Author Topic: Tubeless bike tires  (Read 2075 times)

jafr1284

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 96
  • Location: Colorado
Tubeless bike tires
« on: October 03, 2019, 09:31:39 AM »
Hi,
Is it worth it to go tubeless on my road bike? I need to buy new tires for my bike. I already have tubeless ready rims. It is a little bit more expensive upfront than normal tires with tubes. If you have any recomendations for tires, sealant, valve stems let me know!Let me know!
Thanks

BikingEngineer

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 30
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #1 on: October 03, 2019, 10:43:37 AM »
Do you regularly have issues with flats from thorns or glass, or do you snakebite your tubes with some regularity? Would you like to drastically drop your tire pressure, either for traction or comfort issues? If you haven't been having issues with those things I wouldn't bother, a regular tube should be fine. If you want some or all of those things then the switch might make sense, but know that you'll have to change out the sealant every so often, may have to buy a new bike pump to seat the tires, and the whole thing makes a hell of a mess the first few times you do it.

I don't have any specific recommendations, as I only run tubeless on my MTB, but those are my 2 cents on tubeless in general.

jafr1284

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 96
  • Location: Colorado
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #2 on: October 03, 2019, 11:21:39 AM »
In the past I used to get a lot of flats but I think it was from using a little hand pump and my tire pressure was not high enough. I would like to move up from 26C to 35C and ride a lower pressure without getting flats. The roads where I live are pretty rough. So going to a larger tire and tubeless would help a lot. I just bought my first real bike pump!
Do you regularly have issues with flats from thorns or glass, or do you snakebite your tubes with some regularity? Would you like to drastically drop your tire pressure, either for traction or comfort issues? If you haven't been having issues with those things I wouldn't bother, a regular tube should be fine. If you want some or all of those things then the switch might make sense, but know that you'll have to change out the sealant every so often, may have to buy a new bike pump to seat the tires, and the whole thing makes a hell of a mess the first few times you do it.

I don't have any specific recommendations, as I only run tubeless on my MTB, but those are my 2 cents on tubeless in general.

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23129
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #3 on: October 03, 2019, 12:11:05 PM »
You don't need tubeless for going up a tire size and to a lower pressure.  I've happily run 25, 28, 30, 32, 35, and 38 mm tires on my touring bike with tubes.  If you're going from a small tire (26) to a large one, it's probably a good idea to buy a tube made for those tire sizes . . . but that's just a few bucks.

My experience is that large tires running at lower pressure will flat less often than high pressure and narrower tires - regardless of whether they're running with tubes or tubeless.  If you're getting flats because of punctures, there are several extremely robust types of tires you can use (Schwalbe marathon plus, Continental gatorskins, Continental tour ride, Specialized Armadillos, etc.)  These tires are designed to be much more resistant to sharp objects than typical bike rubber, and will last much longer (at the expense of weight and sometimes ride quality).

rothwem

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1046
  • Location: WNC
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #4 on: October 04, 2019, 05:43:01 AM »
Is this a commuter type bike or one that you just take on bike rides through the country?

I’m a big fan of tubeless on my mountain bike and my cyclocross/gravel bike, I can run 23F/28R on my mountain bike and never pinch flat. My cross bike can run in the high 30s front and mid 50s rear with a 38mm tire. I get much better grip, and tubeless at the lower pressure rolls a lot better than a tubed tire.

With that said, I don’t use tubeless for my commuter, since they tend to leak down over the course of the day. If I ride to work in the morning, I’m down 10psi by the evening.  It’s not a huge deal, but it means that I have to run slightly higher than ideal pressures in the morning, or have a squishy, rolly ride in the evening.

FWIW, I use either stan’s or orange seal, whichever one is cheaper at the bike shop.

jafr1284

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 96
  • Location: Colorado
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #5 on: October 04, 2019, 03:01:05 PM »
This is for a city bike/ commuter. Interesting point about the leakage. Most of my flats are pinch flats.

M5

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 214
  • Location: Nevada
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #6 on: October 04, 2019, 03:49:09 PM »
FWIW, I use either stan’s or orange seal, whichever one is cheaper at the bike shop.

I recommend going solely with Orange Seal. I've both seen and heard numerous stories of Stan's eating the rim away from the inside. It does the same thing to the tire. I had a set of mountain bike tires with Stan's for only a year before the sealant ate the inner lining of the sidewall away enough to start seeping through.

Losing 10psi of the course of 8-10 hrs seems excessive, I've never had that issue. I've got tubeless on both road and mountain and neither lose but a couple pounds per day. I can let my road bike sit for a couple weeks and lose maybe 20psi over that timeframe.

