Why are tubeless better at puncture protection.

CanalRider

I see a few posts recommending tubeless to achieve better puncture protection. Now I may be being a bit obtuse but I can't see how. Can someone explain please?

thistle_

The tyres have a sealant in them which seals up holes when the tyres get punctured. If you get small thorn punctures often it could be useful.

Obviously if the hole is big or you tear the tyre it won't work and you have to carry a tube in case anything goes wrong.

If they came on a bike I bought I would leave them on, but I'm not rushing to convert my MTB to tubeless any time soon.

CanalRider

Thanks for the reply, I had Ultremo ZX on my road bike and got a sudden plague of punctures mainly through small shards of glass working their way through the tyre piercing the tube then hiding in the tyre when I search through tyre for the cause.
I have gator skins now but real or imaginary I perceive them to be slower. My winter bike has Marathon Pluses.

rolf_f

CanalRider wrote:

Thanks for the reply, I had Ultremo ZX on my road bike and got a sudden plague of punctures mainly through small shards of glass working their way through the tyre piercing the tube then hiding in the tyre when I search through tyre for the cause.
I have gator skins now but real or imaginary I perceive them to be slower. My winter bike has Marathon Pluses.

That's the point - tyres (unless you run something horrible like Marathon Plus) aren't maintenance free items. I regularly (particularly after riding on wet roads) check the tyres for glass and pick the shards out. Most punctures I think occur from the glass you picked up on previous rides rather than the stuff you ran over on the current ride. Therefore they are mostly preventable. A scalpel knife is good for digging the glass out.

Ultremos are a fast tyre and not really that tough - if you want something that is still quick but is less sensitive to glass then Durano S or Durano are good. Plus is probably overkill. I wouldn't use Marathon Plus if forced to at gunpoint!

Headhuunter

The main advantage of tubeless is that they can be run at lower pressures for a smoother ride and better cornering without loss of performance. This is 1 of the reasons they became so popular for MTBers before road - better traction in wet, muddy or dusty conditions are an advantage...

supersonic

There is UST tubeless (which can be run with sealant, though doesn't need it), and the sealant type ie full conversions or using tubeless ready.

I find low pressures with tubeless can cause air burping under hard cornering with big tyres on MTBs.

goonz

When you say tubeless is this the same as tubulars?

asprilla

Nope. Tubulars are sealed tyres with the innertube contained within. Tubeless are like a car tyre, with no innertube at all.