BrockLee

Alright, first I should mention that I have a hybrid not a bonafide road bike. But hardy nobody in the Hybrid category has switched to tubeless tires. So please, tell me about the merits of tubeless tires. Last weekend I was LOVING it as I was cruising down a curvy paved road at about 30-35 MPH. That's how I like to ride. Would tubeless tires have been safer, faster, or in any way more suitable?

RNAV

Safer? Marginally. With tubeless, you at least have the possibility of the sealant sealing a puncture before the tire loses all its air. Also, the fit between a tubeless wheel & tubeless tire is much tighter than a traditional clincher wheel/tire combo, so a tubeless tire is less likely to separate from the rim when deflated.

Faster? Slightly. There is less rolling resistance with tubeless when compared to clincher. I really doubt you'd see any tangible speed increase, but the data is pretty clear that there is less rolling resistance.

More suitable? Nope. Absolutely nothing wrong with a traditional clincher setup.

I prefer tubeless to clincher because 1) the ride quality is smoother, 2) the puncture sealing really works, 3) I can run a lower pressure for even better ride quality without having to worry about pinch flats.

Bunyanderman

If you want safety, I guess that a tubular would be marginally safer. As they can't fly off the rim if they pop or explode. I think that tubulars can pull more grip compared to clinchers, as 95% of tubulars are racing tires. But the right clincher will just be as grippy if you have the money.

I use tubulars 24/7 as I have a chinese carbon wheelset that never leaves my bike. They aren't ideal for daily tires, but they make do. Some are damn expensive, most are over $70 that are nice. I bought 2 for $70 recently but they are purely for daily riding, they are way to heavy and slow for racing, but they have plenty of puncture resistance.

bt

this isn't a tubular thread....

Bunyanderman

But you don't give **** to the other dude talking about clinchers?

I must apologize as I am completely wrong about bringing forward my help to others. Sounds stupid huh?

datlas 

To answer the original question, not worth bothering IMO. YMMV.

Lazyass

Tubeless is gonna die out for road bikes. It's just not catching on.

Trsnrtr

OP, are your rims tubeless? If not, why bother? Several high end bikes now come with tubeless rims with clinchers mounted because tubeless rims can handle both. The owner then has the option of going tubeless if they wish. If your rims aren't tubeless, you have to use a conversion kit and that would really bother me.

UnfilteredDregs

Tubeless smokes tubed, but the Luddites run the asylum.

LesterOfPuppets

No.

StanSeven

You are right. They are an inconvenience for most people. Add to that there's a lack of good tires to choose from and they haven't caught on.

Trsnrtr

Just installed a pair of Schwalbe One tubeless this morning.

rbrsddn

I've been using Tubeless for almost 3 years, and have only had to put a tube in once. Most punctures are quickly filled by sealant and I can just keep going. The comfort of running real low pressures is an added bonus.

dvdslw

Can't wait to hear what you think of them. I switched from Fision 3's to some 700x23 One's and they ride so good I hate that I didn't switch sooner.

dvdslw

Doubt it, take note of all the wheel makers changing their rim hooks to accept tubeless tires. Reynolds, Easton, HED, and I'm sure the rest will follow. Look at the new tire options out there, Maxxis, IRC, Hutchinson, all with tires in the 240 gram weight range for the speed demons and weight weenies. How much does a gp4000 and tube weigh?

Trsnrtr

I did one quick 23 miler yesterday. These are 25s and they sure made my Propel more comfortable. They feel very smooth. I'm 195# and ran 90 psi front and rear. I may try about 85 psi in the front.

Anyway, love the feel.

Lazyass

Tubeless has been out for a few years now. It is just not catching on for road bikes. Most new bikes with tubeless rims don't even come with tubeless tires. If professional teams ran them then it would be different, since everyone wants to be like them. But professional teams do not want them. So they will die a slow death.

UnfilteredDregs

Clement, maker's of very popular off-road 700c tires, is going officially tubeless as well,, A bit of progress there... Roadies are so anachronistic.

UnfilteredDregs

You could probably go as low as 75 in the front...I ran my 28mm at 65 psi at one point, that's when it started getting squishy. I run 75/90 at the moment.

LesterOfPuppets

I kinda figured about half of pro teams were still rolling tubular.

Lazyass

Even when they run clinchers it's not tubeless. It's a good concept but it's too much hassle. Just not worth it unless you ride high traffic junk filled roads and get a flat every other ride.

McFlurrey06

I ride road tubless, with the Bontrager TLR system. I like it, but have had a few issues with not holding pressure, but I think it was my fault. The ride is better, and the puncture sealing is awesome. They like smoother at 100psi than clinchers did at 90psi.

RNAV

Fixed that for you.

The improved ride quality, increased puncture resistance, and not-having-to-scrape-glue-off-rims-and-add-more-glue-nonesense makes tubeless worth it, to me, regardless of the roads I ride on.

Trsnrtr

I'm going to go down 5# at a time till I get what I want. 90# seems pretty hard yet.

Lazyass

You didn't fix anything. They do not have "improved ride quality". I never scraped glue from a tubular rim. They aren't worth the hassle unless you just want to justify your purchase in your own mind