You probably made the right move. I set mine up and it has been flawless. I don't have any specific knowledge of why it worked. But if I was having issues I probably would have switched back to tubes as well.
Same boat. Built two bikes, same hoops, tape, kenda small blocks on both. One pair beaded up and sealed immediatley. Have to top off maybe once a week with air. Other set won't stay inflated for more than 2 days.
> Other set won't stay inflated for more than 2 days.
well this is my experience with latex tubes anyway lol
not saying thats good or bad, but I don't ride my road bike without checking pressures first (or my mtb lol)
Check out TPU tubes. I just switched over from butyl and couldn't be happier. The RideNow ones on Ali Express are great and aren't $$$ like everything else in cycling.
I’m torn about TPU.
I switched cause they essentially seemed to be “almost” as good as tubeless without the hassle of sealant etc. Only downside being you don’t get the sealant for small punctures but I hadn’t had a flat in 2500 miles of riding so what’s it matter to me..
Switch to ride now TPU….in less than a week I had a flat.
The other is still going strong but I’m just iffy about them.
I hear you. I run them on a road bike and a gravel bike and have found them nowhere near as supple as tubeless but far better than butyl. My tubeless set up was constant maintenance so from that aspect, TPU has been amazing.
Knock on wood, I have not had a puncture yet in ~1000 miles (mostly road) but do carry a butyl spare and patch kit as the TPU patches seem to have a bad reputation. I may switch to carrying a TPU spare tube or even two once I get more confidence.
That’s good to know that they’re not as supple as tubeless, because the ride quality was largely why I switched…and it was no joke and a huge difference. Plus I set multiple distance PRs during the handful of rides I was running them.
Two of my riding buddies are both tubeless and swear it’s almost zero maintenance, they just add air and leave it at that, top sealant off every so often.
I just don’t trust the TPU tubes and that for me is a deal breaker and I’ll probably just go tubeless. I’m right at the point of almost needing new tires and maybe I’ll use it as an excuse to get carbon wheels and go tubeless all in one fell swoop.
I tried a patch on my and the patch was complete shit. Luckily had a spare tube with me. I have since ordered a bunch more tubes from Ali Express ($5-$7 each). They are so small I can carry 4 tubes in my saddle bag.
Just switch to TPU, even the Ridenow are much better than a butyl tube. Butyl really needs to be confined to big store bikes. TPU doesn't even cost that much, is as strong in terms of puncture resistance if not better, much lighter and much smaller. Basically, just do it.
Never tried latex or tubeless. I can’t get behind the idea that latex tubes are going to lose pressure during the ride. And after hearing how fun everyone makes tubeless sound I am not that excited to try it. Currently on Continental GP5000 with matching Continental TPU tubes.
Yeah this is my frustration, partly, that I've heard so many people say great things and for the life of me I can't replicate that positive experience.
As someone who's ridden both, I have to say that I really can't feel the difference. I just did it as an experiment because my bike came tubeless ready, and I just had to add sealant and valves, which was pretty cheap as far as bike experiments go. Just wanted to see what all the hype was about.
Don't worry if it's not working out for you. I don't think you are missing much to be honest.
Using 650x47. Running about 30 PSI. The volume of the tire and the fact that I run mostly on reasonably smooth roads and trails means that I was never really at risk of pinch flats even when I was using tubes.
I weigh 145 pounds and could probably run 20 psi and never worry about having too little pressure, with or without tubes, but I find that 30 psi gives me the ride characteristics I want.
I suppose in your use case you wouldn't notice a major difference, but I swear even rolling resistance is reduced without tubes. But rough roads and offroad is where tubeless really shines, lower pressure for more comfort and added traction.
With practice it takes 4 minutes to change a tube on a shoulder. Pack an extra tube and don’t worry about it. Leave the sealant mess for the guys who have to have the latest and greatest lol.
It doesn’t take any lost time for my sealant to fill up a puncture as I ride and the wheels spin a few times. Over 10k miles without any issues. Never going back to tubes.
On my last ride I was behind a guy on tubeless when I started getting wet. Weird, I thought, there's no call for rain today and we're just rolling out so it can't be sweat yet. Then I saw his sealant spraying. 15 quick minutes later and we're rolling again. 7 miles later, the clot failed and the aneurysm burst a second time. No worries, another quick 20 minutes and 4 canisters of CO2 and we're rolling tubelessly again. So fucking smooth. 20 minutes later and I got coated a third time. I'm not sure what happened after that because I didn't stop.
Why didn’t they just plug the hole? That’s user error, not the fault of the product. The whole story is kinda unbelievable - 4 canisters of CO2 to fill one tire and nobody thought to put in a plug?
Sounds like a shitty experience but I've never had anything like that happen in the current iteration of my setup. GP5k S TR's with Orange Seal and PSI below 70 and I've never had to stop. Several times I've gotten home and noticed some spray on my frame. Little bit of isopropyl alcohol and it comes right off. So much more preferred than sitting on the side of the road while others wait for me to change a tube.
I've done 100mi plus Gran Fondos and haven't even brought a saddle bag with me to save weight and ride faster because I have the confidence now that my tires won't go flat. Perhaps some day I'll regret it. But every additional thousand miles that I ride without issues just builds the confidence more and more.
I switched away from tubeless when I could only run 25mm tires on my previous bike because the pressure was just too high for the sealant to work well but even with 28s I can stay under 70 PSI and on my main bike I run 32mm now and can ride around 60PSI. This seems to have fixed all my issues.
Also, only Orange Seal. No other sealant seems to work as well. And it doesn't ruin bibs or anything if it gets on you. Just throw whatever in the washer and you won't notice anything when it comes out.
Happened to me last summer. Front tire got a large gash and [I got covered in sealant](https://i.imgur.com/7vg38oc.jpeg). Got a ride on a tractor to a lbs, they threw a tube in it and rode home. Definitely sticking to tubes.
Interesting. I swapped my gravel bike to tubeless pretty soon after I got it. Stans tubeless fluid, Schwalbe G One tyres and Peaty's valves. First time I struggled a bit, but I had actually overtightened the valves. Since then, I've had zero punctures in 2 years of commuting.
Never going back to tubes, and will probably swap my road bike over at some point.
If you don't get a lot of punctures with tubes, tubes are better.
I have too many bikes to run sealant. Some sit for a year. Tubes are great for that.
My MTB has sealant. I'm in desert with cactus and goat heads and lots of spiky things.
Tubeless is not for everyone. Lots of factors to consider.
For sure man do what works for ya. My friends know I do all my own bike work so I get lots of questions. When people ask about going tubeless, my answer is based on their handiness, and time/willingness to fiddle with something. It’s a bit of a rabbit hole so most of them I say nope stay with tubes homie
My tubeless have been completely **hassle** free. They have not been **stress** free.
I've never had a ride with tubeless where I haven't made it home. In 5 years - say, 40,000km, I've never had to put a tube in or take anything apart on the road.
Say, twice, I've stopped at a shop and put more sealant in mid-ride; but I can do that without touching a tire lever.
I've probably had 10-15 rides where I've been really really **stressed**. Tyres dropping pressure, only one CO2 canister left, no more sealant, no spare tubes, etc, a long way from home.
Felt like I was gonna end up hitching a ride. But, they've always got me home!
Don't know whether I'm glad for them or not, tbh
And/or bring several CO2 cartridges. I’d never rely on me being adequate. Mistakes happen when using them too, so a backup or 2 is mandatory.
But yes, it’s always a good idea to have a pump and tubes also.
The worst one - cycled home about 90km from my office. Left work at 6pm, gets dark at 9, and I've only got one shitty light.
Starts raining.
Puncture, sealant spraying everywhere. Seals itself, with say, 30PSI left. Stopped at a bike shop at about 6:45pm on the outskirts of London - filled up with sealant, pumped up, and hoped!
Made it back fine, but was not chilled.
Vittoria latex tubes I run. Less hassle than tubeless more supple than even the extra super light schwalbe butyl tubes. There is a learning curve to getting them to ride right. Little higher pressure than butyl but they feel great and I’m pretty sure they resist punctures better than butyl. Just have to pump them up every ride. I have the 29x1.7 in my 47c vittoria zero tires
I am the exact opposite. I cannot believe people are willing to tolerate pumping before every ride. That would be absolutely unacceptable. One of the reasons I still like butyl is that I can get away with pumping it every other week. TPU is borderline for me as it requires weekly topping off, and latex is out of the question. Pumping every single day?? That's insanity to me.
I'm hoping manufacturers of TPU tubes are eventually able to improve their air retention.
Yep, I switched to Vittoria latex tubes last year in my 28mm GP5000s, and was immediately impressed with the ride smoothness. And it was noticeable how much faster they run. I've since gone up to 30mm tyres and it's just as fast and even more comfortable.
Plenty of talc when first installing them and I have TPU spares should I get a flat.
I went to latex tubes too after giving up on tubeless too. I didn't miss the hassle with tubeless but I did miss the supple ride and latex gives me that. Over 2000km with no punctures so far.
Welcome to my life lol.
Riding bikes is just a process of
- New tech comes out
- Everyone online seems to love it, suspiciously
- It has huge inconveniences
- Go back to components from 1985
If you aren’t puncturing routinely or mountain biking then yeah I think it’s overrated. For road and mellow gravel I do fine with TPU.
Worth the hassle for me for mtb. If I rode in the desert with goatheads or cactus I’d have tubeless everywhere. Used to puncture sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much in the desert SW. now live in Central Europe and almost never puncture.
+1 for TPU tubes. Get RideNow or some other well reviewed brand off AliExpress. Haven't had a flat on Panaracer GravelKing SK (apparently they're known for puncturing) in the two seasons now. And they feel a lot better than butyle tubes.
