Views on Tubeless

[_Hoppers]

I've recently converted to tubeless and coincidentally picked up my first puncture in for as long as I can remember! I thought it was the nuts as I managed to get home without having to perform any road side repair with the tyre barely losing any pressure. When I got home I picked out a piece of flint and the sealant appeared to seal the hole.

I had a 40 mile ride a few days after and all was good. I ran over some gravel on the subsequent ride and this caused the seal to break causing the tyre to lose all pressure. I shoved in a worm and used a Co2 cannister to inflate the tyre, all good.

I've had several rides since and all was fine until today. About 5 miles form home it started to rain, then after a further 3miles or so the tyre spat out a load of sealant. On inspection the worm had popped out, I assume the water weakened the seal? I put in a thicker worm and managed to get home.

Have I been unlucky or is tubeless not that great? I'd be reluctant to go back to inner tube as I find the ride fab compared to tubed tyres.

[interstellar]

What bike are you riding and where was the puncture. If it’s on the edge or side you may need a new tyre

Edited by interstellar on Wednesday 4th August 18:22

[Bacon Is Proof]

Running tubeless is like gambling; no one ever talks about their losses.

[BOR]

I've never had any losses to talk about, to the extent that I no longer take an air pump with me, which might be considered as luck-pushing.

IIRC, CO2 is ok for short periods, but should be replaced with normal air ASAP. Could be this that has reacted with the sealant.

[_Hoppers]

interstellar said:

What bike are you riding and where was the picture. If it’s on the edge or side you may need a new tyre

It’s a Planet X Evo with Winspace Hyper carbon wheels. Pic of location below.

[_Hoppers]

BOR said:

I've never had any losses to talk about, to the extent that I no longer take an air pump with me, which might be considered as luck-pushing.

IIRC, CO2 is ok for short periods, but should be replaced with normal air ASAP. Could be this that has reacted with the sealant.

I’ll look into that. I took a air pump for the first few rides after getting the first puncture but my confidence in the repair was enough for me to rely on the Co2!

EDIT: Tyres were fitted by Jedi Cycles, where I go the wheels from. Apparently they used Muc Off sealant which is compatible with Co2

Edited by _Hoppers on Wednesday 4th August 18:48

[hyphen]

If you are regularly going to areas with gravel and flints, are those tyres tough enough? Or too soft perhaps?

Also are you running tyre pressure on the lower side now you are tubeless?

[_Hoppers]

hyphen said:

If you are regularly going to areas with gravel and flints, are those tyres tough enough? Or too soft perhaps?

Also are you running tyre pressure on the lower side now you are tubeless?

I ride on the road, unfortunately the roads aren't completely gravel free! I'm running 80psi (I weigh about 81kg)

[BoRED S2upid]

I’d say you got unlucky with a hole in the tyre but you would need anew tyre if that happened with a tube. I’m a big fan of tubeless no punctures in 5000+km’s and counting. A number of mates I ride with have had punctures riding exactly the same roads on the same rides.

[_Hoppers]

BoRED S2upid said:

I’d say you got unlucky with a hole in the tyre but you would need anew tyre if that happened with a tube. I’m a big fan of tubeless no punctures in 5000+km’s and counting. A number of mates I ride with have had punctures riding exactly the same roads on the same rides.

Like I mentioned in my first post, it’s my first puncture that I can recall having (for the road bike anyway). What about the worm popping out today, was that bad luck, the rain desolving the sealant or not being pushed in far enough etc?

[jesusbuiltmycar]

Bacon Is Proof said:

Running tubeless is like gambling; no one ever talks about their losses.

This...

I am sure it works fine on MTBs and the technology may have improved since I tried it 4 years ago.

For gravel riding my experience is that it is hopeless punctures become a major faff with sealant being sprayed everywhere prior to having a messy experience when being force to put a tube in...

[Dnlm]

_Hoppers said:

BoRED S2upid said:

I’d say you got unlucky with a hole in the tyre but you would need anew tyre if that happened with a tube. I’m a big fan of tubeless no punctures in 5000+km’s and counting. A number of mates I ride with have had punctures riding exactly the same roads on the same rides.

Like I mentioned in my first post, it’s my first puncture that I can recall having (for the road bike anyway). What about the worm popping out today, was that bad luck, the rain desolving the sealant or not being pushed in far enough etc?

I'd say probably a mixture of all. That's a big hole (as above, near tyre killer tubeless or no) so the plug might be a little easier to loosen out. Co2 isn't great regardless of the sealant brand so might have made it worse. The rain possibly too.

How well trimmed was the worm? I had a pop out on gravel tyre worm and that was the conclusion, bit hanging out made it easier to loosen. after a 'professional' reinsertion/lesson at lbs, done hundreds of miles and a couple other repairs without issue.

My road bike gp5000s have been a dream tubeless, probably had impact punctures every 3/500 miles before, just one tyre killing rip in thousands since.

Gravel bike has had more sharps cause holes with less miles, but after first poor job, been slow pressure loss then smooth process plugging. Never rode with tubes so can't compare.

I'm changing commuter to tubeless because punctures have been an issue, but very possibly tyre related (turbo cottons).

