Tubeless setups are popular with mountain bikes. No pinch flats, small punctures heal themselves, etc. Anybody use tubeless on pavement/commuting bikes? They are beneficial on the dirt, but haven't heard much from road riders.

A few of the roadies I ride with have gone tubeless. Flats have been VERY rare for them (like 1 or 2 a year, in thousands and thousands of miles), though if you do flat, and you want to put in a tube to continue your ride, you have to be careful to clear out any debris that have accumulated on the inside of the tire or you'll immediately flat once again.

I plan to convert my "fast" bike to tubeless, but will probably stick with a regular clincher/tube set-up for my commuter (28mm Ruffy Tuffy tires have proven quite durable for me).

Flat prevention is a function of the tire carcass and not by any virtue of being tubeless. Upgrade the wrong tires to tubeless and you will flat just as much as anyone else using those same tires. And making sure the inside of the tire is clean after a flat is good advice regardless of whether the tube is a temporary get home or a permanent situation.

H

In my limited experience, I've found that a tubeless tire can withstand a greater severity and frequency of punctures without the tire going flat compared to a standard clincher/tube set-up. Then again, you may be right about poor conversions (my friends all use dedicated tubeless rims/tires).

I wanted to emphasize the need for extra care when cleaning out a tubeless tire after a flat (if you are putting in a tube) because the amount of debris you can accumulate can be surprising. Many of the objects (I've seen glass, wire, staples, etc) that would normally cause a flat with a standard clincher/tube set-up will simply pass through the tire casing without deflating a tubeless set-up.