Tubeless Road Wheels

[halliday]

School me on tubeless road wheels. Im starting to roll over my road bike quiver (one bike so far) and everything Ive ever used has had tubes. Never thought about going tubeless but the new bike has ZIPP 404 Firecrest wheels in tubeless. PITA? Easy? Never go back? Tubeless is the shit? What do you know?

[J. Barron DeJong]

My new road bike came with tubeless compatible rims and tires (DT Swiss wheels), so I set it up tubeless.

Seems fine? I never got many flats anyway - had a couple years since the last one, so no big benefit there. But no downsides either.

I believe Zipp uses hookless flanges on their rims. With those you need to be very careful regarding tire width, and max pressure for the tire width being used, so you don’t accidentally blow a tire off the rim.

[XXX-er]

I havent tried tubeless road but if you got a working tubelsss road setup on a new bike then its probaly good

IME trying to go tubeless on some old shimano rims did not work so i wouldn't try to retro fit non-tubeless rims

[halliday]

Another question is how does the sealant not fuck up the valve? Like I indicated earlier Im a total Jong with tubeless. I get home on Saturday to put the bike together and start learning the tubeless, disc brake, electronic shifting, new age world of my new cycling life. Ive been my own bike mechanic for thirty years and have never taken a bike back to the shop for work of any kind. I build my own rims etc...but lots of new stuff going on here.

[wendigo]

sometimes (rarely) it does, just pop the valve core out, cleanup or replace.

[The Iron Horse]

I trained and raced on tubeless for a while, back when I was seriously invested in the sport and putting in big miles. I first gave it a go while I was living in Hawaii, where frankly the roads are awful. I'm a bit of a tubular snob, but there was so much debris and so many flints that punctures were a regular occurrence. With tubeless, however, I had fairly good success with the tire sealing without ever missing a beat. In fact, I would only know that I punctured because I'd have a calf covered in sealant. Even saved me during at least one race that I recall.

The downside was that when I needed to do maintenance, getting a good seal on the particular rim that I was using at the time was a pain. I'd lose a few pounds in sweat pumping my ass off. Eventually I left the islands and switched back to sturdy clinchers for training and sew-ups for racing, but the change was more because I drifted away from the sport rather than a dislike for the system. If I started putting serious miles in again, I'd grab a cheap compressor and never look back. The ride quality wasn't at the level of sew-ups, but not far off. Way better than your run-of-the-mill clincher trash.

[The Iron Horse]

Another question is how does the sealant not fuck up the valve?

Never had an issue.

[XXX-er]

I only run them on mtn bikes but I'm pretty sure its the same presta valve and so you can buy a card of 5 valve cores and just replace them as needed, i also carry a complete valve in my spare parts on the bike

you probably don't want to attach a pump where fluid will spew out the valve so I put the valve at 3 oclock when I attach the pump to the tire which is also where my particular shrader/ presta pump head works best

[J. Barron DeJong]

I trained and raced on tubeless for a while, back when I was seriously invested in the sport and putting in big miles. I first gave it a go while I was living in Hawaii, where frankly the roads are awful. I'm a bit of a tubular snob, but there was so much debris and so many flints that punctures were a regular occurrence. With tubeless, however, I had fairly good success with the tire sealing without ever missing a beat. In fact, I would only know that I punctured because I'd have a calf covered in sealant. Even saved me during at least one race that I recall.

The downside was that when I needed to do maintenance, getting a good seal on the particular rim that I was using at the time was a pain. I'd lose a few pounds in sweat pumping my ass off. Eventually I left the islands and switched back to sturdy clinchers for training and sew-ups for racing, but the change was more because I drifted away from the sport rather than a dislike for the system. If I started putting serious miles in again, I'd grab a cheap compressor and never look back. The ride quality wasn't at the level of sew-ups, but not far off. Way better than your run-of-the-mill clincher trash.

New rims seal much better. I’m able to seat my tires with a low volume floor plump without pumping like crazy.

I have a compressor too, but didn’t need to break it out.

[The Iron Horse]

New rims seal much better. I’m able to seat my tires with a low volume floor plump without pumping like crazy.

I have a compressor too, but didn’t need to break it out.

The rims were new, just were a nightmare to seal, especially with the tire I was using at the time. Some brands/models of tire seat much quicker, and while I had better success with others, I absolutely preferred the one which ended up being the most challenging. Of course!

[XXX-er]

I think same with mtnbike tires ^^ IME maxxis make great mtnbike tires, they go on easy and seat with just a floor pump so i don't bother/ don't know about anything else

[rbciii]

I went to tubeless road wheels and tires two years ago and I can't imagine going back. I used to get flats pretty regularly despite using Gatorskins and other "puncture resistant" tires. Since going tubeless I have not had a flat. Plenty of punctures, but they all sealed just like they do on my mountain bike.

I am switching my wife's bike to tubeless next week. Have the tires, waiting for the valve stems.

