Tubeless is turning into a right faff

[Binhill1]

Wow this has kicked off again since I last came on here. So I fixed the two punctures with a mushroom patch and got the tyre seated on the rim put sealant in and all is well, seems to be holding air so will test it tomorrow on a ride.

I am not up to the standard of riding as some on here so I doubt I would notice a difference in ride between tubes and tubeless hence why I asked if it’s worth it in the first place.

I never seen any difference. If I got 10 flats a year I could see the point but I never have. I put slime in last year not had a flat since. As you say some of these lads really hammering it or are hitting stuff me and you are managing to miss we will never know. Same old same old not sure why I am biting .

 

[Expidia]

I never seen any difference. If I got 10 flats a year I could see the point but I never have. I put slime in last year not had a flat since. As you say some of these lads really hammering it or are hitting stuff me and you are managing to miss we will never know. Same old same old not sure why I am biting .

So Binhill, I'm confused (but thats not hard to do ) . . . are you saying you put slime in your tubed tires or are you putting the slime in by removing the valve's core and adding slime inside the tube?
Or are you saying you are using tubeless tires and adding slime?
Thanks

 

[Binhill1]

So Binhill, I'm confused (but thats not hard to do ) . . . are you saying you put slime in your tubed tires or are you putting the slime in by removing the valve's core and adding slime inside the tube?
Or are you saying you are using tubeless tires and adding slime?
Thanks

Slime in the tube easy peasy to put in . First time I've tried it a year no flats but I only ever get two or three a year anyway usually thorns .

 

[Binhill1]

So Binhill, I'm confused (but thats not hard to do ) . . . are you saying you put slime in your tubed tires or are you putting the slime in by removing the valve's core and adding slime inside the tube?
Or are you saying you are using tubeless tires and adding slime?
Thanks

Forgot to say I put amount it says on bottle ina measuring jug then put it in with a syringe . That goes right inside the valve when the core is out.

 

[emtbPhil]

This old topic of "discussion" again

At the end of the day most of the "tubeless is a waste of time" people don't ride in rough terrain
Everything I ride is proper off road and downhill stuff and I would NEVER run a tube again

Me and a mate did a week in the Lake District - he got 3 punctures in one day, used both his spare inner tubes and my emergency one.
I've had thorns in mine and never noticed. The only time I got a proper puncture was riding over some barbed wire, shoved a bacon strip in it, pumped back up, carried on.

The unbelievable hassle of taking your wheel off, popping one side of the tyre off, swapping the tube.. at the side of the trail.. yeah no thanks.

I can sort of understand the cost argument - tubeless valves are a rip off.
But at the end of the day you buy them once and then maybe every year change the valve out for a few quid off amazon.
The tape I put on has lasted through 3 tyre changes... the fluid lasts at least 6 months or so and a giant bottle is £20 that does top ups for a few years.

I rode once with tubes in when I first got an emtb a few years back - got a pinch flat on some techy terrain, had to swap the tube, then ride the rest of the day slower than I normally would because I was worried about it again. Horrid

One thing worth mentioning though is the wheel DOES matter
My bike came with Alex EX30 rims, the tape would never seal, constantly getting leaks from the valves
I tried 4 different types of tape, tried all the different valves and rubber sealing rings, never worked. I had to just use gorilla tape which did work after the first ride when the sealant had soaked into the tape a bit, but man when you come to remove it it's awful.
Those wheels are in my garage now as spares, I bought a set of Hope Fortus 30's and taping them up took 5 minutes and sealed first time.
The design of the recessed channel can make tubeless a bit of a nightmare on some rims despite being "tubeless ready" I've found.

 

[Zimmerframe]

My bike came with Alex EX30 rims, the tape would never seal,

I could never get my Alex rims to seal, tried various tapes, different valves/seats. Never could be relied on. Eventually only ghetto tubeless worked. ie, put a tube in, cut it all the way around down the middle, splay it out over the rim sides, install tyre. Trim off excess tube.

