Tubeless - Help!

djames77

Hi

So, i got two punctures in 7 minutes yesterday and think maybe i should try tubeless. I do a lot of riding down canal paths so expect the odd puncture from thorns etc.. but i am getting far too many!

So, will tubeless stop thorns and how much will it cost? I am lazy so expect to take the bike to a local shop to do the conversion - anyone got any ideas on the cost?

Thanks in advanced

weescott

Tubeless won't stop thorn punctures. Perhaps looking at tougher tyres is a better option?

Tubeless costs vary depending on what wheels you have now.

Tom Barton

tubeless tyres generally cost more but many specialised tyres are '2bliss' and arnt as dear as others - add a tener to the cost of most tyres. you can 'ghetto' normal tyres by using sealant which makes the tyre hold the air and keeps the weight of the system pretty low but non-ust tyres don't have the same side wall support and may not feel so great cornering (not tried this myself - only used usts so i'm not sure just how pronouced this 'squishy' cornering is...)

A stans kit plus rim seal tapes will set you back at least 60-70 quid last time i looked. Someone to set it up for you will cost you £20 - £30 depending on how steep your lbs is but remember, it is still possible to rip tyres which will mean a flat despite the tubeless so always carry a spare tube just in case to get you home.

And just re-reading through to answer the first bit of your question - yes a tubeless system running sealant should shrug off the thorns - just pull em out at the end of your ride and watch in wonder as they 'pfft' and seal themselfs!

MattJWL

Tubeless won't stop thorn punctures.

In my experience it did, riding to work along the grand union canal most days. Only one puncture, that was a 9-in nail.

djames77

thanks for the reply, looks like i better just be careful and buy more inner tubes then! i have got Specialized Fast Trak at the moment which are tubeless ready - would i be better off with a different tyre to combat thorns?

djames77

Tom Barton wrote:

tubeless tyres generally cost more but many specialised tyres are '2bliss' and arnt as dear as others - add a tener to the cost of most tyres. you can 'ghetto' normal tyres by using sealant which makes the tyre hold the air and keeps the weight of the system pretty low but non-ust tyres don't have the same side wall support and may not feel so great cornering (not tried this myself - only used usts so i'm not sure just how pronouced this 'squishy' cornering is...)

A stans kit plus rim seal tapes will set you back at least 60-70 quid last time i looked. Someone to set it up for you will cost you £20 - £30 depending on how steep your lbs is but remember, it is still possible to rip tyres which will mean a flat despite the tubeless so always carry a spare tube just in case to get you home.

And just re-reading through to answer the first bit of your question - yes a tubeless system running sealant should shrug off the thorns - just pull em out at the end of your ride and watch in wonder as they 'pfft' and seal themselfs!

Thanks Tom, my post above as made before i read yours. Seems like tubeless might be worth a shot. Don't mind the cost, just wondered what it might be at the lbs - £100 or £200+, seems like a £100 should cover it.

Out of interest do the add much weight to the bike?

weescott

I have heard a lot of people use Specailzed Fast track Armadillo tyres for commuting. Heavy but tough.

Tubeless ready tyres tend to have thin sidewalls meaning you will need to use sealant and have compatible rims to run them. Thorns may still puncture the tyre but the sealant will err...seal the hole(s). You will have to repair the tyre at some point though.

The main benefit from Tubeless is protection from pinch and snake bite flats.

lugsey2k5

If your rims are tubeless ready its dead easy to do.

Either buy a ust or standard tire ( new none holey tires work best for converting) and a valve then buy either some joes/ stans sealent (£12 ish per 500ml) or get creative as i did and use a 3/4 mixture of liquid latex from a craft shop or ebay and add some engine coolant, water and some glitter for good measure and you have made your own sealant. works out (£3 per 500ml)

Add the valve to your rim, pop the tire on, add some sealent (125ml) put the other half of the tire on and inflate with a track pump for UST tires or a compressor for non UST tires.