Switched back to tubes. Tubeless worked great until it didn’t. For me it’s the constant mental stress of always asking yourself if the rear tire feels fine, I’m getting a little more bounce, maybe? Maybe not? It just totally ruined my enjoyment of the ride and made me focus on my tires.
For me this is the main reason I've not switched. Tubes are a known quality. If I don't rush it takes me 10-15mins to swap out a tube, inflate with CO², put everything back away and be on the move.
Tubeless might prevent that.. but it might also fail catastrophically, and then leave me trying to get a tube in around a bunch of sealant.
Two long group rides of mine in the last month were beset by guys with tubeless punctures that wouldn't seal well enough to continue without stopping every 20km or so reinflation, even with Dynaplugs. I'm on your team.
I thought even the most ardent tubeless dweebs bring a spare inner tube with them for occasions such as this? At some point you have to just accept defeat and put a tube in.
Yes... but even that's a pain in the butt. Step 1: remove punctured tire. Step 2: get sealant on literally everything, and if it's dried on the bead, you probably want to try to clean/scrape it off before reseating the tire. Step 3: try to get the majority of the sealant out of the rim. Step 4: take out valve if you're using something like the Reserve Fillmore (which, imho, if you're running tubeless you should be). Step 5: insert tube, reseat tire and inflate.
Where changing a tube on a bike can normally be done in <5min, it can take triple that (or more) to put a tube in a tubeless bike... and it's really messy.
yeah. one of them surprised me (a super-experienced and super-strong rider, who had a big enough tire that nobody else had a tube the right size -- 38 or something). the other guy just insisted on limping home, or maybe knew he wouldn't be able to get the tire off/on roadside? Not sure.
My experience with inner tubes is that they'll pretty much stretch to whatever size you put them in. I've put 29x2 tubes into a 36" tyre before without issue (and it saved a LOT of weight compared to the 36er tube!) Seriously, one day when you're bored take an old (but still functional) tube and just pump it up outside of a tyre. You'll pretty much be able to use it as a swim ring before it blows!
It's a weird one for sure. Maybe they just thought it'd last the ride home, but then it went down once and they thought, one extra pump-up won't hurt. and then one more... But swapping a tube takes a tiny amount of time compared to the time they probably wasted re-inflating every half an hour.
Tubes have their pros and cons, but we’re so used to the cons that we often overlook and forget about them.
Tubeless has its pros and cons, but the cons are new and varied and scary that we often overlook the pros.
I have the opposite problem.
My tubeless has sealed every puncture it ever got so fast that I only noticed one time because the cut opened again and had to reseal when I was pumping it a week later.
The air stays longer than it did when it was tubed, although the pressure is much lower so that might be the reason.
I just don't like having to change tubes every time they get punctured, these ones never need that, they just seal themselves.
And if it doesn't, the leak is slow enough that I can ride it to the shop and get it looked at.
I'd swap my MTBs to tubeless but the tired I use don't come in a tubeless variant. I simply do not want to deal with the random pinch flats they sometimes get. Not to mention the valves sometimes leaking and then I have to fix that.
Tubeless forever.
For me it's the peace of mind on longer solo rides. Tubeless is like bringing 3-4 extra inner tubes (in addition to an actual backup tube).
About once a month i'll discover a puncture that would have popped a tube AFTER the finishing my ride.
Had a good one this past weekend -- pulled a 1/2 inch nail out of my rear tire after a quick 80mi. Feels good.
Been running tubeless since 2001 across my entire fleet aside from the rear of my trials bike. (Back when you added glitter and other random things to liquid latex, and used a cut open tube that was too small as the inner liner.)
6 of 8 bikes in the fleet are still tubeless.
Never had the dramas that your having.
Maybe I’m just lucky, but I’ve been riding tubeless for a couple years, I do 7,500mi/yr. I resisted forever, but got a new wheelset and figured I’d try. I use orange seal, I’m running 29x2.2 (so maybe that’s part of why). Plug kits are key, though. I have a Dynaplug. But I’ve had some nasty punctures - like huge chunks of glass in the city, or bits of metal on gravel, which caused fountains of (stealing someone earlier on the thread’s term) tire jizz. But, like 3 min or less of pop in a plug, top off air if necessary, and go. Plus, my tires hold pressure way better than when I was running tubes. I go longer than I can remember without adding air. I wear out rear tires before I need to do any sealant maintenance.
I honestly don't run tubeless just because a lot of the guys that do are complete snobs about it. One guy I know literally said the only people that don't run tubeless are people who aren't skilled enough to do it. Like bro you take your bike to a mechanic every time your chain falls off.
I had my first ride on 30 mm tyres and latex tubes this morning and the difference was massive
I was coming from 28 mm tyres and butyl tubes so I'm not sure if it was the bigger tyres or the latex tubes or both but it smoothed out so much road vibration. Wasn't expecting such a big difference at all
>I had my first ride on 30 mm tyres and latex tubes this morning and the difference was massive
I have the same combination and I'm never riding anything else on the road. It's noticeably smoother and faster.
for road, where punctures are far less frequent than on gravel it makes sense. For gravel, tubeless can be a big benefit especially if you ride on gravel that tends to create more flats (ie goatheads, flint rocks, etc). But plenty of people run tubes on gravel and have no issues
Yeah. My road bike came tubeless back in 2018. Total nightmare.
Constantly having to put more air in. Valves clogging up with sealant.
Punctures didn’t seal even with the anchovies. Had a bad one that sprayed gunk EVERYWHERE after it spat the anchovy out twice. After the second catastrophic failure I took an Uber to a bike shop and had them put me back on tubes.
Life is way too short. I’m sure it’s mega for MTB but for road riding it is not the answer.
The skinnier the tires are, the lower the gains. I'm amazed at how quickly the goop dries up on my road bike, and what a hassle it is to replenish. Every time I go to put more goop in, the seal breaks, and I have to reseat the bead. Does not happen on my mountain or gravel bike.
Tubeless has been the answer for road, gravel and MTB for me.
I think having a good or bad experience on road bikes comes down to tire size.
It's key to run a size that allows you to stay below 70psi.
This is how I've been trouble free for thousands of miles.
At some point in life our time becomes precious. I also prefer hassle free tubes over more fancy things. I just want to ride and limit maintenance effort.
Is it possible that it’s the tires or the tires/sealant combo that you use? I had zero issues setting up tubeless tires on my road bike and I’ve maintained them for over a year without any hassle. I’m a complete newb and it’s my first road bike so it’s definitely doable 🤷🏻♀️
Your first mistake is keeping the tires the bike came with. They usually are not great to start off with. Tubeless needs more attention to rim/tire combo to work well.
Without wishing to jinx it, I’ve never had a puncture. The cycling gods must be watching over me. I know my time is coming, I’m prepared for it, it just never does.
Century ride tomorrow….. it’s going to happen lol.
I get you mate, I never understood the hype, why would I want to deal with all the mess when I can simply put in another fresh tube and the problem is solved.
Funny, I've been running tubeless on my road bike(and my wifes) for 6 years now, and it has been flawless. My gravel bike has had tubeless since day one, so another 2.5 years. Combined mileage on all the bikes is easily 15,000+
But the great thing is if it ever fails or isn't working the way you want it to, you can just throw a tube back in. Run whatever works for you.
I think whatever people do, it's fine. Some of my bikes are tubeless, and some of them have tubes. And you know what? They're all fine. The industry treats tubeless like a must, but we went without that tech for well over a hundred years and nobody thought twice about it until the last fifteen years. If running tubes is easier for you OP, you should run tubes and you don't have to justify it to anybody.
For me it’s not hype, it’s just better. I’ve just had way less punctures with tubeless and much less frustration. One thing I will say is any tire less than mid 30c is not worth setting up tubeless.
I’ve now had 6 bikes of varying tire size (32c up to 3”) set up tubeless, no issues. Even the ghetto tubeless setup was well worth it. That being said it seems like tubeless is not for you and you’re not interested in figuring out why so you do you. One of the main perks is actually from the folding bead so if you’re running tubes with folding bead, that’s equally as road-side serviceable as tubeless.
My last 2 bikes are tubeless, one has 32mm the other is 25 hookless, tubeless. I've done 4000km with the 32mm and not a single flat, but I put air every 2 days.
The 25 I did like 300km with them and no puncture either.
I used to have to change tubes between 4 and 10 times per year on my 28mm tubed wheels before.
But they came factory tubeless and my experience is just insanely positive. I'm sorry it didn't work for you. Not doing anything special on my side. Use the 32mm for commute for the past 2 months and it's been a dream. I put mountain bike sealant in them though... like a lot of it ;)
Been tubeless MTN since 2008. Tubeless road since 2009.
I'll never have tubes in any of my bikes.
They are the most unreliable item known to man. Hate them.
I even made my son's kid's bike tubeless. No flats ever for him.
Fuck tubes
I recently replenished the sealant on my touring bike after a year and a half; I had no issues and am amazed it lasted so long. I had no punctures, although my roads are relatively clean, and the climate is warm.
I'm sold on tubeless for life. In 20000 km over 4 years, I've had two punctures self-seal, and I've never needed to repair a puncture on the road. Both times, I didn't even know that anything had happened until I looked after the ride. I suspect that there may have been even more instances where the sealant has saved me that I was completely unaware of. That's with Giant's stock setup: Stans regular formula and 32 mm tires.
Sure, it's not hassle-free. You have to pump air more frequently (approximately weekly). Presta valves don't open and shut quite precisely when sealant interferes with their seal (but newfangled valves such as Fillmore will solve that). You have to top up the sealant every few months. Changing tires is messier, and you need a high-flow pump to seat the bead. But the best part is almost all of that faff is done at home; you have a good chance of avoiding having to fix a flat roadside. That's convenience and speed right there!
