Metieval

ahh so that is also why bigger holes need plugs. Makes sense.


I like this bottle, Especially for road side.

Witterings

I don't mean to "Gatecrash" the OP's thread but hopefully some of the queries I've raised are relevant / useful to the OP in making a decision as well and the answers have been extremely useful .... so thanks for everyone's input!

Can any rims be converted to tubeless, I appreciate having tubeless ready would be beneficial but can it be done with all wheels if they're not ... I have looked up buying a kit with tape etc so it's more a question of will it always work or might I go through the process to find they won't take / seal.
The same question also for the tyres or will it only work with tubeless ones or have I got to get new rims and tyres which would then makes it an costly exercise.

My current set ups are Mavic XM319 wheels on my 29er with Smart Sam Plus tyres and on my Gravel bike Merida Comp SL wheels with 38c Gravel King SK's .

I do have a compressor to hand as I've also seen comments they can be hard to get to take using just a hand pump.

BluesDawg

I'm an Orange Seal Endurance user and I find the small injector kits they sell work very well for easy sealant filling and refills. Get one of the 4oz or 8oz kits for filling and buy the 16oz or 32oz bottles for more economic supply.

Just put the desired amount of sealant in the small bottle, put the tube on the bottle top, slip the open end of the tube over the valve stem (with core removed) and pour or squeeze the sealant into the tire. It helps to reach up near the top of the tire and push a small section of bead away from the rim with your thumb to make an air vent so the sealant will flow more easily. The kit also comes with a little dipstick that you can use to check the sealant level in the tire. Check the level after the first fill to get a reference point for what it looks like when filled.

TimothyH

^^ +1

I used the Orange Seal injector bottle last night.


-Tim-

RicePudding

A bit of an update but thank you for all this discussion, its sold me that I should carry on with the tubeless setup, there are far more pros than there are cons and maintenance isn't all that bad, I think the stock tyres are just a bit soft and I've been struck with bad luck.

I decided to stick with the Hutchinson Overides which were super easy to install and are incredibly tight on my rims, really put the Giant Gravel tyres to shame in my opinion.

Sorry for the poor background on the photos, post commute and only fitted them last night so haven't had any time to hit the trails since.









From the Park Tool website on tubeless:
"A “tubeless ready” or similar wording on a tire indicates there are some design features to help get an air tight seal to the rim. The bead will generally have a square shape instead of the rounded shape commonly found on inner tube systems. The casing will be heavier than a normal tubed tire, as the liner in the tire needs to be air tight as well.

A tubeless ready rim will have a sidewall with a hooked design, which helps catch and hold the bead. Older rims will appear rounded without a hook shape. The shape of the rim will force the bead up snug against the outer hook, and will have a deep section in the middle to make it easier to remove."

I think theory is that any rim can be set up tubeless if you tape up the spoke nipples and install a valve but you'll have a much easier time installing and maintaining them if you buy components that are UST ready and designed to be run tubeless due to the hooked rim profile and the tighter and more rigid bead on tubeless tyres.

andrei_r

To add to the post above, you can look into using the skinny strippers. Made it much easier to set up my Smart Sams tubelessly on a pair of Alex DA16. rims.

Witterings

Thanks again for the replies .... I think the only thing that could possibly stop me at least trying it is I change tyres for different seasons but I guess if they need removing and "cleaning up" from time to time would just do it when I swap them over.

MAGAIVER

I was getting a lot of pinch punctures on my gravel bike, the terrain here is rocky and running higher tire pressures made for an uncomfortable ride, I bought a I pair of Maxxis 40c tubeless ready tires and have been loving them. It`s been about 3 months and I haven't had a single flat. And I'm using the gravel bike for everything from riding rocky off-road stuff to urban commuting. I ride a track Checkpoint ALR 4 on the stock rims, and they were not that hard to get sealed with Stans tape, sealant and valves.

BikeTall

Chad h

CakeChaser

Tubeless is worth the initial faff. Sometimes the set-up is super easy, sometimes super hard. I guess it's difficult for tyre manufacturers to to match the rim edge depth, sometimes the tyres are too baggy more often these days too tight particularly with tough gravel tyres. If too baggy I put a wrap or two of PVC tape over the more resilient tubeless rim tape. If too tight I use some washing up liquid on the rim tyre to slid it on better. For what it's worth I've found No Tubes, Squirt or Effetto sealant good. To make the valve hole tight, MT ZOOM tubeless valves have a bigger nut than others to compress everything. If there is a small leak often riding the bike seals it up.

zarbog

I had hijacked RicePuddings thread on Giant geometry with a question on tire pressure, sorry 'bout that and thanks for your answers. I picked up my new Toughroad 10 days ago. The shop owner recommended running them at 70/70. I see they could be run as low as 50 psi but I weigh 200 ibs. I am going to try them at 65 front 70 back as soon as it stops raining here. There was no discussion on having to top up or monitor the fluid level. I asked about a patch kit and was told that if a hole is too big for the sealant to patch, a plug would probably not do the trick either.