 

[Binhill1]

This old topic of "discussion" again

At the end of the day most of the "tubeless is a waste of time" people don't ride in rough terrain
Everything I ride is proper off road and downhill stuff and I would NEVER run a tube again

Me and a mate did a week in the Lake District - he got 3 punctures in one day, used both his spare inner tubes and my emergency one.
I've had thorns in mine and never noticed. The only time I got a proper puncture was riding over some barbed wire, shoved a bacon strip in it, pumped back up, carried on.

The unbelievable hassle of taking your wheel off, popping one side of the tyre off, swapping the tube.. at the side of the trail.. yeah no thanks.

I can sort of understand the cost argument - tubeless valves are a rip off.
But at the end of the day you buy them once and then maybe every year change the valve out for a few quid off amazon.
The tape I put on has lasted through 3 tyre changes... the fluid lasts at least 6 months or so and a giant bottle is £20 that does top ups for a few years.

I rode once with tubes in when I first got an emtb a few years back - got a pinch flat on some techy terrain, had to swap the tube, then ride the rest of the day slower than I normally would because I was worried about it again. Horrid

One thing worth mentioning though is the wheel DOES matter
My bike came with Alex EX30 rims, the tape would never seal, constantly getting leaks from the valves
I tried 4 different types of tape, tried all the different valves and rubber sealing rings, never worked. I had to just use gorilla tape which did work after the first ride when the sealant had soaked into the tape a bit, but man when you come to remove it it's awful.
Those wheels are in my garage now as spares, I bought a set of Hope Fortus 30's and taping them up took 5 minutes and sealed first time.
The design of the recessed channel can make tubeless a bit of a nightmare on some rims despite being "tubeless ready" I've found.

I could never get my Alex rims to seal, tried various tapes, different valves/seats. Never could be relied on. Eventually only ghetto tubeless worked. ie, put a tube in, cut it all the way around down the middle, splay it out over the rim sides, install tyre. Trim off excess tube.

I could never get my Alex rims to seal, tried various tapes, different valves/seats. Never could be relied on. Eventually only ghetto tubeless worked. ie, put a tube in, cut it all the way around down the middle, splay it out over the rim sides, install tyre. Trim off excess tube.

I always thought you were a secret serial faffer you have confirmed it now .

 

[emtbPhil]

I could never get my Alex rims to seal, tried various tapes, different valves/seats. Never could be relied on. Eventually only ghetto tubeless worked. ie, put a tube in, cut it all the way around down the middle, splay it out over the rim sides, install tyre. Trim off excess tube.

Yep 100% - they're shite
I picked my hope wheels up for £250 with a big betty/magic mary combo nearly new
Not a single regret
I've kept the alex wheels in the garage with brand new maxxis DHR/Assegai combo and thought I'd hang onto them as a winter wheel or something, but honestly might just flog them, I couldn't ever go back now

 

[Binhill1]

Just delivered tubeless or tube and slime .

 

[emtbPhil]

Just delivered tubeless or tube and slime .

The only person who can answer that is you

This discussion is about as productive as the helmets vs no helmets one.
If you only get a few punctures a year, swapping tubes on the trail doesn't bother you, and you're not chasing PR's on techy downhill stuff - then tubes are probably fine.

 

[Bndit]

Wow this has kicked off again since I last came on here. So I fixed the two punctures with a mushroom patch and got the tyre seated on the rim put sealant in and all is well, seems to be holding air so will test it tomorrow on a ride.

I am not up to the standard of riding as some on here so I doubt I would notice a difference in ride between tubes and tubeless hence why I asked if it’s worth it in the first place.

I switched to spiked tires yesterday when we got firts snow. I rode tubelles with inserts last winter and traction was awesome but those tires didn't hold air so well (and generally tire quality of Piikkisika is shit but ride quality is 10/10) so I decided to go with tubes this winter. After ride yesterday I decided to go back tubelles I mean I just love the traction and comfort when you can go low pressures without worrying snake bites. People can ride with tubes but they cannot deny the comfort and traction what you can get without tubes.
Generally speaking only problem I have had with tubelles is with those poor quality winter tires, other tires are really pain free and easy to set and ride tubelles.

