Road Racing on tubeless or with tubes - which is best?

Same bike, same wheels here running GP 5000 TL. You’ll need a pump with an air chamber or a “booster”, TL valve, tire sealant and tires.

  1. make sure your TL tape is not damaged
  2. put the tire on the rim all the way on one side and leave a gap to fill the sealant on the other side (30,40ml should suffice for a 25mm tire)
  3. put the tire on all the way
  4. remove valve core, rotate valve to 3 o’clock position
  5. fill booster or airchamber of the pump to max pressure (for your tire-wheel-combo 6bar or 90psi should suffice)
  6. release air
    tire pops into place
  7. install valve core
  8. pump up to desired pressure
    done.
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Similar, but I add sealant after tire has popped onto bead, via valve stem. Then reinstall core, pump up to desired pressure, and then roll wheel around to allow sealant to completely cover inside.

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Item #0 is the most important step. All my issues with leakage have been as a result of the tape.

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Just surprised no one mentioned about tyre pressure. On a tubeless you can go 10-20 psi lower without the worry of snakebite punctures. That lower pressure can make a huge difference in comfort, which in longer races, does count a lot. I felt this on my less compliant 2016 BMC Time machineRoad…

Just my 2 cents

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Agree with the good points you made, except…

Snake bites are still possible with tubeless, but they are different snake bites and more rare. A tube snake bite is when the tube is compressed all the way into the center of the rim. A tubeless snake bite can occur when the tire is compressed and pinched against the edge of the rim and creates a snake bite on sidewall.