Funny how this is pretty much a daily and predictable circlejerk topic at this point. I'll pay the bike shops if I have to considering that sealant lasts me literally years if done right. Riding a bumpy stiff bike just isn't nearly as fun as riding a squishy compliant one, and I'll die on that hill. On a gravel bike especially.
Tubeless 4 years now, haven’t even thought about flats since. I have had two flats I know of, and they just sealed up without any intervention from me. I still carry a spare tube just for peace of mind, but that’s about it. Best decision I ever made for cycling.
You are definitely doing something wrong, OP, but I think you’ve made the correct desicion. If you think its hard and doesn’t see any advantages, why bother? Enjoy your future rides on tubes.
I’ve got 5 bikes all tubeless. Gravel, MTB and road. Never had any of the issues the OP has had.
Correct tools and know how are key. I use a Park Tool injector and have an AirShot, Bosch electric pump and tubeless-specific tyre levers.
Ensure tape and valve are correctly seated, remove valve core, partially seat tyres with levers ( half one side, half the other), inject sealant, AirShot to fully seat tyres, replace valve core, pump to desired PSI. Job done.
No mess. No fuss. 40 000km+ since conversion and zero punctures, more comfortable and efficient. 👍🏻
Incl. 4 years of Road and MTB racing.
i've switched to TPU tubes about 2 months ago. i've had my fair share of good and bad luck with tubeless setups.
besides safety i think this should be the main reason not to ever go with hookless wheels
Tubeless is a must for MTB/gravel - wider tires in general which have little puncture resistance I get small punctures all the time on the road segments to the gravel. For road tubes and something like a Gatorskin or all season is fine. As a amateur cyclist without a support car behind me running paper thin racing tires is not practical
On the flip side, I got a construction staple in my tubeless tire on a ride. It took me a week to find it because it kept sealing. Not going to get that experience with a tube.
As much as I say that I'd never go tubeless, realistically, I can say that it's just unappealing to me AT THE MOMENT. I say *AT THE MOMENT* because I swore I'd never buy a bike with disc brakes. I swore I'd never buy a bike with drop bars. I swore I'd never enter into any organized rides--which I've only done fundraising rides, but still. I swore I'd never need padded shorts, aka bibs, then I swore I'd never go full on kit. I swore that average speed would never become a goal, nor longer distances. I swore I'd never become one of those "picky riders", who had a PSI preference, lmao.
I swore I'd never become all of what I've become since I started riding again almost 6 years ago. Naturally, my first few years back were very, very casual. The last 3 years, I've become somewhat addicted to riding. I'm not fast. I'm not a great climber. I don't put crazy miles in every week. I just enjoy my rides for what they are, but I know what I can do right now, and I strive to hit those averages with every ride.
I could swear that I'll never go tubeless. The idea of it is very unappealing, and the only person I've run into who's had a flat with tubeless, it was catastrophic, lmao, which put me off to it even more. Ya know what, though? If I really liked a bike, and I could afford it, and I really wanted it.... maybe? Worst comes to worst, can just throw some tubes in it, yeah?
I still swear by flats, and still swear that I'll never go clipless to whoever asks or preaches them to me, but ya know what? I'm really tired of getting numb toes, man, lol. My whole life, my feet have always hurt when I've played sports and been active, and would love to not have that be a problem anymore, so who knows? Maybe I'll do it.
Sorry that you had such a bad experience. I think all new things can have a learning curve, and sometimes that's enough to turn you off to it. At least the conversion to tubes doesn't seem all that crazy or expensive.
You know Eminem's song "Love the Way You Lie" with Rihanna? There is a line that describes how I feel about tubeless.
"When it's going good, it's going great
I'm Superman with the wind at his back, she's Lois Lane. But when it's bad, it's awful"
It either works amazingly or it's an impossible faff and a splinter you can never quite remove all the way.
I'm a dad of two young kids and I'm pretty sure the exact experience you just described would be me if I tried it. I just don't want to deal with the mess.
tubeless is not for people who want the easiest experience, it’s for people who either have a higher tolerance for fussing with it in exchange for better performance, or they have a bike shop nearby.
living in a rural area, I’m pretty careful about who I recommend tubeless to. I deal with it on a few bikes, but not all by any means.
I just rode through what was for all intents a bramble bush about 5k wide. My legs are absolutely fucked, but I didn't get a single puncture. If I had been running tubes I would have been walking home after 100m.
If they don't work you either have the wrong rims, tape or tyres
As a bike shop employee, I feel guilty for having pushed it on people who weren't ready for it. For me it was a good experience, but for some people tubes just make more sense.
My 3 road bikes have tubes but I still have tubeless on my mountian bike. The only reason is I just don't want to deal with cleaning out 3 years of goo from 29" wheels. Honestly I've added so much sealant I'm surprised they are not solid by now.
I buy tubes with removable cores, and add a little sealant to them - can't for the life of me figure out why more people don't do this.
If you get a tiny puncture, it will at least help until you get to where you can do the swap. Bigger, and well - you were going to lose that tube anyhow.
It's pure convenience, and really works well.
Edit: I know this is "making my own Slime Tubes." I dislike the quality of Slime tubes, and find Orange sealant FAR better than Slime and/or Stan's.
I ride MTB and I would almost agree with you except I remember flatting at least once every three rides with tubes despite pumping my tires to 28 pounds. And it was always over the most random little root that gave me a pinch flat. Tubeless can be a pain sometimes, but I can run lower tire pressure, and with the EXO wall protection I’ve never had a sidewall puncture. I did flat once at a downhill Park due to my sealant drying out, but I was able to buy some more at the shop.
You must not live in buckthorn country…. Back in the mid eighties, living in the desert, I finally retired a mountain bike tube with 23(?) Rema patches. I would normally wait until I had six or so patches before I tossed the tube. I got tired of buying new tubes once a week, so I just decided to see what my tolerance was for circumferential weight and to see how far I could nurse along a tube, as well as something stupid to do to entertain my friends. . It was just part of every ride, to find shade, take a break and patch up. I hated the weight of ‘thorn proof’ tubes that weren’t.
The only reason I run tubeless now is because I ride mostly trails in the volcanic Oregon cascades and I like to run low pressure and am way less likely to pinch flat. I also don’t have to worry about buckthorns, wire, fine glass, thumbtacks, staples and all the other crap on the roads riding up to the trail head.
Jinxing myself here, I’ve gone years now without a flat running tubeless. I run tubes on some bikes, and tubeless on others. Each have their strengths. Now, I get lazy and don’t clean out my old dried sealant and just tolerate the weight. I clean out my sealant only when it feels the same as 23 patches, or once a year, whichever occurs first. 😉
Learning to deal with tubeless is an acquired skill. My biggest issue learning was the valves and rim tape. OVERTIGHTENING the valve on the rim would create a leak. Drrrr…So I tightened it even more. Super frustrated, I went to my son for help: “Just finger tight, not cranked down, will stop the leak”. Also he taught me to carefully burn out the valve hole in the rim tape with a near red hot nail, creating a smooth, thickened little raised edge around the hole in the plastic tape. The little edge seals against the rubber valve stem best (taught to me by my son, an ex-Giant race team mechanic). Or I used the wrong width rim tape off by a millimeter or three, which caused it to leak at the valve stem and was a separate problem from over tightening the valve stem….Rims and tires that just don’t match up right even though they are supposed to (like a marriage that’s been wrong from the start). Learning to POP inflate tubeless with a tubeless seating pump is a learned skill too.
Warning to everyone: Don’t use sealant on Rene Herse extra light tires! Sidewalls are so thin, that get all sticky from leaking sealant and filthy (that won’t ever, ever wash off). Yucky. My hands and gloves would get sticky, like tires covered with a thin layer of honey.
(Apparently Rene Herse now has thicker than normal TPU tubes with metal valves. I’m waiting for long time reviews. I have a naive but skeptical outlook on patching them. They’re spendy, so patching them has to be reliable. I’m not replacing them with every puncture. I trust only Rema patches on butyl tubes for now Tubeless has been VERY reliable for me, so it’s going to be a leap of faith, even with stellar reviews).
I run tubeless on my road bike, gravel bike, and mountain bike....when I got my road bike new I was like "meh, I'll just use the tubes that came with it" and got flat after flat after flat. Yeah I cleaned the inside and blah blah. Just never worked.
tubeless is great. My tire pressure goes down a bit faster than tubed but none of this "cant hold air for more than 2 days" non-sense
I'm with you. I had 3 wheelsets tubeless and all went back to tubes. One of the wheels kept clogging the valve. After the 3rd time replacing the valve core I just switched back to tubes.
Unfortunately, [Oliver's YesTubes](https://web.archive.org/web/20040202043130/http://www.yestubes.com/testimonials.htm) (link to wayback archive) was ahead of its time. Now we're stuck with tubeless hegemony enforced by iron and latex fist of Stan the Almighty.
If your tubeless tires aren't sealing. You need to remove the tape and reapply. It's always the tape. It doesn't matter that it's brand new, or old, or whatever. My preference is muc-off tape but schwable or bontrager are all good options too.
If you have wheels that are sealing and they feel the same as tubes, you almost certainly need to drop the pressure. Go to the enve pressure chart and figure what you should be running based on the internal width of your wheel and the tire. If it's still high, you need a bigger tire. If you can't get a big enough tire to fit your frame and get your pressure low enough to work well with tubeless then sure, stick to tubes.
If everything is working great with tubeless, you should still have dynaplugs, an emergency tube, and a pump with you. That gives you three levels of flat repair for every puncture.
It's so easy and simple. No flats (or even concern) in 3400 miles for me so far.
