Originally Posted by revchuck

This is just to present a couple of data points about these products, Specialized S-Works Turbo Tubeless-Ready 700x28c road tires and Specialized 29"x23mm 2Bliss rim tape.

My retirement job is working part-time in a Specialized bike shop. We got a pair of those tires as part of a larger order about a year ago, and they just sat on the shelf. Then this year during Classics season, I read about a racer on a Specialized-sponsored team (can't remember who, it was one of the German sprinter/one-day guys) who ran them successfully - he didn't flat - during one of the more gnarly races. My main wheels are a set of Hed Ardennes +, which are tubeless-ready and in fact, my first tires on those wheels were a pair of Specialized S-Works tubeless. They're a different design and proved more fragile than I wanted. I decided I'd give the Turbo tubeless-ready tires a try.

I had used Stan's tape before, and it worked okay, but I wanted to try something easier to apply. Being lazy, and knowing that 29er and 700c wheel are the same diameter, I snuck a box of Specialized 29"x23mm 2Bliss rim strips onto an order. When the rim strips came in, I put them on the wheels and mounted the tires. The rear seated on the first try, the front took a couple or three tries. I added a couple of ounces of Orange Seal to each tire and put them on the bike. That was about a month and a thousand miles ago. There's been no drama...or flats.

The ride is pretty nice. I'm running 80 psi in front and 90 psi in the rear, and they measure 32mm wide on the 25mm-wide Ardennes + rims. Grip is excellent and wear is better than expected for a race tire. There are some cuts in the tires, but that's inevitable on rural Louisiana roads. Air loss is about the same as with butyl tubes and less than with latex, so the rim strips are doing their job without the adhesive on tape like Stan's. Overall, I'm pretty happy with them. My one gripe is that they only come in 28s. I've used regular clincher S-Works Turbo 24s on these wheels and they measure 27mm wide when inflated, and that's about what I'd prefer.

In two weeks I'm doing the Gran Fondo Asheville, and these are the tires I'll be running.