Thread: tubeless update
View Single Post
Old 04-23-16 | 05:43 PM
  #17  
RNAV's Avatar
RNAV
Flyin' under the radar
 
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 830
Likes: 59
From: O'Fallon, IL

Bikes: '15 LeMond Washoe custom painted, '06 LeMond Croix de fer custom painted, '18 Specialized Crux

Originally Posted by gregf83
You left out the cleaning up of sealant sprayed on the frame and body. Also you need to add in the time required to periodically add sealant to all your wheels/bikes.

I'm curious when riders switch to tubeless do you convert all your bikes/wheels or just some of them? I have three road bikes, two that get used the most and one backup. How often do you need to add sealant and how long does it take? Presumably you deflate the tire, remove the valve, add the sealant and re-inflate. It's not clear the total time spent messing with tires is less than just changing tubes when a puncture occurs.
I tend to wash/clean/lube my bikes about every 2 to 3 weeks, depending on riding conditions. The tubeless punctures I've had haven't made that big of a mess, and it cleans up just as easily as road grime when you're washing the bike. So for me, at least, I just wash my bikes regularly and it's no big deal.

I'll check the amount of sealant once every 6 months, and top-up if necessary. Now, I'm a little bit anal retentive, so I'll remove the valve core, suction out all the sealant to see how much is in the tire, top-up, and put the sealant back in the tire. That whole process takes about 10 minutes. If I were just going to add sealant, it'd be a 5 minute job, if that.

I've got three bikes, only one of which is tubeless. As long as you don't puncture, tubed takes less time overall. My guesstimate is that if I got two flats on tubed, the total time investment would equal tubeless. Once I get above 2 flats, the time investment would shift dramatically in favor of tubeless (especially if I flatted on my Cannondale w/ Gipiemme rims . . . those things were just as much of a PIA to mount as tubeless).

Although I put more miles on my Emonda (tubeless), I commute several times a week on my Cannondale (tubed). I really want to go tubeless on my Cannondale. To me there's value in getting a flat and not having to stop -- or minimally pull over and add some air -- and still be able to get into work on time. No matter what, if I flat on my tubed Cannondale, I'm not getting in to work on time. Converting to tubeless would change that for me.
RNAV is offline  
Reply