Iv never had a thorn puncture my tire running tubeless and that includes my trip to a thorny part of spain were the guides used tubeless. got a 1cm cut in the rear tire today due to a sharp rock and low tire pressure and that even sealed


EDIT: just noticed you have tubeless tires not rims in which case just buy some joes rim strips to seal the rim and used the method mentioned above. Iv taken tires off and found 4-5 thorns in that have been there god knows how long

djames77

lugsey2k5 wrote:

If your rims are tubeless ready its dead easy to do.

Either buy a ust or standard tire ( new none holey tires work best for converting) and a valve then buy either some joes/ stans sealent (£12 ish per 500ml) or get creative as i did and use a 3/4 mixture of liquid latex from a craft shop or ebay and add some engine coolant, water and some glitter for good measure and you have made your own sealant. works out (£3 per 500ml)

Add the valve to your rim, pop the tire on, add some sealent (125ml) put the other half of the tire on and inflate with a track pump for UST tires or a compressor for non UST tires.

Iv never had a thorn puncture my tire running tubeless and that includes my trip to a thorny part of spain were the guides used tubeless. got a 1cm cut in the rear tire today due to a sharp rock and low tire pressure and that even sealed


EDIT: just noticed you have tubeless tires not rims in which case just buy some joes rim strips to seal the rim and used the method mentioned above. Iv taken tires off and found 4-5 thorns in that have been there god knows how long

Thanks Lugsey, my rims are tubeless ready too i have just found out. I would still rather have someone do it for me! I work about 70 hours Monday to Friday so don't want to eat into playtime on the weekend trying to do the conversion myself!

lugsey2k5

ah fair enough. If your rims are tubeless ready its very cheap and simple to do so shouldn't be a problem for a bike shop so shouldnt charge you too much sa there only adding a valve and using there own compressor. Defiantly use sealant though. Usually if i get a thorn and a hear a hiss i keep riding and its gone in a second or two. Keeping the wheel spinning helps spread sealant to the hole.

Muttly1981

I was having problems with flats on my HT when riding to work after spending a fortune on innertubes i found Sureride red anti punture tape and since i used that i've never had a problem, it's much cheaper than going down the tubeless route.

johnnygooner

Seems I'm one of the few not convinced by tubeless.

Currently, I can see the plusses but still think the negatives outweigh them and it seems like I'm not alone in this

http://vintageone.blogspot.com/2011/04/ ... appen.html

Anonymous

johnnygooner wrote:

Seems I'm one of the few not convinced by tubeless.

Ditto. i love the promises of tubeless+sealant, but in reality, it was almost completely ineffective for me.
Add to the fact that I needed to borrow a compressor to change tyres, and it strikes me as something of a frivolity.

bentes

Hi!

I was also against tubeless but after spending a fortune in inner tubes I decided to take the jump. So I took it to my lbs and they fitted a Bontrager kit and a couple of Rubena tyres. I've never heard of them, seems like it's a czech brand and are really good, cheap and LIGHT.

http://www.rubena.co.hu/english/kulsok_rubena_v95_charybdis.html
http://www.rubena.co.hu/english/kulsok_rubena_v96_scylla.html

They seem great xc tyres so far and about 30€ for a under 500g tubeless tyre seems great value for money. They're stupidly fast rollers and great acceleration. Great grip also (for the kind of riding that I do). Before these I had a Spec Fasttrack and a Hutchinson Python.

Mind though they're a little porous (probably due to the light weight) in the beginning and it takes about 1 ride for the sealant to seal them.

In the end:
2 tyres - 60eur
bontrager kit (rim strips + valves + sealant) +/- 40eur

So far fit and forget, no trouble at all.

Uchiga

yeehaamcgee wrote:

johnnygooner wrote:

Seems I'm one of the few not convinced by tubeless.

Ditto. i love the promises of tubeless+sealant, but in reality, it was almost completely ineffective for me.
Add to the fact that I needed to borrow a compressor to change tyres, and it strikes me as something of a frivolity.

Can i Tritto that? Never had a problem with an inner tube. If you do get a puncture with a tubless tyre that the sealant can't solve what do you do anyway? Oh you use an innertube... If you're going to use sealant do what some of the Elite guys do, and run condom thin inner tubes with sealant. That way you have the advantage of being able to change tyres etc easily using a standard pump etc as well as being as protected as tubless.

Anonymous

bentes wrote:

Hi!

