I've been using Hutchinson Intensive 25s for over three years now. Mounted on Stans No Tubes ALPHA 340 rims - these rims, with your choice of hubs n spokes, make for some seriously light wheels.
Most of you know my mileages, but in case you don't I did 33,300 kilometres nominal in Audax events last season, but including over-distances on calendar events, and even a few non Audax journeys, you could call it 35,000 kms. Previous two years each around 25,000 kms. So that's over 85,000 kms on tubeless.
Problems?
Once I had a split in the rear tyre that was too bad to repair with an inner tube and tyre boot, but that was my fault entirely because, as the bike shop diplomatically pointed out, I had worn right through to the carcass, and it split right along the middle in the rolling direction for over two inches..... (several other areas of carcass were visible elsewhere but not yet split....)
Recently on my 'spare' bike I had gradually reducing pressure and had to stop to pump back up three times, each time getting about 13 kms more before repumping. Then I gave up and put in an inner tube, which solved it. This was also my fault entirely because I had switched to the spare bike very late in the previous day, (main bike crank to pedal interface had come loose betwixt carbon crank and metal insert), and I forgot to top up sealant levels in the spare's tyres (which had not been used for nearly a year.....) it seemed obvious with hindsight that without sealant a tiny hole didn't seal, hence slow pressure loss. Once back home, I inserted sealant and reinflated, which sealed the tiny hole right away - I just rechecked and fifteen days later the tyre is still more or less at riding pressure....
Apart from those two I did 85,000 kilometres without having to stop by the road to attend to tyres....
Read that again!!
Yes I pay £50 per tyre, but how many inner tubes would you buy / use over 85,000 kms ?? (At what cost?)
Fitting clincher tyres to Stans Alpha 340 tubeless rims in emergencies ?
I carry a Continental GP Supersonic Folding Tyre in 23 mm, just in case, and I tested fitting it this morning on my Alpha 340 wheel that the trailer rolls on, mainly choosing this as a test wheel because it's not been used for at least two years, so I knew the sealant would be gone (it's messy when you change, when it's actually wet...). I have very weak hands, following from my accident BUT I was able to mount this 23 mm brand new folding tyre onto the 340 rim, complete with a lightweight inner tube, in eleven minutes, WITHOUT NEEDING TO USE TYRE LEVERS. Just using my thumbs and fingers. (Little weak me fitting tyres without levers!!). There is a small 'trick' whereby you pinch both sides of the tyre together, so it goes into the rim well on the opposite side to where you are trying to push the last bit of the tyre over the rim, and this gives you maybe an extra centimetre or so less stretching to do.
Go tubeless