Tubeless road tires

mrobson

I’ve been considering giving tubeless a try. I’m curious who’s using what tires and so on.

shortfall

There's a 90 page thread here viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=13015799

To save you reading I can recommend IRC Roadlites or Formula Pro. Not cheap mind you. Lots of other useful tubeless info on Cycle Clinic website.

tonysj

Shortfall wrote:

There's a 90 page thread here viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=13015799

To save you reading I can recommend IRC Roadlites or Formula Pro. Not cheap mind you. Lots of other useful tubeless info on Cycle Clinic website.

Yes. Agreed.
You really need to read some of that post as there's lots of info on what wheels and tyre combos work and which don't go well together.
FYI. I have CERO EVO AR24 wheels with Schwalbe Pro Ones. Dead easy to fit and inflate and other than the well documented wear issue of the pro ones I love them. Even if they only last a year of summer riding.
T.

sloppyschleckonds

I wouldn't bother until you can get decent tyres for less that £35

cycleclinic

I can't think of a single tyre I like that sell for less than £35.

Camcycle1974

£90 for a couple of decent tyres that will probably last several thousand miles is a good investment imo. Tyres are not an area to scrimp on. There are plenty of tyres out there for £50 each. £45 for a good tubeless one isn't that expensive.

jollygiant

I tried Schwable Pro Ones. Rear wore out in 1,200 miles and had punctures on every single ride and bike would be constantly covered in sealant. Never had to stop and plug them though.
Now back on tubes and Michelin Power Endurance.

jontymo

IRC Roadlites on my 2018 Defy, currently on 1500 miles no issues so far apart from getting them to seal when 1st installed. I inflate them before every ride as lose a bit of pressure (I am about 100 kg),

Have a look at the thread as mentioned, also bought the sealant from cycle clinic as recommended.

2500 miles this year on tubeless only changed to IRC as had a lump of glass in the original which I made a mess of removing, so decided to upgrade.

I really like them and will be sticking with tubeless on my summer bike.

cycleclinic

jolly giant why not try another tubeless tyre. you tried the worst one of the lot for durability oh no it not the worst that crown is held by the Vittoria Corsa Speed tubeless tyre.

The rims on your giant are probably a bot undersized if you had trouble sealing.

barongreenback

jollygiant wrote:

I tried Schwable Pro Ones. Rear wore out in 1,200 miles and had punctures on every single ride and bike would be constantly covered in sealant. Never had to stop and plug them though.
Now back on tubes and Michelin Power Endurance.

I tried Shwalbe Pro Ones. Still going strong after 1,009 miles and no punctures.

barongreenback

To add, they are still an utter ball ache on Bontrager TLR rims. But no durability issues.

StillGoing

jollygiant wrote:

I tried Schwable Pro Ones. Rear wore out in 1,200 miles and had punctures on every single ride and bike would be constantly covered in sealant. Never had to stop and plug them though.
Now back on tubes and Michelin Power Endurance.

Really? And you continued using them for 1,200 miles? I call exaggeration.

I use Mavic Yksion Pro UST with Stans sealant on Mavic rims. No punctures yet and grip is fine. Went on a doddle and inflation with a standard track pump without hassle.

skooter

I have the Giant Gavia's and have no complaints..

Camcycle1974

Got Gavias on one bike and IRC formulas on the other. No issues with either but I prefer the IRC. Much more comfortable as they blow up wider than the rim. 25's that are more like 28's on my wide rims. May not be so aero but they are nice and comfy run at 80 psi on rubbish Cambs roads.

cycleclinic

You must have the old version of the formula Pro tyres with the coloured lettering from 2 years ago. The new tyres are smaller.

Camcycle1974

thecycleclinic wrote:

You must have the old version of the formula Pro tyres with the coloured lettering from 2 years ago. The new tyres are smaller.

Not sure Malcolm, the ones you fitted for me in April. The lettering is white. It's the Roadlites I have, not the Formula Pro which probably explains it. I think I'll go Formula Pro next time as the don't blow up so big on the kinlin rims.

Camcycle1974

Camcycle1974 wrote:

thecycleclinic wrote:

You must have the old version of the formula Pro tyres with the coloured lettering from 2 years ago. The new tyres are smaller.

Not sure Malcolm, the ones you fitted for me in April. The lettering is white. It's the Roadlites I have, not the Formula Pro which probably explains it. I think I'll go Formula Pro next time as the don't blow up so big on the kinlin rims.

I got my names mixed up of the various IRC tyres.

Poppa Wheelie

jollygiant wrote:

I tried Schwable Pro Ones. Rear wore out in 1,200 miles and had punctures on every single ride

I've just fitted another Pro One having covered 3500 miles without a single puncture. Prior to switching to tubeless I was puncturing every other ride.

