Tubless - UST or not to UST?

milfredo

I have been running tubeless for the last 5 years without a problem on my UST compatible Mavics. I love the tubeless system and have only suffered one puncture in this time and that was a massive tear in the tyre while down-hilling in the Alps.

Now, I have always opted for UST tyres as this was all part and parcel of running tubeless back in the day. I also always use some sort of sealant so in the event of the UST tyre taking a hit I wasn't left with a flat tyre.

Now the downside of this is that there is considerable weight gain in rolling mass of the wheel due to the UST tyres and then the sealant and this is really the only part of my bike build where I think some considerable (and well informed) weight saving can be made.

As I use the sealant, does this negate the need for UST specific tyres so long as you maintain the fluid in the tyres? I change my tyres twice a year between the summer and winter months to more specific seasonal treads so changing the fluid has always been part of the routine.

The reason for the question is that I am about to fork out nearly a ton on some new rubber and want to make sure that if I opt for non UST specific rubber I will not be dousing with fire and end up having to carry two tubes about and have to literally mess about with gunk in tyres while trying to fit tubes in case I get a flat.

You opinions and experiences please....

Cheers,

WIll

ride_whenever

You want to run tubeless ready tyres ideally, they have the ust bead so seat really nicely, but not the airtight layer which is the superfluous weight you mention because you're clearly not a moron and are running sealant.

milfredo

Any recomondations on how to spot the difference when buying particually with Schwarble (sp) tyres?

njee20

Schwalbe do UST or non-UST, their USTs aren't super heavy, but are heavier than the standard Evo ones, generally by about 150g IIRC.

On non-UST rims the non-UST tyres seal very nicely, you may struggle on a UST rim as the tyre will want to retreat into the well in the middle.

I personally think Schwalbe are the easiest brand to convert to tubeless, so I would get the non-UST versions, I know a lot of people who do use them on UST rims, but it will be more faff than a UST tyre.

stu8975

All depends on the type of tyre you want..eg summer/dry cond. tyre? etc. Spesh tyres are tubeless ready (2Bliss), by far the best tubeless set up I've used, did the Mavic UST rims with UST tyres, Schwalbe UST were the worst performing from the ones I've used. Also used UST tyres from Kenda/Conti.

Example of weights - tyres only w/ no sealant..Spesh Sauserwind 1.8 (more like a 2.0) - 485g-495g each - used in winter, very good all round tyre but slightly soft compund for summer/hardpack use.

Spesh Fast Trak LK 2.0 - 515g-520g each

Weights were on my scales, not claimed weights.

Northwind

What sort of use? You mentioned the alps there... I've never had any problems using standard tyres as tubeless, provided you stay away from the less suitable ones. But the sidewalls aren't as strong as UST ones tend to be so if it's for really hard use or somewhere really rocky that might not work for you.

milfredo

UK Summer / hard pack tyre that needs to be a do it all - Cross country, trali centres and UK down hill (on a non downhill bike)

For winter I have some UST Trali Rakers and they look to have years of tread left and I'm not too fussed about the weight come winter when the bike is caked in mub.

njee20

Racing Ralph Double Defence would probably get my vote, non-UST