Riding a Gravel bike with tubes?

[trener1]

I just had a gravel bike built up, and I am having a problem with the tubeless wheels holding air, they basically go down to 20psi very fast.
I am taking them back to the bike shop today to have them figure out what the problem is but in reality I do not think they will take the time to trouble shoot it properly and figure out the problem.
I am going away on Monday for a month and was planing to take my bike with me, so my question is how do gravel bikes ride with tubes in them? should I still bring my bike and just ride them with tubes, or just forget it and deal with it when I get back?
I also have a road bike so it isn't like I wont get to ride for a month.

[muz]

I rode mine with tubes for years, switched to tubeless earlier this year. Not a problem, you will just need to use a little higher pressure to avoid pinch flats. I used latex tubes, worked perfectly.

On another note, I would suggest doing all the tubeless work yourself, not rely on a shop. You will get in trouble on the trail at some point, you really should know how to deal with it.

[AngryScientist]

I rode mine with tubes for years, switched to tubeless earlier this year. Not a problem, you will just need to use a little higher pressure to avoid pinch flats. I used latex tubes, worked perfectly.

On another note, I would suggest doing all the tubeless work yourself, not rely on a shop. You will get in trouble on the trail at some point, you really should know how to deal with it.

i agree with this 100%.

dont fall for the hype that you "need" any technology. tubeless does make sense for gravel bikes, but many of us rode for years on tubed wheels before tubeless became a thing.

i also agree that you should trouble shoot the wheels yourself so you know what is going on inside of them. in reality, tubeless set-up is pretty simple. make sure the tape is good and full adhesion to the rim, make sure the valve has a tight seal and make sure there is enough sealant in there. should not be hard to sort out.

[thirdgenbird]

My bike has tubes, rim brakes, and a front derailleur :eek:

[GregL]

My bike has tubes, rim brakes, and a front derailleur :eek:
My gravel bike too! Gravel King SKs at 35-45 PSI depending on road/trail conditions. Zero problems and (so far...) zero flats, including racing on some very rough terrain.

Greg

[Cantdog]

Contrary to what people say here, it has been extensively documented that if you ride your gravel bike with tubes it will explode. The way around this is you just call it a cross bike and it’s fine with tubes.

[Hilltopperny]

I am running tubes on my gravel bike without any real issue. Three wheelsets all with tubes. Like above just ride with a little higher psi to avoid pinch flats.

I have had one tire flat repeatedly, but the repeated flats I experienced with one tire were caused by a tiny thorn that was not visible at the time. Aside from that I have been flat free.


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[bigbill]

I did half a dozen gravel races on my Gunnar Crosshairs with Mini-Vs and tubes in my tires, and a spin skin between the tire and tube. Didn't die. I would have preferred tubeless because I could run them with lower pressure. Now I have a Coconino Disc Dirt Road Racer with tubeless, I'm not any faster, just a little less beat up.

Several years ago I did a gravel race in North Texas that L*nce had entered. He rode a road bike with 30's and tubes. About halfway through the race, I came upon a group of a dozen riders all stopped with L*nce holding his rear wheel. They were asking everyone riding by for a tube. Sucks to not have a team car.

[SlowPokePete]

I've just recently started running tubes again.

My last couple of flats back in Westchester didn't seal up, mixed results plugging, etc...

Roads around here in Columbia County don't have the broken glass / pieces of wire / etc that I had to deal with before, so when I swapped back to the 700c wheels I just mounted up some GKSK 38's the old fashioned way, even gave them a little baby powder and tried to line up the valves with the labels lol...

SPP

[tmf]

My gravel bike too! Gravel King SKs at 35-45 PSI depending on road/trail conditions. Zero problems and (so far...) zero flats, including racing on some very rough terrain.

Greg

I'm in just about the same boat as well. Ritchey Swiss Cross with cantis, double chainring, and tubes. Currently riding Gravel King 40's - I have about 8-10 miles of road before I hit the gravel, so I pump them to 40 at the house, and then let out 4-5 touches to take them down to about 35 when I get to the gravel roads.

I road tubeless on my mountain bike for a few years, and then didn't ride it for a while. Tubeless & sealant are somewhat of a chore to deal with especially when neglected for some time! (and I've been riding only tubulars on my road bike since the mid 80's and would prefer to deal with glue than sealant!)

