I’m thinking something like this:
Dynaplug Micro PRO Bicycle Tire Puncture Repair-1 KiT with 10 Pieces https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LRCLPY0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vRnOCbDSW99X6
Works pretty well apparently.
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Yep. These plugs may seal a hole in the tire, but you’ll still need a pump. And I would never rely on just these. Always have a tube.
Yep, having a tube saved me 20 miles out from home from making that dreaded phone call of shame. However, that mess of having to put in that tube made me switch back to a tube setup for my roadbike. On my mtb and commuter, I kept my tubeless setup as my car is nearby or I’m close enough to home to walk back. If I was racing, I’d also prob use a tubeless setup as it’ll sae your race. But on my weekend road bike where time isn’t a factor, I prefer the simple old tube setup.
What I’ve got. Works well.
Ive only had to make the call of shame once, I carry a tube but have never used it in 2 years (17,000km so far). Id rather make the call than faff about with a sealant covered tube on the side of the road.
So basically if you ever have to throw in a tube, your day is actually done.
So after swapping out my cross tires for a pair of turbo 28s, i almost thought i was going to have countless nights of trying to get those things on. I’ve got stans rims so they are pretty good about the bead popping in, but it wasn’t going so well.
For me the trick was loosening the valve stem and moving it up in to the tire to get the bead started adjacent to the valve stem. Tighten it down and viola! Can now be started with a floor pump.
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I’ve had to do that once. It’s another reason why it’s so important to end at the valve stem, because if it’s too tight to thumb the tire on, you can make a little more room with that trick.
The bead jack is a hand saver, I love mine for mounting my tubeless tires in the garage!
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interesting… all the instructions I had read in the past said that if you end at the valve stem, you are asking for it to be a major PITA… for mountain bike tires, I can always get them on by hand and even my cross tires so where you start/finish doesn’t really matter. The specialized turbos did need a bit of coaxing, but only had easier success on the opposite end of the valve stem.
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Two of my sources were GCN and ENVE videos, for example: https://www.enve.com/en/road-wheels-installation/ and start watching around 1:50 mark. The GCN video mentioned the trick of loosening nut and pushing valve stem up into tire, to give additional room. I’ve seen other sources also say to finish at valve, including Mavic and a few others. However Park Tools help articles says the opposite, which is unfortunate as it can make road tubeless install seem impossible. For tire/rim combos with tight tolerances, I’ve found it essential to end at the valve.
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I did my first road ride of the year this past weekend. Went tubed. Will probably stick with tubes until I convert my bike over to a gravel setup in a couple of months when I’ll go tubeless.
For pure road riding, I don’t need tubeless as the roads near me are in pretty good condition, where pinch flats are pretty low risk.
Some measurement data that might be useful for others curious on tire sizing / general experience:
25 mm Panaracer Type A Evo Tubeless (not tubeless-ready) inflated to around 70 psi. I’ve run the current tire in question for at least 1500 miles by now.
On Reynolds Assaults with 17 mm inner / 25 mm outer rim width (measured with calipers):
Rim max width: 24.84 mm
Tire max width: 23.04 mm
On Hunt Aero Race Wide 19/24 mm:
Tire max width: 24.77 mm
This is what I expected for the Reynolds - just looking at it you can see it’s a presumably good aero combination on this rim with the tire slightly narrower than the “wing” shape of the rim.
The tires while not exceptional for smooth rolling resistance wattage, are very tough against punctures with full belt - have not flatted or even seen a puncture in thousands of miles so for winter and off road, I’ve accepted that tradeoff. Prior to this, I routinely flatted Conti 4-seasons and GP4000 - often pinch flats when they weren’t rock hard, but punctures as well when at 100+ psi. In fact, rode the 4-seasons for about 50 miles last year for a dirt ride - at about 10 miles in, got a flat. Also blew my CO2 cartridge because I had forgotten how to use it 
. (I’m only around 165 lb - really not a fan…)
My reason for the move is to setup winter/dirt road wheelset. The profile on the wide inner Hunt rim is lower and looks better than the Reynolds for contact patch. While max width is still very close to rim width, I’m not that concerned about aero profile on these since they are only 31 mm deep to start, and I will ride them on mixed pavement/light gravel/dirt occasionally and for general training use.
