[JaredP91]

After a period of riding clinchers, I am looking to go tubeless to reduce my risk of punctures (particularly as I will be riding lots of Yorkshire cobbles in preparation for the Ronde Van Calderdale sportive), as well as save weight and improve my speed and comfort on the bike.

I just wondered what I need to make the conversion? The wheels on my Boardman SLR 8.6 are tubeless ready, so that’s a start, but how straightforward is it to make the change to tubeless?

Topic

[JaredP91]

Fantastic find, £40 for a
Fantastic find, £40 for a pair of tubeless tyres is an absolute steal!

[Dicklexic]

I have been using tubeless

I have been using tubeless tyres for over 5 years now, and have no plans to go back to tubes. Admittedly my experience is with using only one set of wheels and one brand of tyre, so maybe I got lucky, but I have had no reasons whatsoever to doubt my choice. I did help a friend set her bike up with tubeless and had some difficulty fitting both tyres, then seating and inflating one of the tyres, but that was on some Reynolds carbon rims. Thumbs were quite sore by the time we’d finished. With my wheels they are the easiest ones to fit of ANY wheels and tyres I have ever used.

I use Hunt 4 Season wheels, and Schwalbe Pro One (summer) and Schwalbe S-One (winter & gravel) tyres. The wheels are 5 years old and I have got through I think three sets of Pro One tyres in that time. The Pro Ones are a really great tyre in many ways, but as they are so light they are not the most durable. The tread does eventually wear too thin and they are not the most resistant to cuts from glass or flint. In all those years though only ONCE have I had trouble on a ride that was complicated by the choice of going tubeless, and it was my own fault anyway. Earlier this year I had a puncture that wouldn’t seal as the selant was too old, porbably about 8 months, so I replaced the sealant when I got home. I was able to pump the tyre up to about 40-50 psi and ride back carefully as I was quite close to home.

The rest of the time I’ve been very happy. Running 65-70/75-80 psi f/r with 28mm tyres for a 94kg rider the comfort has been great, and speed and grip are superb. Even potholes and cattlegrids are no longer a worry. I still carry a spare tube just in case, along with some tubless repair strips and a tyre boot.

[Anonymous]

these are an absolute bargain

these are an absolute bargain at the moment for £20

https://www.merlincycles.com/schwalbe-one-raceguard-microskin-tl-easy-folding-road-tyre-700c-127661.html

 

[JaredP91]

Thanks mtbtomo for the
Thanks mtbtomo for the fantastic insights, I’m definitely convinced that tubeless is the way forward for me.

[mtbtomo]

Oh and i tend to get 12
Oh and i tend to get 12 months out of sealant. But that may be because I store my bikes in a cool and maybe slightly damp cellar.

[mtbtomo]

So to answer what you need –
So to answer what you need – possibly tubeless tape (not all tubeless ready rims are taped with tubeless tape), tubeless valves, sealant and specific tubeless (or tubeless ready) tyres for road.

I’ve been running road tubeless for probably 5 years now. The only combination I’ve had difficulty mounting are GP5000 on deep section Reynolds carbon rims. Not had a problem mounting GP5000TL to other tubeless rims. Also not had any problem mounting Hutchinson, Schwalbe, Vittoria and Specialized tubeless tyres across Hunt, Cosine (Wiggle own brand), Prime (Wiggle own brand), A-Force, Novatec, Pacenti, Mavic and Stans rims to name but a few. Sometimes it needs decent tyre levers, sometimes just thumbs to roll the tyre on to the rim. Regardless, takes between 5-10 mins per wheel without rushing.

I always use a blob or two of wood glue (Copydex etc) around the valve seat as that seems to be where I lose most air over time if it seeps air too much if I don’t.

A thick water/washing up solution slapped around the rim bed helps the tyre seat when inflated. Plus one of those accumulator style air inflator cannisters such as the Airshot makes it easy to inflate and get the pop on to the rim first time every time.

I’ve had two punctures in those 5 years and the tyres have usually been more or less worn out and worth replacing at that point. The first one the sealant sealed enough to get me home without putting a tube in, the second was a puncture that had previously sealed but started leaking again at home.

On cobbles, I would say it is well worth the confidence it will give knowing you won’t get a pinch flat, even at lower pressures than you possibly would usually. And they do ride nicely and smoothly. You can tell the difference between nice tubeless tyres and no-doubt still decent but normal clinchers that may be more focussed on durability and puncture resistance. And even if you aren’t racing, if the energy savings are to be believed then why wouldn’t you want to expend less energy riding with your mates?

I wouldn’t go back to normal tubed clinchers.

[Spangly Shiny]

Scraping the sealant out in

Scraping the sealant out in order to fit the emergency inner tube because the sealant had dried out.

Sealant dries up in less than 3 months in my experience.

[Chris Hayes]

…seriously, if you have to

…seriously, if you have to pay full price just buy them.  Conti 5000s will cost you £80, sealant £10, valves £15, tape £10… and the faf….  I think wiggle have Vittoria Paves on sale at £21… I’m going to get some. 

[Rich_cb]

I always used to check the
I always used to check the whole tyre regardless.

If you’ve ridden over glass or thorns you may have several pieces wedged in, last thing you want is to puncture a fresh tube.

[Pilot Pete]

Which I said. The majority

Which I said. The majority are not, they are riding for leisure/ pleasure/ fitness. By themselves or in groups, so the extra watts are meaningless.

PP

[Pilot Pete]

Rich_cb wrote:

Rich_cb wrote:

Surely you check the inside of a tyre before changing a tube anyway?

yes, but only for the cause of my puncture. With tubeless, putting a tube in, especially if you puncture as often as you claimed you used to, you will need to check the whole tyre carefully for potentially half a dozen thorns etc that have sealed.

PP

[njblackadder]

I happen to ‘normally’ run my

I happen to ‘normally’ run my 25mm tyres at 100 psi or so (often as much as 120); it has nothing to do with being a retro-grouch and everything to do with ascertaining (over many years) what works best in a particular situation for me personally! I am not anti tubeless – far from it. I am anti cycling bullsh@t and marketing myths. For example, you seem to have fallen for the lower rolling resistance AND more comfort line, which (as a generalistaion), comparing like with like, is absolute rubbish!! Undoubtedly tubeless tyres have their benefits, but as we see from some of the comments, they are not without issues. Before you start handing out the insults, perhaps it would be wise to learn something about the people you are insulting, you ignoramus!!!

[Rich_cb]

Surely you check the inside
Surely you check the inside of a tyre before changing a tube anyway?

I’m with Kevvjj on this. I carry an inner tube and my ordinary tyre levers.

I used to carry two inner tubes as I punctured fairly frequently, now I’ve dropped to one as, in total, I’ve had one puncture that didn’t seal since going tubeless 5 years ago.

I’m running Schwalbe Pro-Ones on Hunt Race Aero’s.

[JaredP91]

I must admit, the benefit of
I must admit, the benefit of the multitude of punctures I have experienced recently does mean I’ve become increasingly efficient at changing flats. I did look for some bargains on the Conti GP4000 tyres, but all sites I have visited state they are discontinued. Do you know anywhere still selling them?

[Secret_squirrel]

Why on earth are you scraping

Why on earth are you scraping the sealant out?

2 months sealant replacement seems low as well.

[Author]

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