Sploosh!
 

The anti tubeless crew is gonna love this one.

I took a significant drop at significant speed and upon landing tore a hole through the tread of my tire. I put 3 dyna plugs in it and it held but the rim was dented and leaked out. Trailside TPU tube and I rode another 8-9 miles back to my car.

I decided to beef up the rear. I replaced the tire from EXO to EXO+, in addition I added a Vittoria XC insert. All pretty light stuff but should offer more protection than previously without major weight penalties since I ride up hills too. Once I bent the dents out, I wasn't fully convinced that I wouldn't have a leak at the bead. The rim rolls straight and the hop is not noticeable, I'm not ready to rebuild the wheel yet. I had a Fatty Stripper in a drawer that has been waiting for the perfect situation.

I went for the much off sealant since it's way thicker than the orange stuff.

Thicker than average tire + foam insert + latex rim strip cover + thicker sealant + standard presta valve

Using a syringe on a tube the first 2 ounces went in fine (60ml syringe), the next syringe full it wouldn't push past the valve. I fiddled with it and gave it some force, and sploosh. Facefull of sealant, all over the back deck, and not in the tire. I couldn't find a way with only 2 hands to do it for a minute, took another facial trying. Finally I managed to pinch and elevate the insert and create room to get more sealant through. It took some fiddling but I finally got it in. Hopefully it leaks past the insert and becomes useful on the tire side. Those clothes are going straight into the garbage.

I've never ran into a situation where it was better to put the sealant first. This may have been it but the liner and stripper would probably have made the whole process near impossible. This is why Cush Core uses specific valves.

Good times. Hopefully it'll be the end of next fall before I have to do that again.

that tiny comfort increase is getting more expensive, eh?

tubeless tires on bikes are just a mess waiting to cost you more time and money.

sorry you had a problem.

I don't ride tubeless. Isn't it conventional wisdom to carry an inner tube to get you home in cases like this? I'm not anti-tubeless; I just don't do it.

I don't use tubeless on road bikes anymore. Regular tires plus TPU tubes are pretty much superior on clean roads.

This is my first time I've had to put a tube in to finish a ride since going tubeless on a mountain bike.

Keep in mind that this was probably a 3-4 foot drop, at close to 20mph, on an EXO (maxxis's lighter casing), onto rocks, on a hard tail. I wouldn't dare ride a tubed tire like that.

Vittoria makes a valve stem for their inserts. I discovered it at the bottom of the box after I'd used different ones. I do think that moving forward, I'll top up with Orange Seal since it's thinner.

And I did and it worked. That's not the interesting part of my post, getting a face full of sealant while my 5 year "helped" was the good part.

I was pace-lining this winter with a guy riding tubeless. He had a rear puncture and we kept going. He was spewing sealant for about a half hour. My (then new) winter jacket has spots of sealant that won't wash out. That's the last time I'm riding with anyone with a leaking tubeless tire.

Trying to convince myself to go tubeless, but when I figure I have to Cary plugs, sealant and a CO2 to set a bead and a spare tube…. I just run “durable” tires and carry a spare tube. I tend to travel tarmac, crushed limestone and gravel an feel the durable tires are pretty effective for me.

I think I'm around the 15,000ish mile mark across various tubeless set ups. Knock on wood, but I've never had any real drama in dealing with them. I discovered early on that road and gravel tubeless tires don't like bacon strips, and seal better with dynaplugs, but it's been pretty smooth sailing. The only MTB tires I've ever had to plug have been my XC tires with thin race casings. My "trail" tires have always self sealed, and my thick enduro/downhill casing tires just don't get tears or punctures. I've even cracked a rim on my enduro bike without tire damage(aluminum rims are a consumable item in that discipline.)

Without fail, if you mention online that something happened on a mountain bike ride, a bunch of people who slowly ride road bikes respond with their opinions based on roads.

This wasn’t a tubeless fail. I hucked a big jump and hit something that tore clean through the tread of my tire. Despite this, it held air long enough for me to safely stop.

That same situation with an inner tube would have resulted in an instant deflation, maybe I could have stopped safely, maybe not. It would have still necessitated a new tube, so what’s the difference?

I live less than a half mile away from work. It’s the only ride I’ll take without a spare tube.