish for road pressures and I'm now using Orange sealant or Effetto.The Orange defy works as it sealed an old repair that had failed.
Have now sold the Hunts and the next wheels may not be tubeless but i would have no hesitation in going that way again.
Oh here's a couple of helpful vids from Malcolm at the Cycle Clinic;
On the commuter(s) I've run the following on H+Son Archetype rims(not officially tubeless but they work fine).
Hutchinson Sector 28 - Nice rolling and pretty durable.
Schwalbe S-One 30(now G-One Speed)-Very good on looser surfaces,cut up a bit but ok as long as you keep an eye on them and glue any cuts.
Schwalbe One(old version)-Got these cheap from the Cycle Clinic and they fit the Robinson better with mudguards;too early to gauge durability but roll quicker than both the Sectors and S-Ones.
On the Helium with Hunt wheels I've mostly used 25c Schwalbe One Pros;really tight fit but very quick tyres although not the most durable(can't have the penny and the bun
).As for punctures I've had about 3 in roughly 9,000kms last year(some distances were on non tubeless) and none this year after about 3.000.One sealed the others I just put a tube in.
This leads me to sealant;Stan's is rubbish for road pressures and I'm now using Orange sealant or Effetto.The Orange defy works as it sealed an old repair that had failed.
Have now sold the Hunts and the next wheels may not be tubeless but i would have no hesitation in going that way again.
Oh here's a couple of helpful vids from Malcolm at the Cycle Clinic;
confusedcyclist
Veteran
Never seen them in action before, I'm impressed how resistant to punctures they are.
Last edited:
lazyfatgit
Guest
- Location
- Lawrence, NSW
I made the change to tubeless earlier this year with 28mm Schwalbe pro one on CZero wheels. Really difficult to get the tyres on - broke a nylon lever. Probably the hardest tyre/rim combo I've come across. Getting the bead to seal took 4 co2 cartridges as I couldn't air in fast enough with the track pump. I've now invested in a compressor.
Ride quality is great, but I wasn't convinced if it was so much better than normal tyres with tubes that the extra expense and time was worth it.
However I was convinced when I finished a 100km charity ride and found latex sealant splattered on the seat tube. Checking the rear tyre I found a 3mm cut just off the centre line which had sealed. There wasn't enough pressure lost for me to notice on the ride, but I'm certain that a tube would have blown.
The only thing I'm a bit apprehensive about is how easily a tube can be used if the system fails given how hard the tyres were to get on in the shed.
I was advised that they may lose pressure more quickly than tubes between rides but that hasn't been my experience.
Ride quality is great, but I wasn't convinced if it was so much better than normal tyres with tubes that the extra expense and time was worth it.
However I was convinced when I finished a 100km charity ride and found latex sealant splattered on the seat tube. Checking the rear tyre I found a 3mm cut just off the centre line which had sealed. There wasn't enough pressure lost for me to notice on the ride, but I'm certain that a tube would have blown.
The only thing I'm a bit apprehensive about is how easily a tube can be used if the system fails given how hard the tyres were to get on in the shed.
I was advised that they may lose pressure more quickly than tubes between rides but that hasn't been my experience.
