Pros & cons of tubeless ???

Sanfranirishman

I Am 16 stone, 6'1", and have used Mavic UST rims, no tubes for 10 years with zero punctures. I got an Ibis Mojo 3 years ago with standard rims and had punctures all the time until I upgraded to Mavic UST again. I run 30psi front and rear and ride pretty sharp rocks on the downhill sections of my rides. P.S. I did the ghetto tubeless on the standard Ibis rims and had zero punctures. I use Kenda Nevegal UST DTC tyres. I rarely see any thorns here though.

simonp123

I have used rim strips, ghetto tubless and Stan's Flow rims. The first 2 methods are quite a faff to be honest, though this didn't especially annoy me. Using the Stan's rims though makes it much easier, yes it is still tricky to get the tire to seal at first with just a track pump.
I've not yet had a puncture that the fluid didn't seal, even the massive thorn I got in there which left a BIG hole sealed up after a few spins.
I only change/top up the fluid once a year.

Personally I prefer the feel of the bike on tubless.

neil_sheehan2000

I've not quite wrapped my head around the 'lower psi' argument, to be honest.

I run tubes, and my trail centre habit is to have my tyres quite hard for the climb up to the top, then let some air out for the descent. A couple of years ago I checked what psi I had been running after the descent and it was somewhere between 20 and 25. I think I've had one pinch-flat in the past 6 years or so, and I rarely feel rocks hitting my rims-certainly my rims are still straight anyway.

So I'm either very lucky, riding like a p*ssy, or tubeless tyres don't really let you run lower psi.







Hmmm... it's the second option, isn't it.

sigorman85

its nice to have a puncher seal its self but after awhile there will be all sorts stuck in your tires ie glass nails thorns the list could go on least with a tube you no you have a puncher

sandy771

Went tubeless last week with stans rim tape and sealant on giant s-xc2's have been out 4 times since and have dropped tyre pressure from about 38-40 to 30-32. My unscientific uncallabrated arse seems to indicate more grip across the roots, mud and other gnarly bits but on at least one longish uphill around here it does seem a little harder to drag the bike up (this could be in my mind though).

My view is that hills are a PITA that I have to deal with so that I get to enjoy the following fast downhill bits and as it is the downhill bits where I am likely to come off at speed the added grip is worth a little extra uphill pain.

YeehaaMcgee

Is anyone else disgusted by the amount of times they're called "punchers"?

VWsurfbum

My experiences
1) i dont need a rim strip as CB wheels dont have spoke holes so are really easy to set up.
2) i dont use tubless ready tyres as A) they are more expensive there heavier.
3) the rolling resistance is very noticeable (placebo or not)
4) i dont get punctures.
5) i get lots of grip, but dont get fooled into thinking you can run at under 20psi (only idiots would do that :roll: )
6) i was on a group ride on sunday, 1 of the 5 was on tubes, he was the only one who had to stop for a puncture after saying he couldnt see the point in tubeless

sigorman85

its part of it fixing a puncher in the pissin down rain lol NOT

cooldad

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Is anyone else disgusted by the amount of times they're called "punchers"?

i dont no reely

sigorman85

hahha my bad if ya dont like dont look at it! or you one of them guys that goes on forums just to correct people

cooldad

It's obviously way too late for that.

bennett_346

VWsurfbum wrote:

i was on a group ride on sunday, 1 of the 5 was on tubes, he was the only one who had to stop for a puncture after saying he couldnt see the point in tubeless

Priceless

YeehaaMcgee

sigorman85 wrote:

hahha my bad if ya dont like dont look at it! or you one of them guys that goes on forums just to correct people

No. I'm one of those people who see badly written gibberish, and assume the guy writing it is a complete moron.
At least I have the decency to let you know you look like a moron, before you make yourself out to be a moron in front of the rest of the world who can write "proppa like, blud".

Innit.

simonp123

sigorman85 wrote:

its nice to have a puncher seal its self but after awhile there will be all sorts stuck in your tires ie glass nails thorns the list could go on least with a tube you no you have a puncher

Not if you pull out the item, the only thing in the tyre will be the sealant. Surely you check your tyres over from time to time anyway?

Mental Mickey

If you are getting plenty (or some) pinch punctures then tubeless may be a sensible solution, if like me, you don't get any, then it seems like a waste of time and effort.

I run pressures around 40 psi, sometimes higher and have found that it is completely unnecessary to run at very low pressure, good tyre choice combined with learning some skills with cornering etc...works well enough, I know of an instructor who is a very good rider and runs his pressures at 60 psi. I rarely get any punctures at all, so tubes for me all the way.

