I'm addicted to CO2.

I was all about CO2 until I switched to tubeless. Now I just carry two tubes and a pump.

I hope you realize how funny this sounds.


-Tim-

Tubeless still sounds like one of those things that's "really great, until it isn't".

I've seen more problems with tubeless than its worth. Decreased ride quality, much smaller selection of tires, and when you do get a flat, its hard to get tires on and off rims

I see that most people who run tubeless end up carrying a tube with them, so why not just run tubes and not deal with the mess of tubeless?

I used (ghetto-rigged) tubeless tires with very good results off-n-on for quite awhile - mostly on my mountain bikes, but occasionally on my roadies too. The main reason I didn't switch my road bikes to tubeless permanently is that I am sort of addicted to constantly experimenting with and changing to different tires on them way too often.

Anyway, whenever I rode any of my tubeless-shod bikes I never carried a tube but did carry one of these

Espresso - Effetto Mariposa

ThankfullyI never had to use it(prolly cause tubeless), so I really don't know whether it works any good ;)

I only carry two tubes because I'm paranoid that I will double flat - this happened to me only once, on my first road tubeless attempt. I now have the kinks worked out and have never gotten a flat since.

Why not just run tubes? Because I still get flats with tubes, meanwhile, I've only gotten 3 flats (that original double flat, due to a bad seal around the valve...and one on the mountain bike due to sealant drying out) since switching...that's 4 bikes and over a year tubeless on the mountain bikes and 6 months on the road bikes.

Decreased ride quality....I would argue against that, I can run about 20psi lower than I would with tubes, which to me translates to a smoother ride, better handling in turns and on dirt.

Smaller selection of tires...Maybe so, but I've never had any issue getting non tubeless tires setup tubeless on the mtb and on the road, the Schwalbe Pro Ones are pretty sweet tire on the faster bike and I'm currently running 32mm Clement Strada USH tubeless on the Mr. Pink and they're badass. So yes, smaller selection but still plenty of great options out there.

Harder to get the tire off the rim...I don't even need tire levers to get the mtb tires on/off, same with the Clements, and the Pro Ones on Enve rims pop off just as easy as any GP4000s tire I've ever used.

When I set my tires up tubeless, I rip out the current rim tape - I've done this with even my tubeless ready rims because the "tubeless tape" always leaks around the valve. I wipe the rim clean of tape residue. Wrap the rim with 1" Gorilla Tape (don't trim it, not necessary, just let it go into the bead if the rim is narrower). I've used Orange Seal tape as well, but still get the leaky valve (my double flat was due to the orange seal tape). Insert valve. Mount tire. Add 2oz sealant. Inflate. Add 2oz sealant every few months.

This has been my method on...

MTB:
Sun Ringle Inferno 25 rims (non tubeless) with Geax AKA tires (non tubeless) and Schwalbe Nobby Nic (tubeless ready)
Stans Arch Rims (tubeless ready) with Maxxis Ardent tires (non tubeless)

Road:
Enve 3.4 (non tubeless) with Schwalbe Pro Ones (tubeless ready)
DT Swiss R24 (tubeless ready) with Clement Strada USH (tubeless ready)


Next I want to attempt mounting my GP4000s tubeless on the Enves.

This. I have zero patience for this, especially when it like 95 degrees out and I'm tired. F that.

The only time ive had a problem with tubeless was on the road bike, and it was because the tires i was using were like tissue paper. Ive literally never had a flat on my mtbs. Punctures? sure, all the time, but i only carry a tube in races and in bikepacking scenarios for a last resort. Otherwise, the sealant does its job and seals ****.

Just about every road tire + rim combination ive had has been a pain in the balls to get on/off. Mtb tires dont even require effort, my mtb kit doesn't even include levers.

Any bike ive ridden with and without tubes has been drastically better after the tubes came out.

IIRC stans effective limit is 40PSI which could be a good reason why road tires seem to have problems. I think it would behoove the sealant companies to come up with a different formula for high pressure applications

Done properly almost no tire requires a lever.

There are lots of articles and videos on how to create slack in the tire by pushing it toward the center.