 

[irie]

Just delivered tubeless or tube and slime .

View attachment 101813

I have them front and rear (29x2.4 Exo+ WT) with 30mm inside width rims. No problem fitting them using Muc-Off tubeless sealant. Take the tyres out of the packaging and unroll them to normal shape and lay on the floor inside to warm up overnight. Then smear a bit of sealant on the inside walls of the rims so they seat easily. I wear disposable nitrile gloves nicked from my medical wife's stock. They inflated and seated fine without needing to use my Airshot 'blaster'.

Edit: blaster

 

[Binhill1]

The only person who can answer that is you

This discussion is about as productive as the helmets vs no helmets one.
If you only get a few punctures a year, swapping tubes on the trail doesn't bother you, and you're not chasing PR's on techy downhill stuff - then tubes are probably fine.

Agree I had a faff on anoch mor with a tubeless set up and it had turned to glue that was the end for me . Walk of shame going down a gondola with a bike . No the slime is working for me and not getting pinch flats like I used to .

 

[Binhill1]

I have them front and rear (29x2.4 Exo+ WT) with 30mm inside width rims. No problem fitting them using Muc-Off tubeless sealant. Take the tyres out of the packaging and unroll them to normal shape and lay on the floor inside to warm up overnight. Then smear a bit of sealant on the inside walls of the rims so they seat easily. I wear disposable nitrile gloves nicked from my medical wife's stock. They inflated and seated fine without needing to use my Airshot 'boaster'.

I bought a John Watt decided to change for Winter. Saying that out a very wet ride Friday it was OK. The transition from summer to winter riding takes a few rides to get used to wet roots etc. The price was right at 35 pounds I grudge 65 for a car tire never mind a bike one . Enjoy

 

[steve_sordy]

My Neuron ON, always on rocky trails, the first 4000 kilometers 7 pricks of thorns.
After making them tubular 14,000 km and no punctures.

You probably got many punctures, just no flats!

 

[Expidia]

Slime in the tube easy peasy to put in . First time I've tried it a year no flats but I only ever get two or three a year anyway usually thorns .

Do you think Muc-off would work the same as Slime?

if I decide to go tubeless when these OEM tires wear out. . . I already have all the tubeless accessories I bought from the first time I tried to go tubeless, but the tires were not tubeless and slow leaked the muc-off out. I have Muc-off, syringe, bacon strips, a small inserting tool. I'm just missing some sort of high volume blaster pump or compressor. Most of the compressors shown on Amazon have too many 1 star ratings. I'll probably go with Bontragers $165 blaster pump to save the time and expense of using a LBS.

 

[Expidia]

I had to look this one up since it's been bantered around so much in this thread :

"A faffer is the enemy of time, effortlessly consuming it while pretending to be constructive" - Quote. A fussy, indecisive individual, prone to procrastination, dithering between tasks,and who is easily distracted and achieves very little. In-two-minds, he/she flops from one thing to another and starts all over again.

This forums great since it is world wide I'm learning all sorts of bits of different languages. I still can't get "a bit of kit" out of my mind . I find myself walking around saying that to myself. It's like a song in my head that I can't can't get rid of hahaha.

 

[Binhill1]

Do you think Muc-off would work the same as Slime?

if I decide to go tubeless when these OEM tires wear out. . . I already have all the tubeless accessories I bought from the first time I tried to go tubeless, but the tires were not tubeless and slow leaked the muc-off out. I have Muc-off, syringe, bacon strips, a small inserting tool. I'm just missing some sort of high volume blaster pump or compressor. Most of the compressors shown on Amazon have too many 1 star ratings. I'll probably go with Bontragers $165 blaster pump to save the time and expense of using a LBS.

