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Much as above time for some new road wheels.
Is road tubeless worth it ?
Is for me.
until there is a better selection of tyres i wouldn't bother. If the rims happen to be compatible fine but it would be way down the spec list
Tbh weight is my main shopping point and tubeless tyres do seen to go against that but if there was a real performance benefit
When I built my bike I spec'd it with fulcrum 2-way wheels and have run tubeless since.
For me it is worth it.
Is it just Hutchinson that do tyres at the moment
Can't really see them giving much benefit on the road compared to mtb. The really benefit on the mtb is running at low pressure, something you don't do on the road.
Most road tyres now are light and very puncture resistant, I have only had 1 puncture in over 4000 miles of riding over the past 2 years so I'm not worried by that.
Performance benefits are just about impossible to calculate.
In that case I'm out.
Can't remember that last road puncture I had. What other benefits are there?
That's what I was hoping to find out before trying it
I don't get punctures but would like a little more comfort
I've run Fulcrum Racing Zero 2-way fit with Hutchinson fusion tyres for 2 years. I think they are marvellous. Ride quality is superb, they're a bit lighter, great handling in the corners and wet, and the rolling resistence seems as low as anything I've ever ridden. In all that time I've never had a flat. A small amount of Goo has sealed a few holes from thorns or metal shards for the loss of a few psi. I run them at 90psi rather than 120psi for tubes. I'd say tubs still have the edge for going quick on good roads but tubeless are the best for the real-world.
The downside, as others have pointed out, is the lack of tyre choice. Rim manufacturers are catching on which should prompt more rubber choices. However, the Hutchinson Fusion 3 is an excellent tyre. There are references on the web to fitting problems but I've never had a issue.
Give them a go, you can always swap the tyres out for 'normal + tubes' if you don't get on with them.
N ahhh IMO it aint worth it.
I use tubs in the summer for racing and very occasional training, but where I ride I get punctures very often ( scree & flint run off from the fields ) I've been caught out once too often having a tub go and not able to fix it.
GP4's and tubes = reliable.
Not tubs, or tubulars, but tubeless clinchers.
Also look at the bontrager r2 and r3 tlr tyres.
I don't get punctures but would like a little more comfort
Then you should be looking at a modern wide rim of about 23mm, more grip, better rolling resistance and lower pressure. Most manufactures and road teams are moving to wide riims similar to those from HED and Zipp.
The Bonty system looks good, reasonable wheel and tyre costs.
Slightly put off by the thread yesterday where someone had theirs explode. Particularly as that tends to ruin the tyres.
Shimano Ultegra tubeless wheels are £250 at the moment with P-X
Those ultegra ones are good value but at 1600g are a bit porky
Was looking more at stans alpha rims
Slightly put off by the thread yesterday where someone had theirs explode. Particularly as that tends to ruin the tyres.
The michelin one? They weren't tubeless tyres (despite what the OP said)
Aah, ok then.
I use Fusion 3s anyway, so must say that if I had the wheels I'd give it a punt. Just not totally convinced at the moment, for the same reasons generally given - don't really want to run lower pressures, and can't see the puncture protection benefits at the pressures involved. Does Stan's actually do anything at 100psi, or just coat you with latex?
I suppose it depends on the roads you ride. If the roads are mainly smooth, then higher pressures are fine.
I ride on the Isle of Man where there are lots of bad condition roads, or just rough tar. Lower pressures will be faster due to the tyre gripping, not skipping, plus better traction in the corners and no worries of pinch flats on the inevitable pot hole.
Plus the benefit if less worry about flats from crap on the road.
Plus the benefit if less worry about flats from crap on the road.
How come? Serious question. Does the fluid work? The tyres aren't really thick enough that I'd expect an improvement over normal tyres and tubes.
I suppose it will depend on the puncture, just like in MTB. I haven't had any problems, but then that is just my experience. For me, the other benefits are still worth it.
Simon Barnes, really ?
They ARE tubeless, all the info included in the pack listed them as compatible.
I actually purchased them to run with tubes but after reading the info I though - result, may as well run without tubes as I'm using alpha pro rims.
Shame I don't still have the paperwork to confirm.
I'm happy to be corrected but I can find no info on them anywhere at all, including michelin's website and the B2B websites of 2 of michelin's distributors in the UK. You'd have thought that there would be some mention of them somewhere?
Maybe you could weigh one of the tyres? A non tubeless one will be circa 200g, tubeless closer to 300g (rough figures, but tubeless road tyres a lot heavier than standard)
You can't run Stans rims above 60psi when running tubeless. The Alphas and the Iron Cross are the same IIRC
Stans rim spec sheet just say for mtb not more than 40psi and road tubeless use the tyre recomended pressure