Tubeless tyres

andy37

After recently upgrading my wheels to 2 way fit on my Trek Madone 5.2 ive found the ride a bit harsh with the GP4000s currently fitted. The trouble is i really rate the Conti's as they roll really well, have a lot of feel and im yet to puncture in 2000miles but im looking to try tubeless and see how i get on with them.
So i guess im looking for a tubeless tyre with the same characteristics but having looked through the usual online stores ive found nothing with great reviews. Am i missing something and can anyone recommend me a good 23mm tyre please.

Cheers, Andy

hypster

That's one of the main problems with tubeless tyres for me: very few choices and what there is, is relatively expensive. Personally I have never liked Hutchinson tyres having had some bad experiences with the non-tubeless kind in the past but unfortunately they are the main driver behind tubeless tyre technology.

If I was thinking of going tubeless I would be looking at something like Schwalbe for instance.

http://road.cc/content/review/95313-sch ... less-tyres

6wheels

Can't remember where I read it, may have been on here, that some are running GP4000s tubeless without any problems.

ugo.santalucia

6wheels wrote:

Can't remember where I read it, may have been on here, that some are running GP4000s tubeless without any problems.

It's not recommendable... you can run low pressure tyres tubeless, but when you pass 60-70 PSI you are in danger zone. You can't run a GP 4000 at 60 PSI, therefore you are likely to get in trouble.

For high pressure you need a very tight fit, which only tubeless specific tyres can give. Schwalbe One seems to the one to have, but it's not cheap!
That said, tyres are the best upgrade to a bike and people spend hundreds for stupid bits like stems and seatposts, so why not spending 100 quid for a set of good tyres?

g00se

I'm yet to take the plunge, but the guy who built my wheels recommends the Bontragers - says they're much easier to fit that the Hutchinsons.

Good reviews for the IRCs from Japan, but hard to get hold of.

stanthomas

I've just done the Marmotte week on my Domane with Hutchinson Fusion 3s. Personal best times; absolute confidence on the descents, wet or dry; powering thru wet bends on those balcony roads. And I would hated having anything else under me on that cold-planed washboard surface on the Telegraph.
Someone had a dramatic save on the Glandon when it appeared his tyre came of the rim - tubular I guess. And ok, there were thousands out but still so many people fixing flats at the side of the road :shock:

Not impressed with Keith's tubeless rim strip solution but if I read right you've gone Fulcrum. Get some Fusions, inflate to between 5 - 6 bar and feel the wow factor*.
* Immediately: wow this is a smooth ride; a few weeks later: wow these are fast tyres; years later: wow I haven't had to fix a flat at the side of the road for ever.

(I threw some Schwalbe Ultremos on for a quick spin up to Les Deux Alpes. Ok but no wow.)

If you're anywhere near Chester, PM me and I'll get you set up.

maddog 2

the Bonty R3 is good. Wears fast but is grippy

Hutchinsons are okay but wet weather grip is poor and some people get spooked by this.

Schwalbes are another choice. I haven't tried them yet but have some to go on. Availability is sketchy though.

The other main players (Conti, Mich, Vittoria et al) haven't pulled their fingers out and made one yet, which is disappointing.

There are some others (Maxxis, IRC) but they are silly money and often unobtainable.

As Ugo says, don't use non-tubeless tyres tubeless. It's not like with MTB tyres... :roll:

stanthomas

maddog 2 wrote:

...
Hutchinsons are okay but wet weather grip is poor and some people get spooked by this.

My experience is that Fusion 3 t/ls afford excellent grip, wet and dry. Easily on a par with the Conti 4000S I used to use.

andy37

Firstly thanks a lot for all the input guys. Jesus the schwalbes are expensive but I guess this is down to development and ltd sales however I agree that tyres are overlooked by so many as an upgrade as at the end of the day it's the only part of the bike in touch with the road surface and therefore plays a massive part in the handling characteristics of the bike.

For the above reason you must be barking to run non tubeless without the tube bit in the middle!

I will look into all of the three suggestion later and also availability on them.

Mccaria

I just received my Schwalbe 1 tubeless ordered from Bike24. I couldn't find them in the UK and got fed up of waiting so ordered them from Germany. For some reason the price differential is significant, Bike 24 have them at euro 35 vs £50 at Wiggle. Unfortunately they don't seem to have the 23c in stock at present but they do have the 28c.