I have muc off as well but haven't tried it as I had enough slime left last week to do the front . I think it's the same really.

 

[Binhill1]

I had to look this one up since it's been bantered around so much in this thread :

"A faffer is the enemy of time, effortlessly consuming it while pretending to be constructive" - Quote. A fussy, indecisive individual, prone to procrastination, dithering between tasks,and who is easily distracted and achieves very little. In-two-minds, he/she flops from one thing to another and starts all over again.

This forums great since it is world wide I'm learning all sorts of bits of different languages. I still can't get "a bit of kit" out of my mind . I find myself walking around saying that to myself. It's like a song in my head that I can't can't get rid of hahaha.

Aye a Ken fit yi meen like . I don't know half the things people are on about on here I had to google cushcore. I'm still on a high from last week when I learned how to take a selfie using the self-timer .

 

[Ian222]

The only person who can answer that is you

This discussion is about as productive as the helmets vs no helmets one.
If you only get a few punctures a year, swapping tubes on the trail doesn't bother you, and you're not chasing PR's on techy downhill stuff - then tubes are probably fine.

This sums the conversation up for me.

 

[steve_sordy]

Con el Specialized Eliminator Grid Gravity T7/T9 pinchazos "0" delanteros y traseros a los 14.000 km

That translates inotm english as "With the Specialized Eliminator Grid Gravity T7/T9 front and rear "0" punctures at 14,000 km".

I believe there may be a communication problem. Many people use the word "puncture" to mean when the tyre deflates (ie "flat"). But the correct meaning of puncture is a penetration of the tyre. You will be lucky to know how many times your tyre has been penetrated by thorns in 14,000 km, because the tyre never goes "flat".

Creo que puede haber un problema de comunicación. Mucha gente usa la palabra "pinchazo" para referirse a cuando el neumático se desinfla (es decir, "plano"). Pero el significado correcto de pinchazo es penetración del neumático. Tendrá la suerte de saber cuántas veces su neumático ha sido perforado por espinas en 14.000 km, porque el neumático nunca se "plano".

Google translates "flat" as "pincha" - but if you use Google Translate on "pincha from Spanish it gives you "prick" and sometimes as "click". I have replaced the Google Translate result of "pincha" with "plano" which means flat in the text above.

 

[Swiss Roll]

I'll probably go with Bontragers $165 blaster pump to save the time and expense of using a LBS.

I got one of those, totally satisfied, the blaster release mechanism is much better than the topeak one, can be operated with a pinky. I like to charge it up to just pump my tires up a bit, just flick the switch to start pumping.

 

[mtb-steve]

Just delivered tubeless or tube and slime .

View attachment 101813

As others have said, only you can answer that one, but I can say that tan wall tyres need throwing in the bin, or get a magic marker out and make it black

 

[Binhill1]

As others have said, only you can answer that one, but I can say that tan wall tyres need throwing in the bin, or get a magic marker out and make it black

Must admit its a long time since a had tan tyres they were all the rage at one time. I know what you mean though.

 

[Expidia]

I got one of those, totally satisfied, the blaster release mechanism is much better than the topeak one, can be operated with a pinky. I like to charge it up to just pump my tires up a bit, just flick the switch to start pumping.

The problem I've found and from my limited experience trying to get my wide tires to inflate and pop . . .
These blaster type pumps . . . the Joe Blow and the Bontrager Blaster pumps are fine for narrow road bike type widths.
But when you get above 2 inches in width because the side walls are so supple it becomes all about the need for a sudden "high volume" blast like from the LBS's high "volume" compressors.

My tires are 2.4 inches wide and they take a blast of high volume to seat them. This guys vids compare both the Joe Blow and you can search for his other one the Bontrager blaster. You will see even he struggles with the wider widths and he only goes as high as 2 inchers in his tests because it was 6 years ago. It looks like wider tires especially for eMTBs grew in popularity after his vids were made.

