Going tubeless on a road bike.

[Dazshell]

I'm using Giant SLR1 wheels with Giant Gavia SL1 25mm tyres.  They are amazing.  Resealing is an issue at high pressure (8 bar) but once the pressure drops to ±3, they seal easily for smaller punctures.  Managed to get 40kms home on Sunday after puncturing. 

 

Only problem is if the puncture is a cut, but today my LBS managed to successfully patch the tyre from the inside and now holding 8 bar no problem.

 

I am not sure I would pay for new rims to convert but of you are getting anew bike, it is the only way to go.

 

And yes, when the sealant sprays out it makes horrible mess!  Cleans off easily though.

[buckstopper]

Been riding Argents with 25mm Schwalbe Pro Ones since Jan 2017. Ride is superb. I seem to go harder into corners and feel more confident. I pump them to 6 bar every second Saturday night, they lose about a bar a week. I've ridden them at 4 bar, with no noticeable resistance issues. (They're marked at 5 - 7.5 bar (multiply by 14.5 for psi).  At 78kg I regularly seem to out descend most others.

 

These tyres are really big though, given the rim shape. The 25's Pro Ones are 28mm wide, and 27mm from the top of the rim to the top of the tyre. They won't fit on many frames, so be aware of that before rushing out and buying a pair of Pro Ones on these rims.

My Argent wheelset weighs 2.2kg including Pro One tyres (255gms), 35mm Stans in each wheel, 23x11 Dura Ace 10sp cluster and standard AC QRs. With less pressure I seem to be able to ride for longer in the drops as well, with less vibration in front. I also don't seem to get as tired on longer rides. No puncture issues yet touch wood. I'm sure they'll be fine for gravel, having tried them out on Cedar road (with the roadworks of late). No going back for me, even at the tyre price.

[carbon29er]

For the weight weenies, is a tubeless setup heavier ?

(for the sake of this conversation, ignore the wheels)

I went from Conti Force/Attack combination with Conti race tubes to Schwalbe Ultremo first up. With 20ml sealant a wheel the tubeless setup was the same weight to a few grams but I then saved a spare tube and levers from overall ride weight so about 120g lighter. Force/Attack also a light tyre. This includes weight of valves and 2 layers of tape per wheel less the tube 2 rim tapes.

 

The Schwalbe One was 60g lighter a set than the Ultremo while the Pro One is another 50g lighter a set than the One.

 

So tubeless is about over 230g lighter for me than where I started with tubes.

 

And I've had to put air in a tyre once on the road in 5 years.

[bikebloke]

 

 

just to annoy you all before Friday - GCN say tubeless is heavier

[Andreas_187]

I'm pretty convinced and will give it a try after watching this video:

[kk6gan]

I saw a video of a guy suggesting that if you run tubeless at high pressures to put a small amount of regular glitter in with the sealant. Apparently helps it seal a bit quicker and avoids too much of a pressure drop.

 

I haven't tried this as I don't have a road bike but just throwing it out there, maybe it will help, maybe it will be a waste of time. From what carbon29er says it doesn't seem necessary due to relatively low pressure loss when puncturing in the first place.

 

I can vouch for the fact that as far as you can you should try not use CO2 bombs as this makes the sealant dry up and become useless fast.

[LOOK695]

Some more info here as well

 

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=113&t=140926

[nonky]

I saw a video of a guy suggesting that if you run tubeless at high pressures to put a small amount of regular glitter in with the sealant. Apparently helps it seal a bit quicker and avoids too much of a pressure drop.

 

I haven't tried this as I don't have a road bike but just throwing it out there, maybe it will help, maybe it will be a waste of time. From what carbon29er says it doesn't seem necessary due to relatively low pressure loss when puncturing in the first place.

 

I can vouch for the fact that as far as you can you should try not use CO2 bombs as this makes the sealant dry up and become useless fast.

 

Glitter helps especially if you get punctured by a unicorn

[carbon29er]

 

 

just to annoy you all before Friday - GCN say tubeless is heavier

Ah, the expert poms at GCN. Who know very little other than how to promote themselves.

 

GP4000S II probably most popular everyday tyre vs Schwalbe Pro One arguably the best tubeless tyre avaiable.

 

The facts:

from http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-reviews/compare/continental-grand-prix-4000s-ii-2014-vs-continental-grand-prix-attack-2016-vs-schwalbe-pro-one-tubeless-2016

Brand Continental Continental Schwalbe Model Grand Prix 4000S II Grand Prix Attack II

Pro One Tubeless

Size Inch

  28" 28" 28" Width mm 25 22 25 Specified Weight 225 grams 175 grams 255 grams

 

Tube weights from weight weenies http://weightweenies.starbike.com/listings/components.php?type=innertubes&sortby=real:

Continental

  Race 28 Supersonic S60 2003 700x18-25C 55 g 56 g +1,82% long Presta, same weight on 2 tubes

 

Sealant weight for 20ml is +- 25g

Valve weight 4g 88mm length for 35mm 45mm 55mm 60mm deep wheels.

Bar tape same weight for both types.

 

So same width 25mm tyre and tube and sealant and valve

Conti GP4000SII: 225+56+0+0=281g

Schwalbe Pro One: 255+0+25+4=280g

 

Weights the same, more or less.

 

Take out carrying spare tube and levers and tubeless is lighter.

 

For me not really a weight decision. More a reliability issue.

[Hairy]

anyone know if you can Ghetto Tubeless a roadie wheelset .... getting a little "bored" of all the punctures on the commuter bike as of late

[lechatnoir]

Well, the 'Indestructable' clip has me sold... now to get a parcel sorted...

[splat]

Running American Classix Argent wheels amd Spez Roubaix tyres as a tubeless combo. Its been a revelation.

What width tyres are you running on the Argents?

 

Edit:

Scratch that question. I know that if I were to go tubeless on AC Argents (which I don't have yet), I would go 25c.

But would hate to buy the tyres and find that they don't fit my Giant TCR frame.

I currently ride old Ksyriums with the narrow rims, so the current Gatorskins fit OK,  but the wider Argents would change that...

[Iwan Kemp]

What width tyres are you running on the Argents?

The Roubaix has a 25mm casing with 23mm tread.

[CAAD4]

Glitter helps especially if you get punctured by a unicorn

This. It also gives you a nice shiny stripe on your bibs, if you have a puncture, making you easily identifiable to other unicorns.

[buckstopper]

Carbon 29er, to be fair this GCN video was published in 2014, before the release of the Schwalbe Pro One. The Schwalbe One (the Pro One predecessor weighs 317gms in 25mm). Incidentally the Pro One 25mm enjoys (depending on testers) consistently among the lowest rolling resistance when run tubeless of all road tyres - tubeless, clincher with tube and tubby.

 

I am running 25mm and am keen to try the 28s. Schwalbe in SA seem to have availability issues with these tyres, though, and they are not cheap.

 

Splat, how much space do you have between your seat tube, tyre and brakes and tyres currently? They won't work on all frames, particularly small sizes.

[splat]

What width tyres are you running on the Argents?

 

Edit:

Scratch that question. I know that if I were to go tubeless on AC Argents (which I don't have yet), I would go 25c.

But would hate to buy the tyres and find that they don't fit my Giant TCR frame.

I currently ride old Ksyriums with the narrow rims, so the current Gatorskins fit OK,  but the wider Argents would change that...

OK, so I got the Argents, but had already bought a new set of GP4000's, so tubeless will have to wait a while.

 

But in the meantime, the 25mm tires fit comfortably in my frame.