Tubeless for Dummies

[zigzag]

i've tried mavic tubeless tyres with their ust tape/rims and haven't had any problem either mounting the tyres or keeping the air in. could it be that the rim needs a ust tape of different width?

[Phil W]

i've tried mavic tubeless tyres with their ust tape/rims and haven't had any problem either mounting the tyres or keeping the air in. could it be that the rim needs a ust tape of different width?

No, it was the right ust rim tape for the width of rim.  Maybe I will try again in the future when it comes time for hew tape.

[rafletcher]

I have a litre of it. £40 

I think one needs to think carefully about it. If it's for an everyday bike then I'm not sure it makes sense, as it is likely you'll need to top up every 4 months anyway
 unless you use really tough tyres.

It makes sense for really light tyres that get used for a few months only and are then put away.

(or really tough tyres that rarely puncture,)

AIUI all tubeless tyres are, by the nature of their construction and need to be non-porous, pretty tough. Certainly I’ve been riding Schwalbe One tubeless around the Chilterns for the last 6 months and haven’t had any noticeable punctures. Both my bikes are due a sealant top-up (I’ve been use Schwalbe Doc Blue) soon, and I’ll be switching both to Finish Line.

[Hot Flatus]

They vary pretty hugely, Richard.
Schwalbe Ones are very flimsy compared to the likes of Hutchinson Sector. I've got through 2 sets of Ones in the same time as one set of Sectors, with similar mileage. I've got some Fusion 5 Galaktiks that are even thinner.

[Ben T]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but are schwalbe "TL-easy" ok to be mounted on any tubeless compatible rim e.g. Stan's alpha 340?  i.e. just looking to confirm the change that "TL-easy" represents doesn't introduce a level of proprietariness without regard to rim choice in any way? What is the actual physical difference?

Also has anyone got an actual photo of a schwalbe tubeless tyre that's ready to be replaced?
Or, how the devil are you supposed to know when would be a good time to replace them.... Can of worms possibly I know, but thought I'd ask. Car tyres it's easy, tread starts off at 9mm, legal limit 1.6mm, replace around 2mm. How do you know with bike tyres?
I don't keep track of mileage cycled.
So say before a multi day audax or tour, replace or not?
current tyres have already done many thousands of km but look fine. May have many thousands more but may not last another thousand... Thoughts appreciated!

[Hot Flatus]

You replace them when your frequency of punctures increases to the point that you think it's about time to replace them

[Chris N]

Fixed my first tubeless puncture the other day - a small graze on the shoulder of the tyre that was losing a few psi/day.  Too small to jam the anchovy in to start with, I enlarged the hole with the fork tool (losing pressure in the process, but no big deal - the bead stayed on the rim) so it was big enough and it sealed first time. 

[Hot Flatus]

I favour patching on the inside. Not had much success with anchovies.

[Chris N]

Not ridden on it yet, so I'll see if it stays up.  What patches do you use? 

[Hot Flatus]

Hutchinson tubeless ones.

Obviously it's more labour intensive than anchovies, but I'm not keen on making a small hole bigger in order to effect a repair.

[rafletcher]

They vary pretty hugely, Richard.
Schwalbe Ones are very flimsy compared to the likes of Hutchinson Sector. I've got through 2 sets of Ones in the same time as one set of Sectors, with similar mileage. I've got some Fusion 5 Galaktiks that are even thinner.

And I’ve just read a review of the Victoria Speed g+ Tubeless and they’re only recommended for TT’s they’re so fragile, so I stand corrected  .

[Phil W]

Hutchinson tubeless ones.

Obviously it's more labour intensive than anchovies, but I'm not keen on making a small hole bigger in order to effect a repair.

Agree with this. My experience with anchovies is that they stick like buggery to the packaging, you have to enlarge the hole, then when they fail you are left with a hole that will not seal.

The ust tubeless you can reseat with an ordinary pump on your bike. So no worries about removing the bead, patching then reseating at side of the road.

