Is sealant really worth it?

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by johnniecakes

In a typical year I may only get 2 or 3 flats in 6000 or so miles. So my time and hassle factor with tubes is very low. I have switched to TPU tubes and carry a butyl as a spare. If I get a flat a butyl goes in along the road and then a new TPU goes in at home under calmer conditions. More work and no performance gain keeps me using tubes

I'm in the same boat with road bikes (tires under 35mm), although with latex tubes.

[FastCanon]

The other reason why I went with tubeless for my wife and I was my thinking that if I do run over some kind of a thorn while going downhill, it would seal it or I get sprayed and that would signal me to stop. Am I naive about this? My wife got a nail and even then, she was able to ride for a while but at least she heard something weird and stopped.

I got a flat with tubes and the air went out quickly while going downhill. Ever since, I'm traumatized by that experience. When running wider tires and I feel the softness of the tires, I would stop and check to see if I had a flat. My trauma has been ongoing for over a couple of decades now

[gospastic]

Since switching to wider IW wheels I've found tubeless to be beneficial for road. I'm running 28mm tires on 23mm IW hookless rims at 54-58PSI. Sealant works at these pressures. It was super handy in one situation where I was warming up for a race and with 5 minutes to start, got a puncture. The sealant worked and I just had to top up with a pump. I wouldn't have had time to take the tire off and replace a tube. Yes some sealant got all over the frame, but whatever.

[deluz]

I have been tempted to go tubeless for the reduced rolling resistance and possible increased comfort. The number one reason I have not tried is the possibility of getting sprayed by sealant and I can't get past that.
I am happy with using latex tubes, might try TPU.

[Talrand]

Originally Posted by MikeD

[..] I'm thinking that there's a lot of people, for whatever reason (lack of skill, hand strength, tight tires, etc.), that try to avoid fixing flats at all costs.

I'm glad you're putting so much effort to keep the thread civil and really show everyone you're here to genuinely seek opinions. It's good to start by assuming anyone who might disagree with you is an ignorant, skill-less weakling

Since you've made up your mind already, make sure riding tubed tires becomes at least 50% of your new personality. A tattoo perhaps? Or at least a custom jersey.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by deluz

I have been tempted to go tubeless for the reduced rolling resistance and possible increased comfort. The number one reason I have not tried is the possibility of getting sprayed by sealant and I can't get past that.
I am happy with using latex tubes, might try TPU.

If you are already using latex tubes, you will not get any reduction in rolling resistance with tubeless. This has been measured several times, and no rolling resistance decrease with tubeless (compared to latex tubes) has been found. Nor is there likely any increase in comfort (at the same pressure).

[Mark McM]

I'm sure there are use cases were sealant is an advantage. But in my case, it would be more trouble than it is worth. I've get several wheels and multiple pairs of wheels, so the time to maintain sealant would add up. I get less than 1 flat per year with tubes since I started using wider tires, so the time and effort to setup and maintain multiple sets of wheels with sealant would be greater than a few minutes to repair a tube on the road side every other year. Additionally, at the same time as I don't look forward to getting splattered with sealant if the rider ahead of me gets a puncture with sealant, I don't wan to inflict that on other riders either.

[cgolvin]

Timely post for me as well. I had a series of flats on new wheels with TLR (road, then gravel) tires using tubes and it was a PITA -- really difficult getting the tire off and on, getting the bead seated, etc. Eventually resigned myself to going tubeless and so far working quite well, though I expect to invest in a compressor and not so happy about that expense.

One downside to tubeless is that I'm much less inclined to switch between road and gravel tires (e.g., dealing with the sealant) on a bike designed for both. I may end up investing in a separate set of wheels.

On my road bike, will stick with tubes since a flat is just a couple of minutes to address.

Originally Posted by Talrand

It's good to start by assuming anyone who might disagree with you is an ignorant, skill-less weakling

Come on.

[CAAD]

Strictly road duty, I run tubes. Tubeless only on my ravel bike and mountain bike.

[ojingoh]

Road - nope. latex tubes.
Mountain - grudgingly. Thinking about moving over to TPU. I am wondering how easy this will be since my mountain rim/tires are sized to be tight for tubeless.

My girlfriend loves tubeless! I maintain her bike. She's a recreational rider, high volume 650b road tire.

[Spoker]

That day , when I had to cut my last tube in half, tie a knot in it , and wrestle it back in the tire in order to make it home.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by cgolvin

Timely post for me as well. I had a series of flats on new wheels with TLR (road, then gravel) tires using tubes and it was a PITA -- really difficult getting the tire off and on, getting the bead seated, etc. Eventually resigned myself to going tubeless and so far working quite well, though I expect to invest in a compressor and not so happy about that expense.

One downside to tubeless is that I'm much less inclined to switch between road and gravel tires (e.g., dealing with the sealant) on a bike designed for both. I may end up investing in a separate set of wheels.

On my road bike, will stick with tubes since a flat is just a couple of minutes to address.



Come on.

Get out.

[bigbill]

I pulled the tires off my gravel wheels last week to unlace the wheels and send the hubs to Old Potato for new rims. The tires were WTB Raddlers and today I was cleaning out the old sealant so I could reuse the tires. There were many dozen thorns poking through the tires and I never got a flat or been covered in sealant. I started using tubeless on the road in 2017 because I was getting at least two flats a week during the summer. The main culprit was shredded truck tires that leave steel wire on the shoulders. No flats on the road since 2017 and no spraying of sealant. I rode a Panaracer Race A to the casing before replacing it. I counted over two dozen objects through the tread that would have given me a flat.

Every one of these threads is anecdotal. I would venture a guess that most riders on tubeless have never had sealant sprayed on them, but most people have heard of a guy or seen it on a group ride. Wheels and tires are components which require attention, and tubeless requires a little more vigilance to make sure the tire is good and remember to top off every few months. In NE Texas, I would wear out a rear tire every 5-6 weeks in the summer so I never topped them off. Front tires every 3-4 months.

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by reuben

Get out.

Oh, gonna assume that was directed to the poster to whom I responded.

[FastCanon]

Originally Posted by bigbill

I pulled the tires off my gravel wheels last week to unlace the wheels and send the hubs to Old Potato for new rims. The tires were WTB Raddlers and today I was cleaning out the old sealant so I could reuse the tires. There were many dozen thorns poking through the tires and I never got a flat or been covered in sealant. I started using tubeless on the road in 2017 because I was getting at least two flats a week during the summer. The main culprit was shredded truck tires that leave steel wire on the shoulders. No flats on the road since 2017 and no spraying of sealant. I rode a Panaracer Race A to the casing before replacing it. I counted over two dozen objects through the tread that would have given me a flat.

Every one of these threads is anecdotal. I would venture a guess that most riders on tubeless have never had sealant sprayed on them, but most people have heard of a guy or seen it on a group ride. Wheels and tires are components which require attention, and tubeless requires a little more vigilance to make sure the tire is good and remember to top off every few months. In NE Texas, I would wear out a rear tire every 5-6 weeks in the summer so I never topped them off. Front tires every 3-4 months.

I suspect that when you do get sprayed, you'll go back to tubes