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Tubeless for gravel - does it make sense?

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Tubeless for gravel - does it make sense?

Old 04-27-18, 12:47 AM
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Tubeless for gravel - does it make sense?

Hello, I use my CX bike also as gravel bike - replaced Schwalbe X-One Evo to Panaracer GravelKing SK 700x35c last time and can't seal these tires using trezado sealant (before any issues with Schwalbe X-One). Don't know why, maybe to low pressure in first seal Rims are ok - DT460 with two layers of stans tape. I used tubes and it works fine. According to panaracer website, SK 35c whould be tubeless compatible.

I'm not heavy rider - about 74 kg (~163 lb) and I wonder if it makes sense... Yes, with tubless I can use lower pressure, but with that weight... 40-50 PSI is really ok and without punctures. Also - with or without tubeless, I always MUST take a backup tube... So I think tubeless may be not great always - for MTB race, yes of course! But for general riding... not sure.
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Old 04-27-18, 01:14 AM
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I went tubeless about 3 weeks ago and I love it. 38 and 43 Panaracer GravelKing SKs on Hunt wheels, 2 layers of Stans tape and Stans sealant. This is my first time using tubeless but setup was super easy and the tyres hold air perfectly.

I use my gravel bike on rougher terrain too, and I can go down to 28-29psi in the front without worrying about pinch punctures.

I don't know if it's running tubeless, or the tyres or the two combined but compared to my tubed 37 Vittoria Voyagers these GKs tubeless feel so good. When I ran the same low pressures in the Voyagers the bike felt super squishy in a bad way, it felt like there was a delay when I turned the handlebars. With the Panaracers I don't have that feeling, but I get the compliance. I happily run 28-29 in the front and 34-35 in the back even on pavement and they roll great.

Haven't had a puncture yet, although I haven't had a puncture in years with tubes either. But that was with mountain bikes and road bikes. Nowadays sometimes i'm "underbiking" a bit with my gravel bike, on one of my recent rides i've felt the front tyre completely bottom out a few times when riding rougher stuff. I'm pretty sure tubeless saved the day.

Personally i'm not sure if i'm ever going to run tubes again. Most good rims and tyres are tubeless anyways, so why not just run them tubeless

Last edited by Facanh; 04-27-18 at 01:24 AM.
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Old 04-27-18, 07:06 AM
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For gravel I ride tubeless (mtb too) and think it is great. I can't stand tubeless for road bikes though...I think something changes around the 32mm tire width to where the system makes a ton of sense.

I do it on the gravel bike primarily for flat protection and still run my tires in the 30-40 psi range depending on the terrain and find that I don't get burps and the tires never unseat themselves. I have had that happen on a cyclocross course running lower pressures.
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Old 04-27-18, 08:04 AM
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OP, it seems like you are having trouble getting these tires set up tubeless and want permission to use tubes.

Permission granted.

Though if you really want to run them tubeless, there is plenty of info on the 'net that could help solve your problems.
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Old 04-27-18, 08:06 AM
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No, I really must consider if it's needed.
Today tried again - before cleanup rim and tyre and... it's ok.

But I'm out of sealant :/
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Old 04-27-18, 08:38 AM
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Originally Posted by lukasamd
Hello, I use my CX bike also as gravel bike - replaced Schwalbe X-One Evo to Panaracer GravelKing SK 700x35c last time and can't seal these tires using trezado sealant (before any issues with Schwalbe X-One). Don't know why, maybe to low pressure in first seal Rims are ok - DT460 with two layers of stans tape. I used tubes and it works fine. According to panaracer website, SK 35c whould be tubeless compatible.

I'm not heavy rider - about 74 kg (~163 lb) and I wonder if it makes sense... Yes, with tubless I can use lower pressure, but with that weight... 40-50 PSI is really ok and without punctures. Also - with or without tubeless, I always MUST take a backup tube... So I think tubeless may be not great always - for MTB race, yes of course! But for general riding... not sure.
Nothing of what you said makes sense to me. Yes, tubeless for gravel makes sense. 95% of the riders in my area are running tubeless. Yes, the GKs are tubeless and I've had nothing but a good experience setting them up. Yes, you should take a tube with you regardless but if you get a puncture and it seals up in under 10s then you don't have to use the tube, which is the case 90% of the time, so yeah that's way better. 40-50PSI is "ok" but have you ridden 30-35psi? Yeah..way better.

I have a feeling that if you were able to get the tires to seal you wouldn't feel this way about going tubeless.

