Tubeless - The New Dawn?

So, as I was saying......

Here's my chance to go fully tubeless. I buy a pair of Mavic Allroad tyres, they come in 30 wide, and struggle to seat them. I finally buy an Airshot which work a treat but are still pricey. I have to say these tyres, which are meant to be for rough roads, gravel etc. are verging on being charged with fraud. As of yesterday I have got through a back tyre, worn out and getting cuts the size of a screwdriver blade in it, a front tyre that has worn better but I've just had two big cuts inside a week in it. All these repaired with the waxy stringy things very successfully. But what sealed their fate was the new replacement back tyre I bought from Evans last week getting a similar cut after about 40 miles of road. So I've had enough of them, off they come as soon as the Schwalbe S One tyres arrive from Germany.

You may be wondering why I am still confident about Tubeless. My road bike has a pair of Bontrager R3 tubeless in 25 and my fixed has Hutchinson Sector 28, all running with Stans No Tubes sealant. The road bike has a pair of Ultegra tubeless ready wheels and I put a load of electrical tape on my fixed to make them tubeless compatable.  Lots of miles on both, punctures? I reply with a smug grin - 'Probably, but they seal so quick I never really know....'

I'm hard on my bikes and tyres, I used to run tubed Michelin Pro Race for canal paths to main roads and had very few flats. But those Mavic are the worst tyres I have bought as opposed to the cheap ones supplied with bikes. But you live and learn. 

More tips? Yes, bin the valves you get with Shimano Ultegra tubeless ready as you can't remove the cores and have to open the seal on the bead to put in sealant. Tip 2, the Milkit system is a good idea but the valves stick and I nearly took my eye out when the syringe plunger shot out. I only had 20lbs per Sq.  Inch in which is within their suggested range. Tip 3, carry the waxy stringy things, the Weldtite kit seems the best, you even get e razor knife to cut them off or split down the middle like I do.

I am a bit of a sucker for gadgets and new kit, but once you've ridden on Shropshire roads with only 50 psi and not felt any of the newly laid chippings - well there's no going back to tubes.

Many years ago I tried the Tufo clincher type tubular with sealant and found them unsatisfactory mainly because of the harsh ride. I'd already used the green slime in a hybrid tubed setup, but the weight penalty was horrendous. Still, I claim the Stupid prize for riding down a lane with thorn hedges cut that day and later stopping because my rear tyre was flat. As I muttered "This slime is useless" I took off tyre and tube. Too late, 11 thorns had been repaired with the slime and the air had finally given out. All I should have done was pump it up. 1 hour later all thorns surgically removed and a new, slime less, tube saw me on my way. At home 8 thorns removed from front tube. The search continued.

Last autumn, fall to the USA, I got a new cyclocross bike for winter road use (mudguard clearances) came with tubeless ready wheels. This is it, i'm going for it!, again. To be continued.