Road bikes and tubeless
Discussion
So SWMBO is getting a new bike, after 12 years on her "starter" Cannondale Synapse she's moving to a better sized Trek Domane SL 5.
Carbon, Shimano 105 and discs! Plus.....tubeless..
Now as the resident bike mechanic I'm ok with bleeding disc brakes (one of my jobs when we MTB'd back in the day) however tubeless? I'm clueless and a bit sceptical.
Can anyone here tell me about their experiences? The bike will also be used as a commuter along with long weekend rides.
Any advice greatly appreciated!
T1b
Carbon, Shimano 105 and discs! Plus.....tubeless..
Now as the resident bike mechanic I'm ok with bleeding disc brakes (one of my jobs when we MTB'd back in the day) however tubeless? I'm clueless and a bit sceptical.
Can anyone here tell me about their experiences? The bike will also be used as a commuter along with long weekend rides.
Any advice greatly appreciated!
T1b
Tubeless, great when it works, a pain in the ass when it doesn’t.
Imho it’s more suited to larger volume tyres eg MTB and gravel as there’s sufficient volume of air in the tyre to push the sealant out and effect a seal.
Road tyres simply don’t have the air volume to do this.
On the plus side, when it works, it works, to the point you don’t notice it.
When it doesn’t, it’s a major faff.
I’ll give an example. My gravel bike runs 42mm tyres set up tubeless.
Last week I went for a ride and noticed the rear tyre losing air.
I pumped it up, 3 miles later it was soft again. I noticed a hole on the side wall close to the bead. Tried a bacon rasher and it seemed to hold. More air in.
1 mile later the bacon rasher failed and I had to put a tube in.
I then couldn’t get the tyre to fully seat, to had to ride the final few miles in that state.
Plus the mess of dealing with the sealant whilst putting a tube in.
On the plus side, when I pulled the tyre off to put the tube in there were about a dozen thorns in situ from the previous rides, which tubeless had clearly sealed.
Like I say, positives and negatives.
MTB / Gravel - Yes
Road - No
Imho it’s more suited to larger volume tyres eg MTB and gravel as there’s sufficient volume of air in the tyre to push the sealant out and effect a seal.
Road tyres simply don’t have the air volume to do this.
On the plus side, when it works, it works, to the point you don’t notice it.
When it doesn’t, it’s a major faff.
I’ll give an example. My gravel bike runs 42mm tyres set up tubeless.
Last week I went for a ride and noticed the rear tyre losing air.
I pumped it up, 3 miles later it was soft again. I noticed a hole on the side wall close to the bead. Tried a bacon rasher and it seemed to hold. More air in.
1 mile later the bacon rasher failed and I had to put a tube in.
I then couldn’t get the tyre to fully seat, to had to ride the final few miles in that state.
Plus the mess of dealing with the sealant whilst putting a tube in.
On the plus side, when I pulled the tyre off to put the tube in there were about a dozen thorns in situ from the previous rides, which tubeless had clearly sealed.
Like I say, positives and negatives.
MTB / Gravel - Yes
Road - No
Agree with the above.
High volume low pressure. Tyres work fine, high pressure low volume don't.
She may get away with it if she's a lightweight skinny climber, but I've never got it to work effectively on my road bike so stick to tubes. You have to carry a tube anyway in case of emergencies, so why bother with all the mess and aggro is my rhinking
High volume low pressure. Tyres work fine, high pressure low volume don't.
She may get away with it if she's a lightweight skinny climber, but I've never got it to work effectively on my road bike so stick to tubes. You have to carry a tube anyway in case of emergencies, so why bother with all the mess and aggro is my rhinking
She's like 49Kg
All of this is food for thought.. hmmmm
Just watched a GCN vid on it and the comments wobert made about the thorns etc make a good case for the sort of punctures the Mrs gets...
I think it's going to be a try it and see. My other worry is putting tubeless tyres on with a tube will be aright old faff that SWMBO will have zero will or patience for....
Bike a few days out but this is all useful info.
Thank you
All of this is food for thought.. hmmmm
Just watched a GCN vid on it and the comments wobert made about the thorns etc make a good case for the sort of punctures the Mrs gets...
I think it's going to be a try it and see. My other worry is putting tubeless tyres on with a tube will be aright old faff that SWMBO will have zero will or patience for....
