Chill guys!
This topic is useful.........different views and experiences and there's definitely room for both setups - almost everyone agrees with that.
Personally I'll be using both for the indefinite future.
Lightweight tubes and tires vs lightweight tubeless tires
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TobinHatesYou
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Yep, and when the roads do get repaved, it’s not with high quality asphalt/bitumen. It’s something called slurry seal which is durable and sets a lot faster, but also hardens into a lumpy mess. Other Bay Area backroads are often chipseal with pebbles mixed into the aggregate. But honestly it’s the rocks that come off the hillside and tough evergreen detritus as far as natural sources go, then mostly glass for the man-made stuff.neeb wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 8:29 pm
But the fact you are in the SF Bay Area says a lot.. People in the UK moan a lot about the state of the roads, but some of the worst road surfaces I've ever experienced were in the Berkeley Hills when I was there for a couple of summers... Not just the ruts and potholes, but the draggy, rough surfaces.. I'd probably want to ride 30mm tubless tyres there too..
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I swapped over to tubless around 4yrs ago and have had a mixed experience. I started out on Pro One's and had a pretty good experience there, but then out of vanity wanted the tan sidewalls. Overall view, they're a decent bet if you are happy with black sidewalls, but if you want tan prepare yourself for a lot of faff, to the point that life might just be better with tubes!
I've had 38mm super light Compass Tires on my winter trainer which were like riding clouds, but tempremental as hell. I'd go through a good patch of a few months of little pressure loss then out of the blue drop to totally flat overnight, then back to normal without a sealant top-up. Didn't insipre confidence
30mm WTB Exposure, also on the winter bike, temperamental to start but eventually settled down before coming apart at the bead.
Now running 28mm Veloflex Evo TLR on Light Bicycle WR38 rims for the winter trainer. First set, the rear punctured pretty quickly and wouldn't seal. I was running Stans regular and flipped it to a tube after that. The front was fine. Have just fitted another on the rear using Muc Off sealant and cleaned out/topped up the front. These I run at 50psi. My thinking for the winter tires on wide rims is that the lower pressure should help sealing, and winter riding is when I feel I should most need the benefits of tubeless. All this said my experience hasn't been brilliant.
I'm also running Veloflex Race TLR in 25mm on a pair of Light Bicycle AR55's. Fitting was pretty tight but soapy water sorted that. An airshot with a bit of pressing the tire down onto the valve got the tires seated easily. Beautiful tires to ride IMO. Loads of road feedback. When I swapped from Pro One's to these it felt like going from walking outside with wellies on to no shoes. I kept thinking I had a puncture and giving the back wheel a little bump expecting to feel the rim, but no, it was just way more feedback. I tend to run 65/70psi F/R. Grip level is sticky! But alas, on the first set one punctured very quickly and agin wouldn't seal on Stans. I've just setup another pair of these with Muc Off this time and going to give them another go, but seriously considering going back to tubes for non-winter trainer tires.
The above are on my R-Series, but on my Venge I've just come to the end of the original 26mm Turbo Cottons. I've decided to give the Veloflex Corsa Race (non-TLR) tires a go to see how they feel, but that's the race bike and so is unlikely to come out until next year now. I've really enjoyed the Turbo Cottons but I'd say the Veloflex Race TLR had way more feedback. On the flipside, the S Works tubes and Turbo Cottons couldn't have been less hassle. They held pressure incredibly well, like a few psi drop in a month. Never known tubes to hold so well!
Oh, and Schwalbe Pro One TT's on the P5. Lot's of sealant bubbled through the tan walls, but fortunately no flats and held air similarly to a latex tube. Reasonable road feel, but nothing compared to the Veloflex.
I've had 38mm super light Compass Tires on my winter trainer which were like riding clouds, but tempremental as hell. I'd go through a good patch of a few months of little pressure loss then out of the blue drop to totally flat overnight, then back to normal without a sealant top-up. Didn't insipre confidence
30mm WTB Exposure, also on the winter bike, temperamental to start but eventually settled down before coming apart at the bead.
Now running 28mm Veloflex Evo TLR on Light Bicycle WR38 rims for the winter trainer. First set, the rear punctured pretty quickly and wouldn't seal. I was running Stans regular and flipped it to a tube after that. The front was fine. Have just fitted another on the rear using Muc Off sealant and cleaned out/topped up the front. These I run at 50psi. My thinking for the winter tires on wide rims is that the lower pressure should help sealing, and winter riding is when I feel I should most need the benefits of tubeless. All this said my experience hasn't been brilliant.
I'm also running Veloflex Race TLR in 25mm on a pair of Light Bicycle AR55's. Fitting was pretty tight but soapy water sorted that. An airshot with a bit of pressing the tire down onto the valve got the tires seated easily. Beautiful tires to ride IMO. Loads of road feedback. When I swapped from Pro One's to these it felt like going from walking outside with wellies on to no shoes. I kept thinking I had a puncture and giving the back wheel a little bump expecting to feel the rim, but no, it was just way more feedback. I tend to run 65/70psi F/R. Grip level is sticky! But alas, on the first set one punctured very quickly and agin wouldn't seal on Stans. I've just setup another pair of these with Muc Off this time and going to give them another go, but seriously considering going back to tubes for non-winter trainer tires.
The above are on my R-Series, but on my Venge I've just come to the end of the original 26mm Turbo Cottons. I've decided to give the Veloflex Corsa Race (non-TLR) tires a go to see how they feel, but that's the race bike and so is unlikely to come out until next year now. I've really enjoyed the Turbo Cottons but I'd say the Veloflex Race TLR had way more feedback. On the flipside, the S Works tubes and Turbo Cottons couldn't have been less hassle. They held pressure incredibly well, like a few psi drop in a month. Never known tubes to hold so well!
Oh, and Schwalbe Pro One TT's on the P5. Lot's of sealant bubbled through the tan walls, but fortunately no flats and held air similarly to a latex tube. Reasonable road feel, but nothing compared to the Veloflex.
