Anyone converted their Turbo Vado to tubeless tires?

C

Camasonian

Active Member
Region
USA
I've got a 4-year old Turbo Vado 5.0 with the original Specialized Pathfinder Sport Reflect tires that are worn out and need replacement.

I'm wondering if anyone here has gone tubeless with these Specialized Turbo Vado rims and what your experience was. I'm assuming with good rim tape and the correct tubeless-ready replacement tires it will work fine. But I don't want to go through the hassle of setting this bike up for tubeless and then discover there is some issue with the wheels that I'm not aware of.

Any advice?
 
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Camasonian said:
I've got a 4-year old Turbo Vado 5.0 with the original Specialized Pathfinder Sport Reflect tires that are worn out and need replacement.

I'm wondering if anyone here has gone tubeless with these Specialized Turbo Vado rims and what your experience was. I'm assuming with good rim tape and the correct tubeless-ready replacement tires it will work fine. But I don't want to go through the hassle of setting this bike up for tubeless and then discover there is some issue with the wheels that I'm not aware of.

Any advice?
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I have used that rim on two bikes, tubeless. It works well. you want 27mm tape; both of these work fine. The teravail is even easier to use. not critical on valves, muc-off is fine or whatever. been using

Peaty's Holeshot Biofibre Tubeless Tire Sealant as it does nto seem to dry up.​

myself dont use CO2 with any sealent it seems to cause issues. Now that I have a little electric pump life is better.


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Buy Teravail Tubeless Rim Tape - 27mm x 10m, for Four Wheels: Rim Tape - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
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@fooferdoggie: have you ever heard of True Tubeless Rims? It is the latest fashion. The rim is made the way the spokes are hidden in the first rim wall. There are no spoke holes in the rim wall that meets the tyre area! Therefore, you need no rim tape. I only wonder how the tubeless valve air-tightness has been solved.
 
@Camasonian: Please spare yourself the time, expense and frustration. Inner tubes work well and are proven. Fancy you have got a flat en route despite the tubeless setup. You will need to remove the tubeless valve and install an inner tube anyway. You will be dirty. Why suffer? I'd spent money, time, and effort to have the tubeless on my Vado SL and eventually gave up.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
@Camasonian: Please spare yourself the time, expense and frustration. Inner tubes work well and are proven. Fancy you have got a flat en route despite the tubeless setup. You will need to remove the tubeless valve and install an inner tube anyway. You will be dirty. Why suffer? I'd spent money, time, and effort to have the tubeless on my Vado SL and eventually gave up.
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I'm trying to save myself having to deal with flats in the first place. Which make me late for work. And since I'm a teacher that is not a good thing. There are 25 kids waiting outside a locked classroom.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
@fooferdoggie: have you ever heard of True Tubeless Rims? It is the latest fashion. The rim is made the way the spokes are hidden in the first rim wall. There are no spoke holes in the rim wall that meets the tyre area! Therefore, you need no rim tape. I only wonder how the tubeless valve air-tightness has been solved.
Click to expand...
ya never seen them live. tape has not been a real issue for me.
 
Camasonian said:
I'm trying to save myself having to deal with flats in the first place. Which make me late for work. And since I'm a teacher that is not a good thing. There are 25 kids waiting outside a locked classroom.
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OK. So you get a cut in the tyre sidewall on tubeless. What will be shorter: just replacing the inner tube OR removing the tubeless valve THEN installing the inner tube and become dirty? (If you are snake-bitten then you will never be able to "shoot" the tyre onto the rim again without a compressor).

Also, applying the "bacon strip" is not fast, then shooting the tyre onto the rim remains an issue in the field.
 
fooferdoggie said:
ya no real info check the rim, it may say it on there. but its too expensive to go tubeless unless your rims are ready. 650b tubless road tires are pretty limited too.
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Well. They must be Specialized OEM rims. This is the only marking. I guess I can call my local shop and ask. They should know.
IMG_2607.jpeg
 
When I first got an ebike in 2018 I got 3 flats in 4 months. All were blackberry thorns. I was running the stock bike with tubes.
I immediately went tubeless as both my rims and tires were tubeless ready.
I haven't had a flat since, so almost 8 years and two different bikes trouble free!
Hmmm... did I just jinx myself? 😁
 
Let's hope you'r not jinxed DaveMatthews!
Today, I pulled my manual MTB out of the garage, to prep for ride. I have tubeless tires and the front Schwalbe Racing Ray had 8 wet spots or sealant bubbles (Stan's sealant). I am not even sure where I rode it last, but thorns, cause these types of tiny holes as they were between the knobs. The tires were still holding air after two months.. I pumped them up and went for a two hour ride. All good.
 
edobici_forza said:
Let's hope you'r not jinxed DaveMatthews!
Today, I pulled my manual MTB out of the garage, to prep for ride. I have tubeless tires and the front Schwalbe Racing Ray had 8 wet spots or sealant bubbles (Stan's sealant). I am not even sure where I rode it last, but thorns, cause these types of tiny holes as they were between the knobs. The tires were still holding air after two months.. I pumped them up and went for a two hour ride. All good.
Click to expand...
That's what I'm talkin' about!
When I delivered my first ebike to my friend/new owner, I showed him a small piece of metal (about the circumference of a paper clip) I had pulled out of the front tire that morning after cleaning everything and inspecting the tires.
He now is also a tubeless advocate since 2021.
For the OP benefit, I wanted to get my son's bike tubeless as well. I foolishly expected his bike would have tubeless ready rims as well. When I gave them to the LBS for the conversion they said they could try it anyway.
Long story short, I went for it and it was a fail. Can't win 'em all, but lesson learned. Non TR rims didn't work for me. YMMV...
 
I'll never run tubes in a bike again. I've been on mtb's and now a emtb for 25 years and finally went tubeless two years ago. Why oh why did I wait? Carrying tire tools, tubes, patches, and all of that is for the birds. I averaged at least 2 flats a year on tubes, and I replaced them each year with the ultra HD ones and ran sealant. There is nothing more fun that pulling a tire, patching a tube and all of that on the trail.

I have about 1,800 miles on single track trails on my tubeless tires and zero flats. I carry a pen sized plug kit and the same inflator, but not all the tire tools and junk as before. I know I have had punctures because of evidence of the wet spots on the tires where the sealant did its job, but I never knew it on the trail and have not had to do any repairs.

I can run 17 psi in the front and 20 in the rear tubeless, and I dared not do that with tubes due to pinch flats.
 
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