If somebody was to go to tubeless for the first time, the gp5000 is the last tire I would recommend. I would actually recommend going with a complete Bontrager setup to start with. Although that is hard to do if you already have a wheelset. The problem is that there is no standard for tire and wheel manufactures to follow to create matching tolerances. But there is a European standard in the works, which Schwable follows with the new Pro Ones.
I have heard far too many folks having problems with the gp5000 with many different wheelsets. I agree this tire is getting close to being labeled as a failure (without a specific wheel that works).
I would say your experience isnāt what a tubeless experience should be like, so donāt give up on tubeless. Give up on the gp5000. There is always a little growing pain when going with a new setup (to find what wheel/tire combo match well), but it should not be even remotely as difficult to get the tire on as you described.
Also, what wheelset were you using. Would be good to have it listed here so others with the same wheelset will know the gp5000 is a no go.
Itās a Bontrager RL I believe. As luck would have itā¦I do actually have an old set of Bontrager R3 tubeless tires. But Iām emotionally committed to getting these things on now. Iāve never been bested by a set of tiresā¦not giving up now lol.
For what itās worthā¦Iām not a total noon at tubeless. I did a ghetto conversion a couple years ago on my cross bike, and then last year set up some PDXs properly on tubeless wheels. Opposite problem thenā¦they were too loose. But that was easily solvableā¦if a bit tedious.
a tight fit is good, trust me, I had some Hutchinson Sector 28s that were not tight enough and lead to an incident that could have been disastrous. But the 5K-TLs have taken tight fit to another levelā¦
Not sure if itāll help, but I got mine on pretty easily a month ago by leaving them in the car on the dashboard in the sun or a bit. Went right on. I was expecting much more of a fight. I was wearing some leather gloves to help with grip and avoid blisters. Reynolds assault carbon rims with fresh layer of 3m tape.
I actually got a tire on my front wheel with the help of 2 pedros levers and the kool stop tire jack, and my wife holding one of the levers. Now I cant get it to hold air and pop the beads.
This is totally impractical. Iām seriously questioning whether I would even want to ride these tires after I have a shop mount them. The call of shame just becomes an inevitability as soon as I get a flat.
Hah, in retrospectā¦I was a total dope. I have non tubeless GP5000s on another bike. I got the TLs to save a watt and a half, plus the flat protection from sealant. But I get about 2 flats a year running tubes, and I can change a flat in 5 minutes.
Make sure you roll the tire with sealent in it so it spreads evenly through the rim, it will act as lubricant for the bead. Also then pumping make sure you put the valve on the bottom, all of the sealant will be there and it will stop air from escaping which will pop the bead on right away.
TL is tricky but once you get it down itās easy, even mounting it was hard initially but once I figured it out itās not bad.
Is it just not inflating? Compressed air or a floor pump? High volume air is important. Or is it quickly leaking out as the pressure goes up? If it doesnāt inflate at all, that usually means it needs another layer of tape, although if it was so hard to get on already it will only be harder. If itās leaking, there could be a gap in the rim tape coverage or the penetration for valve stem.
do you find latex tubes are more prone to flats? I tried some years (like 20) ago, and got ~4 miles out of them; tried another set and got the same outcome. Never tried them again. Is there a particular brand thatās better?
Mine were so tight initially that I took to LBS and they needed to spray soapy water at least 2 or 3 times, and repeatedly use the compressor in order to get one spot on tire that wouldnāt snap into the rim bed.
No issues whatsoever. Running GP5000 with Vittoria Competition Latex tubes. Gotta be careful with installing them though, make sure the tube doesnāt get stuck between the rim and tire.
Guess a lot of success will depend on the roads youāre riding and the debris on them. Iām from The Netherlands and the roads and cycling paths are generally of very good quality. No goatheads or other stuff to puncture on regularly.
Iāve been running latex exclusively for about 18 months inside GP4000iis. One flat that wouldāve flatted butyl As well. I carry a butyl tube in my spare kit because they are easier to set out on the road and work better with CO2, otherwise, 100% latex with little issue at all.
Same as thr previous responseā¦havent had any issues with latex in maybe 1000 miles this year since I put them in. If you flatted 4 miles into your first rideā¦that soubds like maybe you had the tube pinched between the rim and tire.
Soā¦for what itās worthā¦I took my wheels to the LBS. took them an hour and a half to get them mounted. Guy told me if it wasnt his job heād have given up on them. $12 a wheelā¦I almost feel bad lol. Purchased a fancy plug kit thingie too.
Little bit of a wobble in the front tire. Iām slightly concerned it isnt quite up on the shoulder all the way aroundā¦but not going to stress about it too much. Itās a 2nd bikeā¦so Iāll just do a couple easy recovery rides on it to see if it tries to kill me before I really put it through its paces.
I rode with a woman today who has GP5000TL on her Roval CL50. She got them setup by a shop, then ripped a sidewall and had to remount. She did that by hand. Remounting is always easier, but Iāve read nightmares from people even about remounting these. It gave me hope.
I may hedge my bets and buy one from a local shop. Mount it (if I can) and then commit to the full Monty (2nd tire, injector, pump, etc.) If I canāt or wonāt mount it myself, Iām not doing itā¦ thatās why I just sold my tubular wheelset.
Exactly my experience on my old wheels. I worried about riding them too. But I never got a flat over around 10,000 miles, so it was a moot point! Never even used a plug. And I used to routinely flat pre tubeless. So not crazy to roll with them like that esp if you have a good plug kit like dynaplugs.
On my new wheels, I installed them by hand so all the better. Donāt ever see going back to tubes.
PS, lots of comments above on tricks to seat them, but soapy beads and valve core taken out when you inject the air from a 100 psi tank are both very helpful.
Iāve had my GP5000 TL tires for 500 miles now so I thought Iād post my experiences
I bought both 25 and 28mm tires because I wanted the 28s but wasnāt sure if they would end up fitting
I mounted the 25 first to measure (dumb mistake because now I canāt return it) and it was really tough.
The 28mm tire was easier to get on, but definitely couldnāt do it by hand. A little coaxing with a hair dryer and some tire levers and I was good to go.
Compared to the Schwalbe Pro Ones that I put some other wheels these were about the same but seated easier
The GPās seated and inflated just fine with my floor pump, but I think that is mostly down to internal rim design and tape job.
