Tubeless on the road

[Eldron]

So I was having a conversation with some mechanic buddies the other day and the question "what is the narrowest tyre that should be tubelessed" question was raised.

Right now the number seems to be around 34-36mm. Basically CX and wider.

We have all had success and failure on road tyres but my feeling is that road is where mtb was 5-8 years ago. Not all tyre/wheel combos work and not all sealants are up to the task (especially over 5 bar).

Me personally I will keep running tubes on road until the equipment is better (and limit the tyres and sealant I offer to my customers for road).

[lechatnoir]

3 minutes ago, Eldron said:

So I was having a conversation with some mechanic buddies the other day and the question "what is the narrowest tyre that should be tubelessed" question was raised.

Right now the number seems to be around 34-36mm. Basically CX and wider.

We have all had success and failure on road tyres but my feeling is that road is where mtb was 5-8 years ago. Not all tyre/wheel combos work and not all sealants are up to the task (especially over 5 bar).

Me personally I will keep running tubes on road until the equipment is better (and limit the tyres and sealant I offer to my customers for road).

pragmatic and sensible

[SwissVan]

2 hours ago, Eldron said:

So I was having a conversation with some mechanic buddies the other day and the question "what is the narrowest tyre that should be tubelessed" question was raised.

Right now the number seems to be around 34-36mm. Basically CX and wider.

We have all had success and failure on road tyres but my feeling is that road is where mtb was 5-8 years ago. Not all tyre/wheel combos work and not all sealants are up to the task (especially over 5 bar).

Me personally I will keep running tubes on road until the equipment is better (and limit the tyres and sealant I offer to my customers for road).

Interesting thanks, I'm looking at buying some new carbon "semi deep section" road wheels and was wondering about tubeless.

Maybe I shut stick with tubular... once you get your head around the "glue them on phase" they are ok not sure if they are available in < 40mm rim depth.

I have zome zipp 440's but don't really like to use them for everyday use 

[DieselnDust]

2 hours ago, Eldron said:

So I was having a conversation with some mechanic buddies the other day and the question "what is the narrowest tyre that should be tubelessed" question was raised.

Right now the number seems to be around 34-36mm. Basically CX and wider.

We have all had success and failure on road tyres but my feeling is that road is where mtb was 5-8 years ago. Not all tyre/wheel combos work and not all sealants are up to the task (especially over 5 bar).

Me personally I will keep running tubes on road until the equipment is better (and limit the tyres and sealant I offer to my customers for road).

Road tubeless over 5 bar is a problem.

glass on sa roads is a bigger problem 

[EddieV]

23 hours ago, Andreas_187 said:

I tried it about 5 years ago with a pair of non tubeless mavics and couldn't even get the tubeless tyre on

 

My experience of the Mavic's as well. I brought in a pair of Mavic Open Pro Tubeless rims for my wife's bike a few years ago. Laced them to re-purposed hubs .. then used the recommended Mavic tubeless tires too.

That was by far the most effort ever exerted trying to get tires onto rims 🥵🥵 .... 

I dread the day we're stuck with a flat somewhere when I need to take them off to insert a tube ...

[BigToe]

I switched from GP5000 (perished edges within 12 months) to Hutchinson Fusion5. Great grippy tyres and feels like a Pro One.

Running 30mm tyre (6bar) at the back and 28mm (5 bar) in front. I'm 95kg's

[Murrob]

1 hour ago, BigToe said:

I switched from GP5000 (perished edges within 12 months) to Hutchinson Fusion5. Great grippy tyres and feels like a Pro One.

Running 30mm tyre (6bar) at the back and 28mm (5 bar) in front. I'm 95kg's

I also had the GP5000 tubeless which perished, that being said I never had any flats that the sealant couldn’t handle, and there were some pretty serious bits of metal etc that I picked up on our delightful roads, but I am pretty religious in making sure to replace/top up sealant. Was pretty annoyed that I was fobbed off in terms of warranty on the GP5000’s. Switched to the Pirelli Zero tubeless 26mm I think they are awesome, no issues, but continue to make sure sealant is fresh. Been using Otoe Seel made by O.B from Epic Sports, works super well in the road tyres.

[Spirog]

I know it's been posted here before, but I can't find it... 🙄

What glue and patches should I be suing to put into my tubeless tyres?

I've got a few holes that need patching and want to do it correctly.

