Tubeless Guide /Advice please..

venster

I need new rubber on my bike and have noticed the increase in use of tubeless tyres - seems there are only postives with them, so my question is are there any negatives ?

I'm running 2014 Ksyrium SLS clinchers but can't find anywhere if they can be converted.

And an idiots guide to doing it would be good...I've seen a few youtube videos but being abroad at the moment watching themwould use up my data quite quickly - and I'd like to order so they'd be at home upon my return.

TIA....

sungod

don't use them myself, but there are certainly plenty of negatives: limited choice of tyres, need to inject sealant, still need to carry patches, spare tube etc. in case you get a hole that won't seal (though you may get very sticky fitting it), they're reputedly a bugger to remove/re-fit by the side of the road if you do get a flat, then you've got the challenge of reseating them with a minipump

for mtb the lower pressure and big tyres i think they make sense, but for road with skinny tyres and much higher pressures i'm happy with standard clinchers on my commute bike and tubs on the race bike

meanredspider

I have them on the Jamis but I can't say I find them fantastic. I certainly wouldn't be bothered with trying to convert rims that aren't already tubeless ready. The tyres are typically expensive and hard to get and getting them to seat first time out is hard.

venster

Thanks for your replies...I think I'll stick to clinchers for now...

trailflow

(i think) you also need an air compressor.

lostboysaint

There's a whole load of misinformation on this thread.

You don't need to inject sealant, you just lob it in before seating the last bit of the bead.

They're no more difficult to fit or remove than any other tyre/wheel combo. Some are easy, some aren't.

You most certainly don't need an air compressor, a track pump if you're at home is fine - it will bang them up first time in most instances. A gas cartridge will certainly do it - either at home or by the side of the road.

drlodge

I wouldn't say there's misinformation in this thread, just different opinions. I run tubeless on my 2 best bikes and wouldn't go back, however the setup is not perfect and not for everyone.
- there are a limited number of tyres, the Schwalbes Ones don't wear well, have now moved to IRC roadlites. £40 each, not cheap but give a great ride. Comparable to tubulars.
- getting the tyres on can be difficult, but not impossible especially with the right kind of lever or lubrication.
- I wouldn't even attempt tubeless unless your rims are compatible.
- Getting these things to seal can be a bit tricky. You need the right width rim tape, properly applied. When changing tyres you might need to add/replace the rim tape. A compressor or similar might be needed, or you might get away with CO2 or a track pump. I needed a compressor, fortunately I have one already.
- sealant will be needed to get the tyres to completely seal in most cases, it is easily injected through the valve.
- most punctures will self seal, that's the whole point. I do carry an inner tube just in case but I reckon, should I need it, the tyre will be split and I'll have to call International Rescue anyway. No difference to a tubed tyre.

So in short, tubeless are more hassle to put on and setup, but once done, the benefits are worth it.

meanredspider

Agreed - I don't think there's misinformation - in fact the biggest bit of misinformation is the idea that you'd put the sealant in before seating the last bit of the bead! I found by far the most effective way of getting the bead to seat at all was plenty of soapy water. Once the bead has seated, it's all pretty easy. As above, apply sealant through the valve stem. But the nature of the tyre means that they are much harder to fit than most clinchers because of the need to seal. Ironically I've added an extra tyre lever to my repair kit in case I need to fit an inner tube. I'd never do it with one lever. The original clinchers though we're fine. Given the S-Ones were twice the price of conventional options, I'd say they weren't really worth the bother.

drlodge

+1 MRS. I wouldn't like try and add sealant before the tyre was seated, it would end up in a real mess. I got the tyres on OK with just my fingers, but used plenty of a 50/50 mix of washing up liquid and water which really helped.

As it was with my Roadlites, the front tyre bead would pop back from the rim when pressure was removed. I carefully added sealant through the valve, pumped it out and then did the funny dance thing to move the sealant around, using the bath (with water in) to check where it was leaking...mostly through the valve hole.

lostboysaint

Nope. Had no issues with any numbers of MTB tyres & a few road tyres. Velocity A23 rims just must be much more forgiving than most road rims then! And the beads of most tyres won't sit in the rim first time, but the sealant will simply sit in the tyre at the low point until it's banged up. Oh, and the Bontrager Flash Charger pump has yet to fail at seating a tyre.

sungod

you carry this pump on the road do you?