Planemaker

Got my wheels converted to tubeless yesterday. The experienced gravel grinders around here are running regular tires tubeless at 40 psi or lower. I am going to start at 40 psi and go down.

af2nr

What do you mean by "regular tires"? I've seen articles where tires ran below the "suggested" minimum PSI didn't work, depending on tire/rim combo?

Planemaker

Around here people are using clincher as tubeless. I understand the trick is to run these at low psi so as to not blow out the sidewalls. This is myour first experience so, I am going on what the others have done.

Not all tires and rims will work but, mine did

I will report back after my first ride

Mr IGH

I just build up a set of gravel grinder wheels with the new tubeless ready SunRingle rims, Helix TR25. They should hold tyres on at high pressure, I am waiting for stans 12mm tape so I can pull the tubes.

Kopsis

Tubeless works well for low-pressure, high-volume MTB tires and high-pressure, low-volume road tires (with the right rim and tire). With CX/gravel size tires (< 35 mm), the low-volume at low-pressure tends to result in burping. A tire/rim combo specifically designed for tubeless will really help minimize this. Standard clinchers on a tubeless rim have a good chance of working well (if the tire has a good tight fit). Standard clinchers on a standard rim are a total crap shoot. I'd advise carrying a couple of spare tubes. I'd never want to have to depend on being able to get a tubeless setup to re-seal in the middle of nowhere after burping out most of your air and sealant.

Planemaker

OK, both tires have sealed off nicely so, I went for a very quick ride in the neighborhood (not real fast). I tried to hit as many big cracks and rough spots in the pavement as I could. There was no burping or other adverse issues what so ever. However, the real test will be some gravel which will be tomorrow (hopefully).

Kopsis

Actually, the real test will come after the tires have aged a bit. Some clinchers have a tendency for the bead to stretch over time. So while they might work great new, over time they'll loosen up and start burping. Note that some tires seem to hold fine long term, so it sort of comes down to luck.

Planemaker

Thanks for your input. These particular tires were purchased last fall and have approximately 600 miles on them (on two different wheelsets and mostly D&G) would this count toward the aging process?

Planemaker

Quick and final update on the tubeless experiment. I checked the tires today and both held their air pressure at 40 psi since Monday. So, I decided to give them a go with a 20 mile easy ride. I enjoyed the ride so much that ended up doing 50 miles. On the home half of the ride, I let the big dog eat and my splits were 18.2,19.1,17.5,16.2 and 16.0 mph on gravel. Got home checked the tires and the front was still holding steady at 40 psi while the back had lost about 4 or 5 pounds which was noticeable on the ride.

As Kopsis rightfully points out my experiment is not complete but, from what I have experienced so far, I won't go back to tubes.

YMMV

Darth Lefty 

There's a wheelsmith set sold by Niagara that has 5800 hubs and A23 rims, I thought hard about it before going on to the Nashbar vuelta HD for cost reasons