GSP1984

Last ride we stopped 4 times... all for people running tubless... one burped all his air out.

The other chap keeps having a problem with the tyre exploding off the rim at slow spped, sounds like a shotgun when it goes. Never happened at high speed, but the fear of it doing so has made him put tubes back in.

sigorman85

yeah a moron thats done 8 years in the army nice one feel better about ya self now yeehaamcgee? it was a simple mistake

YeehaaMcgee

sigorman85 wrote:

yeah a moron thats done 8 years in the army nice one feel better about ya self now yeehaamcgee?

8 years in the forces? and you still spell like an 8-year old. Astounding.
Feel better about yourself now Mr soldier?

sigorman85

ok.

S-M

Tried ghetto as a test on two bikes with Specialized Airlock sealant, the stuff worked, ran one for about 300 miles with no issues then the bead ended up damaged and i removed the tyre, totall PITA to fix out on a ride, sealant all over the place, horrible.

Figured i would try adding the sealant to an inner tube and testing that, i was out last thurs night for a club ride, did my 20 miles, laughed at the folk getting punctures, rode home without an issue.

In the morning i was due to go out with the missus on another ride (hey i have 12 days off for easter ) so i quickly check over the bike, rear tyre is still up, but feels a little bit softer than the front, weird!

The tyre is brand new, its done about 80 commute miles and 20 offroad, so i start checking it for nastys, and i find a massive thorn stuck in it

I pull it out and the sealant starts to do its work, i have no doubts that the stuff in the tube helped me get through my ride and then sit in the man-cave over night without going totally flat.

FWIW i quickly let the tube down and patched it properly before going out with the missus.

I tried ghetto tubeless because i was sick of punctures, its something i don't need when riding in to work, i don't mind on the way home, but the route in needs to be timed to perfection otherwise i get snarled up in some mega traffic on an unlit road

gcalvert

1 more vote for tubes. I commute off road 5 days a week, I can fix a flat in 5-10 mins, nuff said. The whole 'weight issue' is a false economy in my view, fitness & strength is cheaper than the lightest kit etc, but harder to source

VWsurfbum

gcalvert wrote:

1 more vote for tubes. I commute off road 5 days a week, I can fix a flat in 5-10 mins, nuff said. The whole 'weight issue' is a false economy in my view, fitness & strength is cheaper than the lightest kit etc, but harder to source

Its not about weight saving, its about not getting the punctures in the first place, and not having to stop for 5-10 minutes!

bennett_346

I must honestly be the only person in the world who manages to avoid punctures. Had 1 puncture all of last year and i rode for 2 weeks in the alps, a day up helvellyn and rode locally every weekend of the year.

mrmonkfinger

bennett_346 wrote:

I must honestly be the only person in the world who manages to avoid punctures. Had 1 puncture all of last year and i rode for 2 weeks in the alps, a day up helvellyn and rode locally every weekend of the year.

Young man, you sound like you could benefit from a tubeless setup. Imagine the difference getting no punctures would make.

cooldad

bennett_346 wrote:

I must honestly be the only person in the world who manages to avoid punctures. Had 1 puncture all of last year and i rode for 2 weeks in the alps, a day up helvellyn and rode locally every weekend of the year.

This.
My last puncture was August 2010. So memorable I remember.

craigw99

this tubeless thing is new to me but i remember you used to be able to get slime that you put in your innertube to seal pinch flats - less faff inflating - same puncture resistance, im too heavy for the weight of 2 inner tubes to make that much of a difference to me so wheres the tubless benefit? just put the sealent in the inner tube and have the best of both :-)

Chunkers1980

You're missing the point. 'Tubeless' is no tubes. If you put a slime tube in, then it's not tubeless and you don't get the best of both worlds as you've never entered the tubeless world.

craigw99

but you can have low pressure and puncture resistance are these not the benifits?

Chunkers1980

Low pressure, no, not really as you still have a tube to snakebite, which may or may not seal. Yes you get puncture resistance, but have the full weight of the tune and slime.

agg25

I think the biggest benefit would be increased grip from being able to run the tyre at a lower pressure without snakebiting. I've read you won't get maximum traction out of certain tyres unless you're running <30psi. I'm still debating whether to go tubeless on the new rig, always run with tubes before, but seeing as though it'll have Flow rims and tubeless ready tyres I'm swaying towards the tubeless direction.