Fulcrum R1 tubeless or not ??

Spazzolino

Hi,
So, I have been looking at upgrading my wheels and have been looking closely at Fulcrum 1s. Now I have some questions that I hope you guys might help me to answer.

Firstly, does anyone have these babies and how do they ride? I am looking at putting them on a BMC SLT01. A pretty stiff frame. I will be mostly riding hills. Steel ones, but some flatter sections also. I am 79kg.

Next question. Tubeless. Cant decide whether to go for the option or not. It seems with everything I have read that the jury is still out on these tubeless tyres. I am half thinking of getting the 2 way fit so I can be ready if they take off and become great. But on the other hand, i don't really mind clinchers, haven't had a puncture for like a year even with lower pressure. Is the grip that much better ? cant see roling resistance be any lower if they have less pressure.

Looking forward to some constructive comments

sungod

i'm not convinced by tubeless for road, the main benefit is that small punctures may be fixed by the sealant, aside from that...

- choice of tyre is restricted
- pressure is much higher than mtb, any puncture that sealant won't handle means at minimum taking off a tyre coated in gooey sealant and trying to patch it
- with a standard tyre+tube you can use a tyre boot on a bad cut, don't think that's an option with tubeless (unless you also carry an inner tube and can take out the tubeless stem etc.)
- sealant will dry out, then you need to strip it and refill

*of course, you could run them without sealant, and instead carry some for repairs, but then you lose the main benefit of tubeless

a good clincher with latex tube will perform better than tubeless, and if you do get a puncture/cut will be less likely to be beyond easy repair

Spazzolino

Thanks for the reply.

I'm beginning to think that tubeless is not such a big deal.

maddog 2

ah but has he actually ridden them?

sungod

no, but i spent a while researching then decided it'd be a bad idea, for the reasons i state

you don't have stab yourself in the eye to know that it's probably a bad idea

maddog 2

true...

but if you want an opinion on, say, what Australia is like, then I'd probably ask someone who has at least been there.

The main issue with tubeless isn't the puncture issues, as decent road tyres don't puncture that often anyway. It is that you can run lower pressures without running the risk of pinch punctures, and the lower pressures give you more comfort and grip and better feel, without hurting your rolling resistance, as there is no tube, which is the main cause of drag.

But the options are limited I agree, and they are more expensive, although you don't need to buy tubes so it's not quite as bad as it initially looks. This isn't a criticism of tubeless per se though, as hopefully both of these issues will improve as more people buy and use tubeless. It takes time for new tech to be adopted, as people generally prefer what they know. But I think tubeless will eventually gain a decent foothold in the roadie world, as it has done in MTB.

scratchy27

I have a set of Racing Zero's and have been running them tubeless for a couple of years now with no problems or punctures at all. I've used 23mm Hutchinson Atom tyres and 25mm Bontrager R3 tyres....both have been good.
I get a nice rest when my riding buddies have to stop and mend their punctures (*smug grin*)

bigpikle

Do you use selant with these tyres? I'm thinking if some tubeless ready rims and the recent Ultremo ZX tubeless version that recommends a small amount if sealant (that comes with the tyres).

ugo.santalucia

I can't think of one good reason to go tubeless in road cycling...

Monty Dog

After running tubeless on my MTB - only 1 puncture in 10 months and that from glass on the road, I'm going to give it a try. As well as fewer punctures, there is a lot less rolling resistance. Running 2.4" tyres on my MTB at under 20psi and it doesn't feel sluggish.

bigpikle

Lack of punctures, great ride from no tube and many claim better cornering from tubeless. Id also hope i could carry just 1 tube and a selection of patches so have a little less in the pockets. Hutchinson Atoms are about 260g or so and should offer a good weight saving against even a light tyre and tube. I quite fancy having a go as my Kysrium SLs are tubeless ready so just need tyres and valves and some slime and off we go!

maddog 2

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I can't think of one good reason to go tubeless in road cycling...

The internet is a great place for opinions. The democratisation of information has created a a very different world from the one where only a few people controlled information. The problem though is how to filter the expert opinions, based on data, from the weaker, less-thoughtful stuff.

Ugo clearly has a lot of very good, well-reasoned advice on wheels and wheelbuilding, so I'm a little surprised at the throwaway nature of the quote above. Are you saying that tubeless isn't very good, or just that you have no actual data on them but you're going to speculate on their qualities anyway?

neeb

Bigpikle wrote:

Lack of punctures, great ride from no tube and many claim better cornering from tubeless. Id also hope i could carry just 1 tube and a selection of patches so have a little less in the pockets. Hutchinson Atoms are about 260g or so and should offer a good weight saving against even a light tyre and tube. I quite fancy having a go as my Kysrium SLs are tubeless ready so just need tyres and valves and some slime and off we go!

I don't want to focus too much on weight, but whenever I've looked into it any supposed weight savings of tubleless seem to be a myth. The Hutchinson Atoms, which seem to be about the lightest tubeless option, still weigh a little more than a light set of tyres and tubes (e.g. schwalbe ultremos + conti race supersonic, or latex tubes) , and haven't you still got the weight of sealant to add after that? Also, with the fulcrum and campagnolo wheels at least the 2-way fit versions are 20g heavier than the standard clinchers.

I'd still like to give tubeless a go sometime. Is there a significant advantage in rolling resistance at normal pressures?

maddog 2

I don't think anyone was claiming tubeless was a lighter option than clincher+tube.

The benefits of tubeless are well documented though - lower pressures = better grip, comfort and feel.

Rolling resistance tests I've seen tend to concentrate on clinchers at high pressures (100+) so not much there unfortunately.

thegreatdivide

I've got 2-way-fit Racing Zeros but have always ridden Open Corsa tyres - which we all know are the bee's ;-) But once my current set run out I'm going to have a shot a tubeless. No point in having the rims and not trying them out!