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

I wouldn't bother until you can get decent tyres for less that £35

At £36.20 they are just about there https://www.mantel.com/uk/schwalbe-pro-one-microskin-tl-easy-tyre

sloppyschleckonds

Pro Ones aren't good in the damp/ wet. Unless you ride corners like 50 pence pieces

trek_dan

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Pro Ones aren't good in the damp/ wet. Unless you ride corners like 50 pence pieces

I though the same. I didn't rate them at all, ride like commuting tyres. Which is strange because I really like regular Schwalbe One clinchers.

orlok

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Pro Ones aren't good in the damp/ wet. Unless you ride corners like 50 pence pieces

? ? Why aren't they not good in wet weather.? I don't drive corners like 50 euro cent pieces.! :roll:

cycleclinic

wet grip is so so at best. The old Schwalbe one's in the wet were worse, actually dangerous. Gator skins give better wet grip than those tyres.

minnnt

Giant Gavia AC1 on mine atm. First tubeless tyre I’ve ever had so have no comparisons tbf. They seem good but look cheap imo. They’ll probably last me the whole of next year though so won’t be in a rush to change them. The IRC’s do look good.

cycleclinic

Mileage is weight dependent and also rider depedent. those that corner fast, and spend alot of time climbing, and decenting fast get alot more tyre wear. Those that ride in straight lines in the fens get less tyre wear.

Camcycle1974

thecycleclinic wrote:

Mileage is weight dependent and also rider depedent. those that corner fast, and spend alot of time climbing, and decenting fast get alot more tyre wear. Those that ride in straight lines in the fens get less tyre wear.

Very true. My tyres last years!

singleton

I went with road tubeless for about 18 months, did about 4500 miles in all conditions but not commuting.
I've gone back to regular clinchers. I'm just not convinced that tubeless are great for road use.
I didn't get many punctures in that time, but there was regular maintenance with topping up sealant etc. and I found that every time I rode, I was nervous about getting a big hole or something else catastrophic and being stranded.
If the tyre comes off the rim then you won't re-seat it with a hand pump.
So you can put a tube in - but some tyres are soo tight that it's basically impossible at the road side. I can fit clinchers with no levers, but I broke multiple levers trying to get one set of tyres onto the rims.
In the end, I decided that there were not enough benefits for me.

sloppyschleckonds

Singleton wrote:

I was nervous about getting a big hole or something else catastrophic and being stranded.

Seems perfectly rational reason for not using tubelsss

sparkins1972

I had a set of Borg wheels built up by Cycle Clinic and shod with IRC Roadlites at Malcolm's recommendation. I have put 2.5k miles on them and haven't had a single flat, they are more comfortable and faster than all the clinchers I previously used. If I had to replace them tomorrow, I wouldn't bother looking at anything else.

cycleclinic

if the tyre unseats from the rim when flat then it not tubeless compatible (the rim or the tyre). That is part of tubeless compatability. yes getting a tube into a tubeless tyre is difficult so that why i dont carry one.

why be nervous. how come I am not. I have had punctures a long way from home on a wet night and still managed to get the the tyre pluged and refinalted well enough to get home.
I have been stranded with tubed tyres after a tyre failure meant I used up all my 4 tubes and one of my groups before they left me.

As I have a said tubeless woes are user error. You have tubeless tyres on your car for the same reasons as you find them on bicycles.

you have to pump up bicycle tyres and struggle at the side oof a road on a wet january evening putting a tube into to tubed clincher. If you dont ride on a wet cold january eveneing then you wont understand why tubeless tyres are of benefit. If you cannot tell that tubeless tyres are more comfotable than tubed tyres then you might as well use the marathon plus.

Also all tyres are different.

drlodge

+1 for IRC Roadlites, just carry some worms with you in case of a larger cut.

singleton

thecycleclinic wrote:

if the tyre unseats from the rim when flat then it not tubeless compatible (the rim or the tyre).

Maybe quite true - but I've bought several wheels that I bought as tubeless wheels which came fitted with tubeless tyres, and when deflated they would unseat. Maybe tubeless tech just needs to have a more standard approach.

thecycleclinic wrote:

As I have a said tubeless woes are user error. You have tubeless tyres on your car for the same reasons as you find them on bicycles.

And on my motorcycle - which is why I tried them. However, neither of them are inflated to 80psi and nor are mountain bike tyres

thecycleclinic wrote:

If you dont ride on a wet cold january eveneing then you wont understand why tubeless tyres are of benefit.

As I said in my original post, I ride in all conditions. I got one flat on a cold (maybe 1 degree) and wet winter evening running my tubeless tyres. It didn't seal properly despite being quite small and it left me wondering whether it was too cold for the sealant. Or maybe the tyre had too much pressure for the sealant to work

thecycleclinic wrote:

If you cannot tell that tubeless tyres are more comfotable than tubed tyres then you might as well use the marathon plus.

I never said that I couldn't tell the difference.

It may work for you and you may have found a combination of wheel and tyre that work together, but I feel more confident with regular clinchers and GP4000 with decent tubes are not a terrible combination.