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How High Maintenance are Tubeless Tires Anyway?

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How High Maintenance are Tubeless Tires Anyway?

Old 09-25-21, 09:08 AM
  #76  
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Originally Posted by Sy Reene
Interesting. The way the diagram is presented though, it looks like the tool would be extending so far that you'd hit the rim bed?
The tool only needs to be inserted deep enough for the brass tip to penetrate the tire. The diagram is not drawn to scale; moreover, these can also be used on cars, motorcycles, etc.

Originally Posted by Sy Reene
nobody is indicating that to use a dynaplug you need to remove the tire, right?
Like with any plug, the tire stays on.

Originally Posted by Sy Reene
What tool is needed for step 4's "clipping" -- pair of scissor, nail clipper?
Sure. Or a box cutter, pocketknife, or wire snip. Or you can just leave it as it is; the plug isn't very long.

The Dynaplug website has comprehensive information and videos.

Last edited by Rolla; 09-25-21 at 09:20 AM.
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Old 09-25-21, 05:08 PM
  #77  
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Originally Posted by Sy Reene
Interesting. The way the diagram is presented though, it looks like the tool would be extending so far that you'd hit the rim bed? I'd assume not though since nobody is indicating that to use a dynaplug you need to remove the tire, right? What tool is needed for step 4's "clipping" -- pair of scissor, nail clipper?
As Rolla said, it's not an issue in practice.
I don't bother with step 4 when doing a roadside repair. I just trim the end flush when I get home. When you ride, the end just flattens down onto the tyre anyway and you can't feel it. I also use the "short tail" version of their plugs for road use. The standard ones are way too long for road tyres. You could of course cut the standard ones down.
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Old 09-25-21, 05:17 PM
  #78  
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Took a 66 mile ride today on the tire I plugged last Saturday, the end of the plug just wore off and there was nary and issue with the tire. Worked as it should have.
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Old 09-25-21, 05:27 PM
  #79  
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Originally Posted by jaxgtr
Took a 66 mile ride today on the tire I plugged last Saturday, the end of the plug just wore off and there was nary and issue with the tire. Worked as it should have.
On my last rear tire, I had a bacon strip in for 2.5k miles.

That said, with road tires, even relatively low pressure ones, I have found that bacon strips work/work best when knotted and the knot is shoved inside of the carcass, keeping the strip from being pushed out by the pressure.
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Old 09-25-21, 05:32 PM
  #80  
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Originally Posted by WhyFi
On my last rear tire, I had a bacon strip in for 2.5k miles.

That said, with road tires, even relatively low pressure ones, I have found that bacon strips work/work best when knotted and the knot is shoved inside of the carcass, keeping the strip from being pushed out by the pressure.
yea I had about half the plug inside the tire.
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Old 09-25-21, 06:49 PM
  #81  
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Originally Posted by LifeNovice1
Seems like if I get a flat on the road it WOULD be a pretty big deal to me. Trying to remove a presta stem AND putting a tube in a tire not meant for it AND trying to get a tubeless tire to go back on.
In my experience, its not. Taking out the presta valve is no more work than taking out a tube, putting a tube in a tubeless tire is no more work than putting it in a tube tire, and remounting the tubeless tire is no harder than mounting a tubed one. The only difference is you have some sealant to dump out, and there is not much of it.

Of course I don’t have all that much experience doing this, as I almost never get flats since going tubeless. I’ve only had to put a tube in an MTB tire twice in the past 10 years, and one time on a gravel tire when I botched the taping job on the initial setup.

So what little extra work there is during a tube installation is offset 10 times over by the fact that you are getting far fewer flats that require a tube. At least that has been my experience.

I’ve never run smaller road tires tubeless. Maybe those are different.

To answer the OPs question: for the most part, my experience is that tubeless is usually very little trouble or maintenance. Yes, you need to add sealent every so often, but there is nothing messy about it. Remove the presta valve core and inject it in.