[The Ouzo]

Quick recap ***

Have been struggling with the rear wheel since I put new tyres on before lasts years CTCT. It varied from topping up air every couple of days to going flat over night. 

Had Cyclelab take a last minute stab at it before sending the bike to cape town in october, it didnt work so landed up riding CTCT with a tube in. Gave CL another opportunity to sort it out when I got back. But it continued as above just less. So I got used to checking the tyre pressure everytime I pulled the bike out the garage.

Except friday last week i pulled the bike out and wheel was completely flat, pumped it up and air was coming out the drainage hole in the rim.

Saturday I bought new rim tape and re-did the tape etc. It lost about 40psi over night, but sunday I pumped it up and hoped that my ride would settle the beading etc. and it would seal.

 

Well so far so good. I've not had to topup air since Sunday.

 

B.T.W. When I bought tape last time, and when CL put new tape in, it was the same silver/grey tape that was slightly to wide and needed trimming down. When I bought tape this time I asked for something different, they has a narrower blue tape (looks like the same stuff though) and this worked much better on the road rims as it did not need trimming.

[dasilvarsa]

11 minutes ago, Spirog said:

I know it's been posted here before, but I can't find it... 🙄

What glue and patches should I be suing to put into my tubeless tyres?

I've got a few holes that need patching and want to do it correctly.

I always replace the tyres (tubeless) or put in a tube to finish the tyre off.

Plugs don't work for me.

You can get the normal Patches and Glue for tubes and patch the inside of the tyre.

This works sometimes.

[Spirog]

I've had good results with patching my tyres. I normally use those small patch kits. However, I'd like to buy a decent sizes tube of glue as I run out of glue before using all the patches.

[The Ouzo]

4 minutes ago, Spirog said:

I've had good results with patching my tyres. I normally use those small patch kits. However, I'd like to buy a decent sizes tube of glue as I run out of glue before using all the patches.

I used to find that the glue would go dry before I ran out.

[Jewbacca]

1 hour ago, Spirog said:

I've had good results with patching my tyres. I normally use those small patch kits. However, I'd like to buy a decent sizes tube of glue as I run out of glue before using all the patches.

Gorilla glue and some latex strips from any auto shop.

Job done. 

Sant the inside of the tire around the hole to scuff it up, cut latex piece, apply pressure overnight so the gorilla glue bonds, clean it up the next day and you're done

[DieselnDust]

3 hours ago, Spirog said:

I know it's been posted here before, but I can't find it... 🙄

What glue and patches should I be suing to put into my tubeless tyres?

I've got a few holes that need patching and want to do it correctly.

 

 

what pressure are you applying to the tyre? Anything more than 70psi and you will need a robust patch. I punctured my tubeless tyre again only to discover the patch had blown through.If its a cut then the small mushroom plug from the inside will be the 2nd best repair. The best repair is a very simple device that has been around for decades.

 

the inner tube

[Spirog]

14 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

 

 

what pressure are you applying to the tyre? Anything more than 70psi and you will need a robust patch. I punctured my tubeless tyre again only to discover the patch had blown through.If its a cut then the small mushroom plug from the inside will be the 2nd best repair. The best repair is a very simple device that has been around for decades.

 

the inner tube

I run 5.3 bar at the back and 5.0 bar in front ( I don't know how to convert to psi). On big holes I've used a mushroom plug from the car tyre place, but I often struggle to find the smaller ones. Where do you get them from? 

[Andreas_187]

Everybody has 'mechanic buddies' that know best and there are lots of stories on here detailing bad experiences with tubeless. 

I keep repeating the same thing here.... Orange Seal is the only sealant that seems to work. I have over 30,000km running tubeless over the past 4 years and only once I had to stick a tube in (which is really no big deal). I would guess that I have had at least 30 punctures in that time. 

Orange Seal with Goodyear F1's or Schwalbe Pro One's is a winning combination. 

Also, Orange Seal does not create a huge, disgusting, sticky mess like other sealants like Stan's. 

I now run 80psi but used to run 95psi and it seals all holes without issue. 

The only difference when forced to put a tube into a tubeless setup is removing the valve, otherwise the process is exactly the same. Not sure why people are suggesting it is really any different to a normal setup. As I said before, Orange Seal isn't as sticky and messy as Stan's so no big deal. 

Edited May 19, 2022 by Andreas_187