Starting to regret going tubeless...

[Deathcricket]

Ha! thought it was just me. I pretty much hate my tubeless and have just been putting tubes in them recently. All my problems have mysteriously vanished. :)

[Sombeech]

Riding last night, 8 bikes. 3 tubeless, 5 tubes.

3 tubeless flats, 0 tube flats.

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[ahansen60]

Riding last night, 8 bikes. 3 tubeless, 5 tubes.

3 tubeless flats, 0 tube flats.

Wow that says something right there. Crazy.

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[neilether]

Wow that says something right there. Crazy.

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The only thing it really says, is that you'll never take out all the variables to get a definitive answer on what is better. I can tell you accurately that my personal situation over the last 4 years is exactly the opposite of Beech's recent adventure. The few tubeless flats that I have seen on the trail have been due to poorly executed "ghetto" setups, and people not willing to take the 5 minutes every 2 months to check that there is still liquid sealant sloshing around in their tires.

There's also those catastrophic flats that you can't really count. Major sidewall tears and huge punctures shouldn't count in your statistics either way......

[Sombeech]

These tubeless flats occurred on 3 rental bikes from the Bike Shop, rented that day.

[RedSpecialized]

Another victim of tubeless. I haven't had the bike very long, bought it used on ksl. Didn't know it had tubeless went for a ride yesterday. Just when I'm at the top of the trail finished pedaling ready for the down hill part. I about eat it when my front tire starts going crazy wobbly. Tired completely flat and bead broken. No problem I think to myself, I have patches and a pump. So I take the tire off and to my surprise, no tube. I have never ran tubeless so I have no clue what I'm doing. My friend and I try and reset set the bead with a trail pump which we quickly discovered are useless for these. So now I'm stuck walking all the way back to the car. At least I got a good pedal in....? So I'll admit I'm totally clueless to this tubeless thing, but I'm not seeing any real advantage to them....? Unless your into "hike a bike". Maybe I'm missing something? It seems like to me if you ever get a flat on the trail the only way out is to learn how to ride on one tire or hoof it. And for me neither of those options are appealing.



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[REDFOX]

I found some good information on Utahmountainbiking.com about tubeless and the maintenance required for them to function properly. I don't enjoy tinkering with my bike, so I will stay with tubes and slime. I have never had to walk my bike back to the car and for the past 8 years I haven't even carried a spare tube.

[Sombeech]

Most of the time tubeless users will talk about how they had a flat with the tube they had to hurry and put in - skip over the point that the reason they had to use the temporary tube that failed in the first place is because their tubeless went flat

[RedSpecialized]

So is there a way to fix tubeless on the trail? Now that I have them I would like to know.

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[Iceaxe]

So is there a way to fix tubeless on the trail? Now that I have them I would like to know.

There is a very simple method of fixing tubeless on the trail, you simply put a tube in.

Anyone riding tubes or tubeless that doesn't carry a spare tube is just begging for a nice long hike-a-bike.



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[ahansen60]

I agree you should always carry a spare tube with, and it is probably the quickest way to fix it enough to get back to the trailhead. But you could bring a little bit of stan's sealant and a co2 pump in your backpack and fix most flats that way as well. Of course it depends what kind of flat and how severe it is though.

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[Jow]

Tubeless fanboy here to offer you some hope!! It really sounds like your tubeless is not set up correctly. I rarely refill my sealant, and it never leaks. I just pop off the wheel and give it a shake now and again to make sure it's good (Takes 10 seconds). When it's empty, don't unseat the bead to refill - just pop out the core of the valve and squeeze some sealant through. I use a 2 oz bottle of Stans that has a nice pointy nozzle and just refill it constantly for this job. This saves quite a bit of time!

Once everything is seated correctly it shouldn't be mandatory to check your PSI every ride. I usually do it anyway because I run my PSI really low (21/23), I wouldn't go below that. Check Stan's website for ideal PSI/weight, but until you get these problems sorted out I'd stick to the 26-28 range.

I haven't had a flat in three years. I tore the sidewall of a cheap, worn non-UST tire once. That's really it. With a proper tubeless setup you can be worry free, run lower PSI, have better efficiency and most of all... have more fun! Good luck.


Disclaimer: I'm running UST tires and UST rims. I can't speak for non-UST conversions - I know a few folks that have had issues trying to convert standard rims to tubeless.

[neilether]

These tubeless flats occurred on 3 rental bikes from the Bike Shop, rented that day.

Sounds to me like you should find a new bike shop.....

There is a very simple method of fixing tubeless on the trail, you simply put a tube in.

Anyone riding tubes or tubeless that doesn't carry a spare tube is just begging for a nice long hike-a-bike.

Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

+1

Sounds like your tubeless is not set up correctly. I rarely refill my sealant, and it never leaks. I just pop off the tire and give it a shake now and again to make sure it's good (Takes 10 seconds). When it's empty, don't unseat the bead to refill - just pop out the core of the valve and squeeze some sealant through. I use a 2 oz bottle of Stans that has a nice pointy nozzle and just refill it constantly for this job. This saves quite a bit of time!

