Going tubeless?
 

If I get another puncture I’ll consider tubeless. Ideally I want to be able to replace inner tubes on my own but it’s impossible with this current setup. I suppose now they have been used and stretched a bit it might be easier next time. ( it took me and a mechanic 1hr30 just to get my tyres on the rim) I’ve also ordered that tool someone suggested from amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bbb-Cycling.../dp/B00A855QRY

I’ll do some research into tubeless, are you less likely to get punctures that way ?
My rims are tubeless ready so always an option

Only thing is if you get a puncture with tubeless tyres and the sealant can’t fix it, you have to buy another tyre ?

Why it's impossible to replace a tube with your current setup? It shouldn't be.

the bike mechanic said it was the most difficult set of rims he’s ever worked with. And it took both of us to do it. Therefore it’s impossible on my own

I have only used Schwable Pro One tubeless 25C onto carbon rims so far, but I have to agree virgin setup is the worst, in my experience it takes two people, 2 pairs of hands to actually mount the the tyre, and I have done 3 pairs of them. Taking them off and remounting is much much easier as the bead will have stretched, if stranded by the side of the road fitting a tube is doeable.

Something is wrong there. I'va had some rim / tire combinations that were difficult. In some instances I have broken tire levers. But in any case, it should be something doable at the side of the road.

What are you supposed to do if you get a puncture 50km from home and you can't repair it?

thats what I’m getting at. It’s not possible to do it on my own. And to be fair I don’t go far from home anyway . If i get another puncture I’ll consider going tubeless or getting rims which are easy to put tyres on . Bike mechanic lives near me so shouldn’t have a problem either way

For road riding, it isn’t that you get fewer punctures, it’s that the sealant are able to deal with most of them unassisted. You might need to top up the pressure though.
That CAN happen, if the cut is long enough. Often it’s possible to remove the tire, then put a patch on the inside to get some more life out of it.

I just bought a new pair of GP5000 tires and thought for about a nano-second about trying the tubeless variety. Then I remembered the video I watched...

What kind of rim tape are you using? Switch to a thin/slippery "tubeless" rim tape if you haven't already.

I've come across combinations that were very difficult over the years. I avoid those. Tubeless is not a "solution" for a tire/rim combination so difficult that even your mechanic complains (but it's also possible your mechanic is no good.) Get different tires if you have to. I never carry tire levers, because I can remove all my tires by hand.

My hands are raw after taking off and putting on tires today without tools.

If you get a puncture that won't seal on its own, you'll need to use road bacon. If the road bacon doesn't work (very serious puncture > 1/4") you'll have to insert a tire boot and tube.

+1

Sealant is first line of defense, bacon strips 2nd line of defense, spare tube + boot 3rd line of defense.

Are we talking about a road bike, where you might go 50 miles from home? I tried tubeless... specifically Pirelli PZero 700x25c tires on Fulcrum Racing3 2-way wheels. What an expensive mistake!

IMHO, for tubeless to make any sense at all you need wider tires and also wider wheels than I've got. Much wider.

Apparently all "bacon" repair plugs aren't equal - the Lezayne variety didn't well work for me! If you're gonna rely on bacon plugs, you should probably practice using them at home before trying them along a roadside. Once plugged, you should plan on installing a brand new tire at the first opportunity because riding at road speeds on a plugged tire is a very bad idea. Note: if the plug is in the part of the tire that contacts the road,
you'll hear and feel a bump on every tire rotation. That's the road, trying to pull the plug out. Come to think of it... you should probably avoid turns.

You should certainly plan on carrying a spare tube, plus shop towels because you're gonna be a sticky mess when you install them. It won't be a quick job.


venomx... I think a different set of wheels might be a good investment for you, so that you can swap tires/tubes independently and much more easily.

I would say so, as the P Zero Velos are not tubeless, but straight clinchers. The only tubeless road bike tire from Pirelli is the Cinturato Velo TLR, which are fantastic (I put about 5,000 miles on a set.) So if you had a bad experience with P Zeroes tubeless, I can see why.

