TakingMyTime

I recently purchased a new Canyon that came with some very nice tubeless tires (Continental 5000). They came mounted with tubes. Well, on my 2nd ride I got a pinhole flat on my rear tire. After replacing the tube I had a heck of a time getting the tire to mount correctly. For the life of me (2 attempts) I could not get the tire to seat evenly. Fortunately I only had about 4 miles until home so I babied it all the way. Once I got home and was in a more comfortable situation I took the tire off and attempted to mount it evenly. After 2 more attempts of pushing/pulling I gave up. I threw on a new pair of clinchers and they mounted perfectly.

Is there some trick to this, especially when out in the field (using tubes)? They are great tires but if I can't mount them whether at home or in the field I feel like I have $140 worth of good rubber just sitting there. Just for the record I will not be riding tubeless, if I use them it will be with tubes.

choddo

The trick is to use sealant and plugs rather than tubes. I would not want to attempt even getting 5000 tubeless on and off outside of my garage.

In terms of seating the bead correctly, not had a problem but usually sprayed a bit of soap around the edge of the tyre to get it on so it slides into position quite happily once at about 60-70psi

Barry2 

There are many versions of the Conti GP5000... which do you have ?

Barry

icemilkcoffee 

What @choddo said. Soapy water around the tire bead helps it seat.
And why you are not running tubeless anyways?

grumpus

If you were already running them tubeless you wouldn't even know you'd had a puncture. Probably.

SoSmellyAir

Probably because they came setup with tubes from Canyon and TakingMyTime wanted to just try the bike out as-is.

Regarding the difficulty of mounting these tires perfectly evenly at home, does OP have a compressor?

frdfandc

They key to mounting tough tubeless tires is soapy water and either a compressor or a pump that can give a big burst of air at one shot, like the Bontrager TLR Flash Charger.

I have a Flash Charger and it makes tubeless install a breeze.

TakingMyTime

I appreciate the input. I really have no urge to go tubeless. I would have been content using these tires (5000 S TR) with tubes but dealing with them in the field was a pain. The reason I asked my question is due to the fact that I have a perfectly good set that is not being used due to my difficulty mounting them properly I was hoping there might be a solution that would work for me.

Thanks.

choddo

Big fan of standing by the roadside?

Think it’s just a case of them sticking to the rim a bit.

maybe having tubes in there makes it harder for the tyre to seat but I can’t think why. How the pressure affects the tyre is different or something maybe?

Steve B.

One thing about tubeless ready rims is they have an upper “shelf” against the inside of the sidewall that is what holds a tubeless tire tight to the rim. You need to install so the beads are on the inner channel initially, else it’s near impossible to get the tire onto the rim. Once you get both beads on, you can push the bead up into the shelf. Then inflate. I too use tubes on my gravel road wheels as It’s just easier for me to deal with tubes. I feel your pain though.

icemilkcoffee 

Umm yes there is a solution. Go tubeless and you won't have to deal with any flats out in the field.

I used to fix flats at least once a month on my 2 kids' bikes (they bike to school). Since I switched their bikes to tubeless they haven't had any flats in ~ two years.

choddo

How do you push the tyre to move outwards on both sides onto that shelf, without pushing it back off?

50PlusCycling

I’ve run tubes and tubeless, and find that tubes are easier for me to manage. I’ve gotten enough practice changing tubes that doing so is quick and painless. When mounting tires I don’t need soapy water, or a blast of air to spread the beads, or dealing with the mess of tire sealant.

Steve B.

Push and pull to get the beads up onto the ramps. Sometimes CO2 works as a blast to seat the beads.

choddo

Hmm. Can’t see how the first bit can get both sides on but…

Co2 mention reminded me that I forgot to say I use a pump with a reservoir. Thought that only prevented air leaking out while trying to inflate (thanks to the sudden 160psi burst it provides) but it probably also helps seat it correctly.

Don’t get a mess with sealant now I have my technique sorted but did the first couple of times. I don’t put it in via the valve any more.

TakingMyTime

First, let me say that I have nothing against TL setups, if that's what works for you. And... maybe there's a chance that I could get use to them after repeated attempts on mounting and removal. All I know is that I sat on the side of the road trying to get it to seat properly and was running out of Co2 cartridges and getting worried. When I got home I decided to put on the 'ol thinking cap and came to the conclusion that I just needed more experience. I repeated my process several times and still could not get them to seat properly (with tubes). Then and there I decided to call it quits. Asking myself... I can repair a normal tube/tire problem in minutes and be back on the road. I know some of you will say that with TL i wouldn't have even noticed the problem. That's fine, you've converted and it works for you. But... I get probably 1 flat per year (3k mi per year) and that is nothing more than a blip on the radar.

With that said, I've got 2 virtually new Conti 5000 S TR's (one with a pinhole) that are doing nothing but hanging in my garage.

choddo

Yeah with that rate of punctures, it’s not like you have a problem to solve. I was getting one every 500-700 miles (3-4 weeks) on clinchers and sometimes/rarely 2-3 in one ride. Which is a massive pain in the arse on a commute in the rain. You know what it’s like if you don’t find that flint.

tubeless tyres make absolutely no sense with tubes imho. More expensive, heavier, harder to mount.

Trsnrtr

I’ve run tubeless since 2016 and have little trouble either installing or in usage. For the record, tires seem easier to deal with than in 2016.

Given that, I had a pretty worn Pirelli rear tire that flatted this week. I had two small 1/4l long gashes in line about a 1/4” apart. Tire would not seal and since I was with a group, I opted to put a tube in instead of trying to plug two cuts which may not have worked. It was messy since I had just topped off sealant the week before but it was an easy job to stick a tube in, even with no way to wipe the tire out except with my hands. I rode that setup 10 miles home and another 50 miles before I got around to installing a new tire.

I remember learning to repair flats 40 years ago when I started out and learning tubeless is just another technique to be learned. No harder.