[mark1a]

OK, some years ago, I attempted to go tubeless on a road bike. I had some of the Mavic road UST wheels & tyres that were around in c2018, thinking they’d be ideal for a winter sh*tter. Long story short and after 3 failures to seal in 4 rides (and 2 different sealants), I decided that 90psi and wet roads weren’t going to work, I gave the wheels & tyres away and went back to tubes.

Fast forward some time, and a number of successful years running tubeless on bigger tyres/lower pressures, I decided to give it another go on a winter bike. This time I thought that as it worked so well on MTB (29″ x 2.6″ @ 20psi) and gravel (700c x38mm @ 35psi). then running tubeless on 30mm typres at 65psi could work.

Bike built up and it worked a treat for a few months. Then I did a sportive in filthy conditions, basically mud, flood water, you name it. There were p***tures galore with many other riders by the side of the road along the whole course, and thankfully I got round without a single need to stop for a repair.

However, looking at the rear tyre now after cleaning the bike, I would say there’s 10-12 weeping cuts in it… So my question is. – what to do?

Do I:

• Leave it alone and ride, the sealant (Stans) will do its job 
• Repair with plugs or bacon strips
• Replace tyre

I’m reluctant to write off the tyre, it’s a Schwalbe G-One Speed with a mere 800km on it. Photos to follow and TIA…

 

Topic

[hawkinspeter]

Another vote for Caffelatex
Another vote for Caffelatex here.

[peted76]

I’m a bit late to this party.

I’m a bit late to this party.. but I thought I’d chime in.

1) Do NOT use regular innertube patches on the inside of tyres, they are too thin. I know I’ve tried. You need some tyre patches for tubeless, they are slightly thicker and stronger than tube patches but just as cheap. 

2) Sealant.. I know it’s probably less of a problem than it was a few years ago.. BUT my recomendation for higher pressure tyres (after having gone through a few totally useless other brands sealant) is ‘Effetto Mariposa Caffelatex Tyre Sealant’ OR ‘Bontrager TLR Tyre Sealant’. The latter has an option for a handy little 90ml bottle which you can carry with you if you go bikepacking.  – Both work and that’s all you need to know. 

I’ll agree Schwalbes do tend to cut more than other tyres I’ve used but that’s irrelevant in the scheme of things as with a decent tubeless set up you shouldn’t care or notice the cuts. 

If you don’t get tubeless set up ‘perfectly’ then it’s a pain in the arse, however, once you know how to set it up right, it’ll convert the biggest luddite. Believe me anyone who’s had a bad experience with tubless has not done it right despite them attesting to knowing everything.. the brand of sealant is often a big factor here. 

For context, sealant has been around for a bit, MTB’ers love it they’ll whack in 100ml of it per tyre without a thought for weight or PSI or how to get the tyre bead seated. I use 40ml per tyre and run my tyres at up to 85psi. Some sealants will not seal at 85psi.. I’ve tried a further three well known brands of sealant none of which would seal at high pressure.. I found that those others would seal or start to seal at around the 45-65psi range 

[IanMSpencer]

I’ll just repeat what I’ve
I’ll just repeat what I’ve posted before, I’m not a fan of Schwalbe Ones, there is something about their construction – possibly low thread count – that’s seems to make them more prone to cutting and also more prone to weeping after sealing which points to too much movement which again suggests too low a thread count to me. However, Conti do have a Vectran anti-puncture layer and I’m not exactly sure what construction the Giant Gavia have.

I’ve had no issues on Giant or Continental though I did have to plug a 32mm Giant that had a very big cut in it. Conti, now into second season have loads of surface cuts, but no leaks

Ridden gravel and road throughout winter.

[996ducati]

mark1a wrote:

Do you mean standard inner tube patches stick to the inside of the tyre?

Yes, pop the tyre off and use a standard inner tube patch on the inside. Make sure it’s clean and dry and it will be as good as new. 