Dynaplugs are designed to be used for the life of the tire, and I have done so. I've plugged tires at under 500 miles, and ridden them plugged until cords were showing at +3,000 miles. Almost everything in that quote is wrong, save for the part about not all plugs being equal.

You also don't need ot throw away a tubeless tire with a hole in it. So long as cords haven't been cut, you can patch it from the inside with a typical tube patch. I've also done that, many, many, many times.

I grabbed the wrong name... the tires I tried were indeed Cinturatos. One of them got a sidewall cut on the very first ride. The other lasted longer... but still not very long. They were way too fragile for the roads I ride on.

How can you be sure whether cords have been cut? You're supposed to ream the hole a bit as part of the plugging procedure, so it seems damaging cords is likely.

If venomx needs to remove a tubeless tire and patch it from the inside... well, that's not really solving the problem of hard-to-remove tires, is it? If you've had to patch tubeless tires from the inside "many, many, many times", I can't comprehend why you've put up with them. Not when tubes are cheap, when swapping out a tube should only takes a couple minutes, when tubes don't require sealant, etc.

Why? You also said bacon strips can be left in for the life of the tyre. Seems like en unnecessary extra step if you can just plug it, like you said, with a bacon strip. - I mean why all this work to seal up a system that should just self seal with Stans in the first place and that you claimed to be able to seal for the life of the tyre, with a bacon strip, in the even that liquid sealant doesn't do what its supposed to do?


From my experience, big gashes in ordinary clinchers doesn't repair well with ordinary tube patches. They stretch and the gash opens a little. Ridable in a pinch, but lumpy.

Sealant is good for +90% of punctures. Most happen and I don’t even know, until I see Orange Seal all over the seat tube when I get home. Plugs are for punctures around 3-4mm around. Dynaplug makes “mega” plugs that will fill 6-7mm holes, but I don’t have that tool or those plugs, so they get patched.

The roads here are absolutely awful, covered in thorns, and equally as much broken glass. As I’ve had to say in every single tubeless thread on this forum, I don’t run tubeless tires because they’re chic or en vogue. I run them because without, I would get a flat a week. On these roads, the choices are armored tires like Gatorskins, tubeless, or buying tubes in bulk. I don’t much care for messing with tubes on the side of the road, and Gators roll like garbage, so it’s tubeless.

I'm not trying to convert anyone. I not a proponent of the “tubeless experiment.” You either need them or you don’t. And when you need them, you’ll know.

Things I’ve pulled out of my tires:

• staples
• rivets
• pallet staples
• nails
• screws
• springs
• thorns
• wire
• glass

Just a few days ago I pulled a 1.5” 16ga brad out of my rear tire. Didn’t even notice it until I got home. Try that with a tube. A year or so back, I rode 30+ miles with a 3/4” #9 door hinge screw stuck in my back tire. Got home, removed the screw, put in a patch, and rode the tire until cords were showing.

Wow. In all my years of cycling, over 50 at this point, all I've ever found in my tires is glass when I've had a flat. Maybe you need to move to NYC to get some better roads. :lol:

Here in Missouri, it seems like thumbtacks (the flat ones) and nails are the most common cause of a flat...

When/if I get another puncture I’ll strongly consider going tubeless

Only just got these continental contact travels which are advertised as being very puncture resistant. They’re so fast on road and very good off road too

Does the rim tape play any role in tubeless tyres ?

Tubeless rim tape does 2 things: First, it provides a seal for all of the spoke holes so that the rim is air tight. Second, it is very thin so that it makes it much easier to install a tubeless, and also a tube type tire on a tubeless ready rim. If you are having trouble installing your tube type tires, check to see what sort of rim tape was installed on your wheels next time you have to take the tires off.

+1. If you are using tubeless rims but not tubeless tape, you are making life very difficult for yourself.

If I need some new rim tape is it easy to remove and fit the new one ?