I practiced a few times while drinking coffee and watching Sponge Bob Mermaid Man Invisible Boatmobile, got the hang of it, no problem. Still carry a lever just in case my fingers are frozen and don't work. It gets cold here in North Georgia, sometimes.

It's currently 36°F and raining mixed with ice pellets in some areas here. It gets cold there?

I've experienced 8° in suburban Atlanta. The record is -9° or something like that. Low 20's is common overnight in February.

Every year there is a cold snap around Christmas. It goes down to into the teens and if if stays there for 36 hours then everyone's pipes start breaking.

76° right now. You are welcome to come down and stay in my guest room. Mi casa su casa. LMK.


-Tim-

my buddy moved to ATL a few years ago when you guys had like 2" of snow and the entire city shut down, he got a good laugh out of that

Today I did 32 miles. There was much slamming it. I did it with tubes in my tires though, so I dunno.

I like tubless on my mtb, and the decreased tire pressure. I don't really want to ride lower than 90-100 PSI on my road bike so I dont see the point.

~55 mi this morning with 4k elevation in a hair over 3 hrs on 190w AP. On the road at 5:30.

I really can't wait for this time switch, on that note. I hate starting rides in the dark, it gives me anxiety. I end up treading very lightly for the first hour until there is light, and I'm way below my power target. AP for the day was lower than I would have liked, but with a similar NP as my ride was a huge negative split with most of the effort in the second half.

Snowpocalypse...

That was the super fine snow that packed down to ice as soon as you stepped on it. You know what I'm talking about. Talc which turns to ice footprints from just walking on it. I grew up on Long Island, used to drive a snow plow and know how to drive on the stuff. I went out in a front wheel drive car and turned around after a half mile that day. Even I wouldn't drive on it.

Having said that, the problem was/is that the south doesn't have resources to pre-treat. Up north they would have pre-treated the roads and whatever fell would have melted as soon as it hit. It is difficult to justify keeping hundreds of trucks and piles of salt laying around for something that happens once every three years, maybe.

And they locals don't have experience enough to know not to go to work, or don't leave work at the height of the storm. That's exactly what everyone did, left work just as the roads turned to ice and then everyone got stuck. Even the road crew trucks got stuck because they didn't pre-treat. I kept my daughters home because I grew up in NY. Saw it coming a mile away - told my neighbors not to let their kids get on the bus in the morning and some of them slept at school.

To his credit, the mayor of ATL sent people to Boston/Chicago/Philly/NYC to see how it is done, learned a lot and implemented lots of what is done up north.


-Tim-

Today my long wait is over. KTM delivers samples for the 2017 GP season.

Austrian Audio Porn. 1:25 = redline through the box...

1 hr recovery ride on the mtb this morning, at what I like to call grandmother and kindergartner pace. My legs were incredibly sore before the ride, and only a little sore after, so I think it worked.

24 spicy miles today for back-to-back short-ish, high-ish intensity rides. My road bike is like "yeah bro" but my SS is like "y u forget me?"

Today I accidentally had my reading glasses on while shaving, and saw myself. I have aged.

Today i: Tennessee.

The south is interesting.

I had a meeting to attend this afternoon and decided to ride my FG to it. I was running a little late, so I went as hard as I could to get there. It's about 8.5 miles away, with gradual elevation gain all the way. I averaged exactly 15 mph, a tough ride on this bike.

Coming back home, I had the luxury of giving a casual effort, yet the mild descent still gave me an average speed of 15.7 mph. A little more speed with much less exertion.

I relaxed at home for a few hours and then went to our church (in my truck) for a blood drive. The Red Cross screener checked me and found my blood pressure was a little too high. He deferred me from donating today. This surprised me because my pressure is usually quite low. I wonder if the riding drove it up for the night.

Welcome.

Let me know if you need me to translate. If you are on the north side of TN then please note I don't speak Kentucky.

Protip: Maam, Sir, Please, Thank You... speak slowly and don't interrupt. What you think was a period in their sentence is just a comma. There is more.

And don't try to hide your New York accent. Trust me on this.


-Tim-