Tubeless tires; making the leap

[sfo423]

I am going tubeless and reading my ass off on tires. I have always been a fan of Conti GP 4k tires. The GP 5k tubeless in 25 are hard to find. I've found what sounds like three good alternatives; all readily available in 25's:

Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performance TL
Schwalbe pro-one tubeless
Panaracer Race A EVO 3

I pretty much ride in dry weather, decent to crappy roads. Looking for good wear, ok mounting, grip & puncture resistance. Does any of the above stand above the rest (or did I miss some tires also). These will go on some ~45mm-48mm carbon rims.

[Marin]

Get the Contis.

[velomane]

IME, the Schwalbes are subject to sidewall gashes from debris. I've thrown away two of them with less than 100km each. Stay away!

[jfranci3]

It’s not a leap for all the talk. It’s no big deal.

Get the Contis.
The Hutches don’t last, the pro ones aren’t great, and the Evo 3s don’t roll well

[sfo423]

Crazy reviews with the Schwable: 50% love them, 50% hate ‘em.

More than enough dissent to pass on them.

IME, the Schwalbes are subject to sidewall gashes from debris. I've thrown away two of them with less than 100km each. Stay away!

[spdntrxi]

IME, the Schwalbes are subject to sidewall gashes from debris. I've thrown away two of them with less than 100km each. Stay away!

it's not the sidewalls... it's the tread area..

I went through 3 25c in the matter of 3 rides... WTF.. the current 28s have been pretty good to me so far.

[Orlok]

IME, the Schwalbes are subject to sidewall gashes from debris. I've thrown away two of them with less than 100km each. Stay away!

You ride with too low pressure, so the contact supervise is larger then the anti-leak construction of the tires need.!

[Geoff]

Beyond wear, rolling resistance etc. (i.e., all of the 'normal' tire choice issues), the biggest reason to use a tubeless set-up is their intended carefree nature. It doesn't matter how nice the tire is if it won't reliably seal-up and stay that way. Accordingly, in my experience, it really matters what rims you are using, as some tires do not fit nearly as well as others on a given rim. For the Shimano Dura-Ace wheels, I found Hutchinson to fit well. For Campagnolo Shamals, the Specialized fit really well. On Aeolus, the Bontrangers were by far the best fit (definitely the best fit out of any tire/rim combination I have tried).

[kevhogaz]

I switched to tubeless last year, and don't think I'll ever go back to tubes.

I'm on the Schwlabe's, and have had really good luck with 'em, so far. Using the 25's, and even on our terrble Arizona roads, I've yet to flat, or cut a tire.

On the other hand, I have some kind of curse using tubes and Conti tires, and don't think I'd chance using 'em again on my tubeless setup. No matter what, they always get cut, too deep to repair, within the first 1-200 miles. Every. Single. Time.

[loopster]

I had Schwlabe Pro Tubeless and they punctured quite often. With the amount of air pressure (95 pounds) they would not seal often. I tried about 4 brands of sealant and they all failed. I was so mad I tossed them in the trash. Quite a bit later now I am trying out the new GP 5000 tubeless. They seem to ride nice, but not a big step above my normal GP 4000's. I make my own sealant and check it about every three weeks using a dip stick. I found that most of my Orange Seal dried out in the tire and I was uneducated in how fast it dries inside the tire. So far so good, but I still test, and try lots of stuff to make the tubeless more reliable. Remember, if you pucture on the road and the sealant closes the hole, that is only temporary. As you ride the tire, you are constantly bending and unbending the tread, flexing the puncture hole and sealant. The sealant is a soft rubber and will give way shortly. If I get a puncture and I find sealant drips, I remove the tire, clean the inside well, then use Shoe Goo to create a perminant patch on the inside. Let it dry overnight, mount the tire, insert sealant, inflate and ride.

[Marin]

Just use a plug kit with worms. Taking off a TL tire and re-sealing for every puncture is crazy.

[bm0p700f]

you say get the conti, the hutch dont last well the conti are not lasting for me either.

yes use plugs, patching is a last resort and I think there are other fixes to patches that I have yet to try.