Tubeless?

haydenshieh

I'm getting a new full suspension mountain bike and I'd love to know why a lot of people choose tubeless tires. Also is the tubeless easier to fix if you get a flat or is the tube easier to fix. Also, how would you fix a tubeless? Thanks guys!

estampida

there are many pro's and cons of tubeless

usual pro's are - lower tyre pressure, no flats (if there is one its a total flat and needs a tube on the trail)
lighter wheels
they can be less maintenance if the seal is very good
tyre feel on the trail is increased

cons - pain to inflate, requires a fill up of sealant once in a while
there is no way of changing a tyre in the car park if its not the conditions that suit your tubeless tyre
a high quality tubeless kit does not ensure it will work first time, or second, but once it works it will work.. it just takes time

the unseen pro, is once you have tubeless you can talk about it in a loud voice in glentress carpark..... all day....... could maybe shoehorn it into the fact you're going to inners next......

mikee1979

Finally gone tubeless after years of procrastination and haven't looked back. I get so many punctures it's a joke and going tubeless has literally stopped about 12 punctures (in only 2months!) and even a small slice in the tyre. Haven't had to fix my tyre yet but have added more sealant and was easy enough. I'm not too fussed about running lower pressures but anything that prevents me from getting punctures is a winner.

allthegearnoidea

generally the sealant takes care of any most puncture issues, , pinching is no longer an issue, you can run very low pressure in them too, i ran my nics at 18psi on the rear on the hardtail, other than Boat like handling was fine! couldnt dream of that with tubes and being 100kg+!!
i always drop more sealant into the rear than the front due to the amount of knocks etc it takes, is funny, once youve got it all set up and are used to it, having to pop a tube in feels So strange on the handling!!!
if your suffering from a Lot of punctures/pinches then tubeless could well be the way to go!!

paulbox

haydenshieh wrote:

why a lot of people choose tubeless tires.

For me it is mainly the puncture issue, cycled to work along tow path a couple of weeks ago, tubless up front but tube in the rear (result of a previous issue and not getting round to re-setting up the rear tubeless). 20 miles, two punctures in the rear tyre. Half an hour later for work than I wanted to be... (had forgotten to put spare tubes in laptop bag so had to repair the punctures).

haydenshieh wrote:

Also is the tubeless easier to fix if you get a flat or is the tube easier to fix.

Running tubeless you tend to use some sealant liquid which is pretty good at sealing punctures without you having to do anything.

haydenshieh wrote:

Also, how would you fix a tubeless?

The big problem with tubeless is if you slice a tyre on something (e.g. sharp flint) and the hole is to big for the sealant to do it's stuff. I tend to carry some Park tyre boots (big patches for tyres) and spare tubes, just in case. Have had an issue once where I couldn't get the boot to stick to the tyre because it had had sealant in it. Spare tube bulged through hole and then puntured.
You can get some kits for repairing bigger holes in tyres but I've not tried using them.

jairaj

I moved over to tubeless when my old wheels were knackered and I fancied something lighter. The rims I got happened to be tubeless compatible so thought I'd give it a try.

One thing I will add is in my experience its not worth bothering with a ghetto or conversion setup. Get a proper tubeless rim and things are more predictable and reliable.

While its great and I recommend it I wouldn't bother getting rid of a perfectly good wheel set just to go tubeless. If your wheels need replacing for a genuine reason then go for something tubeless otherwise just stick a tube in.

defride

Lots of Hawthorn where we are and was getting punctures all the time. Went out on a local towpath recently with the family and both kids and my wife got punctures.

I got ticked off and liked the idea of a light pair of wheels and got hold of some UST wheels. First experience was pretty poor, LBS had Bontrager sealant which I used for 6 months. The tyres never stayed up more than 36 hrs, was sometimes having to top the tyre up on a ride. I stuck with it as tubeless did save me a couple of times. Ticking from the front turned out to be a hawthorn stick attached to the tyre by a thorn on one ride lol, pulled it out and the sealant got me homw in the rain. After a slashed tyre and tube replacement followed by two punctures in the rain on one ride I just about gave up. Just so happened I was at another shop who had Stans sealant so thought it worth a try. I've not looked back, tyres stay up and I've not had a puncture since.

Not all sealants are the same!