[Jem PT]

I’ve just finished a 1,000

I’ve just finished a 1,000 mile multi-day ride. Some of our group ran tubeless some tubes. As a tube rider I frankly got fed up with being splatteted with sealant, virtually every day. All over by bib-shorts, jersey and glasses, and I can confirm that it doesn’t taste nice (whatever brand it was).

I had no punctures in my tubed tyres during the ride whilst the tubeless riders had other issues (valve leakage, etc.). Frankly I really can’t see the point of tubeless tyres!

 

[Hirsute]

Ill throw this one in.
Ill throw this one in.
Put the bike on a roof rack ~ 5 hour trip.
At the hotel the front tyre was completely flat ! Must have had a bit of grit that was pushed in when clamping the wheels.
Also the back was losing pressure from an old repair- I hazard the increased pressure from the clamp led to this.

[Hirsute]

Used it today when the
Used it today when the sealant would not seal properly.
Maybe I’ll try Joe’s eco sealant then !

[huntswheelers]

I use dynaplug if necessary..

I use dynaplug if necessary….not used them recently now I am on Joe’s Eco Sealant that just does what it says on the bottle…. but I still carry a Dynaplug tool, my ride mates have used it more than me, they are using Stans(although no criticism of stans here) . Aside of this a ride pal used one the other week to finish the ride and he asked me to check the tyres out and pop some more sealant in. He really wanted mine but the damage inside the tyre was terrible, the sealant had “eaten” into the carcass and if you held the beading together it stuck the tyre like rubber solution adhesive and it appeared the tyre was to be acting like a sponge, considering he’d put a top up 40ml in the week before this long ride. In the end I told him about this and refitted them with fresh Stans in there but he’s getting new G Ones and then going to use Joe’s Eco on fresh fit out. Whether the Tyres didn’t like Stans or what caused the reaction…who knows…. Ride Safe 

[mark1a]

Just to say thanks to

Just to say thanks to everyone for the contributions, if the weather is bad this weekend, I’ll take the tyres off and assess the cuts, try refilling and reinflation with plugs/anchovies/bacon/patches/etc where necessary. I’m not using this bike at the moment as I’m on one of the “summer best” ones now so have some workshop time to attempt a fix and see what happens.  

Cheers all, thanks again and ride safe!

[ktache]

There were big rumours middle

There were big rumours middle of last year that Lezyne were going to release Pro Plugs, essentially mushrooms, that seem to be common in the motoring world, but of course cycling specific. Keep looking but nothing since the press release stage.

[Hirsute]

It’s not just ease of getting
It’s not just ease of getting in, the brass end stops pressure pushing the plug out.

[MrMoo]

Ive had g-one speeds on my

Ive had g-one speeds on my winter bike for over a year and they’ve been weeping through the various nicks they’ve picked up but without any real pressure loss so I’ve just left them alone. I had similar with the schwalbe pro ones which had quite a few weeping cuts after being run in so maybe it is a schwalbe thing with their rubber compound? Not had the same with conti or Pirelli’s. 

[hawkinspeter]

mark1a wrote:

Dynaplug looks good if it does as it says (reacts with Stans sealant to seal that is).

edit: I’m thinking of Stans Darts, I’ll look at Dynaplug. 

Their Racer kit is nice, though a bit pricey: http://www.dynaplug.com/racer.html

I like the way they use a pointy tip to push through the tyre (which you just leave in place) as I’ve tried a cheaper kit that uses a tiny fork to push the anchovy in and I just ended up breaking one of the fork prongs off.

Just seen that Dynaplug do a carbon fibre version of their racer kit – I think I can resist the allure of that.

Just had an idle search on eBay and there’s tons of Dynaplug alternatives on there. Was intrigued by these bad boys: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304747839252

[mark1a]

Do you mean standard inner

Do you mean standard inner tube patches stick to the inside of the tyre?

[mark1a]

Dynaplug looks good if it

Dynaplug looks good if it does as it says (reacts with Stans sealant to seal that is).

edit: I’m thinking of Stans Darts, I’ll look at Dynaplug. 

[Author]

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