In the states .. Selinsgrove Pennsylvania... I have only visited Scotland a few times over the years but my ancestors came here from there and we have a few members from there. Check the maps and pictures thread for RabH. There are others too. Where do you ride?
I don't use tubes anymore.. but that.. is crazy!
I use tubes with Slime and don't have to check pressure but maybe every 3 months. I had a flat, more of a blow out I never figured out, 2 years ago. This for both the wife and I. Please refresh my memory, as I seem to have forgotten any reason why I might want to go tubeless?
There are reasons for tubeless tires that may make sense if you race or you're some kind of professional rider, I suppose. Tubeless tires can be lighter, and they can be easier to fix if you have a flat. Not necessarily easier though. On a 12 lb carbon frame $16,000 racer, you want to save the weight. On an electric bike, weight is rarely an issue, especially the tiny amount of weight the difference between tubed and tubeless would make. But I guess Tour de France type riders go tubeless so a lot of people think they should too.
I was fixing flats before I was 10, so they don't intimidate me at all. I'm not special in that way, but never the less, there are a lot of fully-grown adults who are new to bikes, and ebikes in particular, whose idea of fixing a flat is to call a guy, or take their whole bike to him, or her. Not sure what that has to do with tubes vs tubeless, other than I hate that some of them will spend a lot of money converting their bikes to tubeless tires just because they think it might save them from the horrors of a flat tire.
Another vote for tubes and slime. Weight is not a factor for my heavy over-powered ebike. Getting the back wheel off to patch a tube is a big factor I do not want to deal with any more than I absolutely have to. Especially given I run a special axle for hauling a trailer.
Yes , it's a known issue that tubeless tire slowly leak air.
...and flats still happen with tubeless setups. My sons run tubeless on their MTBs, but still carry flat kits that include spare tubes, a tire boot and a CO2 inflator 'cause stuff happens on the trail and it's a long walk back. They tell me it takes longer to install the new tube since all the punctures that the sealant plugged need to be checked for thorns, glass, etc to keep from puncturing the new tube!
I'm still hunting for my first e-bike but have many years of regular bike experience. I used to be able to locate the tube puncture while wheel was still on bike and break bead, pull that section of tube out of tire, repair it, push it back in, pump up and ride off all in 15 minutes. Those were high pressure, 90 psi road tires. Is there anything on an ebike wheel to prevent doing that?
No.
As mentioned, you don't always have to take the wheel off to patch a tube. But even if you do, with an ebike and extra trailer paraphernalia, it's just maybe an extra wrench and a couple more minutes than with an analog bike tire..
The question of how much slime in a given tire arrises. My experience with 27.5 x 3 inch tires indicates the suggested amount on the bottle for a motorcycle tire is about right. 8 ounces did not seem to do the trick but then I only gave it one chance. Perhaps if I had been patient enough to air the tire up more than once and ridden it around to spread the fluid ... 8 oz would have worked. But I am not a patient man and 12 oz did the trick.
Another good point... there are actually 3 types of Slime now available.
Yeah, I did too. But that was 55 years ago for me. And it was a huffy 'stingray' knock off that weighed about 25lbs, or less. No gears. I could flip that baby upside down in a second. Not going to do that with my 72lb fat tire ebike. Arthritis alone makes getting a bead broken a royal pain in the butt.
Excellent point. I'll try to be more sensitive to that point of view when I talk about how easy it is to fix a flat. My mind always goes to the people who are totally intimidated by wrenches when I think of people who don't want to fix a flat. But of course there are other good and valid reasons, as you state.
