Tubeless Tyres - Your Experiences

Techboy
Posts: 30
For the past 6 years I've had an Orange Evo 2 Ltd edition bike and have only had a few punctures. Recently I bought a Giant Anthem X1 bike and the first time I used it seriously (in a 6 hour Adventure Race) I got 2 punctures - 1 in each wheel!
I don't know why I got the punctures, maybe the tyres are thinner, maybe I was just unlucky, etc. I could see a small thorn in my front tube. In the rear tube I could see a small hole but no thorn (it may have fallen out as I extracted the tube).
Anyway, it has made me consider going tubeless!
I have read up on the pros and cons of tubeless tyres (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mgdfIIZCng is pretty good for a quick overview) but I would like to know what people here think.
Do you have tubeless tyres? Do they work for you? Have you had any punctures - if so did they get sealed quickly and did you keep on riding? Have you had issues with losing air as you corner aggressively? Are they heavier than standard tyres? Any other issues?
Thanks.
I don't know why I got the punctures, maybe the tyres are thinner, maybe I was just unlucky, etc. I could see a small thorn in my front tube. In the rear tube I could see a small hole but no thorn (it may have fallen out as I extracted the tube).
Anyway, it has made me consider going tubeless!
I have read up on the pros and cons of tubeless tyres (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mgdfIIZCng is pretty good for a quick overview) but I would like to know what people here think.
Do you have tubeless tyres? Do they work for you? Have you had any punctures - if so did they get sealed quickly and did you keep on riding? Have you had issues with losing air as you corner aggressively? Are they heavier than standard tyres? Any other issues?
Thanks.
Paul
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Comments
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i converted my mavic xc717 rims to tubeless using the Stan's kit and have found it to be brilliant easy to fit (follow instructions to the word).the tyres i used where panaracer fire folding they don't lose air in corners best bit was riding my local trail and stopping to see a massive hawthorn spike in my tyre pulled it out and it sealed it straight away,I didn't do it to save any weight was just sick to death with punctures best £55 spent0
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i have used :
1.standard tyres on a ust rim,
2.standard tyres with a stans conversion,
3.tubeless tyres on a ust rim,
4.tubeless tyres on stans,
5.tubeless tyres on joes no flats
6.tubeless tyre on tubeless ready wheels.
the standard tyres were ok but wouldnt behave correctly and would burp air or pop off of the rim when riding under normal conditions! the same was the case with method 1 and 2. also, fitting regular tyres is more difficult and i needed either co2 (which you use to pop the tyre onto the rim then have to deflate and reinflate a few times to get rid of the co2) or a compressor.
the tubeless tyres are ace with any of the other methods i tried, the best is 3 and 6 as they require the least effort.
i have had punctures with tubeless and they sealed as i rode along and i kept going and may only have lost 2-3 psi. in my experience, tubeless int lighter if you are already running decent tyres and tubes but it is a real bonus to not have to worry about flats.
at the moment i am running :
specialized eskar 2bliss tyres on tubeless ready roval wheels
specialized the captain 2 bliss on joes no flats
i have a set of stans strip i havent gotten round to fitting to my cannondal but mostly because i dont like riding it anyway!.
finally, stans strips are better to fit than joes as they are a more sculpted strip and i like specialized tyres as they are very light for tubeless ready and are as light as regular tyres!! usually ust tyres are heavier in general.
hope this helps.0 -
I love them! Wouldn't switch back to tubes now, no way!
I have Spesh 2bliss The Captains on XT UST wheels, with a bit of Stans in them just for extra protection. They went on pretty easy - took about 5 mins per wheel - and have stayed on and inflated for the past few months. Not had one puncture since fitting them - used to get at least one a ride (offroad at weekends) which was really starting to p1ss me off! Now i just laugh at my mates when they get them0 -
Thanks for the information (very interesting post sheepsteeth).
I think I'll be making the switch to tubeless (probably with tubeless ready wheels)
Thanks.Paul0 -
I run UST rims and tyres. I've tried non tubeless tyres, they do work but the full UST system is so much less hassle.0
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Ive had a Stans and 'normal' tyres set up for about a year and its ok. Not pants-tearingly fantastic, just ok. Ive never had any problems with burping or any air loss for that matter and they do virtually eliminate flats but its still nessessary to carry a tyre boot and a tube in case you rip the sidewall or something.
One thing though, no matter what anyone tells you it is a real pain to change tyres!! Not so bad to set up first time and im sure the experts can do it easily but in your kitchen with a 20 quid track pump its a ball ache. And if you think fixing a puncture on the trail is hassle try putting a tube in a tubeless system because of a failure, imagine wrestling a large squid and your close.
Also I am sad enough to of weighed the components and a Stans rim strip is about 90g and a cup of splosh is 25g. A good quality tube is about 200g so only about half a cornish pasty difference.
Its personal I think, I use it because my bike was equipt with it when I got it but I dont think its worth the expense of converting a non tubeless setup."Didn't hurt"0 -
From what i've read about conversions and my own experiences of using UST tyres and rims, i would personally steer clear of the conversions.
Sticking the Spesh 2bliss tyres onto my XT wheelset really was a piece of p1ss. They seated easily, inflated easily, have kept inflated, and i've not had a single puncture since making the swap. yes, i carry a spare innertube just in case but then that's just good practice surely!0 -
Agreed, ive heard the proper set ups are much better and easier to service."Didn't hurt"0