As for the Reynolds - they are getting new set of GP5000 TL that just arrived - if install goes well, I’ll report back with measurements of those on the Reynolds - hoping they stay lined up with the 17/25 mm rim profile and will have to collect some data to see if the ~20W per pair smooth drum rolling resistance advantage over the Panaracers is detectable.
For the Hunt wheels, I’m also tempted to try a 28 mm Panaracer Gravel King - a true to size 28mm should clear my brakes/frame - but I’d prefer to stay tubeless to have no worries about pinch flats. Seems there is not much out there in 28 mm tubeless for dirt/light gravel. Hutchinson seems to have a lot of mixed reviews. (any other ideas?) The Panaracer Evo A is available in 25 mm only, but I may stick with these for a while and see how they do. Have ridden them on maybe 200 miles of dirt gravel roads including Battenkill with no issues over past year and I suspect they are faster than any other option on this list for rides with high % of pavement - they are just not as fast as the fastest race tires.
A couple other tubeless-related notes -
Plenty of liquid Orange Seal left in tire after all riding all fall/winter and never topping up - easily 6 months. I used the non-endurance formula which I’ve read is better suited for high pressure sealing. Maybe the fact that these are true tubeless tires with the built in inner butyl lining means longer sealant life?
Was also the most incredibly easy tubeless un-install/re-install ever. The initial fitting was a bear on the Reynolds that required using every trick in the book, as was the prior time I removed one off that rim. But this time, I removed bead by hand, a little finesse with two levers to get it off, and got it mounted on the new Hunt rim only using a single lever at very end and a shot of air to 70 psi. The residual wet sealant likely helped. I could have actually done this roadside and put a tube in it - something I would not have said before. (I carry dynaplugs)
Anyway, hope this helps, and if things go well I’ll have a GP5000 TL update soon on a 17/25 Reynolds Assault rim.
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I just moved from years of tubed road wheels running GP 4000 S2’s more recently. A fine tyre.
I now am running GP 5000 TL on Prime 50mm carbon wheels.
WOW.
The difference is unbelievable. The tubeless is smooth and they are noticeably faster than the 4000’s I used to have.
Yes, they are a pain to put on, but worth all the sore fingers.
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Pretty much.
It’s pretty bad when you’re in the middle of a race.
seemed like a training question here, not specific to racing.
Can have race wheels set up with them if you choose, although most train and race on the same wheels due to cost.
I’ve raced a ton on clinchers and tubes with good rubber (not worn out tires) and haven’t had recurrent problems, so i’d rather have something easier to manage when most of the time is spent training vs racing; you may disagree though.
Any major flat that I’ve had in a race was going to flat no matter what. Just my take.
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This is why I stick to the brands I know and trust. Lots of people dislike the Big S, but they’ve got some pretty good tires, and are easy to set up and the S-works turbo isn’t too bad on the wallet, considering the cost of the Schwalbe.
Now that I’ve got a pair of 28’s on, I’m not going to mess with them just to test with a tube, but my 33’s had less rolling resistance at the same pressure without tubes as judged by the speeds necessary for me to reach specific power targets on my rollers.
Now if you’re swapping tires frequently, I could understand, but it’s still only about a 15 minute process if you pre-plan with a rag and receptacle for the old sealant.
An update to last night’s much longer post on Panaracers on Reynolds and Hunt rims:
Conti 5000 TL 25s on Reynolds Assault rims (17/25 mm) actual measurements:
Rim max width by my caliper - 24.8
Tire max width:
60 psi - 24.1 mm
80 psi - 24.4 mm
100 psi - 24.4 mm
I can tell with the caliper that the tires are indeed just barely narrower than the rim - these seem to be about perfect for these 17C wheels. Was worried as some people reported them being in the 26-27 mm range. Install was also surprisingly easy - I used one lever but was pleasantly surprised they seated with air tank on first try with no sealant - maybe 5 mins total to install.
Can’t wait to take them on the road and already thinking about what to do with those 20 free watts
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I have this one and it makes the task much easier:
I damaged some rim decals with it, though. If you have to use it, position the last section of tire where there aren’t any decals. Rim paint seems to be robust enough to resist scratching.
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