Bike a few days out but this is all useful info.
Thank you
T1berious said:
She's like 49Kg
All of this is food for thought.. hmmmm
Just watched a GCN vid on it and the comments wobert made about the thorns etc make a good case for the sort of punctures the Mrs gets...
I think it's going to be a try it and see. My other worry is putting tubeless tyres on with a tube will be aright old faff that SWMBO will have zero will or patience for....
Bike a few days out but this is all useful info.
Thank you
I think her main issue could be an inability to get the tubeless tyre off and back on the wheel at all. Some combinations can be deadly, so check she can do it at home before she goes out. Took three guys at the same time to get a tyre on one of my wheels once it was so tight All of this is food for thought.. hmmmm
Just watched a GCN vid on it and the comments wobert made about the thorns etc make a good case for the sort of punctures the Mrs gets...
I think it's going to be a try it and see. My other worry is putting tubeless tyres on with a tube will be aright old faff that SWMBO will have zero will or patience for....
Bike a few days out but this is all useful info.
Thank you
sociopath said:
I think her main issue could be an inability to get the tubeless tyre off and back on the wheel at all. Some combinations can be deadly, so check she can do it at home before she goes out. Took three guys at the same time to get a tyre on one of my wheels once it was so tight
Cluckingbell!I think she's on Ultegra Wheels at the moment and I believe they are tubeless compatible and she's got the tyre back on once under ideal conditions (namely in the conservatory).
We'll have to see how she does when the bike arrives.
Edited by T1berious on Friday 1st April 09:12
sociopath said:
I think her main issue could be an inability to get the tubeless tyre off and back on the wheel at all. Some combinations can be deadly, so check she can do it at home before she goes out. Took three guys at the same time to get a tyre on one of my wheels once it was so tight
This! I paid the local bike shop to set my new wheels up tubeless because I am lazy. I did the last pair but it was a bit of a faff.
I love being able to run lower pressures and not have to really worry about getting a puncture, I’ve never had one that didn’t seal so far which is quite a comforting thought that It’s highly unlikely I’ll be having to change a tube at the side of the road when it’s freezing.
Every 6 months I just top up the sealant with my big syringe thing and away we go. I don’t see any downside apart from the initial set up.
I love being able to run lower pressures and not have to really worry about getting a puncture, I’ve never had one that didn’t seal so far which is quite a comforting thought that It’s highly unlikely I’ll be having to change a tube at the side of the road when it’s freezing.
Every 6 months I just top up the sealant with my big syringe thing and away we go. I don’t see any downside apart from the initial set up.
I have a Domane SL8 from 2018. Plus points are her bike will come with 32s with clearance for 38s. I think the wheels will be Bontrager Affinity which are 21mm wide internally which is good.
I might be wrong but I think Treks get delivered with inner tubes. Given her weight I'd stick with the humble inner tube. Any more questions just ask as I've used 3 different tubeless tyres.
I might be wrong but I think Treks get delivered with inner tubes. Given her weight I'd stick with the humble inner tube. Any more questions just ask as I've used 3 different tubeless tyres.
What tyre size and how are the roads?
A big benefit of tubeless is no snakebite punctures from low pressure. At 50kg I'd expect a rider to want a light bike setup, so instead of the usual recommendation I'd make of ~32mm road tyres I'd look at a 28mm and starting at 50psi and go from there.
If roads are rough I'd go back to 30 or 32mm and drop the pressure down, likewise if it's leisure riding without concerns about pace a 30mm+ tyre makes a lot of sense.
For reference when I was 74kg I ran sub 30psi in a 40mm WTB Nano TCS for rough road / light off road and 65 psi in 30mm Schwalbe Pro Ones (had a sidewall cut first ride!).
A big benefit of tubeless is no snakebite punctures from low pressure. At 50kg I'd expect a rider to want a light bike setup, so instead of the usual recommendation I'd make of ~32mm road tyres I'd look at a 28mm and starting at 50psi and go from there.
If roads are rough I'd go back to 30 or 32mm and drop the pressure down, likewise if it's leisure riding without concerns about pace a 30mm+ tyre makes a lot of sense.
For reference when I was 74kg I ran sub 30psi in a 40mm WTB Nano TCS for rough road / light off road and 65 psi in 30mm Schwalbe Pro Ones (had a sidewall cut first ride!).