But sometimes the initial setup can be tricky if you have never done it. In my experience, 90% of the hassles of tubeless have to do with not getting the taping right.
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Old 09-25-21, 06:52 PM
  #82  
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Originally Posted by PeteHski
That's what disposable gloves are for. Although I think the mess is over-rated. Depends what sealant you are using too.
Yeah, I did not find the mess a big deal.
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Old 09-25-21, 10:12 PM
  #83  
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I might just have to consider it the next time I get a flat or need new tire/tires. I think I would allow the bike shop to do the initial change over and not worry about the pressure needed to seat the tire/bead.
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Old 09-26-21, 05:31 AM
  #84  
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Originally Posted by kahn
I might just have to consider it the next time I get a flat or need new tire/tires. I think I would allow the bike shop to do the initial change over and not worry about the pressure needed to seat the tire/bead.
I would just do it yourself, otherwise you will never learn and forever be dependent on the shop to simply change your tyres.
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Old 09-26-21, 05:32 AM
  #85  
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Originally Posted by WhyFi
On my last rear tire, I had a bacon strip in for 2.5k miles.

That said, with road tires, even relatively low pressure ones, I have found that bacon strips work/work best when knotted and the knot is shoved inside of the carcass, keeping the strip from being pushed out by the pressure.
That's why I now use Dynaplugs. The metal tip does the same job as the knot.
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Old 09-27-21, 11:09 AM
  #86  
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Originally Posted by mtbikerjohn
I have never seen a tubeless ready tire you couldn't put a tube into. Removing the tubeless valve stem is no big deal...
This. My Trek Cronos Ultimate came with Bontrager tubeless wheels. I just put tubes in.
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Old 09-27-21, 11:22 AM
  #87  
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Originally Posted by caloso
The tubeless version of a given tire is usually more expensive, but not extremely so. It’s not like they’re twice as much. They are a bit more involved setting up initially, but once installed there isn’t much more to do. Yes, you occasionally need to refresh the sealant, but that’s about a five minute job once or twice a year. I have a couple wheelsets that I set up tubeless and have never needed a compressor. Maybe I am just lucky.

For a cross bike, I think they’re really superior. You can run lower pressures and they are good protection against flats from goatheads, which are an issue at a lot of our race venues.

Finally , even if you decide you have no interest in tubeless, that’s no reason to reject this bike if you like it otherwise. You can always put a tube in a tubeless-ready tire.
you can put a tube in but you still have to $%$^%ing glue the tire on

or is that for "tubular" {as opposed to "tubeless" - most confusing terminology ever}

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Old 09-27-21, 11:30 AM
  #88  
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Tubulars are glued on.
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Old 09-27-21, 11:34 AM
  #89  
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Originally Posted by caloso
Tubulars are glued on.
--and tubeless is ________________?
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Old 09-27-21, 11:46 AM
  #90  
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Originally Posted by wle
--and tubeless is ________________?
not glued on
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Old 09-27-21, 12:13 PM
  #91  
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See https://help.huntbikewheels.com/supp...ess-vs-tubular

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Old 09-27-21, 12:50 PM
  #92  
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Originally Posted by kahn
I think I would allow the bike shop to do the initial change over and not worry about the pressure needed to seat the tire/bead.
When I recently bought new tires, I installed them at the shop so I could use the compressor (I'm a part-timer there). It sure makes it a lot easier to seat the bead when you have an unlimited supply of power and air!
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Old 09-27-21, 02:12 PM
  #93  
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I’ve never seen the point of tubeless.
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Old 09-27-21, 02:15 PM
  #94  
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Originally Posted by AlanO
I’ve never seen the point of tubeless.
Come ride the desert(s) of Arizona. It will become obvious!
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Old 09-27-21, 02:24 PM
  #95  
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Spot on

Originally Posted by caloso
The tubeless version of a given tire is usually more expensive, but not extremely so. It’s not like they’re twice as much. They are a bit more involved setting up initially, but once installed there isn’t much more to do. Yes, you occasionally need to refresh the sealant, but that’s about a five minute job once or twice a year. I have a couple wheelsets that I set up tubeless and have never needed a compressor. Maybe I am just lucky.

