Tubeless dilemma

Sheppy

I have an imminent arrival of a new 29er All my spare inner tubes are 26" so now with a 29er I need to stock up on 29" inner tubes. But, I've been toying for about 2 years with the idea of tubeless but two things have been putting me off:
1. Once I have it all sealed up (it would be tubeless ready tyres as opposed to UST) do I have to occassionally top up the sealant? If so how often?
2. If I change the tyres over in October, is it pretty messy? Can you just clean out the old sealant with soapy water?

If anyone running tubeless has any insight I'd really appreaciate it

I guess one final question (which I know I have to try myself really) is did you notice a difference in ride quality when you switched over?

bennett_346

Do you puncture a LOT? If no then don't bother, simply put. It is a lot of hassle even with the right equipment already on the bike.

bramstoker

Having recently converted myself i had similar thoughts, so far i have found that the sealant hasn't dried up in about 3 months, but i do put 1/2 as much again as recommended. The way to tell i suppose is to shake the wheel and if you don't hear something sloshing you may need to pop some more in.
As for changing tyres , i have done it several times due to a snapped spoke, i just hang the wheel up drop off the tyre 1/2 way and drain the sealant into a old container to reuse. never found it overly messy, your hands will be dirty from taking the chain off anyway.

rickyrider

Funny - I've just posted about tubeless in the MTB General room - for my experiences read this viewtopic.php?f=10002&t=12845399

In summary - DON'T go tubeless ready tyres - go full UST, or perhaps double defence as mentioned in reply.

As for hassle factor, can't say I found it a hassle at all and if you are a tidy worker its really not that messy either.

simonp123

Sheppy wrote:

1. Once I have it all sealed up (it would be tubeless ready tyres as opposed to UST) do I have to occassionally top up the sealant? If so how often?
2. If I change the tyres over in October, is it pretty messy? Can you just clean out the old sealant with soapy water?

.

The sealant is best topped up once a year if you don't change tyres around. If you get a lot of punctures then you may need to top up sooner.

Yes swapping is a bit messy, but soap and water does the trick.

The main benefits to me were fewer issues with punctures and being able to run power tyre pressures.

Sheppy

Thanks for all the responses guys. I only get about 4 or 5 punctures and year and was doing it more for the lower pressure aspect. However, having seen the thread you wrote rickyrider I think I'm going to leave them with tubes in the as they are Racing Ralphs. I hate it when tyres "squirm" so will stick to the old tried and tested tubes.
Thanks again everyone, it's been very helpful