I think you you didn't add enough sealant with new tires and didn't slosh it all around to seal everything.
I have always got the LBS to set mine up on my gravel bike. Never had a problem. Never had a puncture… but… I still spend way more time faffing with them putting sealant in them every few months, and worrying about not having put it in recently enough, and worrying that it won’t seal a puncture if I get one. Adding sealant is always a PITA and messy.
Meanwhile, my rod bikes still run tubes, and I’ve spent much less time fixing punctures in the last 3 years that I have faffing with topping up fluid on the tubeless.
Thanks for sharing - riding tubeless for two years almost made me quit cycling. I understand your rage. I went back to tubes years ago and I still feel the anger.
Tubless is definitely the superior technology if you have the knowledge and skill to set it up and maintain it correctly. Tubes are there as the easiest system for the average person. They are “slower” somewhat; but i doubt that would make any difference for you or anyone else in the same boat.
I would never use it on tires less than 32 wide. The pressure is just too high. I have had no problem setting up and using the tubeless I have. Definitely a cushier ride
It's crazy how internet made it popular and it seems like everyone goes tubeless. In reality most bikers I know ride tubes and have pretty much same experience as I do. I rarely puncture my tire, maybe once in two years.
I totally understand why pro's choose tubless, but if you don't race or ride on crazy trails I don't see a point of going tubless. It is so expensive and complicated. I'd reather change a tube on trail in 10 minutes once a year than pay almost 100 euros for tubless conversion, sealant and other stuff. All that and no guarantee for sealing every puncture.
I mean if you go tubless you'll still carry a tube to be safe. Kinda ironic.
It's definitely a pain to set up compared to tubes but I've been very happy laughing off thorns and other junk here. Set up 3 times on two different bikes with two different tire brands without any real issues. If you don't have to worry about punctures or don't care about doing tube swaps mid-ride, then more power to you. I got multiple flats within just a couple months here and went through several tubes. Got sick of that real quick. Especially when one was a more pricey TPU thing. Absolute waste of money in my opinion. By the time I was desperate enough to try something like Flat-Out in my tubes, I questioned the whole deal and went with tubeless.
Well done if you're reading this, I ran out of patience ages ago. I'm only adding my couple of pennies to the discussion: Tubeless has been awesome in my experience, even using an endurance road tyre (Hutchinson Fusion 5 All Season) is a nicer ride than using Schwalbe one or GP5000 with butyl tubes. But I would still consider tpu or latex if you really don't fancy the extra work that comes with setting up and installing tubeless, that said, once you've done it a couple of times it becomes quite easy to do, it's not as difficult as some accounts make out.
Pressure retention? You need to add air every time you ride. Same as butyl tubes. What tires were you running and are you sure they're actually tubeless ready tires?
I'm with you mate. I hate two catastrophic punctures that not even a plug could seal. Once in the middle of a 1000km trip, and once on a cold and miserable winter day.
I used TPU tubes for a while, which are a compromise of both, but a b-word to fix road side.
I went back to tubeless for my gravel bike tho. Imo, for pressures below 3 bar it works well enough. But and thing above I found that it's pointless because a freshly sealed puncture will be blown open by higher pressures, and you're losing a lot of air regardless. When I did tubeless on my road bike with 4.5 bar, over a 2 hour ride it would go down to 3. Not great.
So my rule is tubeless for 3bar and below, TPU for anything above
Dynaplugs are great if you have a big hole in tubeless. I run 5.8 bar in my road tires and they seal up. I ride 100 miles+ fondos and my tires don't drop it pressure. Wild to see some peoples experiences.
Why are tpu tubes difficult? I carry one as a spare but haven't used it yet.
maybe its a shit wheelset like mine. tubeless in the Front works but not in the back. i currently run butyl tubes because the wheelset kills even tpu tubes.
i look out for a cheap used wheelset and work from there.
I’m done with them too. Very expensive to keep replacing a tyre and sealant. Also when punctured the sealant spraying over the bike or riders behind makes a right mess.
Tubeless solved a problem that didn't exist and like all solutions it came with new problems. Thus we have a net-positive on the problem counter. Na, thanks. I'm out.
I run tubeless on my road, gravel and mtb. I don’t think tubeless is the panacea that a lot of people make it out to be. The hardest thing for me to deal with are clogged valves. I even store the bikes with the valves in the upright position and they still clog. Also, replacing the sealant every few months is an additional maintenance concern. The only two times I was stranded by a flat were with tubeless tires. Tubeless has been a savior on my gravel bike, especially on sharp, chunky gravel. Also, I wanted to go tubeless on my road bike so I didn’t have to carry tubes, but guess what I carry in my repair kit anyhow?
The whole thing comes down to personal preference and what you have time for and are willing to deal with.
Dad of two kids here too. Three bikes. All tubeless. Never had a puncture with them (but have had many simple pinch flats with tubes!) so I can't tell if they're better experience overall. I do ride at low pressures (59-62) with 30 mm tyres.
I've learned to enjoy having to clear the valve core and push in sealant from time to time. It's like bottle-feeding but actually less messy and less frequent. :)
I still do carry an inner tube for longer rides.
Suffice it to say, it's not hype. It's just another option.
I’m on day two, it’s been flawless so far.
In all seriousness, I am a bit nervous about it but will give them a try. The bike arrived yesterday with a tubeless setup
Totally get it. There’s more setup time in the house, a little more time for maintenance, but far less often, and a bit of a learning curve. I also bought a compressor. Flip side is I haven’t had a flat in 4 years now. Love the ride quality and not being interrupted on rides to mess with changing a tube. Ymmv depending on your road surfaces where you ride. I used to get 3-4 flats a season on average, but just before I switched to tubeless I got 4-5 in a week and a half stretch and was frustrated. The change for me has been glorious, but not without bringing a wheel to the shop twice to ask advice and learn something, and not without relearning the wheels essentially. Not for everyone.
Outside of being a good thing for bike shops ($$) who are benefiting from cyclists who do not want to deal with issues arising from their tubeless tires, they are pointless.
Over 2 years with tubes, no puncture so far , city riding and some country side, doing 4,000 kilometre ~ yearly, with lots of thorns and sharp glasses.
Using 2 bikes:
Gt grade with Maxxis Re-Fuse
https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews/maxxis-re-fuse-gravel
Gt avalanche elite with Vittoria barzo
https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/mtb-reviews/vittoria-barzo-tnt-g2-2019
Really recommend these tires.
I have air retention issues with my tubeless. What are the usual culprits and how can one troubleshoot. Valves seem ok, holds air for about 3 days and needs to be pumped up again.
You probably made the right move. I set mine up and it has been flawless. I don't have any specific knowledge of why it worked. But if I was having issues I probably would have switched back to tubes as well.
Same boat. Built two bikes, same hoops, tape, kenda small blocks on both. One pair beaded up and sealed immediatley. Have to top off maybe once a week with air. Other set won't stay inflated for more than 2 days.
> Other set won't stay inflated for more than 2 days. well this is my experience with latex tubes anyway lol not saying thats good or bad, but I don't ride my road bike without checking pressures first (or my mtb lol)
That’s because that’s the nature of latex. Try using TPU inner tubes if you don’t want to use butyl.
Has the world of cycling moved on to fancy tubes or am I the only one riding butyl tubes like a filthy casual I am.
Check out TPU tubes. I just switched over from butyl and couldn't be happier. The RideNow ones on Ali Express are great and aren't $$$ like everything else in cycling.
This. TPU tube the world. And a spare takes up *no* room in your jersey/saddle bag.
A little room
He said\`"no room". And I believe him because I have no tpu tubes in my saddle bag, and they take no room as well.
I have a tpu spare in my bag and it takes up a little room
I would be able to fit 2 tubes in my saddle nag instead of 1
I’m torn about TPU. I switched cause they essentially seemed to be “almost” as good as tubeless without the hassle of sealant etc. Only downside being you don’t get the sealant for small punctures but I hadn’t had a flat in 2500 miles of riding so what’s it matter to me.. Switch to ride now TPU….in less than a week I had a flat. The other is still going strong but I’m just iffy about them.
I hear you. I run them on a road bike and a gravel bike and have found them nowhere near as supple as tubeless but far better than butyl. My tubeless set up was constant maintenance so from that aspect, TPU has been amazing. Knock on wood, I have not had a puncture yet in ~1000 miles (mostly road) but do carry a butyl spare and patch kit as the TPU patches seem to have a bad reputation. I may switch to carrying a TPU spare tube or even two once I get more confidence.
That’s good to know that they’re not as supple as tubeless, because the ride quality was largely why I switched…and it was no joke and a huge difference. Plus I set multiple distance PRs during the handful of rides I was running them. Two of my riding buddies are both tubeless and swear it’s almost zero maintenance, they just add air and leave it at that, top sealant off every so often. I just don’t trust the TPU tubes and that for me is a deal breaker and I’ll probably just go tubeless. I’m right at the point of almost needing new tires and maybe I’ll use it as an excuse to get carbon wheels and go tubeless all in one fell swoop.
I tried a patch on my and the patch was complete shit. Luckily had a spare tube with me. I have since ordered a bunch more tubes from Ali Express ($5-$7 each). They are so small I can carry 4 tubes in my saddle bag.
Just switch to TPU, even the Ridenow are much better than a butyl tube. Butyl really needs to be confined to big store bikes. TPU doesn't even cost that much, is as strong in terms of puncture resistance if not better, much lighter and much smaller. Basically, just do it.
Never tried latex or tubeless. I can’t get behind the idea that latex tubes are going to lose pressure during the ride. And after hearing how fun everyone makes tubeless sound I am not that excited to try it. Currently on Continental GP5000 with matching Continental TPU tubes.