This is for a city bike/ commuter. Interesting point about the leakage. Most of my flats are pinch flats.

For pinch flats it's most likely running pressures too low and/or the road being extremely rough. If it's as rough as you make it seem then that could definitely be the problem. Tubeless makes it virtually impossible to pinch flat so that's an easy solution. The caveat being that tire sealant generally doesn't work well, or at all below freezing.

I know many die-hard cyclists are extremely reluctant and even defiant of tubeless setups, mostly due to the fear of what to due if you do flat or how difficult they think it is to seat the bead (if @rothwem rims are older, this could be part of their leakage issue). In the past I'd say these are valid but they're now ignoring the significant advances in tubeless technology we've had over the past few years.

I personally recommend Mavic wheels and tires. They are known for perfection and innovation and make a killer setup. I'd choose a Mavic tire over a Gatorskin any day of the week.

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23129
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #7 on: October 04, 2019, 06:27:59 PM »
Changing a tube once or twice a year (and then using a patch kit to fix the tube that you changed) is also way the flying fuck less wasteful than pumping more sealant into a tire every few months.  :P

FINate

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3114
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #8 on: October 04, 2019, 10:18:32 PM »
I've used Stan's in my tubeless mtb tires for close to 10 years now. No issues with damage whatsoever. I'm skeptical of the damage claims, though maybe it depends on the specific alloy used in the rim?

My cargo bike has big tubed tires and I squirt a bit of Stan's in the tubes every 6 months or so. This has saved me on the commute to/from the kids school multiple times. As a bonus, it helps the tire hold pressure longer so now I pump my tires about once a month instead of once a week.

Tubeless will reduce pinch flats, especially with big mtb tires that can then be run at much lower PSI. This is useful for mountain biking because it means a TON of contact (read: traction). This probably isn't relevant for a commuter bike unless your commute is way more fun than mine ever was. The obvious solution is to keep your tire properly inflated to prevent pinch flats in the first place.

EscapedApe

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 226
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #9 on: October 10, 2019, 12:53:36 PM »
If you opt for tubeless tires and your bike doesn't have a suspension system on it, prepare for the Buttpocalypse.

rothwem

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1046
  • Location: WNC
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #10 on: October 10, 2019, 01:11:48 PM »
If you opt for tubeless tires and your bike doesn't have a suspension system on it, prepare for the Buttpocalypse.

Lol what?

EscapedApe

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 226
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #11 on: October 10, 2019, 02:03:51 PM »
If you opt for tubeless tires and your bike doesn't have a suspension system on it, prepare for the Buttpocalypse.

Lol what?

Air is a fluid. It contributes a lot to shock absorption, whether from big stones and crack or just regular "road buzz" from rough pavement.

In switching to solid tires, your butt will notice the difference immediately.

GuitarStv

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 23129
  • Age: 42
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #12 on: October 10, 2019, 02:12:14 PM »
I don't think most people who refer to tubeless are talking about solid tires.  But I could be wrong.

rothwem

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1046
  • Location: WNC
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #13 on: October 10, 2019, 03:03:03 PM »
If you opt for tubeless tires and your bike doesn't have a suspension system on it, prepare for the Buttpocalypse.

Lol what?

Air is a fluid. It contributes a lot to shock absorption, whether from big stones and crack or just regular "road buzz" from rough pavement.

In switching to solid tires, your butt will notice the difference immediately.

Ah.  That's not what the OP was talking about (I don't think, at least).  Tubeless tires are clincher tires without tubes in them, and they use sealant to keep the air in.  You can run them at much lower pressure without pinch flats, and they tend to roll better at lower pressures also.  As a result, they actually ride nicer than tubed tires in most situations. 

jafr1284

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 96
  • Location: Colorado
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #14 on: October 20, 2019, 12:38:02 PM »
Yeah on a bicycle, tubeless means like a car tire, where there is no inner tube but its still filled with air.
If you opt for tubeless tires and your bike doesn't have a suspension system on it, prepare for the Buttpocalypse.

EscapedApe

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 226
Re: Tubeless bike tires
« Reply #15 on: October 21, 2019, 10:58:00 AM »
Yeah on a bicycle, tubeless means like a car tire, where there is no inner tube but its still filled with air.
If you opt for tubeless tires and your bike doesn't have a suspension system on it, prepare for the Buttpocalypse.

Gotcha, I'm not up-and-up with tubeless bike tyre systems.

I remember seeing a prototype of a "tubeless" system with a tyre that looked like a giant semi-hollow honeycomb, and figured folks were talking about something like that.

I'll stick with traditional tyres regardless.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!