[J. Barron DeJong]

The rims were new, just were a nightmare to seal, especially with the tire I was using at the time. Some brands/models of tire seat much quicker, and while I had better success with others, I absolutely preferred the one which ended up being the most challenging. Of course!

I didn’t mean new as in unused, but new as in current updated designs.

[The Iron Horse]

I didn’t mean new as in unused, but new as in current updated designs.

Ha! Yeah. I probably should've added a disclaimer that I was using them back in '15-'17. I'm sure the newer stuff is better.

Gosh, was it really that long ago?!? Impossible.

[singlesline]

It mostly just works.

It doesn't work as well as MTB given the higher pressures involved (harder for the sealant to seal) and less desire/benefit from running very low pressures, but as long as you are running 30mm tires or larger, I see no reason not to go tubeless...and I see no reason to run tires smaller than that these days. Feels SO much better than running 23 or 25c tires...and I think we've established that it is actual faster with tubeless and proper presures.

That said, my road tires must be a bad match to my rims because they lose pressure after a few days. The gravel tires hold for a good while on the same rims, but the specialized roubaix pro 30/32 tires will be completely flat.

[J. Barron DeJong]

It mostly just works.

It doesn't work as well as MTB given the higher pressures involved (harder for the sealant to seal) and less desire/benefit from running very low pressures, but as long as you are running 30mm tires or larger, I see no reason not to go tubeless...and I see no reason to run tires smaller than that these days. Feels SO much better than running 23 or 25c tires...and I think we've established that it is actual faster with tubeless and proper presures.

That said, my road tires must be a bad match to my rims because they lose pressure after a few days. The gravel tires hold for a good while on the same rims, but the specialized roubaix pro 30/32 tires will be completely flat.

I’m running 26c front/28c rear. I lose pressure quicker than with butyl tubes, but I think less slowly than with latex tubes. I’ve always toped up my tires before every ride anyway so not a big deal for me.

[XXX-er]

If you goggle " what tire are they using in the TDF " its mostly 28

[halliday]

Does the sealant stay wet, as in sticky or gummy or does it dry up over time? I assume a regular maintenance schedule will develop for tubeless. Any tips for maintenance and for products? Im all in with what the bike is coming with and always willing to try new stuff even if the new stuff is a few years old. New to me.

[J. Barron DeJong]

If you goggle " what tire are they using in the TDF " its mostly 28

True, but Continental came out with a new front-specific 26c at this year’s race.

[doebedoe]

I've recently became a TPU convert. Retains air better than latex on par with butyl. Easy to use. Easy to carry spares. Better rolling resistance than butyl, a hair worse than latex or tubeless. Very light....lighter than tubeless tape and sealant most times.

Wasn't interested in $30 a tube, but now that you can get RideNows for $5 -- they are a nice alternative for those of use who don't want to futz with tubeless setup or have wheels too old to run them.

[singlesline]

Yeah, but none of us are TDF racers and most of us weigh more than 135lbs. They are mostly choosing tires for weight and aero reasons, right?

I'm happy to take those couple extra millimeters and run a size up from the racers.

[XXX-er]

yeah if you goggle around depending on which page you read in this years TDF they were using anywhere from 25 to 32 depending on the road but the one I read said 28

My neighbor the world level former racer and now retired coach told me she used 19's back in the day, 20 yrs ago my road bike came with 23's run at 125psi which was pretty standard, I put on some 25's i got on 1/2 price sale probably cuz they were SO wide, which seemed crazy but actualy the 25's seemed better and if they were slower I couldn't tell

and now tires are even wider so thats the progression, they run whatever is faster that hold up

those skinny columbians are like 6' 140 lbs

[halliday]

True, but Continental came out with a new front-specific 26c at this year’s race.

Id be happy to find some Lithion tubeless and run tubes in them. Ive been on the Lithions for a while now and they are the most puncture resistant tires Ive ever run. I don't really care about a few grams.

[J. Barron DeJong]

Yeah, but none of us are TDF racers and most of us weigh more than 135lbs. They are mostly choosing tires for weight and aero reasons, right?

I'm happy to take those couple extra millimeters and run a size up from the racers.

The 26 front is for aero. Larger rear for less rolling resistance.

A lot of (sponsored) pro riders on hookless rims are locked into wider tires due to width and pressure compatibility, whether they want it or not.

I’m 180 and running 73 psi front and rear on my 26/28 combo. Low enough to be comfortable for me.

Do I need the slight extra performance gain? No.

But also, did I need the performance gain from my nice new road bike over my old 2005 one? Definitely not. But it makes me happy.

[Bosco]

I have tubeless on both mtb and road bikes. I have Stans rims on the mountain bike that can be a pain to seal, and have no issues with the road bike. The thing I like best with tubeless is the ability to run lower air pressure, especially on the road bike having to ride rough roads.