Plus it takes like 40 strokes to fill up the high blast cylinders. And each time it does not seat you pump it up ll over again. If my biceps get too big from all that pumping I'll also have to invest in new shirts too.

Knowing how hard my Bontrager LT4's are to seat the beads, I did buy one of these straps. (pictured). I used to use one similar to seat auto tire beads when I was a teenager and worked in a gas station repair shop. I carry it in my emergency trail kit as I had issues getting my beads to seat properly even with tubes in the tires. I figured I was definitely going need this tire install belt when I go tubeless mostly for the less flats aspect as I'm not the down the mountain Enduro root and rock type at age 73.

I'd rather plug a tire with a bacon strip on the trail. Than have to pull a tire apart to insert a tube especially when the temps are below 40 degrees.

** ISO high volume pump idea for home use.

 

[Binhill1]

The problem I've found and from my limited exprience trying to get my wide tires to inflate and pop . . .
These blaster type pumps . . . the Joe Blow and the Bontrager Blaster pumps are fine for narrow road bike type widths.
But when you get above 2 inches in width because the side walls are so supple it becomes all about the need for a sudden "high volume" blast like from the LDS's high "volume" compressors.

My tires are 2.4 inches wide and they take a blast of high volume to seat them. This guys vids compare both the Joe Blow and you can search for his other one the Bontrager blaster. You will see even he struggles with the wider widths and he only goes as high as 2 inchers in his tests because it was 6 years ago. It looks like wider tires especially for eMTBs grew in popularity after his vids were made.

Plus it takes like 40 strokes to fill up the high blast cylinders. And each time it does not seat you pump it up ll over again. If my biceps get too big from all that pumping I'll also have to invest in new shirts too.

Knowing how hard my Bontrager LT4's are to seat the beads, I did buy one of these straps. (pictured). I used to use one similar to seat auto tire beads when I was a teenager and worked in a gas station repair shop. I carry it in my emergency trail kit as I had issues getting my beads to seat properly even with tubes in the tires. I figured I was definitely going need this tire install belt when I go tubeless mostly for the less flats aspect as I'm not the down the mountain Enduro root and rock type at age 73.

I'd rather plug a tire with a bacon strip on the trail. Than have to pull a tire apart to insert a tube especially when the temps are below 40 degrees.

** ISO high volume pump idea for home use.



View attachment 101884

I picked a bike up from someone and he hadn't put the tire on correctly ?. I just stopped a mile away at another shop when the tire exploded inside the car . Buckled the wheel, I always have a lot of respect for air. I actually googled blast pump today as its been bandied about on here a lot recently.

 

[Expidia]

I picked a bike up from someone and he hadn't put the tire on correctly ?. I just stopped a mile away at another shop when the tire exploded inside the car . Buckled the wheel, I always have a lot of respect for air. I actually googled blast pump today as its been bandied about on here a lot recently.

Thats another good point about using these high pressure devices that are made in China with I'm sure low grade materials to worry that one won't blow up in your face! Another one I looked at went to 190 psi

 

[Rosemount]

Why are they being made then ?. Why are there so many threads around the internet praising them and being recommended ?

How do we get there ?. Walk, 2nd bike,maybe drive or take a bus.
What if the garage is shut, or the pump not working ?

Get your mum to give you a ride

 

[2WheelsNot4]

Get your mum to give you a ride

That might be OK in Queensland , but It's illegal here.

 

[Swiss Roll]

I had to look this one up since it's been bantered around so much in this thread :

"A faffer is the enemy of time, effortlessly consuming it while pretending to be constructive" - Quote. A fussy, indecisive individual, prone to procrastination, dithering between tasks,and who is easily distracted and achieves very little. In-two-minds, he/she flops from one thing to another and starts all over again.

This forums great since it is world wide I'm learning all sorts of bits of different languages. I still can't get "a bit of kit" out of my mind . I find myself walking around saying that to myself. It's like a song in my head that I can't can't get rid of hahaha.

Quite often, faffing can be obviated with an anti-farting about device.