[Andrew Br]

I suppose it depends on the nature of the puncture but I found an anchovy on a Schwalbe S-One held for ~2500 miles until I decided to put a tube in the tyre. The decision to "tube" was down to a faulty valve when I was on a group tour. I figured that a hotel bathroom with copious quantities of soap, water and paper was as good a place as any to do it. I filled the waste bin.....
The puncture in question was right in the centre of the tyre's tread. The sealant (Doc Blue) couldn't cope with it.
I was very impressed with the ease of puncture fixing using the anchovy.

In due course I'm going to try tubeless again with my current 32mm Gravelking SKs, tyres that I'm very pleased with.

[Chris N]

Hutchinson tubeless ones.

Obviously it's more labour intensive than anchovies, but I'm not keen on making a small hole bigger in order to effect a repair.

 

[Hot Flatus]

Also, I might be being thick, but when I threaded an anchovy through the eye of the needle and poked it into the tyre it just came straight back out, still threaded when I pulled the tool out. I'm baffled as to how they are supposed to release themselves and remain in the tyre.

[Andrew Br]

It's a while ago, but I think I twisted the needle before I pulled it out.

[Hot Flatus]

How would that help?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

The tool with my tubeless repair kit doesn't have an eye but is double pronged, holding the anchovy between them.

[Hot Flatus]

Best I get the tin scissors out then.

Funnily enough I had a total spunky failure today. Rode the cx for the first time in months and put 2oz of Stans in. It ejaculated  the whole lot in the space of 5 minutes the moment I hit a trail. Glad I had a mudguard. No big deal. Just put a tube in. Got to try and find the hole so I can patch it.

[Andrew Br]

How would that help?

Speculating but I think the twist doubled up the anchovy so it was twice the size of the hole.

[citoyen]

On my ride on Sunday, I hit a stone that sliced a gash in the sidewall of my tubeless tyre and it went flat pretty quickly. I tried pumping some air in and it seemed to be sealing but as soon as I put some weight on the wheel, the air pressure caused the hole to re-open. So I just stuck a tube in for the rest of the ride - luckily I only had 10km left anyway.

Two questions...

First, should you drain out any remaining sealant in the tyre before fitting a tube in these circumstances?

Second, I think the tyre isn't damaged too badly so I will attempt to repair it. Is there anything special I need to know about patching tubeless tyres? I'm guessing it's much the same process as patching an inner tube but... any caveats?

[jiberjaber]

I had something similar on a ride home a few weeks ago, the hole was on the edge of the bead plus I had no sealant left after it had sealed but wouldn't hold pressure when I tried to ride it due to its location.
So didn't have the worry of do I dispose of the fluid.

Pretty much all of my incidents to date have been no fluid left jobs so when I did finally succumb to fitting a tube there was very little left in the tyre.

I have just patched it in exactly the same way you would an inner tube.

[rafletcher]

@Citoyen / Jiberjaber - I assume the tubeless valve was held into the rim with a retaining ring? If so, was it just finger tight, so as to allow you easily to remove it to fit a tube?  I carry a tube but haven't yet had to use it in anger, but am a bit concerned I have the valve secured too tightly to allow easy removal 

[jiberjaber]

@Citoyen / Jiberjaber - I assume the tubeless valve was held into the rim with a retaining ring? If so, was it just finger tight, so as to allow you easily to remove it to fit a tube?  I carry a tube but haven't yet had to use it in anger, but am a bit concerned I have the valve secured too tightly to allow easy removal 

Sort of, once inflated I usually nip it up again as it will settle eventually when fitted. I think I have used a pair of pliers before but still been able to remove with fingers

[citoyen]

@Citoyen / Jiberjaber - I assume the tubeless valve was held into the rim with a retaining ring? If so, was it just finger tight, so as to allow you easily to remove it to fit a tube?  I carry a tube but haven't yet had to use it in anger, but am a bit concerned I have the valve secured too tightly to allow easy removal 

Yeah, 'finger tight' is correct. I certainly didn't use pliers or anything like that to tighten it when fitting.

It wasn't difficult to remove but did take a bit of force as the sealant had kind of glued it in place.