For a cross bike, I think they’re really superior. You can run lower pressures and they are good protection against flats from goatheads, which are an issue at a lot of our race venues.

Finally , even if you decide you have no interest in tubeless, that’s no reason to reject this bike if you like it otherwise. You can always put a tube in a tubeless-ready tire.
Spot on answer. My experience with tubeless has been the same. I'm still learning my way around simple bike maintenance, but adding sealant is really easy. You will want to adjust your repair kit for tubeless tires though: get a core remover and carry a 2-oz bottle of sealant. Tubeless will often self-seal punctures, but if you get a puncture that doesn't self-seal, you have a plan B: remove core, add extra sealant, rotate tire to let the sealant pool at the puncture site. Give this about 5 minutes to seal up and then re-inflate tires.

I'm very glad to be running tubeless and would not switch back,
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Old 09-27-21, 03:01 PM
  #96  
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Originally Posted by AlanO
I’ve never seen the point of tubeless.
Tribulus terrestris

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Old 09-27-21, 03:09 PM
  #97  
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Originally Posted by caloso
Tribulus terrestris

Up in the north, we don't have those, but we can have a bunch of sharp grit, a lot of it laid down for traction in the winter. Before going tubeless, I was probably flatting at a rate of something like once every 300-400 miles. For a low-mileage cyclist, that might be fine, but when that rate translates to 10+ per ~year (we're really talking about a riding season that's squeezed in to 7 or 8 months), that's a whole lot of ********.
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Old 09-27-21, 03:17 PM
  #98  
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Reducing flats

Tubeless has a triple advantage
  • no pinch flats
  • lower pressure means fewer punctures
  • sealant can self-seal punctures while you ride (and you may not even notice it)

We had a bad storm last month, day before a large community ride. There were so many flats, the SAG people ran out of spare tubes. I spent time changing several riders tubes, but I didn’t have any issues myself.

That’s not to say tubeless is perfect: it is definitely harder to put a tube in a tubeless tire because the sidewalls are much deeper. I’m still a huge fan.
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Old 09-27-21, 03:23 PM
  #99  
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Originally Posted by AlanO
I’ve never seen the point of tubeless.
If I only rode on smooth pavement, I probably wouldn't see the point either. But I can't remember the last time I went on a ride that didn't include some other surface -- gravel, dirt, chip-seal, grass, sand, rocks, etc. Between the traction, the comfort, and the flat prevention, tubeless just makes more sense for the conditions I ride in.
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Old 09-27-21, 03:38 PM
  #100  
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I see a lot of worries about road tubeless because the pressures are too high. I've used a whole bunch of different tires and had good luck with 28mm GP5000TLs, 28mm Goodyear Eagles and 32mm Panaracer Gravelking slicks on different bikes I use for road and mixed surface riding. I've had really bad luck with sidewall weeping and unreliable setups attempting to use Rene Herse tires tubeless , which sucks because those are probably my favorite tires.

One caveat: i run far lower pressures tubeless than I used to run tubed. F/R, I run 28s at 70/72psi and 32s at about 37/39psi. For reference, I weigh about 165 and I used to run 23s at 114psi when I used tubes. With tubeless, I really like running these lower pressures. I can feel noticeably more grip (especially on damp roads) and it's certainly much more comfortable. With the 28s, it's also not holding me back noticeably on 24+mph avg road rides with pulls at 30+.

Zipp, Giant and Enve are all currently pushing really wide hookless rims with 28mm-30mm tubeless tires at ~60psi as the future on the road. I personally see some merit in that. Anathema to traditionalists, though.
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