That being said, there are plenty of anti-tubeless people here, I'm sure we'll hear from them too.
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Old 04-27-18, 08:56 AM
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I've reverted to tubes and not looked back. I'm not anti tubeless, it's just that I don't see enough benefit to outweigh the hassle.
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Old 04-27-18, 10:27 AM
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I don't get enough flats to justify the expense but if I get more into the mtb side of things I'll likely have some tubeless in the future. I don't run wide enough tires at low pressure to really worry about pinch flats. Luckily we don't have goatheads or other issues to deal with around here. If I were getting more flats I would definitely be considering it.
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Old 04-27-18, 12:40 PM
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I have WTB tubeless rims and tires 700x40 but rarely get flats so I stick to tubes. Over the years I have become fast at fixing flats. But I see where tubeless would be great I just haven’t converted yet.
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Old 04-27-18, 12:59 PM
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Originally Posted by lukasamd
So I think tubeless may be not great always - for MTB race, yes of course! But for general riding... not sure.
meh- some swear by it, some are ambivalent, and some are strongly against it.


i dont run tubeless, havent run tubeless, and have no plan to run tubeless.
it just isnt an issue. Perhaps i am incredible at picking my line, perhaps im lucky, or perhaps i am delusional as to what real gravel is, but i haven't found myself wanting for tubeless.

i run my tires higher than most everyone here, and weigh more too. That may be part of why i dont care- i dont pinchflat like some would if they ran tubes at absurdly low levels like they do tubeless.

I doubt 25psi is needed/beneficial for me, so its moot as to whether i need tubeless to avoid snakebites.

Ryn em tubed. Run em tubeless. Like most in cycling, its a tradeoff and both options have benefits and drawbacks.
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Old 04-27-18, 02:15 PM
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I made this again today - cleanup tires, cleanup rims... and seal without sealant without problems - added after that.
But... I'm still not sure it's "safe" and ok. Used before on MTB, used last time with Schwalbe X-One and now used on road wheelset with Schwalbe Pro One - it's ok, but I think I still should carry backup tube.

BTW. Tested on 30 PSI front / ~35 PSI rear - maybe more comfort, but difference is not significant. Traction is worse - tires have the tendency to "swim", is not stable.
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Old 04-27-18, 02:34 PM
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I recently picked up an adventure/gravel bike that came with tubeless (38s). I had previously run 28s on my road bike and I didn't hate it. Truthfully the only thing I disliked about tubeless was the significant increase in cost of a pair of tires.

Hutch Sectors circa 2015

Given the mileage I put on them, I would have had to burn through north of a dozen tubes (between both wheels) to offset the premium. Considering how crummy the roads are where I ride, the lower pressure of tubeless was marginally noticeable.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a pair of Specialized 2Bliss tires for only $40/each though (Sawtooth) at my local shop the other day. So I'm glad that less expensive options exist.

I'm a big dude, with my bike (RLT 9 Steel) and panniers I'm pushing 285-290 pounds on the tires so not having to run 100+ psi pressures can be a welcome change when I'll sometimes be in the saddle for 6+ hours during a weekend ride.
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Old 04-27-18, 07:31 PM
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I run my gravel rig tubeless. Roadie is tubed.

Seldom had a roadie tubeless seal properly well enough to keep riding (75+PSI). Whereas all my gravel punctures sealed, and most well enough to last 500-1000mi....and fast enough that only one needed a CO2 cart.

As always YMMV.
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Old 04-28-18, 07:26 AM
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Originally Posted by lukasamd
I'm not heavy rider - about 74 kg (~163 lb) and I wonder if it makes sense... Yes, with tubless I can use lower pressure, but with that weight... 40-50 PSI is really ok and without punctures. Also - with or without tubeless, I always MUST take a backup tube... So I think tubeless may be not great always - for MTB race, yes of course! But for general riding... not sure.
Tubeless is overrated and is pushed too hard on too many people. Going tubeless is something people do so they can say they've gone tubeless. I get that there are benefits from going tubeless, but there are tradeoffs to make and riding without tubes is not dramatically different from riding with them.

FWIW, it's not always needed to carry a spare tube. A good friend of mine rides tubeless and hasn't had a flat in so long that he carries nothing and just accepts that he'll walk out in the rare event of a flat on the trail. It's an acceptable risk given our local conditions and the trails we ride.
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Old 04-28-18, 08:48 AM
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They make less sense on skinny high pressure tires but I've pulled several dozen goatheads from my tubeless tires without getting a flat. Yesterday a cactus got stuck to my tire. No fukts were given. Tubeless can be a pain to set up and maintain but it makes riding off road without flats possible.
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Old 04-28-18, 12:21 PM
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I just converted my gravel bike to tubeless...It came with compatible rims, so I figured, "Why not?" It wasn't really that difficult. I don't get many flats, but I am enjoying the worry-free lower psi.