Master Bean said:
I have a Domane SL8 from 2018. Plus points are her bike will come with 32s with clearance for 38s. I think the wheels will be Bontrager Affinity which are 21mm wide internally which is good.
I might be wrong but I think Treks get delivered with inner tubes. Given her weight I'd stick with the humble inner tube. Any more questions just ask as I've used 3 different tubeless tyres.
Cheers! That's a relief!I might be wrong but I think Treks get delivered with inner tubes. Given her weight I'd stick with the humble inner tube. Any more questions just ask as I've used 3 different tubeless tyres.
leyorkie said:
If you are set up on tubeless and you need to fit a tube at the roadside then you need pliers or similar to get the valve out. We’re not talking finger tight.
Most bikes sold as tubeless ready come with tubes fitted
I’d disagree with the comment regarding the valve.Most bikes sold as tubeless ready come with tubes fitted
I only ever do my valves up finger tight, they hold pressure like that and are serviceable at the road side.
The biggest issue fitting a tube, is dealing with / disposing of the sealant and the mess that goes with it.
Personally, I have not used tubeless on my Mrs's bike. She's more than capable of swapping a tube when she does get a flat but when it comes to tubeless, removing the valve and potentially a very tight tyre would only result in a loss of temper and a call to me to collect her. So basically not worth the hassle 
My Schwalbe one's are so tight on the rim, I can't see how I will remove these to install a tube. Touchwood, I used without issue for the whole of last season but I do feel more comfortable on long days out with tyre/tube combo.
I'll probably go back to tubes on that bike when the tyres are done, I can't be doing with the anxiety.
My Schwalbe one's are so tight on the rim, I can't see how I will remove these to install a tube. Touchwood, I used without issue for the whole of last season but I do feel more comfortable on long days out with tyre/tube combo.
I'll probably go back to tubes on that bike when the tyres are done, I can't be doing with the anxiety.
Echo the above sentiment - tubeless works really well until it doesn't.
Remember that sealant will only work on smaller punctures and repairing a holed tyre on the roadside in the rain is much harder than swapping a tube.
I have had 2 rides 'ruined' recently by mates running tubeless and getting punctures which were hard to fix. One ended in a call to a busy wife who was very unhappy about the 40 mile round trip rescue!
Remember that sealant will only work on smaller punctures and repairing a holed tyre on the roadside in the rain is much harder than swapping a tube.
I have had 2 rides 'ruined' recently by mates running tubeless and getting punctures which were hard to fix. One ended in a call to a busy wife who was very unhappy about the 40 mile round trip rescue!
I'm getting a definite feel of two camps here and to be honest knowing SWMBO as I do, I can't see her having the patience, strength or frankly will to deal with a tubeless flat 25km away from home.
Add to that she's an all weather rider (where as its purely a summer gig for me) it just sounds like a faff she'd lose her rag over if it came to having to do a change with cold numb fingers.
For the commute it makes sense, for the longer / training rides.. I'm not so sure.
If they come with tubes (which seems to be consensus), I'll just ensure she can change them at home regardless.
Add to that she's an all weather rider (where as its purely a summer gig for me) it just sounds like a faff she'd lose her rag over if it came to having to do a change with cold numb fingers.
For the commute it makes sense, for the longer / training rides.. I'm not so sure.
If they come with tubes (which seems to be consensus), I'll just ensure she can change them at home regardless.
I’ve run tubeless on my TCR for a year now and it’s been without major issue. I am not a lightweight rider and the Giant system seems to work at 25/28mm tyre widths.
The benefit is that I can run lower pressures than I would otherwise do and it appears to have prevented two or three flats. I needed to use a Dynaplug on one but that worked fine too and it got me home.
The only real downside I’ve come across is that it’s messy compared with tubes, especially if you swap tyres during the year.
The benefit is that I can run lower pressures than I would otherwise do and it appears to have prevented two or three flats. I needed to use a Dynaplug on one but that worked fine too and it got me home.
The only real downside I’ve come across is that it’s messy compared with tubes, especially if you swap tyres during the year.
I installed tubeless this year for the first time. And when I say 'I'. I needed a strong friend and tools not suitable for roadside repair to get the tyre on. It then used about 100ml of sealant to hold pressure for more then a day. I think I will be going for the tubed version next time and swapping the tyres at half their life to minimise the risk of punctures.
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