Originally Posted by
TruthBomb
Thanks for the link. It's interesting that folks have had success using non-tubeless tires and 4.5 ARs (see pic).
I've done things that I've gotten away with in the past, like taking non-tubeless ready MTB rims and running them tubeless after simply resealing the spoke holes with Stans yellow tape. The more I read about bead hooks, tire bead shapes, what differentiates tubeless ready from non-tubeless rims and tires, etc. the less inclined I am to keep doing things like this just because I got away with it in the past.
It's interesting that the guy in the pic you showed "got away" with running a non-tubeless GP4KIIs tire in these ENVE 4.5 AR rims. This was apparently his first 95km on brand new tires. He may keep getting away with it, or he may not. As he racks up more kilometerage on that bike the beads may stretch out a little and he may not get away with it anymore.
If a guy can afford $3k for a set of wheels, I think he should be able to afford to follow the manufacturers recommendations re: tire selection.
I do run a 32c tire usually and, again depending on the trail surface, sometimes a 40c tire. I run the 40c because many times running wider tires won't only slow you down...
Not even considering trail riding, even on the road I'm loving the 32mm tires, and will definitely keep pushing the size up with each new set to see where the performance/comfort levels off and changes direction.
Notwithstanding that article showing worse cross-wind performance with tires exceeding that 105% rule, I'd suspect that most people would still find their overall performance better on a wider tire like the 32mm even though it breaks the 105% rule. Everything's always a tradeoff, and the question comes down to the balance of marginal gains vs. marginal losses and what nets out of it all.