# Worth going tubeless?



## Red17 (18 Sep 2017)

Ended up with a dnf yesterday after a puncture and was wondering if it was worth going tubeless?

My wheels are tubeless ready so would just need some sealant and valves I think.

Would tubeless reduce chance of punctures or would I be better off just playing with higher pressures (I was running 35psi front and back@ 76kg)


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## Venod (18 Sep 2017)

I did a MTB Orienteering event last year, the farmers had been out cutting loads of hedges I passed a lot of people with punctures, back at the finish the people who were running tubeless had no problems, I run them on the CX and MTB I think it is worth it if it stops a DNF.


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## mjr (18 Sep 2017)

Depends why you punctured. If you had pinch flats (snakebites) then higher pressures might be worth a go. Pressure depends on tyre width and slightly tyre type as well as your weight. If it was pinpricks, sealant might instantly repair them well enough to finish.


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## Profpointy (18 Sep 2017)

If you get a puncture with a tubeless tyre, do you just whack a tube in?

Serious question by the way. Having only once had a tubeless motorcycle puncture I can confirm the can of gloop was useless fixing a nail through the sidewall.


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## Sea of vapours (18 Sep 2017)

Profpointy said:


> If you get a puncture with a tubeless tyre, do you just whack a tube in?
> 
> Serious question by the way. Having only once had a tubeless motorcycle puncture I can confirm the can of gloop was useless fixing a nail through the sidewall.



Putting a tube in is about the third response to a puncture. 
1. In theory, the sealant will duly seal it, mostly without you even being aware you've punctured. Occasionally it'll take a while to seal and it's obvous since some sealant sprays out for a short while before sealing the hole. In practice I've had one of the latter type in 21,000km of using tubeless and it took about a minute to seal and lost only 10psi (of 75psi) in that time. All other punctures sealed without my knowing about them until I took the tyre off (at which point you can see clumps of sealant over the holes). 
2. If it doesn't seal then you can use small, purpose-made strips of rubber pushed into the hole. I've never had to do that. 
3. If that doesn't work, putting a tube in certainly should. I've never had to do that either (though I've practised to make sure it works, and it does). 
4. Huge gashes in the sidewall are going to need a tyre boot or a new tyre. In the former case, sticking said boot to the sealant-covered rubber may not be as easy due to the sealant, but is allegedly still possible.


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## Profpointy (18 Sep 2017)

Sea of vapours said:


> Putting a tube in is about the third response to a puncture.
> 1. In theory, the sealant will duly seal it, mostly without you even being aware you've punctured. Occasionally it'll take a while to seal and it's obvous since some sealant sprays out for a short while before sealing the hole. In practice I've had one of the latter type in 21,000km of using tubeless and it took about a minute to seal and lost only 10psi (of 75psi) in that time. All other punctures sealed without my knowing about them until I took the tyre off (at which point you can see clumps of sealant over the holes).
> 2. If it doesn't seal then you can use small, purpose-made strips of rubber pushed into the hole. I've never had to do that.
> 3. If that doesn't work, putting a tube in certainly should. I've never had to do that either (though I've practised to make sure it works, and it does).
> 4. Huge gashes in the sidewall are going to need a tyre boot or a new tyre. In the former case, sticking said boot to the sealant-covered rubber may not be as easy due to the sealant, but is allegedly still possible.



Thanks for comprehensive and logical reply. Maybe I'll go for tubless when I wear my rims out


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## screenman (18 Sep 2017)

I would have answered the same as SofV, I have taken 14 thorns out of one tubeless tyres when checking at service time.

I would not go back to tubes in the MTB.


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## gbs (6 Mar 2021)

I carry tubes as a contingency on my tubeless road bike BUT: 1) is it possible to avoid slopping the redundant fluid everywhere and, more importantly, 2) if the conditions are such that the tyre has failed what are the chances of avoiding a repeat? Conclusion, always have the means to pay for transport to base.


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## uphillstruggler (30 Apr 2021)

Profpointy said:


> Thanks for comprehensive and logical reply. Maybe I'll go for tubless when I wear my rims out



You can convert them easily enough, YouTube has lots of videos


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## Lookrider (30 Apr 2021)

Venod said:


> I did a MTB Orienteering event last year, the farmers had been out cutting loads of hedges I passed a lot of people with punctures, back at the finish the people who were running tubeless had no problems, I run them on the CX and MTB I think it is worth it if it stops a DNF.



Same with me 
I experienced that with my mates on weekend ride 
Through a path of fresh cut hedgerow ...4 mates all punctured 
I had around 7 thorns in total on both wheels but no loss if pressure 
Even good when a mate instinctively pulled a thorn out


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## steveindenmark (13 Jul 2021)

The tube / tubeless debate can get as heated as the helmet debate or viz vest debate.

I tried tubeless and when it works it works well. Most people never have a problem with it. But when it does arise, it can be a pig to fix at the side of the road. I switched back to tubes as it is never a problem to fix. Its a personal choice.


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## alecstilleyedye (20 Jul 2021)

ime best used on a bike in regular use. can get messy if not…


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## colly (18 Aug 2021)

Personally I like tubeless. 
After a spell a few years ago of puncture after puncture I tried them out and never looked back. I've just changed the sealant in both wheels and found that on two occasions at least the sealant worked:






One of these in each tyre. 


I think changing the sealant regularly is probably a good idea. I had left it a while since the last change and while there was liquid rolling about it was very thin and watery and I doubt it would have worked very well.
Probably every 6 months or so. It is a bit of a faff but really it doesn't take long and a quick clean up of the inside of the tyre seems to be a good idea.
A dry cloth rubbed along the inside gets rid of most of the old residue:





I carry a tube 'just in case' but it's no hardship.


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## CrispyCross (20 Jul 2022)

Red17 said:


> Ended up with a dnf yesterday after a puncture and was wondering if it was worth going tubeless?
> 
> My wheels are tubeless ready so would just need some sealant and valves I think.
> 
> Would tubeless reduce chance of punctures or would I be better off just playing with higher pressures (I was running 35psi front and back@ 76kg)



From the pressures you mention, I'm guessing that was a CX race. From personal experience, tubeless is good if you aren't changing tyres frequently and you run reasonable tyre pressures. I'd say 35 psi fell into that bracket - it's what I use for general riding about and it really keeps the punctures at bay. For racing, I typically run 25 psi in my tubeless setup (I'm 70 kg) but I wouldn't go much lower as it's easy to burp. I might manage 20 psi with a latex innertube or if it's really slippery, the tube come out and go down to 17 psi.


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