I haven't had a flat in three years. I tore the sidewall of a cheap, worn non-UST tire once. That's really it. With a proper tubeless setup you can be worry free, run lower PSI, have better efficiency and most of all... have more fun! Good luck.


Disclaimer: I'm running UST tires and UST rims. I can't speak for non-UST conversions - I know a few folks that have had issues trying to convert standard rims to tubeless.

Can I get an "AMEN!"

So is there a way to fix tubeless on the trail? Now that I have them I would like to know.

Sent from my SPH-L900

As has been said, the easiest is to just put a tube in and off you go. If you have a CO2 cartridge, you can reseat the bead on the trail. If the puncture was big enough that the sealant wouldn't seal it up, you can actually patch the inside of the tire itself with a regular patch kit. In a nod to the tubeless haters, it can be more annoying to try to reseat the bead trailside then to just put a tube in to finish the ride.

[neilether]

Here's a link to an interesting article discussing both the pros and cons of going tubeless. Full disclosure, the author is definitely biased toward tubeless, but he does offer up some good counterpoints.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/articl...e-tubes-37901/

[Sombeech]

I guess i don't see how tubeless can resist punctures better than the tube setup.

Take the goat head sticker. Tube setup you have to punch through the tire and then the tube. Tubeless you only have the tire. Is the tubeless really resisting the puncture better? If it's the sealant that fills the hole, the tire really didn't stop anything. Both setups will have sealant inside.

For me, i find it odd when a tubeless rider will get a flat, put a tube in, get another flat on the tube and then only complain about tubes and how bad of a setup they are because they just got a flat with the tube.

I'm riding every week on Rocky Ass trails and damn, we are pounding those trails. I probably haven't topped off my tubes for a good two months, maybe more. Then again I'm riding with good old Schrader valves too and haven't even thought about clamping the pump on the valve. Come to think of it, maybe it's the new technology that is becoming more temperamental like Presta valves, tubeless, and clipless pedals. Good intentions, but when you just need to ride and not dink around with the hardware, the old school stuff holds up better. Even if it takes ten seconds to maintain something, my setup takes zero seconds and it's not failing the whole season.

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[tallsteve]

...maybe it's the new technology that is becoming more temperamental like Presta valves, tubeless, and clipless pedals. Good intentions, but when you just need to ride and not dink around with the hardware, the old school stuff holds up better.

Funny, I use ALL the 'newer' school stuff you mention and haven't had any of them fail this season...or last season, or the season before that, or the season before that, or the season before that, etc. I'm also riding rocky, rugged trails 3-4 times a week. Maybe failures are more about the user?
I guess when it comes down to it, ride what you like, what's worked for you and what you're comfortable with.

[neilether]

I guess i don't see how tubeless can resist punctures better than the tube setup.

Take the goat head sticker. Tube setup you have to punch through the tire and then the tube. Tubeless you only have the tire. Is the tubeless really resisting the puncture better? If it's the sealant that fills the hole, the tire really didn't stop anything. Both setups will have sealant inside.

To your point, I don't think that a tubeless setup "resists" punctures any better than a standard setup. It's all about what happens after the puncture occurs. If you are running slime tubes, this benefit is likely a wash. However, the drawback to slime tubes is that they are HEAVY. Noticeably so when you are riding. Further, rotating weight (ie. tires, tubes, wheels, etc..) is the worst kind of weight you can add to your bike.

For me, i find it odd when a tubeless rider will get a flat, put a tube in, get another flat on the tube and then only complain about tubes and how bad of a setup they are because they just got a flat with the tube.

I personally have never run into this on the trails, but i'm sure it occurs.

I am genuinely curious as to how much air pressure you have in your tires. Riding the rocky terrain you do, with a tubed setup, I'm surprised that you don't get pinch flats. Unless you keep you tire pressure well north of 40 psi. To reiterate, MY reason to ride tubeless is that I can run 20-25 psi in my tires without constantly getting pinch flats. This improves rolling resistance, comfort, ability to conform to the trail, and for me vastly improves my riding experience.

Bottom line, agree to disagree. We really should have the czar of Ogden mountain biking @MtnBkr chime in on this subject. He will edumucate all of us.

Let's go for a ride sometime.

[Jow]

This thread is spending too much time talking about how bad tubeless is instead of working to achieve proper tubeless setups that actually operate correctly...

(Just sayin')

Let me know when we are back on track and I'll be more than willing to offer more suggestions to help everyone struggling with tubeless.

[Bootboy]

I ride tubeless with stan's and have found it to be very reliable. An extra squirt of sealant every month and you're good to go. at the end of every season, I either replace or clean out my tires as a matter of maintenance. Pretty simple really. There have been a few occasions where I've been frustrated buy it, but that's easily (although somewhat messy) remedied with one of the two tubes I always carry and RARELY USE.

The end

[Iceaxe]

I'm going to give tubeless a try. The biggest reason I haven't yet is I don't have an air compressor in my garage. Guess it's time to buy one. So any suggestions? What do all you tubeless guys do to inflate your tubeless tires? An know a good deal on a compressor?

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