Originally Posted by
tomato coupe
So, in 4 months, you've:
1. Replaced your rear tire 3 times, one of which took 6 attempts and 90+ minutes to install.
2. Had 3 flats that required a plug which, in the best case, took 10 minutes to fix.
3. Had 2 flats where fluid was spraying all over you and the bike.
This is why many cyclists have given up on road tubular tubeless.
You certainly can make it sound bad if you want to. Your info is correct, and I'm not disputing the content of what you've posted. However, you've provided no context for your remarks.
1. All but 1 of those punctures would have happened to any tire (tubed or tubeless). A thick-walled, tubed tire may have avoided one small puncture (of which I was totally unaware until I got home).
2. The 2 punctures which had sealant spraying on me and the bike are part of (not in addition to) the 3 punctures to which you refer in point #2.
3. The first 3 tires that had to be replaced seemed prone to puncture. I'm not sure their durability (or lack thereof) is representative of the frequency of punctures I will incur over the long-term with different tires. Anecdotally speaking, I've suffered fewer punctures as well as a lower frequency of punctures since changing tires.
4. Those punctures happened over the course of 6,600 miles.
You can look at my recent experience with tubeless as "glass half empty" by pointing to the problems I've incurred. I've shared those experiences openly and honestly, so I'm definitely not trying to candy-coat tubeless tires. However, I choose to look at the same information and come away with a "glass half full" perspective. Assuming I'm correct about my first point, I wouldn't have saved much (if any) time, effort or hassle with a tubed setup. In fact, probably the opposite... so I'll take tubeless.
There's no right or wrong, so whatever anyone chooses is fine. I'm just sharing my experience in response ot the OP since I empathize with his situation.