Guess I better get a plug and sealant kit to take with me when I head 30 km down the trails. This has been a timely thread, I will have to look up some of the sealant applicators that have been mentioned.

enveous

I've used the same type of plug kit from genuineinnovations.

While more expensive, I now prefer Dynaplug. Faster and the having a larger plug option makes plugging bigger wholes easier.



Dynaplug® Online Store | Tubeless Bicycle Tires

Hiro11

My experiences with tubeless have been largely positive and I think the technology is much better than it was even a couple of years ago. I currently have four bikes set up tubeless: road, MTB, fat, gravel. I like the technology everywhere, but the biggest change was going from tubed 25s at 110 psi on the road to tubeless 28s at 80-85 psi. Night and day comfort and grip difference with no loss of speed

The main drawback of tubeless seems to be setup. I've done the process a few times on various types of wheels. In my experience, unless you're using new tires and a meticulously clean rim, it can be a pain. Also, there's a direct correlation between how hard it is to get the bead on the rim and how reliable the resulting setup will be: floppy rims that you can mount easily just never work. If you're tearing up your hands wrestling the tire on, you're likely going to be much happier later. I use super grippy work gloves and lots of soapy water when mounting tubeless tires. It's a garage or outside job. In my experience, once you get a reliable setup that's holding air well, you're good to go until the tire is worn out.

The other main irritation for me with tubeless is the pricing. The price of tubeless tape is particularly absurd. You can sometimes find generic strapping tape that's cut to the precise width you need but more often you're paying a 5x-10x premium to get branded stuff. The valves are also ludicrously overpriced.

enveous

Premium branded stuff is cheap if you know what to look for. It's not like Stan's has their own tape factory somewhere.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C0Z1Z5C/ref=biss_dp_t_asn

Everyone obviously has their own perception of "ludicrously overpriced" but I wonder how many people actually find $11 for two tubeless valves to be ludicrously overpriced?

katsup

A lot of us carry an extra tube just in case of a unrepairable tubeless failure.

zarbog

Tires are Giant Crosscut 700x40c, infation range 50 to 75 psi. Shop said do not go below 50 psi

Brocephus

Good thread. I've been curious about tubeless, but never knew enough to even have a valid opinion. I get the advantages, but don't see them applying enough for me personally, to outweigh the headaches. As it stands, I'm sticking with tubes.
('sides, I got a pretty decent stash of road and mtn tubes, and all my tires are amazingly easy to muscle on and off ! )

gus6464

I did an MTB race/ride 2 weeks ago on my gravel bike which I thought was going to be XC but ended up being more AM. Even with a skinny 40mm tire for that kind of terrain I never got a single flat with tubeless. Yet I passed quite a bit of people on the trail with MTBs and much bigger tires dealing with flats on their tubed tires.

What exactly are the headaches with tubeless? I have yet to get a flat in 2 years running tubeless on my mtb and gravel bikes. Setup wise I know people buy 100 dollar bike pumps all the time but the best tool for the job is an $80 pancake air compressor from HD or Lowes.

86az135i

Yeah if you're not currently having an issue then why change. But if you already have a wheelset that's tubeless ready. Might not hurt to try your next set of tires!

Moisture

The 650b wheelset on my gravel bike is tubeless ready, the tires were not. I had it all converted to tubeless. the difference in ride quality is undisputable. I am able to push the bike noticeably harder into turns which will result in very easy to control oversteer- more so than before. I think this is attributed to the fact that the sidewalls are slightly softer, since they are designed for tubes. This affects how low of a PSI I can run, but the difference is big and very welcomed when pushing the bike around turns.

nomadmax 

To answer the original (and old question), no, tubeless tires are not worth it to me.

SCTinkering

I top off sealant once every 60 days and completely clear out dried sealant every 6 months.
I've had two road punctures that the sealant took care of but ended up being the kind of cut that trashes the tire. At least the rides I was on weren't scraped due to the cuts.

Racing Dan

Sure, me too. I've done a lot of miles on gravel and haven't flatted yet. To my mind its not about tubes or no tubes, its about tyres that's reinforced enough to not get punctured through the thread and casing. I've tried Wiggle own brand "prime armour" tyres and lately Pirelli Cinturato velo. So far, so good. Imo, riding thin unprotected "gravel tyres", relying on sealant to save the day is a disaster waiting to happen.

mstateglfr 

Wow that post of mine is from a while ago. Funny enough- a handful of months after I posted that over 3 years ago, I purchased a tubeless wheelset since I bought a new gravel frame that was thru-axle.

I have had more punctures with tubeless than with tubes(2 vs 0), but I chalk that up to just bad luck since I dont ride differently. Tubeless setup has been WAY more difficult than tube setup. Once set up, its been nearly the same- basically no effort needed to maintain.