Tubeless in sub-freezing temperatures?
10-28-21, 10:09 AM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Tubeless in sub-freezing temperatures?
I ordered a set of 45 Nrth Gravdal tires for my bike, and they are advertised as tubeless ready. I'm not very familiar with tubeless tires, and this is the first set I would own that is tubeless compatible. I am wondering if the tire sealant used with tubeless tires would freeze in cold temperatures and not be functional anymore. Does anyone have experience using tubeless tires in sub-freezing temperatures? I am perfectly happy to run them with tubes, but the benefits of tubeless would be nice if there is no risk.
11-28-21, 07:18 PM
#2
Full Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 226
Bikes: Specialized
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 145 Post(s)
Liked 54 Times
in
44 Posts
I ordered a set of 45 Nrth Gravdal tires for my bike, and they are advertised as tubeless ready. I'm not very familiar with tubeless tires, and this is the first set I would own that is tubeless compatible. I am wondering if the tire sealant used with tubeless tires would freeze in cold temperatures and not be functional anymore. Does anyone have experience using tubeless tires in sub-freezing temperatures? I am perfectly happy to run them with tubes, but the benefits of tubeless would be nice if there is no risk.
Stans should be good down to -20F. I never rode at that temperature. There's always a risk, whether riding with tubes or tubeless. If you get a flat and the tire unseats, what a pain trying to inflate sometimes. If u carrying only 1 or 2 CO2 and no pump, you might be walking back. Actually if the tire unseats, a small portable pump may not even be able to inflate the tubeless tire. What I did do for cold weather riding is install air liners inside the tubeless tires.Theoretically you should be able to get back home on a flat with the liners installed. I use the Vitorria brand. They make diff sizes for road and mtb.
11-28-21, 08:19 PM
#3
Junior Member
Thread Starter
I ended up going with Orange Seal Subzero sealant. The new tires are pretty decent on pavement and quite honestly amazing offroad. On pavement, I notice a slight increase in rolling resistance over my 35mm clincher gravel tires with tubes, but not much really. They roll well and the stud noise is not very bad. Neither rolling resistance nor stud noise are anywhere near as bad as the Schalbe Ice Spiker Pros that I have on my mountain bike.
What really has shocked me is how well these tires perform offroad. I had my mountain bike in the shop for some deraileur and brake work, and took my road/gravel bike to our Monday night women's offroad cycling group ride. I rode single track for the first time with this bike and these tires were amazing. There is no snow or ice yet, but they stuck like glue to the dirt. The gearing on the bike wasn't very good for single track mountain bike trails, but the tires cornered and handled amazingly. They are advertised as commuter tires, but they are very capable offroad.
Hopefully we'll get some snow and ice soon and I can test put their snow and ice traction.
What really has shocked me is how well these tires perform offroad. I had my mountain bike in the shop for some deraileur and brake work, and took my road/gravel bike to our Monday night women's offroad cycling group ride. I rode single track for the first time with this bike and these tires were amazing. There is no snow or ice yet, but they stuck like glue to the dirt. The gearing on the bike wasn't very good for single track mountain bike trails, but the tires cornered and handled amazingly. They are advertised as commuter tires, but they are very capable offroad.
Hopefully we'll get some snow and ice soon and I can test put their snow and ice traction.
