Originally Posted by
garysol1
I doubt that. Running the wide HED rim at 90psi or even a little under offers almost all of the ride quality advantages of a tubeless clincher without the hassles associated with tubeless. The hassles of tubeless I found to be many such as very tough to mount and dismount tires even at home much less on the side of the road when its cold and wet outside. There are very few tubeless tires to choose from. Sealant mess. The biggest disadvantage which happened to me personally and others is that there is very little protection to the brake track of the rim due to the low tubeless pressures. It may be fine on smooth roads but take a hit on a Ohio pothole and instead of a simple pinch flat you get a folded brake track. I have seen this happen a handful of times around here. The second issue may very well be the same on the wider non tubeless rim but so far we have not seen it.
I have found exactly the opposite of most the issues you bring up.
The lower running pressure , I find offers more protection to my rims, I find the tires absorbing rocks, or rough spots in the road mucch more smoothly becuase there is actually some absorption in the tire.
The tubeless run forever without flats with the sealant in them. Tubed tires get cut with glass, small metal pieces etc. sealant takes these issues without flats.
Just carry a tube with you if you do get a flat. remove the tire and put the tube in and inflate and go.
hutch intensives have not been difficult to mount and unmount from the rims. I think the earliest versions of tubeless tires were very difficult, and people assume all are this way. I am riding hutch intensives and they have been out for a while and it appears they have resolved this issue.
Tire selection is more limited, but there are several good tires out now. hutch Intensive, Schwalbe Ultremo, Bontrager Trl, and several more. More than enough to choose from. This selection is growing every year.
Advantages:
Ride is much smoother. I'm talking a very noticeable difference. After riding for 20 years on tubes, I can feel a difference, that makes me never want to go back.
They roll quicker. In coasting with friends, I notice that I am always very fast in coasting, even though other aero factors factors are similar with other riders. This fact has been confirmed by many studies from people that are much smarter than me. There is a friction loss of the tire and inner tube interface which causes more riding resistance. Thus the reason tubulars are popular with racers.
Don't have to worry about pinch flats as I have had several with tubed tires.
Any rim can be run tubeless with stans tape and valves. This makes conversion very easy and inexpensive.
I find that the advantages far out weigh the disadvantages. If you tried them several years ago in there infancy, don't dismiss them, they are great and I for one will never go back to tubes.