Anyone gone back to tubes from tubeless?

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sp3000
Posts: 180
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2014 7:12 am
Location: Sydney

by sp3000

I was running my DT Swiss Mon Chasseral RC28C's tubeless since I got them. Using Schwalbe Pro one's 23mm and orange seal endurance. The Schwalbes mount fine and generally seal up pretty well when inflating, sometimes a bit of sealant would run out and make a small mess, but not terrible... they have sealed up some small punctures like a staple and some glass so I've never had a flat riding them. I tried the Viittora tubeless tyres and they are a complete joke. Air just leaked out the side walls (they were the new grey walled versions) and after about a half bottle of sealant and a serious PIA they sealed, still bubbled sealant out the side walls though not to mention the tyres are heavy. I ripped them off straight away and went back to Schwalbe.

I've since got new wheels so I'm able to strip these down to true (the joys of hidden nipples) and I'm seriously considering setting them up for tubes. Much better tyre choice and seriously less mess and hassle. Just stripping the wheel I had to deal with a latex clean up.. after riding for a year I just don't think they feel any better/faster than better tubed tyres. Given the crap range of tubeless offerings and the fact the Pro Ones aren't great compared to Michelin power etc I don't think I'll bother staying tublesess.

Has anyone else gone back?
Last edited by sp3000 on Sun Sep 10, 2017 12:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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alcatraz
Posts: 4064
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:19 am

by alcatraz

I haven't run my wheels tubeless because I'm waiting for a good tire choice to become available. By that I mean a good balance of price/rr/longevity.

For now I make do with latex tubes and chinese tires for like 10 usd each. Never ever have I had such a value tire on. Come in at 200gr, puncture bomb proof (for about a year) and grip is fine.

If tubeless is so much faster it has to come down in price and increase in quality before I make the transition.

Looking at the rr numbers at bicyclerollingresistance only the schwalbe pro one is in a good balance of protection and speed. I'd love to try the vittoria corsa speed which are supposed to be fast as hell but I'm sure I will be disappointed with longevity and puncture protection.

/a

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silvalis
Posts: 765
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2015 1:02 am
Location: Aus

by silvalis

Me
Ran IRCC roadlites, schwalbe ones, schwalbe pro ones, hutchinson fusion3s.
Went back to tubes not because I had issues, but because there new non tubeless tyres to try :)
Chasse patate

sp3000
Posts: 180
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2014 7:12 am
Location: Sydney

by sp3000

alcatraz, I was running michelin pro 4 comp with latex and they were very nice.. now on carbon wheels I'm not so excited to run latex.. however on the new wheels I'm using heavy mavic butyl tubes and michelin power competition 25mm and I can honestly say they feel much nicer and perform much better than the Pro ones.. No punctures seems solid. I can now try lighter tubes and see if they are as tough. Either way there seems to be no real world advantage apart from punctures on tubeless.

silvalis, I'm with you on that! I'm looking forward to trying the new pirellis maybe some conti tt etc, variety is the spice of life!

charlieboy52000
Posts: 111
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 5:43 am

by charlieboy52000

Has any one taken a look at the weights of the tubeless tires? I was thinking going tubeless but the weight savings are not there.
Tubeless tires are heavy. I found one that would be close in weight to 23 conti 4K s2 + 90gm tube and it is not lighter. Then you have to add the sealant weight. Then add to that the price of the tire and it is not enticing.
I was wondering why continental and Michelin don't have road tires tubeless offerings.
I don't think the technology is there yet for it to be worth it in terms of weight savings and hassle free.



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sp3000
Posts: 180
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2014 7:12 am
Location: Sydney

by sp3000

Yep, not lighter. You need at least 30-40mm sealant. Not to mention every few months it dries up so you have to add more, you can easily find yourself with 60g in there some dry spread out, some liquid... Pro ones are 235g claimed (I can weigh mine tomorrow) so at best you can be the same as a good tyre with a good tube, not ultra light tube and in the end tube is probably going to be a lighter setup.


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NYCPrynne
Posts: 92
Joined: Sat May 27, 2006 6:39 pm

by NYCPrynne

Yes. I went back to using tubes. Tubeless is not so fun to mount, gets messy, and you need to periodically put more sealant into the tires....all of which leads to zero weight savings (maybe even a gain, especially with time), more work and more mess.