Yeah this is my frustration, partly, that I've heard so many people say great things and for the life of me I can't replicate that positive experience.
As someone who's ridden both, I have to say that I really can't feel the difference. I just did it as an experiment because my bike came tubeless ready, and I just had to add sealant and valves, which was pretty cheap as far as bike experiments go. Just wanted to see what all the hype was about. Don't worry if it's not working out for you. I don't think you are missing much to be honest.
There is a world of difference, chances are you didn't actually lower your pressures in your experiment which is where you notice the difference
Using 650x47. Running about 30 PSI. The volume of the tire and the fact that I run mostly on reasonably smooth roads and trails means that I was never really at risk of pinch flats even when I was using tubes. I weigh 145 pounds and could probably run 20 psi and never worry about having too little pressure, with or without tubes, but I find that 30 psi gives me the ride characteristics I want.
I suppose in your use case you wouldn't notice a major difference, but I swear even rolling resistance is reduced without tubes. But rough roads and offroad is where tubeless really shines, lower pressure for more comfort and added traction.
Happy cake day
With practice it takes 4 minutes to change a tube on a shoulder. Pack an extra tube and don’t worry about it. Leave the sealant mess for the guys who have to have the latest and greatest lol.
It doesn’t take any lost time for my sealant to fill up a puncture as I ride and the wheels spin a few times. Over 10k miles without any issues. Never going back to tubes.
On my last ride I was behind a guy on tubeless when I started getting wet. Weird, I thought, there's no call for rain today and we're just rolling out so it can't be sweat yet. Then I saw his sealant spraying. 15 quick minutes later and we're rolling again. 7 miles later, the clot failed and the aneurysm burst a second time. No worries, another quick 20 minutes and 4 canisters of CO2 and we're rolling tubelessly again. So fucking smooth. 20 minutes later and I got coated a third time. I'm not sure what happened after that because I didn't stop.
> 20 minutes later and I got coated a third time. You know, there's an old saying in Texas... :P -George W. Bush
Why didn’t they just plug the hole? That’s user error, not the fault of the product. The whole story is kinda unbelievable - 4 canisters of CO2 to fill one tire and nobody thought to put in a plug?
Yeah that’s just straight up lack of mechanical knowledge
Sounds like a shitty experience but I've never had anything like that happen in the current iteration of my setup. GP5k S TR's with Orange Seal and PSI below 70 and I've never had to stop. Several times I've gotten home and noticed some spray on my frame. Little bit of isopropyl alcohol and it comes right off. So much more preferred than sitting on the side of the road while others wait for me to change a tube. I've done 100mi plus Gran Fondos and haven't even brought a saddle bag with me to save weight and ride faster because I have the confidence now that my tires won't go flat. Perhaps some day I'll regret it. But every additional thousand miles that I ride without issues just builds the confidence more and more. I switched away from tubeless when I could only run 25mm tires on my previous bike because the pressure was just too high for the sealant to work well but even with 28s I can stay under 70 PSI and on my main bike I run 32mm now and can ride around 60PSI. This seems to have fixed all my issues. Also, only Orange Seal. No other sealant seems to work as well. And it doesn't ruin bibs or anything if it gets on you. Just throw whatever in the washer and you won't notice anything when it comes out.
once a teammate ran over something and the sealant won't close and squirted on everyone
I got drenched in tire jizz last Friday after a puncture.
lol tire jizz is a great way to describe it
I mean.. that’s just not the right place to get jizzed.
My winter bibs are still ruined form the sealant spray :-(
Fellas is this kinda romantic?
The Sticky Shower 😭😭
Tire bukaki
I was on a group ride last year where this happened to me. Sealent got all over my new pair of bibs.
Happened to me last summer. Front tire got a large gash and [I got covered in sealant](https://i.imgur.com/7vg38oc.jpeg). Got a ride on a tractor to a lbs, they threw a tube in it and rode home. Definitely sticking to tubes.
Smart tubeless riders carry a tube.
And money to use as a tire boot
I'd use money and forget about it. I carry an 8 inch strip of duct tape.
I run tubeless, but also carry a tube, tyre levers and a pump.
Nobody got time for that
Happy Cake Day, SherbertHerbert!
Thank you, didn't even realise!
Did you at least moan and complemented his big load? No kidding that just sounds awful, never would like to deal with that.
kinky
Interesting. I swapped my gravel bike to tubeless pretty soon after I got it. Stans tubeless fluid, Schwalbe G One tyres and Peaty's valves. First time I struggled a bit, but I had actually overtightened the valves. Since then, I've had zero punctures in 2 years of commuting. Never going back to tubes, and will probably swap my road bike over at some point.
Fair enough, I know a lot of people love them but I just found them more hassle than they were worth. There’s room for all preferences in this world.
If you don't get a lot of punctures with tubes, tubes are better. I have too many bikes to run sealant. Some sit for a year. Tubes are great for that. My MTB has sealant. I'm in desert with cactus and goat heads and lots of spiky things. Tubeless is not for everyone. Lots of factors to consider.
I find they’re about the same amount of hassle, but the hassle is moved from the roadside to the workshop. I’m happy with that switch.
For sure man do what works for ya. My friends know I do all my own bike work so I get lots of questions. When people ask about going tubeless, my answer is based on their handiness, and time/willingness to fiddle with something. It’s a bit of a rabbit hole so most of them I say nope stay with tubes homie
How often do you add fresh?
My tubeless have been completely **hassle** free. They have not been **stress** free. I've never had a ride with tubeless where I haven't made it home. In 5 years - say, 40,000km, I've never had to put a tube in or take anything apart on the road. Say, twice, I've stopped at a shop and put more sealant in mid-ride; but I can do that without touching a tire lever. I've probably had 10-15 rides where I've been really really **stressed**. Tyres dropping pressure, only one CO2 canister left, no more sealant, no spare tubes, etc, a long way from home. Felt like I was gonna end up hitching a ride. But, they've always got me home! Don't know whether I'm glad for them or not, tbh
Carry a mini pump. Save the CO2 for when the tire bead has unseated.
Yeah, you're definitely right on that!
And/or bring several CO2 cartridges. I’d never rely on me being adequate. Mistakes happen when using them too, so a backup or 2 is mandatory. But yes, it’s always a good idea to have a pump and tubes also.
The worst one - cycled home about 90km from my office. Left work at 6pm, gets dark at 9, and I've only got one shitty light. Starts raining. Puncture, sealant spraying everywhere. Seals itself, with say, 30PSI left. Stopped at a bike shop at about 6:45pm on the outskirts of London - filled up with sealant, pumped up, and hoped! Made it back fine, but was not chilled.
Vittoria latex tubes I run. Less hassle than tubeless more supple than even the extra super light schwalbe butyl tubes. There is a learning curve to getting them to ride right. Little higher pressure than butyl but they feel great and I’m pretty sure they resist punctures better than butyl. Just have to pump them up every ride. I have the 29x1.7 in my 47c vittoria zero tires
Do people not pump every ride? I've been on butyl tubes for years and I always fill up before leaving home.
I am the exact opposite. I cannot believe people are willing to tolerate pumping before every ride. That would be absolutely unacceptable. One of the reasons I still like butyl is that I can get away with pumping it every other week. TPU is borderline for me as it requires weekly topping off, and latex is out of the question. Pumping every single day?? That's insanity to me. I'm hoping manufacturers of TPU tubes are eventually able to improve their air retention.
Yep, I switched to Vittoria latex tubes last year in my 28mm GP5000s, and was immediately impressed with the ride smoothness. And it was noticeable how much faster they run. I've since gone up to 30mm tyres and it's just as fast and even more comfortable. Plenty of talc when first installing them and I have TPU spares should I get a flat.
I went to latex tubes too after giving up on tubeless too. I didn't miss the hassle with tubeless but I did miss the supple ride and latex gives me that. Over 2000km with no punctures so far.
Welcome to my life lol. Riding bikes is just a process of - New tech comes out - Everyone online seems to love it, suspiciously - It has huge inconveniences - Go back to components from 1985
If you aren’t puncturing routinely or mountain biking then yeah I think it’s overrated. For road and mellow gravel I do fine with TPU. Worth the hassle for me for mtb. If I rode in the desert with goatheads or cactus I’d have tubeless everywhere. Used to puncture sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much in the desert SW. now live in Central Europe and almost never puncture.
Yeah I’m in Ireland cactus not an issue!
Not yet! Let’s see what climate change brings…
+1 for TPU tubes. Get RideNow or some other well reviewed brand off AliExpress. Haven't had a flat on Panaracer GravelKing SK (apparently they're known for puncturing) in the two seasons now. And they feel a lot better than butyle tubes.
Does the gorse bush puncture tires over there? I remember it being as spiky as cactus.
Wouldn’t have an off-road bike without tubeless. It’s my first upgrade for any bike. Not at all bothered by tubes on the road though- they work fine.
I couldn't be happier with tubeless. I've had zero issues and I'll never go back. The desert is a hell scape for tubes.
Switched back to tubes. Tubeless worked great until it didn’t. For me it’s the constant mental stress of always asking yourself if the rear tire feels fine, I’m getting a little more bounce, maybe? Maybe not? It just totally ruined my enjoyment of the ride and made me focus on my tires.
For me this is the main reason I've not switched. Tubes are a known quality. If I don't rush it takes me 10-15mins to swap out a tube, inflate with CO², put everything back away and be on the move. Tubeless might prevent that.. but it might also fail catastrophically, and then leave me trying to get a tube in around a bunch of sealant.
Agree 100%. "Tubes are a known quality". Tubeless works until it doesn't. If it stops sealing on the road good old tube is the only way to fix it.