Definitely not got enough faith to ride without pump. often feel a bit squishy and top up, but I'm not fastidious before leaving home. Have abandoned spare tubes for any rides near civilization though.

[anonymous-user]

My take on it - for MTB there is little point. Even the lightest MTB tyres are very resistant to punctures. I’ve not had a puncture for years on tubes. Annoyingly most new wheels and tyres are tubeless ready, so getting the bead over the rim is a proper battle these days. For me they are an excuse to get us to buy more st.

For cross/gravel; I can see the appeal as annoying little thorns and sharp twigs easily puncture a cross tyre. Guessing the tyre walls are thinner than MTB. Not converted yet but I am likely to in future.

[sociopath]

Fine for low pressure high volume MTB tyres.

Hate it for road and gravel, had loads of splits and punctures that wouldn't seal, probably due to hig pressure and a fat bloke on top.
Went back to tubes, been fine ever since, in fact not had a puncture since.

Seems a lot of faff since you really need to carry a tube and pump anyway unless you're very brave

[_Hoppers]

Dnlm said:

_Hoppers said:

BoRED S2upid said:

I’d say you got unlucky with a hole in the tyre but you would need anew tyre if that happened with a tube. I’m a big fan of tubeless no punctures in 5000+km’s and counting. A number of mates I ride with have had punctures riding exactly the same roads on the same rides.

Like I mentioned in my first post, it’s my first puncture that I can recall having (for the road bike anyway). What about the worm popping out today, was that bad luck, the rain desolving the sealant or not being pushed in far enough etc?

I'd say probably a mixture of all. That's a big hole (as above, near tyre killer tubeless or no) so the plug might be a little easier to loosen out. Co2 isn't great regardless of the sealant brand so might have made it worse. The rain possibly too.

How well trimmed was the worm? I had a pop out on gravel tyre worm and that was the conclusion, bit hanging out made it easier to loosen. after a 'professional' reinsertion/lesson at lbs, done hundreds of miles and a couple other repairs without issue.

My road bike gp5000s have been a dream tubeless, probably had impact punctures every 3/500 miles before, just one tyre killing rip in thousands since.

Gravel bike has had more sharps cause holes with less miles, but after first poor job, been slow pressure loss then smooth process plugging. Never rode with tubes so can't compare.

I'm changing commuter to tubeless because punctures have been an issue, but very possibly tyre related (turbo cottons).

Definitely not got enough faith to ride without pump. often feel a bit squishy and top up, but I'm not fastidious before leaving home. Have abandoned spare tubes for any rides near civilization though.

The plugs make the hole seem bigger than it is in reality. The piece of flint was at max 3mm wide (see pic below, it went in longways). I cut the plug with scissors so couldn't get it level with the tyre, it pretty much looked like the one in the pic in my first post.

I think I might try patching the tyre from the inside, I've found some patches by Velox which might do the trick? After today's 'event' I think I'd prefer to quickly repair these types of punctures with a plug even if that means taking the tyre off to make a more robust repair and re-filling with sealant when I get home. Much easier than fannying about with inner tubes in the rain on the side of the road!

[remedy]

Yes, an internal patch on a slice like that would be perfect. I've had tubeless on my road bike for 3 years now.
It has been awesome and I won't go back to tubes.
I had some Eagle F1s fitted after my Schwalbes cracked up and on the first ride I got a sidewall slice. It wouldn't seal but got me home on 40psi.
After a few failed attempts to get it to seal I patched the inside and it's been fine.
Although, I have an niggly, intermittent leak from a spoke so I think the rim tape has lifted slightly. It loses about 5psi a night but then will seal fine after a ride and be solid, until the next ride when it moves again and slowly leaks...
I just pump the tyres before each ride and live with it till I can be bothered to replace the rim tape.

Squaealing disc brakes on the other hand.... Argh.

[anonymous-user]

See, that to me just sounds really annoying. Tubeless should be absolutely faultless and no faff if it’s going to replace tubes. At the moment it’s like a hack.

[gp1699]

Can't see the point on the road bike with high pressures and lightweight tires.

The mountain bike is set up tubeless, but this is mainly to allow lower pressures to increase grip... not to reduce risk of a flat tire.

[interstellar]

Can’t comment as don’t ride road bikes. My initial response was because I thought you were on MTB.

I ride MTB and all 3 bikes are tubeless and it’s well worth it.

[PomBstard]

I'm still not entirely sold on going tubeless for road, gravel or MTB. It might be different if I rode forest or woodland tracks and trails, but everything off-road around here is rocky and sandy. Punctures with tubes are often pinch flats if not enough pressure, and with tubeless it'll be a slice in the sidewall that'll need a tube and a patch on the inside of the tyre to get you home.

My gravel bike runs tubes and 50-80psi depending on terrain, and I've had 3 punctures in 5 years/15,000km. My mtb started tubeless F&R but a small slash in the sidewall of the rear about 18 months ago meant a tube, and its still there. The front is still tubeless, and pressures are usually around 30-35psi - I ride to the ride so compromise a bit for the road too.

I carry tubes and a pump each time, but its all part of the bike or water pack anyway, so no real grief. And it gives piece of mind too - I'm often solo and not always close to a road. In fact I don't know anyone who doesn't carry some form of tube/air combo on a ride.