Tubeless???

Feliz

Feliz

Well-Known Member
Hi, I'm considering purchasing a bike ( Commencal Meta Power 29 EMTB ), it comes with tubeless ready tires and rims, does this mean I can just remove the tubes, change the valves, and go for a ride? Most serious mountain bikers appear to prefer tubeless there must be a reason. I'm not a serious or competitive mountain biker and I've never run tubeless in my mountain bikes but maybe it's time I tried. Thanks.
 
You might also need to use a tubeless rim tape. I use gorilla tape. I use the wide roll (like duct tape) and just adjust the width as needed.
 
Good thread topic. I'm considering it for street commuting too. My LBS swears that, if done right, it reduces the risk of punctures and makes it easier to emergency-repair if one does occur (plug kit w co2 inflator and no need to remove the wheel). I'm still investigating so not sure all of the pros/cons for tubeless in either road or mountain biking use-cases. Looking forward to reading what folks on the forum have to say about it.
 
Great info, thanks to everyone! I assume the tape is to prevent air from escaping out the spoke holes?
 
If the bike is tubeless ready, it'll already have tape - just check and make sure there are no scratches / splits / cuts otherwise you'll discover the joys of looking for where the leak is....

You'll need sealant - see the other thread. There are a few tyres that advertise as not needing sealant ( goodyear ) , but I gaven't used them so can't comment.

NB the main reason mtb riders like tubeless is it stops impact / snake bit punctures. If you're not getting them do you really need the hassle? I'm running 3/5 of our family mtb's tubeless , it's just not worth the hassle for my youngest daughter ( light enough to not get impact flats) or my wife ( she doesn't enjoy rock gardens) . New sealant every 6 months , or each time we replace a tyre. Sliced sidewalls still need a tube to get you home. Even the best sealed wheels seem to need pumping up every few weeks ( admittedly we run fairly low pressures do they might be burping on rocks)
 
Thanks. I have two mountain bikes now and I'm running tubes in both of them. Most riders I meet along with my LBS all tell me tubeless is the way to go. I'm 80 years old and my days of flying over ( or even crawling over ) rock gardens is over so maybe I don't need the hassle. I use tubes and Slime in all my bikes and can't recall the last flat I had. I competed in mountain biking back when it started but quit when I turned 50 ( I was in the masters class then ) and we would get several flats during the course of a race, there were no trails like now just the odd stake in the ground marking the course. I can still pretend though.
 
Sounds like you have the credentials to smile knowingly ...then hand those guys your unused puncture repair kit when they're struggling to reseal their tyres trailside.
 
I switched to tubeless on my Yamaha Wabash gravel bike after getting a flat on one ride with 3 goat heads (hard pointed seeds, like small jacks from a ball & jack game) in my tire. I removed the tubes, taped the tubeless ready rims, installed tubeless stems, and added sealant. I have pulled goat heads from my tires but haven’t had a flat since.
 
PDoz said:
If the bike is tubeless ready, it'll already have tape - just check and make sure there are no scratches / splits / cuts otherwise you'll discover the joys of looking for where the leak is....

You'll need sealant - see the other thread. There are a few tyres that advertise as not needing sealant ( goodyear ) , but I gaven't used them so can't comment.

NB the main reason mtb riders like tubeless is it stops impact / snake bit punctures. If you're not getting them do you really need the hassle? I'm running 3/5 of our family mtb's tubeless , it's just not worth the hassle for my youngest daughter ( light enough to not get impact flats) or my wife ( she doesn't enjoy rock gardens) . New sealant every 6 months , or each time we replace a tyre. Sliced sidewalls still need a tube to get you home. Even the best sealed wheels seem to need pumping up every few weeks ( admittedly we run fairly low pressures do they might be burping on rocks)
Click to expand...

I ran tubeless for many years on my acoustic MTBs. I did it mostly for weight savings and it was always a hassle. I even had a serious crash due to a burp in the front tire. At that point I started using tubes (with stans). When tubeless I did play around with lower pressures but didnt like all the tire squirm (and it(low presures) was probably a big factor in my burp crash). Been running tubes with stans for about 10 years now on all my bikes and dont get pinch flats and have only had a flat or two. I do quite alot of rocky stuff but by no means am a downhill bomber. I doubt the general EBR people are either.