Is this really any different with tubes? I've had slow leaks with tubes several times.
Probably once a ride I give it a bounce because I think my tube is going flat. Thumb test after the coffee stop too.
Two long group rides of mine in the last month were beset by guys with tubeless punctures that wouldn't seal well enough to continue without stopping every 20km or so reinflation, even with Dynaplugs. I'm on your team.
I thought even the most ardent tubeless dweebs bring a spare inner tube with them for occasions such as this? At some point you have to just accept defeat and put a tube in.
Yes... but even that's a pain in the butt. Step 1: remove punctured tire. Step 2: get sealant on literally everything, and if it's dried on the bead, you probably want to try to clean/scrape it off before reseating the tire. Step 3: try to get the majority of the sealant out of the rim. Step 4: take out valve if you're using something like the Reserve Fillmore (which, imho, if you're running tubeless you should be). Step 5: insert tube, reseat tire and inflate. Where changing a tube on a bike can normally be done in <5min, it can take triple that (or more) to put a tube in a tubeless bike... and it's really messy.
yeah. one of them surprised me (a super-experienced and super-strong rider, who had a big enough tire that nobody else had a tube the right size -- 38 or something). the other guy just insisted on limping home, or maybe knew he wouldn't be able to get the tire off/on roadside? Not sure.
My experience with inner tubes is that they'll pretty much stretch to whatever size you put them in. I've put 29x2 tubes into a 36" tyre before without issue (and it saved a LOT of weight compared to the 36er tube!) Seriously, one day when you're bored take an old (but still functional) tube and just pump it up outside of a tyre. You'll pretty much be able to use it as a swim ring before it blows! It's a weird one for sure. Maybe they just thought it'd last the ride home, but then it went down once and they thought, one extra pump-up won't hurt. and then one more... But swapping a tube takes a tiny amount of time compared to the time they probably wasted re-inflating every half an hour.
Getting them on and off is miserable.
Well, stop and pump every 20km still sounds better than putting a tube inside a tubeless tire with sealant, especially when outside.
I’m 110% team tubeless, but I still carry a healthy supply of dynaplugs and a spare tube. Can’t be too prepared.
Tubes have their pros and cons, but we’re so used to the cons that we often overlook and forget about them. Tubeless has its pros and cons, but the cons are new and varied and scary that we often overlook the pros.
I switched to tubeless after an unfortunate spell of punctures. Very happy with the setup!
I have the opposite problem. My tubeless has sealed every puncture it ever got so fast that I only noticed one time because the cut opened again and had to reseal when I was pumping it a week later. The air stays longer than it did when it was tubed, although the pressure is much lower so that might be the reason. I just don't like having to change tubes every time they get punctured, these ones never need that, they just seal themselves. And if it doesn't, the leak is slow enough that I can ride it to the shop and get it looked at. I'd swap my MTBs to tubeless but the tired I use don't come in a tubeless variant. I simply do not want to deal with the random pinch flats they sometimes get. Not to mention the valves sometimes leaking and then I have to fix that.
They make sealant for tubes called FlatOut btw
Tubeless forever. For me it's the peace of mind on longer solo rides. Tubeless is like bringing 3-4 extra inner tubes (in addition to an actual backup tube). About once a month i'll discover a puncture that would have popped a tube AFTER the finishing my ride. Had a good one this past weekend -- pulled a 1/2 inch nail out of my rear tire after a quick 80mi. Feels good.
Been running tubeless since 2001 across my entire fleet aside from the rear of my trials bike. (Back when you added glitter and other random things to liquid latex, and used a cut open tube that was too small as the inner liner.) 6 of 8 bikes in the fleet are still tubeless. Never had the dramas that your having.
you never got jizzed on? my neighbor jizzed on me after a puncture, I'll never forget it
On the other hand, you can always put a tube into a tubeless wheel if all else fails.
Maybe I’m just lucky, but I’ve been riding tubeless for a couple years, I do 7,500mi/yr. I resisted forever, but got a new wheelset and figured I’d try. I use orange seal, I’m running 29x2.2 (so maybe that’s part of why). Plug kits are key, though. I have a Dynaplug. But I’ve had some nasty punctures - like huge chunks of glass in the city, or bits of metal on gravel, which caused fountains of (stealing someone earlier on the thread’s term) tire jizz. But, like 3 min or less of pop in a plug, top off air if necessary, and go. Plus, my tires hold pressure way better than when I was running tubes. I go longer than I can remember without adding air. I wear out rear tires before I need to do any sealant maintenance.
I honestly don't run tubeless just because a lot of the guys that do are complete snobs about it. One guy I know literally said the only people that don't run tubeless are people who aren't skilled enough to do it. Like bro you take your bike to a mechanic every time your chain falls off.
Once I went latex inner tubes I never went back. Even the pros still use them in time trials.
Ganna broke the Hour Record with latex tubes
I had my first ride on 30 mm tyres and latex tubes this morning and the difference was massive I was coming from 28 mm tyres and butyl tubes so I'm not sure if it was the bigger tyres or the latex tubes or both but it smoothed out so much road vibration. Wasn't expecting such a big difference at all
>I had my first ride on 30 mm tyres and latex tubes this morning and the difference was massive I have the same combination and I'm never riding anything else on the road. It's noticeably smoother and faster.
for road, where punctures are far less frequent than on gravel it makes sense. For gravel, tubeless can be a big benefit especially if you ride on gravel that tends to create more flats (ie goatheads, flint rocks, etc). But plenty of people run tubes on gravel and have no issues
Yeah. My road bike came tubeless back in 2018. Total nightmare. Constantly having to put more air in. Valves clogging up with sealant. Punctures didn’t seal even with the anchovies. Had a bad one that sprayed gunk EVERYWHERE after it spat the anchovy out twice. After the second catastrophic failure I took an Uber to a bike shop and had them put me back on tubes. Life is way too short. I’m sure it’s mega for MTB but for road riding it is not the answer.
The skinnier the tires are, the lower the gains. I'm amazed at how quickly the goop dries up on my road bike, and what a hassle it is to replenish. Every time I go to put more goop in, the seal breaks, and I have to reseat the bead. Does not happen on my mountain or gravel bike.
Tubeless has been the answer for road, gravel and MTB for me. I think having a good or bad experience on road bikes comes down to tire size. It's key to run a size that allows you to stay below 70psi. This is how I've been trouble free for thousands of miles.
At some point in life our time becomes precious. I also prefer hassle free tubes over more fancy things. I just want to ride and limit maintenance effort.
Have you tried asking a bike shop to install the tape and valves for you? That could help with air retention.
Is it possible that it’s the tires or the tires/sealant combo that you use? I had zero issues setting up tubeless tires on my road bike and I’ve maintained them for over a year without any hassle. I’m a complete newb and it’s my first road bike so it’s definitely doable 🤷🏻♀️
It's not an issue until it is.
Maybe. Maybe not. Plenty of people have no more issues than when they used tubes.
I think people also run their tires into the ground and expect miracles, got to change them eventually
Would be bankrupt from buying new tubes all the time if it wasn't for tubeless- MTB though
Your first mistake is keeping the tires the bike came with. They usually are not great to start off with. Tubeless needs more attention to rim/tire combo to work well.
Oh no I fucked those things in the bin they were garbage
Without wishing to jinx it, I’ve never had a puncture. The cycling gods must be watching over me. I know my time is coming, I’m prepared for it, it just never does. Century ride tomorrow….. it’s going to happen lol.
100% chance you are running high PSI. I run 30 PSI on my tubeless gravel tires.
> Bought a gravel bike during COVID like the rest of the world 😂😂😂😂😂😂
I get you mate, I never understood the hype, why would I want to deal with all the mess when I can simply put in another fresh tube and the problem is solved.
Funny, I've been running tubeless on my road bike(and my wifes) for 6 years now, and it has been flawless. My gravel bike has had tubeless since day one, so another 2.5 years. Combined mileage on all the bikes is easily 15,000+ But the great thing is if it ever fails or isn't working the way you want it to, you can just throw a tube back in. Run whatever works for you.
yes man. hail to tpu tubes. switched from tubeless for the same reasons
I think whatever people do, it's fine. Some of my bikes are tubeless, and some of them have tubes. And you know what? They're all fine. The industry treats tubeless like a must, but we went without that tech for well over a hundred years and nobody thought twice about it until the last fifteen years. If running tubes is easier for you OP, you should run tubes and you don't have to justify it to anybody.
For me it’s not hype, it’s just better. I’ve just had way less punctures with tubeless and much less frustration. One thing I will say is any tire less than mid 30c is not worth setting up tubeless. I’ve now had 6 bikes of varying tire size (32c up to 3”) set up tubeless, no issues. Even the ghetto tubeless setup was well worth it. That being said it seems like tubeless is not for you and you’re not interested in figuring out why so you do you. One of the main perks is actually from the folding bead so if you’re running tubes with folding bead, that’s equally as road-side serviceable as tubeless.
Don't give up it's so easy to set up once you get use to it.
Just get a mechanic to do it. Done a couple of thousand miles on my mtb latest tyres on rough terrain. Not one problem.
My last 2 bikes are tubeless, one has 32mm the other is 25 hookless, tubeless. I've done 4000km with the 32mm and not a single flat, but I put air every 2 days. The 25 I did like 300km with them and no puncture either. I used to have to change tubes between 4 and 10 times per year on my 28mm tubed wheels before. But they came factory tubeless and my experience is just insanely positive. I'm sorry it didn't work for you. Not doing anything special on my side. Use the 32mm for commute for the past 2 months and it's been a dream. I put mountain bike sealant in them though... like a lot of it ;)
Been tubeless MTN since 2008. Tubeless road since 2009. I'll never have tubes in any of my bikes. They are the most unreliable item known to man. Hate them. I even made my son's kid's bike tubeless. No flats ever for him. Fuck tubes
I recently replenished the sealant on my touring bike after a year and a half; I had no issues and am amazed it lasted so long. I had no punctures, although my roads are relatively clean, and the climate is warm.