One of these days I'll probably run these tires w/o tubes, but they're working just fine now. I also went back to tubes in my mountain bike wheels.

[robt57]

Lay your wheels on each side for a while, flip repeat...

[Spaghetti Legs]

People were riding bikes on gravel long, long before there were “gravel” bikes. Tubes will be fine, you just might need a little more pressure than what you were planning on using for the tubeless.

This was my bike for my last big gravel ride, Unpaved of Susquehanna. No flats.

[d_douglas]

I just had my first persistent flatting experience with tubeless on a gravel bike last night! My rear tire kept losing pressure and while it didnt flat, I was bottoming out on the smallest of rocks or roots. I kept trying to reinflate, but kept losing air. I blame it on the valve not sealing properly. I have been riding this bike on MTB trails as of late and have had absolutely no problems, then on an easy group ride through super fun rolling trails, steady flats.

I did what I didnt want to do - just popped the tire off, scooped out the Stans goop, and put in a tire - problem solved. Tubes arent the worst thing in the world, especially when you can just get on with your ride!

[.RJ]

My bike has tubes, rim brakes, and a front derailleur :eek:

oh god how are you not dead



:D

[thirdgenbird]

oh god how are you not dead



:D

~60mm of bottom bracket drop too...

[biker72]

My bike has tubes, rim brakes, and a front derailleur :eek:

NOOOO!! Not rim brakes.....:eek::eek:
I've got one too....:)

[572cv]

My bike has tubes, rim brakes, and a front derailleur :eek:

All those things?!? Mine too, jeez..... :help:

[.RJ]

~60mm of bottom bracket drop too...

are you a ghost

[weisan]

y'all scaring trener pal....can someone please kindly invite him out of his room to eat dinner?

[nalax]

~60mm of bottom bracket drop too...

If your wheels are QR, you're really in trouble.

To the OP, take a little time to learn some tubeless maintenance and it will be helpful to you in the future. A water test may help to find where the leaks are. Could be valves, tape,the tire itself. Was the tire fully seated? The shop may not have taken the time to make sure that the sidewalls are coated. It's a good idea after putting sealant to shake the the tire in all directions and rest the wheel on its side on an open bucket or something similar to hold it horizontal. Flip over and repeat. If you're using Compass tires you might have to do this more than once. Lots of more tips elsewhere on PL, notubes, etc. Bring a punch of tubes, patch kits and sealant and have fun on your trip.

[thirdgenbird]

If your wheels are QR, you're really in trouble.

Guilty.

[oldpotatoe]

My bike has tubes, rim brakes, and a front derailleur :eek:

The bike evangelists are coming for you right now...:eek:

[RoosterCogset]

All those things?!? Mine too, jeez..... :help:

Yeah, but I bet y'all have electronic shifting, right?

[Lionel]

Went back to tubes on my gravel bike. I stay away from tubeless and sealant as much as I can.

[Tandem Rider]

My bike has all the hazards Thirdgenbird does including only 9 cogs in the back and a frame pump instead of CO2. I do keep it out of sight so the Bike Police can't find it and throw me in jail. Where I like to ride there is normally no cel service so I have to be able to fix it, I can't call for an extraction if something breaks and it might be a 20 mile walk to get service or even to a road the minivan can handle. ;)

[Likes2ridefar]

Given a gravel bike can perform mostly if not entirely like a road bike I don’t see the harm in trying to either get the tubeless setup working, use tubes if still leaking, or bring road tires to switch to...

Could be your tires, the rim, the install...there isn’t much to it.

[benb]

Tubulars were the original gravel tire...

I must be imagining all my rides on my "gravel bike" with tubes the last 7 years.

[Davist]

I've had good luck with either, though if you're using very wide tires, 2.1s, I'd highly recommend tubeless as they just work better in terms of ride quality. For the typical 38s or whatever, no issues, but I prefer tubeless, even on "fast road" bike with 32s. I have Schwalbe thunder burts which took a while to get fully sealed, turned out I just needed more sealant in a 2.1 tire.

[Jaybee]

Who are these Bike Police and do they actual exist in the real world?

Ride what you like, don't worry about what anyone else is riding, remember to smile.