tubeless tires

[molly47]

any info on running tubeless tires what brands are good and reasonable not heavy..thanks

[martinrjensen]

Molly, you aregoing to find a ton of info on tubeless if you do a search. it's been recently discuss here also. tons of good info. Just do a search on the word tubeless. You will fine pro &con, tire brands, suggestions, soforth.
Quickly, they ride really nice, are a touch heavier though. Using sealant it will knock your flats down 90%. You can use them on almost any rim.

[AngryScientist]

last i checked, there were very few choices for road tubeless tires. Hutchinson makes a few models, and specialized used rebranded Hutch tires, those may be the only available tubeless tires.

i ran them for a little while on my Shamal wheels, and did like the ride they gave. then i got a flat, and it was a real mess on the road for me, sealant all over my hands, and a bit of a fight to solve the problem on the road with a tube.

in the end, i just resorted back to tubes and standard tires, many more choices in tires, and with a good tire, the ride is nearly as good, in my experience.

lots of varying opinions and experience with road tubeless, but ultimately, it wasnt for me.

[redir]

Road or MTB? I can't say enough about them on my MTB. I resisted them for years and finally gave in when I tacoed a wheel and got a good deal on a Stan's 29er wheelset. Now I am kicking myself in the arse wondering why I didn't just listen to my friends telling me how great they are.

Had the same experience when I resisted tubulars for cyclocrss too.


As for road I have no idea. The advantage for tubless on trails is that you can run low pressure and not flat. I like lower pressure than most people do on the road but the idea is not to get ultra low which tubless (and tubular cross) has to offer so I don't really see the point running them on the road where the aim is not ultra low pressure for grip and traction.

[socalspeedsk8r]

I have ridden all of the Hutchinson tires and normally ride the Atom on the front and a Fusion 3 on the rear. The wider 25mm Intensive is a great tire for everyday use enough though it's a bit heavier. I tried the new Maxxis tubeless tire and can safely say that that thing is a pile of junk.

I'm a huge proponent of tubeless road wheels. I have ridden them for the last 3 years and have never had to get off the bike to change a flat. I carry a small micro towel in a plastic baggy just in case I have a flat and need to clean my hands on the side of the road.

Scott

[weiwentg]

I assume the OP was asking about road, but Cyclocross Magazine has a list of good CX conversion tires:

http://www.cxmagazine.com/going-tubeless-cyclocross-tires-racing-recommendations

[Tim Porter]

I'm using the Hutchinson Intensives as a good solid 25mm everyday tire and they ride great. They're on Campy Eurus 2-way Fit wheels. I haven't flatted on one out in the wild yet, but I think I'll get through it okay. (I can see that dripping sealant everywhere could be a PITA.)

One poster said they'd be a bit heavier, but an Intensive weighs 325 gr plus sealant, full stop (no tube, obviously : )). Maybe it's not totally apples to apples, but a clincher Vittoria Pave weighs 240 gr and then you have the weight of the tube, which can be, what, 80-100 gr for a tube that's not hopelessly aggressive, weight-wise. So the tubeless can be in the ballpark as far as weight goes.

HTH, Tim

[jerome]

I agree with most of the comments here
I got on MTB tubeless the first day
I struggled with tubular until I was able to master the stuff
But the small road tubeless tire offer after years on the market have deter me.
Hutchinson tires are not for me as reliable as Conti or other german's tires or tubeless.
More extra low pressure on the road is useless, and why riding tubeless when tubular are now so perfect and get more and more reliable.



best

[Cinci Jim]

I have a set of Shimano tubeless wheels that I'm running Fusion 3 tubeless tires on with no worries for a few 100 miles so far - is sealant really needed?

[martinrjensen]

Well sealant will add about 2 oz of weight (insignificant) and IMO stop 90% of your flats. Not all, but most. With tubeless rims I think you would have an easier time inflating from zero pressure. For me running converted standard rims, that's the problem. Once I get 10 lbs of air in the tire, I can inflate them with any old pump but my hand held pump can't get that first 10 lbs in fast enough to seat the bead in most cases. I think with a rim made for tubeless this may not be an issue but I don't know for sure. So if ya haven't gotten any flats than maybe you don't need any. If it was me running tubeless rims and tires I would still run some sealant in them as I have gotten a flat that sealed it'self up agin during the following 5 miles of riding. I thought that was pretty cool. On one of my bikes I run tubeless (Fusion tires) on converted rims, on the other 2 bikes, I run Vittoria Pave CG with latex tubes, Oh I almost forgot the 4th bike, runs Conti GatorskinsI have a set of Shimano tubeless wheels that I'm running Fusion 3 tubeless tires on with no worries for a few 100 miles so far - is sealant really needed?