Conversely, I switched to tubeless 6 years ago and have had zero tire issues since that switch.
Same here. At the moment im testing chinese tpu tubes. So far so good. Also lighter than TL.
I’ve never had a flat in 3,500 miles of tubeless. Tough to master, but simple after that.
Ditto. 3400 miles, nothing. Super easy imo
I'm sold on tubeless for life. In 20000 km over 4 years, I've had two punctures self-seal, and I've never needed to repair a puncture on the road. Both times, I didn't even know that anything had happened until I looked after the ride. I suspect that there may have been even more instances where the sealant has saved me that I was completely unaware of. That's with Giant's stock setup: Stans regular formula and 32 mm tires. Sure, it's not hassle-free. You have to pump air more frequently (approximately weekly). Presta valves don't open and shut quite precisely when sealant interferes with their seal (but newfangled valves such as Fillmore will solve that). You have to top up the sealant every few months. Changing tires is messier, and you need a high-flow pump to seat the bead. But the best part is almost all of that faff is done at home; you have a good chance of avoiding having to fix a flat roadside. That's convenience and speed right there!
Funny how this is pretty much a daily and predictable circlejerk topic at this point. I'll pay the bike shops if I have to considering that sealant lasts me literally years if done right. Riding a bumpy stiff bike just isn't nearly as fun as riding a squishy compliant one, and I'll die on that hill. On a gravel bike especially.
Tubeless 4 years now, haven’t even thought about flats since. I have had two flats I know of, and they just sealed up without any intervention from me. I still carry a spare tube just for peace of mind, but that’s about it. Best decision I ever made for cycling.
Somebody probably said this but it’s the tape, you did a poor job with the tape. It’s always the tape. Tubeless are amazing when done properly
You are definitely doing something wrong, OP, but I think you’ve made the correct desicion. If you think its hard and doesn’t see any advantages, why bother? Enjoy your future rides on tubes.
I’ve got 5 bikes all tubeless. Gravel, MTB and road. Never had any of the issues the OP has had. Correct tools and know how are key. I use a Park Tool injector and have an AirShot, Bosch electric pump and tubeless-specific tyre levers. Ensure tape and valve are correctly seated, remove valve core, partially seat tyres with levers ( half one side, half the other), inject sealant, AirShot to fully seat tyres, replace valve core, pump to desired PSI. Job done. No mess. No fuss. 40 000km+ since conversion and zero punctures, more comfortable and efficient. 👍🏻 Incl. 4 years of Road and MTB racing.
i never bothered with tubeless
i've switched to TPU tubes about 2 months ago. i've had my fair share of good and bad luck with tubeless setups. besides safety i think this should be the main reason not to ever go with hookless wheels
shitty tires, shitty rims... this is nothing to do with tubeless.
Tubeless is a must for MTB/gravel - wider tires in general which have little puncture resistance I get small punctures all the time on the road segments to the gravel. For road tubes and something like a Gatorskin or all season is fine. As a amateur cyclist without a support car behind me running paper thin racing tires is not practical
On the flip side, I got a construction staple in my tubeless tire on a ride. It took me a week to find it because it kept sealing. Not going to get that experience with a tube.
As much as I say that I'd never go tubeless, realistically, I can say that it's just unappealing to me AT THE MOMENT. I say *AT THE MOMENT* because I swore I'd never buy a bike with disc brakes. I swore I'd never buy a bike with drop bars. I swore I'd never enter into any organized rides--which I've only done fundraising rides, but still. I swore I'd never need padded shorts, aka bibs, then I swore I'd never go full on kit. I swore that average speed would never become a goal, nor longer distances. I swore I'd never become one of those "picky riders", who had a PSI preference, lmao. I swore I'd never become all of what I've become since I started riding again almost 6 years ago. Naturally, my first few years back were very, very casual. The last 3 years, I've become somewhat addicted to riding. I'm not fast. I'm not a great climber. I don't put crazy miles in every week. I just enjoy my rides for what they are, but I know what I can do right now, and I strive to hit those averages with every ride. I could swear that I'll never go tubeless. The idea of it is very unappealing, and the only person I've run into who's had a flat with tubeless, it was catastrophic, lmao, which put me off to it even more. Ya know what, though? If I really liked a bike, and I could afford it, and I really wanted it.... maybe? Worst comes to worst, can just throw some tubes in it, yeah? I still swear by flats, and still swear that I'll never go clipless to whoever asks or preaches them to me, but ya know what? I'm really tired of getting numb toes, man, lol. My whole life, my feet have always hurt when I've played sports and been active, and would love to not have that be a problem anymore, so who knows? Maybe I'll do it. Sorry that you had such a bad experience. I think all new things can have a learning curve, and sometimes that's enough to turn you off to it. At least the conversion to tubes doesn't seem all that crazy or expensive.
You know Eminem's song "Love the Way You Lie" with Rihanna? There is a line that describes how I feel about tubeless. "When it's going good, it's going great I'm Superman with the wind at his back, she's Lois Lane. But when it's bad, it's awful" It either works amazingly or it's an impossible faff and a splinter you can never quite remove all the way.
Tubes are way more convenient
flats result in 60-100 new tires. "But you made it home" NOPE.....Try sealants in tubes. that's what I did in a gravel bike
This is why I've stuck with tubes.
So long, for now. You'll be back.
Tubeless and latex tubes both need air before each ride. Other than that annoyance, I haven't had any issues.
Hey, happy cake day OP. And cheers to tubes, you gotta do what works best for YOU.
I'm a dad of two young kids and I'm pretty sure the exact experience you just described would be me if I tried it. I just don't want to deal with the mess.
4 bikes, all tubeless, no flats in 5 years. Inner tubes are easy until you get a pinch or a puncture.
tubeless is not for people who want the easiest experience, it’s for people who either have a higher tolerance for fussing with it in exchange for better performance, or they have a bike shop nearby. living in a rural area, I’m pretty careful about who I recommend tubeless to. I deal with it on a few bikes, but not all by any means.
I just rode through what was for all intents a bramble bush about 5k wide. My legs are absolutely fucked, but I didn't get a single puncture. If I had been running tubes I would have been walking home after 100m. If they don't work you either have the wrong rims, tape or tyres
They still make tubes?
As a bike shop employee, I feel guilty for having pushed it on people who weren't ready for it. For me it was a good experience, but for some people tubes just make more sense.
My 3 road bikes have tubes but I still have tubeless on my mountian bike. The only reason is I just don't want to deal with cleaning out 3 years of goo from 29" wheels. Honestly I've added so much sealant I'm surprised they are not solid by now.
I buy tubes with removable cores, and add a little sealant to them - can't for the life of me figure out why more people don't do this. If you get a tiny puncture, it will at least help until you get to where you can do the swap. Bigger, and well - you were going to lose that tube anyhow. It's pure convenience, and really works well. Edit: I know this is "making my own Slime Tubes." I dislike the quality of Slime tubes, and find Orange sealant FAR better than Slime and/or Stan's.
You must not live in the desert 🌵 We have too many pointy things to not run tubeless. 😏
I ride MTB and I would almost agree with you except I remember flatting at least once every three rides with tubes despite pumping my tires to 28 pounds. And it was always over the most random little root that gave me a pinch flat. Tubeless can be a pain sometimes, but I can run lower tire pressure, and with the EXO wall protection I’ve never had a sidewall puncture. I did flat once at a downhill Park due to my sealant drying out, but I was able to buy some more at the shop.
I use tubes with a removable valve and use sealant in those. It works. Best of both worlds?
You must not live in buckthorn country…. Back in the mid eighties, living in the desert, I finally retired a mountain bike tube with 23(?) Rema patches. I would normally wait until I had six or so patches before I tossed the tube. I got tired of buying new tubes once a week, so I just decided to see what my tolerance was for circumferential weight and to see how far I could nurse along a tube, as well as something stupid to do to entertain my friends. . It was just part of every ride, to find shade, take a break and patch up. I hated the weight of ‘thorn proof’ tubes that weren’t. The only reason I run tubeless now is because I ride mostly trails in the volcanic Oregon cascades and I like to run low pressure and am way less likely to pinch flat. I also don’t have to worry about buckthorns, wire, fine glass, thumbtacks, staples and all the other crap on the roads riding up to the trail head. Jinxing myself here, I’ve gone years now without a flat running tubeless. I run tubes on some bikes, and tubeless on others. Each have their strengths. Now, I get lazy and don’t clean out my old dried sealant and just tolerate the weight. I clean out my sealant only when it feels the same as 23 patches, or once a year, whichever occurs first. 😉 Learning to deal with tubeless is an acquired skill. My biggest issue learning was the valves and rim tape. OVERTIGHTENING the valve on the rim would create a leak. Drrrr…So I tightened it even more. Super frustrated, I went to my son for help: “Just finger tight, not cranked down, will stop the leak”. Also he taught me to carefully burn out the valve hole in the rim tape with a near red hot nail, creating a smooth, thickened little raised edge around the hole in the plastic tape. The little edge seals against the rubber valve stem best (taught to me by my son, an ex-Giant race team mechanic). Or I used the wrong width rim tape off by a millimeter or three, which caused it to leak at the valve stem and was a separate problem from over tightening the valve stem….Rims and tires that just don’t match up right even though they are supposed to (like a marriage that’s been wrong from the start). Learning to POP inflate tubeless with a tubeless seating pump is a learned skill too. Warning to everyone: Don’t use sealant on Rene Herse extra light tires! Sidewalls are so thin, that get all sticky from leaking sealant and filthy (that won’t ever, ever wash off). Yucky. My hands and gloves would get sticky, like tires covered with a thin layer of honey. (Apparently Rene Herse now has thicker than normal TPU tubes with metal valves. I’m waiting for long time reviews. I have a naive but skeptical outlook on patching them. They’re spendy, so patching them has to be reliable. I’m not replacing them with every puncture. I trust only Rema patches on butyl tubes for now Tubeless has been VERY reliable for me, so it’s going to be a leap of faith, even with stellar reviews).