For me, and many others may disagree, tubeless is not yet worth it for the road....I can see how it would be an advantage for mountain biking, and maybe even gravel, since there seems to be more risk for pinching, etc.

kode54
Posts: 3750
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 9:39 pm

by kode54

went back to tubes. had a few punctures which weren't sealing. a few punctures were bigger than the sealant could handle. reason why was mainly because i didn't see much benefit. was running Schawlbe Pro Ones and the cost of tire was so much more than Conti 4k on sale. didn't make much sense in that regard paying twice as much. in addition, i have a few bikes and two wheel sets for each. keeping 2 bikes on tubeless was a pain...making sure the sealant wasn't drying up or rotating the tires every so often so it didn't pool up in one spot.
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TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12473
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

Won't go back to tubes. Newer tubeless tires like Mavics, Zipps, Hutchinsons, revised Pro Ones, etc. are mountable by hand. Haven't needed to insert a tube in a year even on the terrible glass strewn San Francisco Bay Area roads.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

Some sealants work better than others. effetto mariposo caffe latex works exceptionally well. Most tubeless issue are user error like using stans. Also rider think that with an big air loss they cannot ride at 30 psi you can. Also worms and flexible superglue fix big holes then reinflate. it can be a permant fix.

I dont care if the tyre mount by hand or not. that what tyre levers are for. I wont be going back to tubes. the tyre I use hardly ever puncture, grip very well, have low Crr and last a very long time. why would I go back to inferior tyres.

I dont carry a tube or levers any more. no need. If I can fix the tyre well enough to get me home with worms and flexible superglue it is probably screwed anyway.

alcatraz
Posts: 4064
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:19 am

by alcatraz

bm0p700f wrote:Some sealants work better than others. effetto mariposo caffe latex works exceptionally well. Most tubeless issue are user error like using stans. Also rider think that with an big air loss they cannot ride at 30 psi you can. Also worms and flexible superglue fix big holes then reinflate. it can be a permant fix.

I dont care if the tyre mount by hand or not. that what tyre levers are for. I wont be going back to tubes. the tyre I use hardly ever puncture, grip very well, have low Crr and last a very long time. why would I go back to inferior tyres.

I dont carry a tube or levers any more. no need. If I can fix the tyre well enough to get me home with worms and flexible superglue it is probably screwed anyway.


What tire are you using you big tease? :lol:

Flexible superglue vs ordinary superglue. How to obtain it and what does it look like?

What's a worm? Is it the stuff you put from the inside like on cars?

/a

MarkTwain
Posts: 208
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2013 10:51 pm

by MarkTwain

Mess broke me. Sealing a small cut was ok. But when one of my pumps got somehow filled with sealant (it came through the valve) that was it. Back to tubes.

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12473
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

MarkTwain wrote:Mess broke me. Sealing a small cut was ok. But when one of my pumps got somehow filled with sealant (it came through the valve) that was it. Back to tubes.


The simple fix is to never pump up your tires with the valves at 6 o'clock. 7-8 or 4-5 o'clock works just fine. Also you may be using way too much sealant. 30-40mL (1-1.3oz) is plenty.

MarkTwain
Posts: 208
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2013 10:51 pm

by MarkTwain

Ah. Solid tip.

Might wait for Mavic's range to be fully released, set up I used was Giant SLR1 wheels and their own brand tubeless tyre.

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Abl3rider
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2016 3:34 am

by Abl3rider

I've had pretty good results with tubeless for both CX and road. It is a bit of a hassle, but once it's up and rolling i do like not getting pinch flats and therefore riding lower psi on wet potholy streets or CX courses. I did mysteriously flat in my first road race on tubeless.. pumped it back up and it never leaked after that... gave it another chance. Happy since. Also burped about 10 psi in a cross race when I washed out but finished ok. My CX wheels are HED Belgium+ with Clement PDX I go 30 psi now worried I'd burp with less. Orange seal.

I also have Giant SLR1. Just replaced the rear tire with Schwalbe Pro 1 after the giant tire lasted about 2500 miles. Pro 1 is 260 g on my scale. Problem is I've broke a rear spoke twice which is a ride ender for such a light wheel and required replacing rim tape and a special spoke. I need stronger wheels for these bumpy roads I frequent in around D.C.


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