Noonievut

I have one wheelset (for now) with my allroad bike and I’m running it tubeless. I was considering the whole second wheelset thing but now I’m leaning towards swapping tires when I really want to, which may be only a handful of times a year, sticking to one wheelset:

- late fall, put on my winter tires (they’re on there now, tubeless, but I may even use tubes next winter)
- in the spring I would swap to my ‘summer’ tires, definitely tubeless and do my mixed surface rides
- maybe 1-2x in the summer I’ll want another tire (for an event or special trip)

I’ve set up tubeless once, and swapped wheels once. One wheel during the swap was easy, other had a tape issue and had to be re-taped.

While the above may be a bit of a hassle I like the idea of one wheelset, with some time spent swapping tires and possibly new tape or valves as needed, as part of what I’ll just deal with.

Anyone do this, or is the norm to use two wheelsets (even if infrequent changes like I’ve mentioned)?

chaadster

That sounds like the biggest pain-in-the-ass imaginable. I mean, the potential for wasting huge amounts of time and getting incredibly frustrated are off the charts.

But, if you’re a gambler…

veloz

I swap tubeless tires several times a year. With a small compressor it’s no problem and fairly quick. With a hand pump, it takes some effort and occasionally some luck. I’d recommend a compressor for frequent changes and a syringe for removing and adding sealant with no mess. Like tubed tires, the more you do it, the easier it becomes. It’s really no big deal once you’re familiar with it.

Rolla

The only bad part is dealing with the sealant. Otherwise, swapping out tubeless tires is no more of a hassle than tubes -- sometimes less. You'll definitely want to have a compressor or a chambered pump available.

chaadster

I’ve been running road tubeless since ‘13 and currently have 4 bikes running tubeless (down from 5 earlier this year), and have no desire to swap tires on any of them any more than I have to, even though I have a good compressor, pro Park inflator head (which is the absolute best bike money I’ve ever spent, BTW), syringe, garage, full work bench, spare bikes, spare parts, plenty of goodies (e.g. spare tubes, plug kits) and time.

I’m just not one to invite trouble, and derive no pleasure in waking up the day of a ride to find yesterday’s swap job resulted in a leaky tire, be it due to a fouled valve seal, damaged rim tape, or just a lousy tire/rim combo.

Were I contemplating something like the frequency of changes the OP is talking about, I’d certainly just run Aerothan tubes and ditch tubeless altogether. I’m not saying it cannot be done, only that I’d counsel against it.

Koyote

If you feel this way, you might want to learn how to mount tubeless tires.

OP: Seems like you know what you're doing, and the re-taping shouldn't be a regular thing. Also, you don't need additional valves just to switch tires - in fact, you won't even need to remove them when swapping tires. As long as you have an air compressor (or one of those floor pumps designed for mounting tubeless tires), your plan should be fine. A second wheelset would be more convenient, but it's not essential for your scenario.

Noonievut

As others have asked/mentioned - yes I do have a Topeak TubiBooster, and it has worked well when used.

I sometimes get stuck questioning things and I’m really stuck with this topic, as I’m also contemplating
- whether I need tubeless for the riding I do, if I got a second wheelset do I need it tubeless (two tubeless wheelsets even less necessary)
- this bike is rim brake (with larger tire clearance) and the availability is dwindling as most are on disc wheels, and finding decent inner width rims (in Canada) is a challenge
- this bike is heavy and the wheels are somewhat heavy, so I’m not chasing weight reductions and speed

So this question is just one aspect of what I’ve been considering...

tdilf

Two wheelsets is the norm with me - wish I had three wheelsets - hmm…
In the OP's situation I think I would just run tubes.

Elvo

I'd just do two wheelsets - you can get a budget wheelset for the seldom used one

Noonievut

I ended up going with a second wheelset. They’re getting built in the next couple weeks. A bit of money, but less time and risk.

msu2001la

I spent most of 2020 and 2021 swapping tires on a single wheelset on my gravel/CX bike. Tubeless definitely complicated it and made me less likely to swap tires, which resulted in me occasionally avoid doing certain kinds of rides.

I'm pretty adept at doing tubeless tire installs now, but I still don't want to do it more than needed. A second wheelset makes things much easier, and now I can do a road ride on Saturday and gravel ride on Sunday with the same bike, whenever I want.

sarhog

Which brand of wheels did you get? Are you getting a second set of rotors, and a cassette, or moving those things over when you swap?
I just receive my second wheelset this afternoon, from BTLOS.

Noonievut

H Plus Son Archetype rims, 105 hubs. New cassette. Rim brake.

Koyote

Wait -- you like tubeless, right? If so, I think you want the H+Son Hydra rims, not Archetypes. The only reason to go with the Archetype is if your bike has rim brakes.

Noonievut

yes, rim brake. With this wheelset, tires and where I’ll be riding, tubeless or tubes is fine. Going to see if they work tubeless, if not that’s fine. Other wheelset is tubeless for the rougher stuff.

Koyote

I think plenty of people have used the Archetypes tubeless with a couple layers of tape, so you should be fine either way.

chas58

The simplest solution I've found to this is to get a second front wheel. They are cheap (relative to the rear wheel), and most of the benefit of larger/smaller tires comes from the front wheel anyway (as long as I don't get a pinch flat on the rear).

Odd that some people say its not a hassle. The hassle factor is totally dependant on your tire/rim combo. Its not hard when it goes well, its a nightmare when it doesn't Some tires just fit too loose to seat easily, some tires are so tight I can't even get then on the wheel when new. Only you know your situation.

Personally, it sucks when I do this and somehow get a leak in a system that was fine before I futzed with it. Is it the tape, the tire, the valve, something else???
Rule #1. Don't do this the night before a race or big event. Get one good breakin ride before you really need it.

- whether I need tubeless for the riding I do, if I got a second wheelset do I need it tubeless (two tubeless wheelsets even less necessary).
90% (or more) of my flats are on the rear. so, IMHO, I don't really *need* tubeless on the front. I do need in on the rear if I want to prevent flats.
So again, if I'm only changing out the front tire (I have 4, lol), I'll often just throw a tube in the front.

clasher

If I were looking at swapping tubeless tires, I think I'd give these things a shot: https://tubelessrimstrips.com/ they seem to turn a tubeless tire into a pseudo-tubular. I haven't tried it so I can't make a recommendation but it seems simple enough.

chas58

That is hilarious!!! they finally got a new URL for their web site
I've been using and recommending those for 10 years, but when I do I tell people, please, do not google their original name at work. The original name was "fatty striper" NSFW LOL.

I have swapped tubeless tires with these, without breaking the seal, but its a bit hard to do - specifically its hard to keep the valve in the liner when doing this. Its basically the thickness of a latex balloon. Works well in helping a troubled tire seat on a rim, preventing burps, and preventing random leakage issues.

clasher

LOL yeah I couldn't remember the name at first, I just knew it was something involving strippers... good to hear your experience with 'em.