I’d agree. With tubes you don’t really have any of this stuff about certain combos working better than others. Provided that tire and tube width is in line with what the rim width can handle (and it’s a fairly wide range) then it’s pretty much just a case of getting it on there without pinching the tube between tire and rim, and without anything sharp in there like exposed spoke holes. Some tires are harder to get onto some rims than others, but honestly I’ve never had anything as hard to get on as the tubeless tires in my OP, and I’ve been fitting tires/tubes since I was a teenager back in the 80s, including multiple sets of Schwalbe Marathons on my commuter which are an absolute brute (but luckily last 5000+ miles once you’ve done it).
Wheel does now seem sorted, so fingers crossed that the riding experience over the next few months will be better than the installation experience! Was slightly troubling though that when I started asking advice on my problem from cycling buddies who run tubeless they almost unanimously said they just take theirs to a shop when there’s a problem. I don’t think they’re a particularly lazy or unmechanically minded bunch, most of them do at least a bit of their own bike maintenance and I’ve seen them change or patch a tube on enough occasions, but turned out they had all had experiences similar to mine and decided to get the pros involved. Of course with hindsight I should probably have talked to them before I actually bought tubeless…
Yes. Putting tubes in is easier. But if you ride anything other than road, the benefits of tubeless far outperform tubes. And it’s worth the extra effort to set up tubeless, with some setups being as easy as any tubed setup, other setups more difficult.
While the benefits to road tubeless are there, they are not as compelling as other riding types. For the first few months of spring where I just ride road, no gravel, I use tubes. Then in early summer, set up my gravel tires tubeless.
In all of your messages in different threads about tubeless, you are stereotyping the issue. In tubeless there is a lot of diversity and every situation/setup may require a different response, but instead of helping, you just stereotype tubeless. Especially in some scenarios (not this thread), the folks having problems are making a decision to use non tubeless equipment and wonder why it doesn’t work.
In a tubed setup, there is no diversity. Every setup works exactly the same. And changing a tube is like an initiation into cycling. Nobody is going to come on a forum and complain about that.
I don’t care if people run tubed or tubeless. I actually run both. I only speak to what works for me and try to be helpful to others venturing into tubeless. Yes, tubeless needs improvement like I stated above, but the only way we get there is to continue to work through the problems instead of constantly saying “I told you so”.
True that… I had a set of file-treads that, for the life of me I couldn’t get to inflate. In a measure of desperation I added a 2nd layer of tape and they setup on the first try after that.
I’ve had nothing but problems with tubes. My general experience was I’d get one to work for a while, but then I’ll either change the tire or get a flat. Promptly burn through 3 or 4 tubes until it becomes stable again. Maybe I suck at installing them. Or bought cheap tubes. At least my tubeless setups stay setup once I get them inflated. I simply don’t have to worry about flats anymore.
Leaks that aren’t obvious when mounting new tires I inspect the tape and then look at the valve.
Things that can help a great deal when mounting a tire:
-spray tire and rim bed with soapy water, you can get away with not doing this but I do think it can help with some cranky tires. Recently mounted a few of the Hutchinson Fusion Performance tires and didn’t do it all.
-A blast of air from something like an Airshot makes life so much easier. I went far too long only using a floor pump, which works, but the canisters work better.
-Personal opinion or technique, but I air up the tires first, pop the beads in, see how they hold air then I deflate and add sealant through the valve stem (with core removed) then reinstall the core and air back up
-Then I go ride, I once was a shaker and quaker of the wheel to spread sealant but at this point I believe given a quality properly built tire it is unnecessary. But I don’t mount tires anymore unless I can go get at least a few minute spin in afterward.
I remember the days of MTB tubeless tires that would have a few zillion sidewall leaks to seal when you mounted them. I don’t buy those anymore. Of the couple of road tubeless tires I’ve used so far (IRC and Hutchinson) neither needs sealant to hold air, though I always add some for problems down the road.
Next set of tires I’m planning to try is the Continental 5000 TL, I’ve used the regular tubed one but I’m hoping to nail down a favorite and stick with it for awhile.
This summer after warming up the Conti 5000 TL in the sun for 4 hours, I was able to install on Enve 5.6 disc wheel set even with an injured thumb. It was difficult but with a lot of pushing with good thumb and some blisters the tire ended up on the wheel
On the other hand… about a month ago I had a very large puncture on rear wheel near end of a 2 hour ride. Wasn’t able to seal with Dynaplug, and had to put in a tube. It was about 85F / 30C degrees outside and had no trouble removing and putting in a tube. A few days later I took the 5000 TL off the rear wheel, cleaned things up, and then couldn’t reinstall the tire! The only thing I didn’t try was flipping the wheel around and trying from the other side (e.g. if final thumb pushing from deurailler side is too hard, flip over and try final thumb pushing on non-deurailler side). For winter base riding outside decided to try the Conti GP 4-Seasons (I’m a heavy rider, tend to attract sidewall cuts ), and so I’ve put the 5K TL on the shelf until spring.
Are you using a combination of the mavic UST standard wheels and tire? I haven’t had experiences with mavic ust, but because it’s a standard where they control the tolerances, I’m betting they mount nicely. Tolerances slack enough to get the tire on the rim without too much trouble, but tight enough to seat properly.
I’ve used Bontrager TLR rim with Bontrager R3 TLR and the Bontrager TLR “rim strip” and those built up nicely as well. It becomes harder when you start mixing manufactures because they don’t know each others tolerances.
I’m now running HED Belgium rims with Schwable Pro One TL with 2 wraps of tape and those go on and seal nicely. I also have HED Jet 6’s also with Pro One and 2 wraps of tape and they go together good as well.
Before switching to Schwable tires, I ran the Bontrager R3 TLR on the Belgium rims. The first time I changed the tire due to it being worn down to threads, I had a hellava time getting the new tire to seal and hold air. I found out that I had a leak in the tape. Now every time I change the tire, I also replace the tape.
Chad - I bought the white rim strips back in October for my road/gravel bike.
We are at the beginning of gravel season here in Colorado, and today was the first time I set my wheels up tubeless using the rim strips.
It made a huge difference. Both wheels done in 25 minutes - tubes and road tires removed, gravel tires put on, sealant added and inflated. I was out the door for a ride 15 mins later. Awesome. Thanks for your help on this!
Thx. The MTB trails are still muddy or snowed in, so it’s gravel for the next while. My Domane works pretty well for gravel - makes it hard to justify that Warbird I’ve been eyeing for a while.
That Domane is impressive. I’ve been staring down the Warbird too, as a potential replacement for my old Boone. Great bike but mildly limited on max tire size.
Enjoy the gravel until you can get onto proper trails.
Trying to set up Flo gravel wheels tubeless with Schwalbe G-one tires… i have some experience with tubeless.
I used one layer of the rim tape (some black tape) that came with the Flo wheels. The tires went on really, really easy and when I hit them with the air shot they don’t even attempt to seat.
For next step I’m thinking another layer of rim tape? Anyone have any experience with these wheels or any other thoughts? Probably switch to Stans rim tape with i have had good luck with in the past?
), and so I’ve put the 5K TL on the shelf until spring.