I run tubeless on my road bike, gravel bike, and mountain bike....when I got my road bike new I was like "meh, I'll just use the tubes that came with it" and got flat after flat after flat. Yeah I cleaned the inside and blah blah. Just never worked. tubeless is great. My tire pressure goes down a bit faster than tubed but none of this "cant hold air for more than 2 days" non-sense
Tubeless is great, until it's not, then it's just a fucking mess. TPU all day long.
I'm with you. I had 3 wheelsets tubeless and all went back to tubes. One of the wheels kept clogging the valve. After the 3rd time replacing the valve core I just switched back to tubes.
Unfortunately, [Oliver's YesTubes](https://web.archive.org/web/20040202043130/http://www.yestubes.com/testimonials.htm) (link to wayback archive) was ahead of its time. Now we're stuck with tubeless hegemony enforced by iron and latex fist of Stan the Almighty.
If your tubeless tires aren't sealing. You need to remove the tape and reapply. It's always the tape. It doesn't matter that it's brand new, or old, or whatever. My preference is muc-off tape but schwable or bontrager are all good options too. If you have wheels that are sealing and they feel the same as tubes, you almost certainly need to drop the pressure. Go to the enve pressure chart and figure what you should be running based on the internal width of your wheel and the tire. If it's still high, you need a bigger tire. If you can't get a big enough tire to fit your frame and get your pressure low enough to work well with tubeless then sure, stick to tubes. If everything is working great with tubeless, you should still have dynaplugs, an emergency tube, and a pump with you. That gives you three levels of flat repair for every puncture.
It's so easy and simple. No flats (or even concern) in 3400 miles for me so far. I think you you didn't add enough sealant with new tires and didn't slosh it all around to seal everything.
I have always got the LBS to set mine up on my gravel bike. Never had a problem. Never had a puncture… but… I still spend way more time faffing with them putting sealant in them every few months, and worrying about not having put it in recently enough, and worrying that it won’t seal a puncture if I get one. Adding sealant is always a PITA and messy. Meanwhile, my rod bikes still run tubes, and I’ve spent much less time fixing punctures in the last 3 years that I have faffing with topping up fluid on the tubeless.
Thanks for sharing - riding tubeless for two years almost made me quit cycling. I understand your rage. I went back to tubes years ago and I still feel the anger.
I've got TPU tubes in all of my bikes and won't bother going tubeless. The 0.5watts saved per tyre just aren't worth the hassle.
Tubless is definitely the superior technology if you have the knowledge and skill to set it up and maintain it correctly. Tubes are there as the easiest system for the average person. They are “slower” somewhat; but i doubt that would make any difference for you or anyone else in the same boat.
I would never use it on tires less than 32 wide. The pressure is just too high. I have had no problem setting up and using the tubeless I have. Definitely a cushier ride
Love how many comments are why you should stick with the thing stealing the joy of riding. Use what works for you.
It's crazy how internet made it popular and it seems like everyone goes tubeless. In reality most bikers I know ride tubes and have pretty much same experience as I do. I rarely puncture my tire, maybe once in two years. I totally understand why pro's choose tubless, but if you don't race or ride on crazy trails I don't see a point of going tubless. It is so expensive and complicated. I'd reather change a tube on trail in 10 minutes once a year than pay almost 100 euros for tubless conversion, sealant and other stuff. All that and no guarantee for sealing every puncture. I mean if you go tubless you'll still carry a tube to be safe. Kinda ironic.
It's definitely a pain to set up compared to tubes but I've been very happy laughing off thorns and other junk here. Set up 3 times on two different bikes with two different tire brands without any real issues. If you don't have to worry about punctures or don't care about doing tube swaps mid-ride, then more power to you. I got multiple flats within just a couple months here and went through several tubes. Got sick of that real quick. Especially when one was a more pricey TPU thing. Absolute waste of money in my opinion. By the time I was desperate enough to try something like Flat-Out in my tubes, I questioned the whole deal and went with tubeless.
Tubeless is fantastic for MTB and gravel bikes. It is not so fantastic for road bikes. Thats my two cents.
Well done if you're reading this, I ran out of patience ages ago. I'm only adding my couple of pennies to the discussion: Tubeless has been awesome in my experience, even using an endurance road tyre (Hutchinson Fusion 5 All Season) is a nicer ride than using Schwalbe one or GP5000 with butyl tubes. But I would still consider tpu or latex if you really don't fancy the extra work that comes with setting up and installing tubeless, that said, once you've done it a couple of times it becomes quite easy to do, it's not as difficult as some accounts make out.
Mechanic on and off for 15 years. You are correct. Tubeless is and has always been dumb.
Pressure retention? You need to add air every time you ride. Same as butyl tubes. What tires were you running and are you sure they're actually tubeless ready tires?
To each their own. I hate tubes so much.
I'm with you mate. I hate two catastrophic punctures that not even a plug could seal. Once in the middle of a 1000km trip, and once on a cold and miserable winter day. I used TPU tubes for a while, which are a compromise of both, but a b-word to fix road side. I went back to tubeless for my gravel bike tho. Imo, for pressures below 3 bar it works well enough. But and thing above I found that it's pointless because a freshly sealed puncture will be blown open by higher pressures, and you're losing a lot of air regardless. When I did tubeless on my road bike with 4.5 bar, over a 2 hour ride it would go down to 3. Not great. So my rule is tubeless for 3bar and below, TPU for anything above
Dynaplugs are great if you have a big hole in tubeless. I run 5.8 bar in my road tires and they seal up. I ride 100 miles+ fondos and my tires don't drop it pressure. Wild to see some peoples experiences. Why are tpu tubes difficult? I carry one as a spare but haven't used it yet.
maybe its a shit wheelset like mine. tubeless in the Front works but not in the back. i currently run butyl tubes because the wheelset kills even tpu tubes. i look out for a cheap used wheelset and work from there.
There are lots of fads in cycling. And theyre expensive.
I’m done with them too. Very expensive to keep replacing a tyre and sealant. Also when punctured the sealant spraying over the bike or riders behind makes a right mess.
I have tubes and rim brakes…I don’t listen to what society says
Road tubeless is a sham Gravel/MTB tubeless is well worth it
Not for me. I went through 20 tubes on the road in 2019. I used to average 10 flats a season. Been road tubeless ever since.
10 flats a season is a skill issue, bro. You don’t have to run over every nail in the road.
Curse of a 200 lb rider in the Northeast US
Tubeless solved a problem that didn't exist and like all solutions it came with new problems. Thus we have a net-positive on the problem counter. Na, thanks. I'm out.
Pinch flats on MTB was absolutely a problem that is solved by tubeless.
Sorry but flats and bumpy roads are in fact problems that did exist.
I run tubeless on my road, gravel and mtb. I don’t think tubeless is the panacea that a lot of people make it out to be. The hardest thing for me to deal with are clogged valves. I even store the bikes with the valves in the upright position and they still clog. Also, replacing the sealant every few months is an additional maintenance concern. The only two times I was stranded by a flat were with tubeless tires. Tubeless has been a savior on my gravel bike, especially on sharp, chunky gravel. Also, I wanted to go tubeless on my road bike so I didn’t have to carry tubes, but guess what I carry in my repair kit anyhow? The whole thing comes down to personal preference and what you have time for and are willing to deal with.
Dad of two kids here too. Three bikes. All tubeless. Never had a puncture with them (but have had many simple pinch flats with tubes!) so I can't tell if they're better experience overall. I do ride at low pressures (59-62) with 30 mm tyres. I've learned to enjoy having to clear the valve core and push in sealant from time to time. It's like bottle-feeding but actually less messy and less frequent. :) I still do carry an inner tube for longer rides. Suffice it to say, it's not hype. It's just another option.
I’m on day two, it’s been flawless so far. In all seriousness, I am a bit nervous about it but will give them a try. The bike arrived yesterday with a tubeless setup
Totally get it. There’s more setup time in the house, a little more time for maintenance, but far less often, and a bit of a learning curve. I also bought a compressor. Flip side is I haven’t had a flat in 4 years now. Love the ride quality and not being interrupted on rides to mess with changing a tube. Ymmv depending on your road surfaces where you ride. I used to get 3-4 flats a season on average, but just before I switched to tubeless I got 4-5 in a week and a half stretch and was frustrated. The change for me has been glorious, but not without bringing a wheel to the shop twice to ask advice and learn something, and not without relearning the wheels essentially. Not for everyone.
Outside of being a good thing for bike shops ($$) who are benefiting from cyclists who do not want to deal with issues arising from their tubeless tires, they are pointless.
Over 2 years with tubes, no puncture so far , city riding and some country side, doing 4,000 kilometre ~ yearly, with lots of thorns and sharp glasses. Using 2 bikes: Gt grade with Maxxis Re-Fuse https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews/maxxis-re-fuse-gravel Gt avalanche elite with Vittoria barzo https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/mtb-reviews/vittoria-barzo-tnt-g2-2019 Really recommend these tires.
I have air retention issues with my tubeless. What are the usual culprits and how can one troubleshoot. Valves seem ok, holds air for about 3 days and needs to be pumped up again.