kristoff no-likey tubeless @ roubaix

[ultraman6970]

Well if you look at it, yes is better have a flat in a clincher than a broken hub, but hubs bust so rarely... either way, rather have a flat in a tubbie than in a clincher.

[VC Slim]

Originally Posted by saab2000

I did once. The funny thing was that it didn’t flat right away, but next day or so lost air and wouldn’t hold air. The blow that caused this was enough to damage a Campagnolo Nucleon rim, and those were as tough as any aluminum rim I’ve ever seen. Unannounced pothole in a fast paceline, hit at full force. Surprised I didn’t crash or break my frame.

A clincher would have been toast.

Same thing here. Pinched flatted a tubular and ruined a Neutron. Next time by that now known hole I moved right to avoid it. Well, turned out the hole had grown. Flatted again.

[Ronsonic]

Originally Posted by benb

Just think how much better MTBs would ride with Tubulars. Tubulars are magic!

It's been done, and not all that long ago. Worked great. Suspect part of the problem at the world's end of the sport is that instead of having a tire sponsor pay you, you get to write a large check to FMB. At my end of the sport the things are screamingly expensive.

What I don't quite get is just like Disc Brakes how this keeps getting screwed up.

They should have figured out how to run tubeless road at pressures lower than a tubular can handle a long time ago.

Just not going to happen. There just isn't any practical way to do that. The whole sewup tire thing was genius to start and it's only been further refined over a hundred and some years.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Ronsonic

It's been done, and not all that long ago. Worked great. Suspect part of the problem at the world's end of the sport is that instead of having a tire sponsor pay you, you get to write a large check to FMB. At my end of the sport the things are screamingly expensive.



Just not going to happen. There just isn't any practical way to do that. The whole sewup tire thing was genius to start and it's only been further refined over a hundred and some years.

Ayup!!

[William]

So, ho is going to make the first gravel/Cross beadlock rims for tubeless bike tires? Shimano, Campy, SRAM, or the Walmart brothers?








W.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Ronsonic

It's been done, and not all that long ago. Worked great.

When something has been tried several times, and was subsequently abandoned each time, its hard to say that it "Worked great."

Originally Posted by Ronsonic

The whole sewup tire thing was genius to start and it's only been further refined over a hundred and some years.

If sewups are so great, why were clinchers developed later to solve the problems created by sewups, and have sincen nearly entirely replace sewups?

[Calnago]

Clinchers didn’t solve any “problems” created by tubulars. In fact, there are no problems with tubulars. It’s just that clinchers are easier and more convenient. People like easy, cuz well, it’s easy. At least, prior to tubeless they were easy. But now it seems with the difficulty people seem to be having with mounting road tubeless these days, and sealant spewing everywhere, and wondering whether a tire will reseat and seal on the road, it seems they’ve actually gotten more difficult. For road at least, tubulars remain supreme. If road tires do eventually evolve into mountain type affairs in terms of width and volume, which in some cases are getting close, then the fact that the two hard ridges they’re supported upon being so far away from the road may make the difference in the superior feel of the tubular less noticeable (they will both feel like balloons), but at today’s sweetspot of racing tire sizes of tubulars at 25-27mm, the tubular won’t be surpassed in the handling and ride quality criteria by any clincher. Straight line performance could be equal or even surpassed by a clincher, but as soon as the road starts twisting, gimme back me tubulars please.

[ariw]

Two thoughts:

1) 25mm - really? Agreed with others above that he should have been running a wider tire, just like almost every other rider @PR.

2) I have a pair of those Vittoria tubeless tires, they are fast as hell, but very thin, like almost TT specialty tire thin. No way are they appropriate for gravel or cobbles.

Finally, as per the usual discussion of road tubeless, a bunch of people who have either very limited or no experience with it will bash it endlessly. Been on road tubeless for years now, can’t stand regular clinchers any more, but I also love tubulars. As for mtb tubeless, I struggle to remember the last flat that I had on the trail. The technology just works

Ari

[Ronsonic]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

When something has been tried several times, and was subsequently abandoned each time, its hard to say that it "Worked great."

Several world XC championships qualifies as "works great." Cost, that's another thing.

If sewups are so great, why were clinchers developed later to solve the problems created by sewups, and have sincen nearly entirely replace sewups?

Because every design is a compromise. Choose your priorities. Tubeless road tires (which started this thread) apparently don't handle some situations as well as tubes or sewups. Tubular MTB tires (which is where we wandered off to) do lots of things well except cost a bomb and the alternative tubeless tires work way better than the road tubeless.

[rwsaunders]

Originally Posted by El Chaba

I wonder if the bit about 25mm is bad information...I had heard that the earlier parts of his cobbled classics campaign was on 28mm tubeless, so I would think he had at least that size...

Kristoff is sticking with the Vittoria Corsa Graphene 2.0 25mm tubeless tyres he has used in previous races, used in conjunction with Campagnolo Bora WTO tubeless-ready wheels, which were released last year and recently updated with a 45mm option. "I've actually raced on tubeless all year, and have a good feeling on them. I also won Gent-Wevelgem and was third at Flanders on tubeless," Kristoff added.

"For me, they just feel better. I don't really know what the main difference is, but they roll well, and on the cobbles they don't feel bad at all – they feel comfortable. I did some tests this winter on tubulars, and I didn't feel any better, if I remember correctly. “They're 25mm tyres, but they actually measure a little wider – around 26mm. But I'm keeping my tyre pressures a secret," he said.