Tubeless Blues

[fooferdoggie]

What I like about tubeless is that I seldom have to stop and deal with an issue; I can usually make it where I need to go, or I just need more sealant, as that's why it did not seal. It needs a plug. But I can run lower PSI for a smoother ride, and I can have nicer riding tires without the worry of punctures I would get with tubes. I have ridden the same tire with and without a tube, and the ride is nicer without.

 

[BlackHand]

I'm running fatter tires than that, and generally I'd say that with any 30mm tire or skinnier tubeless is of very questionable utility. The whole system works better at lower tire pressures on the average.

The weight savings can be dramatic for not just fat tires but even big 29x3 tires.

Oh, and generally the sealant "dries out" not by evaporation but because the sealant reacts with oxygen over time. That's part of the magic of the system the sealant tends to stay liquid until exposed to the air -- like when the tire is leaking.

I agree on the questionable utility for thinner tires.

Thanks for posting the Park video, glad to see I'm not crazy in questioning the math on saving weight by going tubeless. He took a 235g tube out of a Racing Ralph, one of the lightest MTB tubeless ready tires around which probably has little/no puncture protection on its own. Nobody using that tire for its designed purpose would leave the cheap heavy butyl tube from the factory in there.

FYI mtb size tpu tubes are about 45-85g depending on the brand compared to the 125g going tubeless weighed in the Park video. Fat tire tpu tubes of the brand I have are 100g. Surely you would need at keast 200g of sealant and tape for a 4" tire?

So the weight DISadvantage for tubeless actually grows as tire size goes up.

Plenty of advantages for tubeless and reasons to choose it, but weight isn't one of them unless you disregard modern options.

 

[BlackHand]

What I like about tubeless is that I seldom have to stop and deal with an issue; I can usually make it where I need to go, or I just need more sealant, as that's why it did not seal. It needs a plug. But I can run lower PSI for a smoother ride, and I can have nicer riding tires without the worry of punctures I would get with tubes. I have ridden the same tire with and without a tube, and the ride is nicer without.

Curious, does the ride feel different at the same pressure? Or is the nicer ride solely from riding at lower pressures?

 

[fooferdoggie]

Curious, does the ride feel different at the same pressure? Or is the nicer ride solely from riding at lower pressures?

feels better at the same pressure, softer. going to be less me use more pliable tires without the worry of punctures I would get with them with tubes. On the tandem, it really helps.

 

[DaveMatthews]

I went tubeless in 2019 and am never going back.

 

[Chargeride]

I have gone tubeless in my van as well, oh hang on, so has everyone else.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Tubeless is beauty when it works. Whenever it doesn't, you run away as fast as you can