Donnelly MSO Tubeless Full of Holes

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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

Had one MSO that had a huge wobble so my excellent LBS replaced it. The replacement had a hole in the sidewall. That tire was replaced and the next one had two holes in the sidewall. I can get the sealant to more or less stop the leaks if I can get it to the hole. If I rub my finger over the hole it starts to leak again. Not sure I want to be out on an epic gravel ride with a tire that starts with holes in the sidewall.

Is this just a one-off (two-off) or are other people having problem with this tire model? Am I wrong to think that new tires should come without the holes? I thought putting holes in tires was the job of the rider, not the manufacturer. I also had the strange thought that maybe a disgruntled individual vandalized the tires either at the shop or in the factory.
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spdntrxi
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by spdntrxi

I've heard about the wobble but not the holes. The 2 I got were good to go 650BX42s
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MichaelB
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by MichaelB

EEEK. I've got two that are still Clement braned ready to go on (also 650B x 42)

wrenegade
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by wrenegade

I don't have any branded Donnelly, but I've had 1.5 sets of tubeless 36mm MSOs (one front, 2 rears) without any issues, and just put at set of the Clement 40mms on my new bike though haven't put many miles on them. I have 2 other teammates running the Donnelly 36s now too without issues either.

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FIJIGabe
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by FIJIGabe

I haven't had the "hole" issue you're experiencing, but I've had to replace two tires for wobbles, one being a Clement branded tire, the other a Donnelly branded tire. The QC on the MSO's seems to be pretty hit-or-miss, which is odd, because I've never had issues with the PDX's (both tubeless and tubed) or MXP's (tubular).

MichaelB
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by MichaelB

Might have to mount mine to check them out.

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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

I got my hands on a third tire and no holes! The tread has a bit of wobble but nothing terrible. It was funny - the first one with the hole, I could hear the hissing noise so I held the tire up to my ear trying find the leak, and as I located the spot I also sloshed some of the sealant up against the hole and it squirted me in ear. :?
wheelsONfire wrote: When we ride disc brakes the whole deal of braking is just like a leaving a fart. It happens and then it's over. Nothing planned and nothing to get nervous for.

Point
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by Point

I have a pair of Clement X'Plor MSO 120 tpi tyres and they've been faultless (hoping to not ruin that by saying this). So much so I've been tempted to go to tubeless version next (apparently these aren't unfortunately). However, what you're all saying has me worried.
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FIJIGabe
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by FIJIGabe

For gravel tires, you can't really go wrong with GravelKings. The MSO's don't open up to the advertised size (I have two sets of 700x36's, and neither opens up to 36mm). My GravelKings are listed as 700x35's, but open up to 40mm.

Point
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by Point

FIJIGabe wrote:
Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:18 pm
For gravel tires, you can't really go wrong with GravelKings. The MSO's don't open up to the advertised size (I have two sets of 700x36's, and neither opens up to 36mm). My GravelKings are listed as 700x35's, but open up to 40mm.
I've just moved over from Non Tubless Clement Xplor MSO's to Tubless Gravel King SK's and loving them. I was keen to get Tubeless Donnelly Xplor's as I loved the Clements but they're stupidly expensive compared to the GKSK's.
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AJS914
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by AJS914

Point, what size Gravel Kings do you run. Do they run small or larger? I have Clement MSO tires in 700x40. I could go a little wider but I hear the MSO is undersized.

I've had some problems with my Clement MSO tires. First, when I bought them 3 years ago I didn't realize they weren't really a tubeless tire. I set them up tubeless and the sidewalls would weep like crazy and thus they would require fresh sealant frequently. I finally switched to Stan's and that sealant worked much better. They still don't hold air well until after the second application of Stans (after the first has dried out a bit). And they still weep.

So I was thinking of getting the current tubeless ready version but damn, I notice they weigh 150 grams more per tire (over 500 grams), are expensive, and the stories of poor quality control are not encouraging.

The GravelKing SK tubeless in 38mm weighs 420g and the 43mm weights 490g.

Point
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by Point

The GK SK tyres tend to run larger than stated. Generally +2mm. Mine being a 38mm are more like 40mm. For the price:quality the GK SK's are hard to beat, at least in everything but thick tacky muddy conditions.
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AJS914
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by AJS914

I emailed Panaracer and got the following reply:
The 38 will be anywhere from 38-38.5 and the 43 will 43-44 on those rims.

Panaracer Tech Support
PH: 510-538-9099
Internet wisdom seems to suggest that the 38 will be closer to 40mm on a 20mm internal rim and the 43 will be true to size.

I'm not sure what to do. The 43s would be nice but my rear clearance is getting tight. I could buy a 43 and then try it on the rear. If it doesn't work, I could put it on the front and then run a 38 on the rear. That would require two purchases. I know a lot of folks run wider on the front but that doesn't quite agree with my sense of symetry though I'm sure I'd hardly notice.

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IrrelevantD
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by IrrelevantD

My Aspero came with 700x40 MSOs and I've had no issue with them. I haven't noticed any wobble in the tread and they inflated quickly with no holes in the sidewall or leaking before I added sealant. That being said, I had 700x38 GravelKing SKs on my previous bike and I'm thinking about going back to the GKSKs when these get a bit more bald.
Point wrote:
Sun Feb 09, 2020 11:15 am
The GK SK tyres tend to run larger than stated. Generally +2mm. Mine being a 38mm are more like 40mm. For the price:quality the GK SK's are hard to beat, at least in everything but thick tacky muddy conditions.
I suspect they do that on purpose. If you look at the size marking in the mold (raised lettering, not label) right next to where it says 700x38C it says 40x622. My guess is that while it's marketed as a 38, and the tread width may be 38, the casing is actually the same as a 40. I checked several of my other wheels and those are the only tires I have that have the French and ETRTO sizes marked differently. Even my 32mm GK slicks are marked as 700x32C and 32x622.
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Point
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by Point

Mr.Gib, if you want to go larger have you considered looking at 650b with wider tyres?
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