I was also against tubeless but after spending a fortune in inner tubes...

You do realise you can fix innertubes very easily, and very effectively, right?

cee

for my money....

when an innertube goes wrong its an easy fix.

when tubeless goes wrong (i.e. slash the sidewall etc...) you are pushing.....there is no fixing it on the hill, unless.....you have a tube and a pump in your pack....not sure why you would have this if you were running tubeless....and you get sludge everywhere.

for me...tubeless doesn't really give me anything...sure....I would save a few quid on patches....

I might save up to some minutes a year spent not swapping them out on the trail....

i dont need any less pressure in the tyres...they are just fine as they are.

So given all that....what is the point of tubeless.

lugsey2k5

Whats the point in tubless?

Well last week in wales 2 lads got 17 punctures between them all pinch punctures. I had none. Yesterday i would have easily multiple pinch puntures riding a very rocky decent yet i only get a 1cm cut in the tire which sealed and prevented me ruining a decent.

I haven't had a puncture in 2 and a half years so unless you change tires every week there is no real downside.

skaffen

I switched over to Michelin latex tubes and they seem pretty resilient, more so than the traditional butyl ones. Far less faff than going tubeless and I've not had any punctures or pinch flats since moving over to them (was considering going tubeless because of a spate of problems, but these were suggested as an alternate and they seem to have helped).

cee

lugsey2k5 wrote:

Whats the point in tubless?

Well last week in wales 2 lads got 17 punctures between them all pinch punctures. I had none. Yesterday i would have easily multiple pinch puntures riding a very rocky decent yet i only get a 1cm cut in the tire which sealed and prevented me ruining a decent.

I haven't had a puncture in 2 and a half years so unless you change tires every week there is no real downside.

and if you are getting that many punctures in a week....i can see it would be worth investigating....what i am saying is....i don't suffer that....
I do think there are other things which can be tried before deciding to spend anything on tubeless though...like add 3 more psi, or choose a tyre with a sturdier sidewall etc......and maybe I ride light and floaty (i dont actually think I do, but hey...) compared to some folk...



If it works for you...then fair game....you don't see a downside....but for me...I don't actually see an upside!

Shaggy_Dog

weescott wrote:

Tubeless won't stop thorn punctures. Perhaps looking at tougher tyres is a better option?

Tubeless costs vary depending on what wheels you have now.

Yes it will, if you use a decent sealant

milfredo

This is my mates bike after picking up a nail on the canal path. The tyre was still up and ridable but kept on catching on the chainstay.

Tubless is the absolute nuts

milfredo

Another view where you can see the gunge sealing the hole

Anonymous

see, that's just annoying, because I've had several microscopic punctures, where the sealant completely failed to notice anything.

supersonic

milfredo wrote:

This is my mates bike after picking up a nail on the canal path. The tyre was still up and ridable but kept on catching on the chainstay.

Tubless is the absolute nuts

Did it seal when the nail was pulled out?

cooldad

lugsey2k5 wrote:

Whats the point in tubless?

Well last week in wales 2 lads got 17 punctures between them all pinch punctures. I had none. Yesterday i would have easily multiple pinch puntures riding a very rocky decent yet i only get a 1cm cut in the tire which sealed and prevented me ruining a decent.

I haven't had a puncture in 2 and a half years so unless you change tires every week there is no real downside.

17 seems a bit careless, maybe a bit more pressure.
One puncture in about two years, a pinch which I knew was going to happen a split second before it did as I was tired and didn't unweight the back wheel on a nasty little sharp edged step.
Maybe part of it is picking a decent line. I've only recently started riding a full sus, and riding rigids and hardtails teaches you to pick the smoothest lines possible.
I still do that, I see suspension as something to be used when necessary, not to simply blast over anything and hope for the best.

cooldad

Although in fairness I ride like a girl, and most of my riding spots are not particularly rocky.
(With apologies to any girls - figure of speech)

CraigXXL

I've found that running tubeless the tyre deforms more easily around a obstacle giving you more grip and less rebound. For small puntures i.e thorns I have confidence in them sealing but I still carry a tube incase of something that it won't seal. The additional grip is worth the change for me but the small puncture sealing is just a bonus.