going tubeless with a punctured tire

leomuliergarci

This morning, as I was getting my bike out of my garage and realised a nail was stuck in my ONZA citius tire 2.4 soft tire, which had been there since the beginning of my last ride as I could hear a strange metallic noise every time the wheel did a full rotation. I have a tubeless kit but have not installed it. I was wondering if I would have to replace the tire in order to convert it to tubeless, it turns out not to be too bad of a puncture as it is quite small but I don't know if it is a good idea.
Could I get any advice?

Thanks

thecycleclinic

Is it a tubeless tyre. Often with non tubeless tyre the issue is getting the tyre to inflate. Sometimes non tubeless tyre on some non tubeless rims are too.loose to inflate without lots of tape faff and hassle.if your tyre is a reay easy handfit then I would not bother. Tubeless is meant to be easy and remove faff not add it.

steve_sordy

There is no need to replace the tyre before going tubeless. I would however inspect the hole very carefully to ensure that the tyre is not a write off. If when you remove the nail, the hole closes up you should be OK. But to reduce inflation problems either seal the hole with a tyre plug or stick a tyrewall patch on the inside of the tyre. If you don't have one stick an inner tube patch on instead. Do it properly, no shortcuts.

Going tubeless is easier than a beginner makes it look and harder than an expert makes it look! So don't despair, just watch several videos off YouTube. Ones by Bike Radar or ParkTool are usually very good.

Remember to use sealant, even if the tyre is a proper tubeless tyre on a proper tubeless rim. Proper tubeless tyres don't need sealant to hold air, but they do need sealant to stop them going down if you get a puncture.

I have gone tubeless with ordinary tyres on ordinary rims, you just need to follow the instructions.Having a big track pump or a device like an Airshot is almost essential. You will not be able to pump enough air with a mini-pump.

PS: Going tubeless won't stop punctures, but it will stop flats! My record is over two dozen punctures in each tyre and no flats in either!

thecycleclinic

Tubeless does not stop flats,it makes them less likely.

If using a non tubeless tyre on a non tubeless rim or a rim that claims to be tubeless but frankly isnt then inserts help alot.

A good insert makes tubeless setup easier and makes flats even less likely. Also you get run flat potential. Inserts are not all equal. Some a frankly censored and should not be on the market. There are two brands that do the job really well though crush core and PTN.

Inserts are jot just for down hill racers I use them and I rode tame XC now because I get more traction and lower rolling resistance off road.

robertpb

It is a tubeless ready tyre so it will be perfectly OK to go tubeless with it, just follow Steve's advise above.

steve_sordy

thecycleclinic said:

Tubeless does not stop flats,it makes them less likely. ...

What I said was: PS: Going tubeless won't stop punctures, but it will stop flats! My record is over two dozen punctures in each tyre and no flats in either!
Fair comment, you are right to pick me up on that.

Of course what I should have said was that it won't stop flats but it makes them significantly less likely. I have had two flats in ten years, but they were tyre failures at the bead in exactly the same place on the same make, brand, spec and size of tyre. I suspect that they were from the same batch despite buying the second tyre from a different company and in a different country. Both tyres were replaced under warranty without a problem.
Ten years without a flat, that's good by any standard. However, I have the benefit of not riding terrain with flints or other sharp edged rocks. But there are lots of brambles, hawthorn, flailed hedges, shattered wood, broken trees, snapped branches, barbed wire..... and so forth.

Anyway, you can put sealant in your tubes, or buy tubes with sealant already in. So you don't have to go tubeless to get the puncture protection. If you don't like sealant, then you can buy tyres with a kevlar lining, or similar puncture proofing. Many say the main benefit is weight reduction, which can be considerable, and in exactly the best place for it too! But for me, the main benefit of going tubeless is the ride feel. It's hard to describe.The very first time I went tubeless, my tyre weight went up because I chose to go for a heavier tyre at the same time. The extra weight of the heavier tyre plus the weight of sealant was 80g per wheel more than the weight of the inner tube removed. (80g wow! what a burden). My objective was extra grip through lower tyre pressure, improved resilience and absolutely no trail time spent fixing flats. I got all of that but the improved ride feel was an unexpected bonus. No going back from that moment on. Since then, tubeless conversion is the first thing I do on a new bike.

swod1

Should be fine the tyre with it being a nail. It'll only be 2mm if that and should seal fine.

I have had a screw one time wreck a tyre on my way to work couldn't fix it.

covered the hole inside with a thick layer of shoe glu and ran it with a tube worked fine lol once set after a about 3 days.