moppeddler

Just got some new wheels, and I was thinking maybe I should go tubeless. I know it'll cost me some cash, but I don't mind if it's going to provide some benefit for me. What are the pros & cons?

MegaTom

I did recently on my CX bike. 28mm Hutchinsons. And.. I just don't know yet. I don't think I'll have a solid opinion until I have to do a roadside repair. But so far, 6 months and no flats. Pinch flats are my biggest enemy with this bike since I look for the roughest roads for it, or non-roads, so those obviously aren't a problem anymore no matter how squishy the tires are. Good rain tires too for the same reason. Very smooth, comfortable.. but is that because they're tubeless? I dunno, that probably has just as much to do with them being much bigger/lower PSI tires than on my other bike.

rdtompki

I would think tubeless tire costs will drop once they are more common, especially in the larger sizes (e.g., 28mm). They probably won't get down in pricing to what we pay for good clinchers, but my personal experience is that they seem to be wearing better, possibly due to the lower contact pressure.

Regarding comfort, whatever tire size you're comfortable with you'll be able to run lower pressure with the tubeless tires: can't be a bad thing. I'm only running about 10 psi lower (85/90) with my Hutchinson Sector/Secteur 28mm @195 lbs; I suppose I could go a bit lower, but I'm quite happy with the ride and handling as is.

The only flat I incurred was in my garage when I discovered a wire in the rear tire; the tire hadn't gone flat at all, but when I pulled the wire out with while in the 12 o'clock position on a stand I lost pressure since there wasn't enough latex in the surrounding area; I was very impressed that the damage was sustained during the ride with virtually no loss of pressure. This was not the pinprick you get from a Goathead, but definitely a more substantial intrusion. I added more Stans, got some pressure in the tire and spun it around - no problemo.

elcruxio

Definitely. Tubeless is awesome.
hopefully the tires will get cheaper over time but that would require more adopters and the road community is a conservative bunch (disc brakes anyone)

rdtompki

Yes to needing more market penetration. One positive note is that you really don't see the small community of early adopters registering complaints or discussing issues. If tubeless works, what's the downside other than weight. Weight is important for some folks of course, but for most of us the small difference in weight is mitigated by the improvement in ride.

I have disc brakes and love them, but I can understand the community being fairly divided in their respect. I think the tubeless road tire products will see less controversy and, therefore, faster adoption.

robbyville

I have over 1000 miles on my current tubeless tires. I love the ride quality albeit some of the change was going to a wheel with a wider brake track. I ride mine at 85/80 psi at 160lbs.

I bought the the wheels for a particular ride which had over 10 miles of dirt and gravel road. Lucky or not the sections were lined with people fixing flats. My tires were pretty cut up but no air loss and I continue to use them 600 miles later.

i appreciate the ride quality and mental comfort of less flatting that I intend to convert my carbon wheels to tubeless once the current tires wear out.

good luck,