I tried tubeless about a year ago on my 2018 Bulls Evo 3 27.5+ and despite ALL efforts, it seemed to leak out most air within a week. For the most part, I was having to check the psi every ride. As before, trying lower PSI just made the tire too squirmy. I ran it at 15psi with tubes/stans for 6 months with no pinch flats. When tubeless anything below about 12psi was just two squirmy/unpredictable so the psi advantage was a wash. These days I like it more around 20psi.

For my ebikes, the only advantage to tubeless would be quick flat fixes with a plug. Running stans in tubes is just easier, cleaner and air last for several months. Add more stans about 6 months in and then replace the tubes every year(easy peasy and no mess). I have only had 2 flats since around 2009. One was on a demo bike. Putting 2oz of stans in the tube fixed it. The other was when I hadnt replenished the stans in awhile and went over a pallette with several exposed nails. Again, 2oz of stans fixed it.

My tires/tubes always have about 10 goatheads in them.

Im probably going to buy an acoustic FS XC MTB on black friday. It will be tubeless as I want to run the fattest tires possible with the least amount of weight.
 
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Unless you send me a wattwagon for extended testing, you will suffer continual flats with tubeless tires.
all kidding aside, nice to read you!
 
Thomas Jaszewski said:
Unless you send me a wattwagon for extended testing, you will suffer continual flats with tubeless tires.
all kidding aside, nice to read you!
Click to expand...

Hey Tom, if you came out here to visit me you could ride my WW all you wanted and enjoy our wonderful rail trails while you were at it. It's great wine country here we're surrounded by wineries.

I think I'll skip going tubeless I just don't see any real advantage for me. Did you get the mid drive you were thinking about? So far my favourite of the ones I have is the Yamaha followed by BBSHD. There's a couple new motors on the market that are looking good, the one that fits in the down tube with the gears in the BB looks cool.............I see another new bike coming😲
 
Feliz said:
Did you get the mid drive you were thinking about? So far my favourite of the ones I have is the Yamaha followed by BBSHD.
Click to expand...
Waiting for the right bike. I've seen a few go for ridiculously low prices needing batteries. AND with low miles. So.... I wait. Now that it's bitter cold I won't be moving into a new ride quickly. Maybe a wattwagon fat bike trial. Remains to be seen. Won't be doing anything more than errands by bike until the weather warms. MONTHS from now. Currently a high of 20F. 6F tonight. Setting up my battery bench and new Grin battery tester. Will be 40F later this week and I'll get out again!
 
Thomas Jaszewski said:
Waiting for the right bike. I've seen a few go for ridiculously low prices needing batteries. AND with low miles. So.... I wait. Now that it's bitter cold I won't be moving into a new ride quickly. Maybe a wattwagon fat bike trial. Remains to be seen. Won't be doing anything more than errands by bike until the weather warms. MONTHS from now. Currently a high of 20F. 6F tonight. Setting up my battery bench and new Grin battery tester. Will be 40F later this week and I'll get out again!
Click to expand...

You have a Grin battery tester?
 
Feliz said:
You have a Grin battery tester?
Click to expand...
Yes, uses CA2.4

Grinspector - Grin Products - Product Info

We built the Battery Grinspector as a relatively inexpensive tool for ebike shops and advanced users that need to discharge test and characterize ebike battery packs. It is controlled with a Cycle Analyst running a modified firmware and allows you to charge and discharge the battery pack into...
www.ebikes.ca www.ebikes.ca
 
Wow, you da man! You're really immersed in eBiking, when do you find time for other actives? I was serious about you coming out here, lots of beds and bikes, my wife makes wine so lots of that.
 
Feliz said:
Wow, you da man! You're really immersed in eBiking, when do you find time for other actives? I was serious about you coming out here, lots of beds and bikes, my wife makes wine so lots of that.
Click to expand...

What else to do when it's to damn cold!
Minnesnowta!

You're on for a spring adventure!
Sadly the Grinspector needs a Windoze laptop. ARGH!!! Mo money.....
 
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