Tubeless road - it actually works

Was wondering the same recently myself but didn't find any reason to change from either Schwalbe Pro One or Contintental GP 5000 tubeless

Both are fast but I've found the Schwalbe lasts a bit better. Normally shop around and if I see one on offer somewhere will take it.

Tried Vittoria Corsa once, very fast as marketed but got tiddly squat time out of it so never again.... unless I can get them for a tenner ;-)

Probably time for an update on the panaracer tlc slicks. They seem delicate as feared. I've a few patches on inside of front and rear tyre now. no big holes at all, but not sealing permanently. I might try stans race sealant but I used muc off and then stans..

persevering as they are such a great tyre otherwise. I'll go for the plus version next time.

My gravel wheels (DT Swiss RR 481db rims) can be hard enough to get tyres on but I always succeeded with the Panaracer SKs I had on, recently they gave up the ghost and I got a set of Conti terra speed, the rear went on OK but I couldn't get the front up at all. Luckily we have a compressor in the yard but even with that I had to rig a straight connection from the tank to the valve with the core out to get it to come up, with enough volume, flow and pressure air was going in faster than it could escape between the rim and tyre. She let a fair bang going up on the rim.

I'd say I have close to 9000km on tubless this year between my gravel bike and my Giant Defy, I had one puncture this year and that was when the Panaracer caught a big stone and split along the bead, I have to say I'm a fan of tubeless.

Agreed.

In the interest of balance I should have said I fitter 32mm GP 5000s tubeless to a pair of Ican aero 35 wheels with nothing more than a standard 10 year old Joe Blow track pump, the problem is you never know till you try. Getting them on the first time is always going to be the worst though.

Nope, rear still running with a tube

front tyre still ok, rear tyre stopped sealing and was no use with tubes. was completely worn out. changed it for the plus version. early days but so far so good.

Yes it dries up after a few months, depends on weather and usage etc but 3-6 months would be a good guess. You can just top up some through the valve core. In theory you should clean out the used sealant from time to time, but I've never gotten that long out of a tire to really need to do that.

I just top up at the start of the season on the summer / winter bike, if I get a puncture that takes a while to seal, or sometimes if I have a big event etc

Don't suppose you would know how many mm of sealant should show on the dipstick ?

I need some help folks before I launch a wheel into the river. I'm moving over to tubeless on my carbon rims. Front one has gone without issue but the rear refuses to hold anything more than. 40psi.

Air is pi$$ing out the drain holes in the rim no matter what I do. Tubeless tape, gorilla tape, both overlapped, different values but nothing works. Bar putting tec7 into the drain holes (I won't) where the hell am I going wrong? The valve seems sealed and the tyre actually seats with a track pump which never happens. I'll take advice, wisdom, prayers at the this stage

On attempt 1 and 2 to get them sealed I did that sealant but air was still coming from the drain holes. This is attempt 3 so I havent added the sealant yet as it was just pooling in the hollow of the wheel and then falling out when the tape was removed. Ive never had bother like this with a rim and Ive ran tubeless for 5+ years.

I think youve to treat tubular and tubeless the same. Carry the same spares you would if you ran a tube. The sealant will sort most small punctures but anything bigger and youre gonna need a tube. There are plugs, patches etc but on the side of the road, a tube is the quickest solution. I run them as they are more comfortable on the roads I use daily.

I run 28s with and without tubes and I find the tubeless more comfortable. That might just be my delicate backside though!

Yes i was all in until i got a puncture two weeks back ! But i am in agreement that tubeless are more comfy !

well it was my first puncture and i did literally nothing last 1.5 years for maintaining tubeless after having the bike. Even sealant topup was not required(although i had bought sealant to topup). If i had not hit a pothole i would be still in the tubeless clan ! Only issue i have now is to fit the tyre back myself...the puncture has sealed already. May be if i get it setup again (high compressor and sealant topup), i would use it again.

Its the frustration of not able to DIY the setting of tyre which i dont like :P ! Else its as good as going to a shop to get a new tube for ur bike.

I run tubeless for CX. I can't begin to imagine the hassle of cycling in those conditions with tubes. Presumably back in the day punctures were part of the race day experience and pit crews a necessity. Maybe tubeless is part of the reason for its growth in popularity in recent years?

Which brings me to the question I still can't seem to get a definitive answer to from the tubeless converts - I'm presuming that you essentially never get punctures? I mean, I run tubes on my road bike and almost never get punctures - maybe one a year. On club spins over the past 4/5 years I've had one. And commuting I had one last year (an industrial staple), one a good few years ago (pinch flat - my fault). The only thing that would convert me to tubeless is the idea that I could run more comfortable/ sexy/ racy tyres, maybe run a lower pressure, and still have NO punctures.

The only reason I can think that you'd flat on a tubeless set up is if you didn't top up with sealant (a little bit of monitoring required, no big deal) or you got a massive hole in the tyre - which in roads, I just can't imagine how you could do that?

I'm yet to be convinced to make the switch.