Tubeless tyres

greenamex2

Hi all

Is anybody commuting on tubeless tyres?

How do you find them and do you have to pump them up often?

Thanks in advance

skeetam

Big thread here with plenty of info http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=13015799

greenamex2

Thanks, some useful info.

Probably more interested in what they are like day in day out all year. I am not sure how many of the road guys are weekend/fairer weather riders.

In particular, are you having to pump them up a few times a week?

Thanks

cycleclinic

I inflate mine once a week. The tyre can been ridden (28's) down to 40 psi without issue so regular inflation is not needed. Whether they can be ridden day in day out in all conditions will depend on the tyre and how much debris you ride over. City streets are cleaner than those in the country side athough you do get more glass. I use my daily on suffolk lanes mostly.

Many tubeless tyres are light weight racing tyre thoe are not so good for commuting. The best for commuting are the Schwalbe Maraton supreme 35mm or 40mm, schwalble marathon all motion 38mm, Hutchinson sector 28 and the IRC Fusion X-guard 28mm. The IRC feels the closest to a race tyre because it sister tyre the RBCC is a race tyre.

There might be a couple of other I have forgotten about. Specialised do a few I have never tried and I dont know wnayone who has either.

skeetam

I've commuted on tubeless for a few years and tried plenty of different tyres. I find the Bontrager R2 Hard-Care Lite tyre to be hard wearing and good value at £27.00. For weekend duties, I use Schwalbe One Evo's which are very grippy but not the most hard wearing.

greenamex2

So, nearly a thousand pounds later I am running on tubeless tyres.

Fitting -

My (shiny new) wheels are DT Swiss tubeless compatible ER 1400's. 20mm internal width, pre fitted with tubeless rim tape and supplied with a tubeless valve.

The tyres are Schwalbe X-ONE Allround 33mm.

The sealant is Stand no tubes. I tried to get Schwalbe blue doctor but gave up when wiggle threw a hissy fit.

Putting the tyres on the rims took a fair amount of strength but was achieved with levers. It was a little trick keeping the sealant in whilst fitting the tyres, some form of hook to hang the wheel on would be easier, will probably get an injection kit.

Inflating the first tyre was initially not happening. Once I realised that the lip of the tyre was the wrong side of the valve it just needed a little big of tyre squishing and went up fine, popping in place at about 10psi. I was using a small 1HP 6L compressor.

Riding -

Or more importantly, did they stay up? In short, yes. I fitted the tyres Friday and today, Monday, there is no detectable pressure loss.

I still need the start tuning pressures, but initial impressions are good. Knowing I can drop 15 psi before hitting the minimum given on the sidewall gives me options.

I will update with some more experience.


Other bits -

The DT Swiss ER 1400's are awesome. Over 300g lighter than my stock wheels and fitted easily. They even came with the disc locks and all the adapters I will ever need! The 10 degree
freehub is really quiet and quick to engage.

Went from a 11-28 cassette to a 12-25.. It is like the bike now had a close ratio gearbox! If like me you don't use the 11 or the 28 it is a worthwhile upgrade.

greenamex2

A quick update after about 100 miles.

The short version - Not going back to tubed tyres.

The longer version - I can now run with 10PSI less pressure which helps with comfort, speed over bumpy bits and mud. Pressure loss no worse than tubed tyres. Top speed on the flat about 0.5MPH faster. Average heartbeat about 4-5BPM lower for the same average speed over the 12.7 mile commute.

Definitely the future.

And the wheels - Love them so much I really got the hump when my daughter didn't clean the back one very well.
And the 12-25 cassette - Once you adapt to it, makes the journey a bit more pleasurable by being able to match cadence/speed/effort more accurately (I have pretty weedy legs, a wonky heart and even wonkier lungs so pretty important to me compared to most).

greenamex2

A quick update after about a 1000 miles.

Rode out of my drive yesterday and after about 10 feet there was a weird sound from the bike. After checking the front wheel I noticed that rear tyre was hissing and sealant leaking out. It sealed at too low a pressure to safely rely on so I pumped it up and it started leaking again.

Being late for work I decided to pop a tube in worry about a proper repair later or risk it sealing then unsealing again.

As a tube was going in I checked for what had caused it in case it punctured the tube.

Well THIS puncture was a cut about 1CM long so sealant was probably never going to fix it.

However did find two other punctures that had auto sealed without me even knowing...proving that the system works...most of the time.

Ordered some sealing worms and a "proper" tubeless patch kit.