I might go back to tubes eventually, but it's really not a big deal either way.
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Old 04-28-18, 04:11 PM
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Originally Posted by JonathanGennick
Going tubeless is something people do so they can say they've gone tubeless. I get that there are benefits from going tubeless,
aaaand your argument is invalid.
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Old 04-28-18, 09:02 PM
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
meh- some swear by it, some are ambivalent, and some are strongly against it.


i dont run tubeless, havent run tubeless, and have no plan to run tubeless.
it just isnt an issue. Perhaps i am incredible at picking my line, perhaps im lucky, or perhaps i am delusional as to what real gravel is, but i haven't found myself wanting for tubeless.

i run my tires higher than most everyone here, and weigh more too. That may be part of why i dont care- i dont pinchflat like some would if they ran tubes at absurdly low levels like they do tubeless.

I doubt 25psi is needed/beneficial for me, so its moot as to whether i need tubeless to avoid snakebites.

Ryn em tubed. Run em tubeless. Like most in cycling, its a tradeoff and both options have benefits and drawbacks.
Meh. It's different everywhere. It isn't more real in one place than another. Your gravel is as good as anyone else's.
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Old 04-29-18, 10:13 AM
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Tubeless is the only way to fly if you are riding any long miles or distance races. Dirty Kanza used to be a big discussion on how many flats you got, that's not really the case anymore in my experience. Last year the only people who had flats it seemed weren't running tubeless. Any of the Panaracer Gravel Kings, Maxxis Rambler, or any of the newer gravel tubeless tires should be absolutely flawless. Orange Seal Endurance formula is my favorite sealant and I use their tape and valves as well. Other then flat prevention it's much faster to run tubeless at a lower pressure then you'd think. I was told by the Stans Panaracer Team to run about 25-27 psi in my 40c, I weigh about 160lbs.
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Old 04-30-18, 07:20 AM
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Borrowed a friend's wheels this weekend to try a new bike. He has them setup tubed. Two rides this weekend, two flats. You can't tell me tubeless isn't the way to go.
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Old 04-30-18, 07:40 PM
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Amazing ive ridden a handful of thousand miles of gravel with tubes and no flats. I am blessed.
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Old 05-01-18, 06:27 AM
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Originally Posted by shoota
aaaand your argument is invalid.
I was speaking in general terms. Tubeless is like the new clipless pedals. It gets pushed on people more than it ought.

I've tried both ways and can't say that I felt a difference in the ride quality. And I'm already running my gravel tires at as low a pressure as I'd want, because I can go low enough even w/tubes that the tires squirm. As I buy newer bikes and accumulate more tubeless rims, I'll probably drift toward tubeless as a natural result.
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Old 05-01-18, 07:23 AM
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
Amazing ive ridden a handful of thousand miles of gravel with tubes and no flats. I am blessed.
Naw, you're just in Iowa. I think we've talked about this before but IA gravel roads are like riding on a baby's butt, so soft and gentle. These southern roads are not like that.

Originally Posted by JonathanGennick
I was speaking in general terms. Tubeless is like the new clipless pedals. It gets pushed on people more than it ought.

I've tried both ways and can't say that I felt a difference in the ride quality. And I'm already running my gravel tires at as low a pressure as I'd want, because I can go low enough even w/tubes that the tires squirm. As I buy newer bikes and accumulate more tubeless rims, I'll probably drift toward tubeless as a natural result.
It must just be a regional thing then. There's no "pushing" tubeless around here, it's just kind of the default. Re:clipless- yeah i could probably agree there, we have lots of people who rides flat pedals. Works just fine for them.
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Old 05-01-18, 09:05 AM
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You can gain some flat prevention with sealant in your tubes.. Use tubeless style rim tape if you are worried about it making a mess.

I am currently tubeless on my hardtail and gravel bike. I like to occasionally switch tires depending on things and being tubeless throws a curve ball in overall "is it worth it" decision. Time will tell but for now I can see myself going back and forth between TL/Tubed or maybe getting a deal on a second set of wheels.

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Old 05-01-18, 09:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Hiro11
I've reverted to tubes and not looked back. I'm not anti tubeless, it's just that I don't see enough benefit to outweigh the hassle.
Originally Posted by Hondo Gravel
I have WTB tubeless rims and tires 700x40 but rarely get flats so I stick to tubes. Over the years I have become fast at fixing flats. But I see where tubeless would be great I just haven’t converted yet.


I resemble and concur with these statements. I'm tubed at the moment.

But since I already went ahead and bought a second wheelset, that set of wheels is set up tubeless with the knobbier tires.

Last edited by athrowawaynic; 05-01-18 at 09:16 AM.
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