Weighing Tubeless MTB Tires - Before and After
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- What we’re going to do today is only going to take a couple of minutes. What I have here is a wheel off my brand new Orange P7 RS. The vast majority of people with this bike will be running it tubeless, but of course it ships with tubes. During storage and shipping, sealant has the opportunity to clump, so all manufacturers to my knowledge ship tubeless ready bikes this way. The question is, how much weight do you save by pulling those tubes out and pouring in some sealant? Well today, we’re going to weigh this wheel, pull out the tubes, seal it up, and weigh it again. Very simple.
Set up stock with an inner tube, we’re coming in at 2.655 Kilograms. Let’s weigh it again just in case. Time to rip these tubes out, throw in some valve stems, and seal her up. Now of course, I could make this calculation by weighing the tube and the sealant, but this is more fun, and probably more realistic.
Weight reduction is only a secondary benefit of tubeless. The reason I do it is because I tend to run low tire pressure and get a lot of pinch flats. Tubeless has virtually eliminated that problem. Another harder to measure benefit of tubeless is efficiency and ride quality. Friction between the tube and the tire creates heat, which is energy lost. Without that extra rubber there, it just feels better.
The benefits of going tubeless are so numerous that some riders are religiously opposed to inner tubes, but I’m not part of that crowd. If you ride casually, or run higher pressure, I think inner tubes are less of a hassle. You can leave your bike in the shed for months at a time and pump it right back up. If your tire is less than perfect, it’ll still hold air. You can take it on and off with tire levers without worrying about messing up the bead. Finally, for a beginner just learning how to work on a bike it’s easier to set up. So to each his own. All my mountain bikes are tubeless ready.
But today we’re just here to talk about the weight savings, so let’s weigh this sucker again and check our results. 2.51 Kilograms. So that’s a weight reduction of 145 grams per wheel. That’s 290 grams or about 10 ounces or a little over half a pound. If you are one to count grams, then this would be no brainer. What do you guys think? Is this more than you thought? Less? If it weren’t for flat protection do you think going tubeless would be worth it purely on the weight savings? I want to know what you think. Thanks for riding with me today and I’ll see you next time.
It DOES feel better without that extra rubber!
you get 1 thumb up for making me giggle. but 2 imaginary thumbs down for bad pun
Giggity
chicken045
My Mrs will not let me ride without a rubber.
greasemonger29 that was good... ok
mrs palmer and her five daughters?
"without the extra rubber there it just feels better" Wise words
thats what she said
yes, I like the feeling I get without the extra rubber.
+Bitca Victor don't we all
haHAAAAAAA!!!! yes
Yessssss I was gonna say the same thing lol.
"Never use condoms son, they take away all the feeling" -Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood
Love your vids
Christopher Gifford ... "That's my boy"
Cactus is everywhere around here. I got flats all the time until I converted to tubeless. I haven't had a flat since, on 4 bikes converted to tubeless, in over a year. Weight savings is just a bonus.
Navarre nice to know, I live in Arizona and I get a flat at least 1 time every 2 weeks
Jacob Gaddis go tubeless, such a difference in dealing with thorns...at least in Tucson.
Jacob Gaddis jf03q4 - I'm also in Tucson. All of my conversions were 'ghetto' with Gorilla tape and valve stems, btw. Air compressor really helps.
can I just take the stems from popped tires and duct tape instead of buying stems and rim tape
Maybe not ideal, but yes. Here is a step by step: www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-repair/tech-how-to-ghetto-tubeless-for-mountain-bikes/
Hey Seth, I'm going legit mountain bike for my first time this weekend, because of you, I have a tubeless system and a dropper post in the mail and it's all because of you and your channel
Enjoy your new ride man! That's what it's all about
Terance Charkowsky - and how’s your mountain biking doing now?
hey man! i started riding beacpuse of him too. i have an mtb and i want to go tubeless. i just want to ask you something. do you have to buy a tubeless tire or can you just use the old tire that was on the wheel with the inner tube. thanks!
@@pyllynalle5573 you can use the old one but it is not that great
@@tomassmolik5110 thanks bro!
Note: On 27.5 x 2.3 tires, the 2 ounces of sealant I used would only work when everything is new and perfect. If it were harder to get sealed up I'd need 3 ounces, which would add a total of 56 additional grams on the entire bike. Ugh...now I sound like a weight weenie. Never that!
Seth's Bike Hacks wassup my homie seth
best bike for less than $1500?
+Reece Beveridge That's a tough one... it really depends on what kind of riding you'll be doing. Check out Greg Heil's budget mountain bike article on Singletracks.com.
and offset the weight of the tape and other items making it tubeless ready.
Thanks for the reply, ill give that article a read, love the videos man!
" it just feels better without that extra rubber in the way" :) hahaha sorry for my immaturity. Great vid Seth.
For MTB and me living in the desert southwest USA, tubeless is the way to go period no matter if there's weight saving or not! Bullheads, cactus spines, sharp rocks = more time spent patching/replacing tubes than riding. The extra maintenance of having to do a sealant refresh every few months is worth the flat protection it provides. A good sealant (e.g. Stanz) is a god-send for handling all those on-trail hazards.
I absolutely love love love the tubeless system , especially Stan's! my first bike got it back in April of 2002... Fast-forward to 2016 and I have had zero flats in all that time... Knock on wood.
This video is at least 6 months old and is still one of the best on UA-cam.
GREAT JOB!
I'm religiously tubeless! Given the wheel is tubeless ready. Not for weight though, that's just a bonus. Small punctures are inevitable. Given the time crunch most adults are in, it just makes sense. More reliable, better handling, and more versatile.
I'm glad you posted this. I had recently searched your channel for a pro/con argument for this. I used to think that tubes were the only way to go but switched to tubeless on my new stumpy and haven't looked back.
You should mention that you save weight at the rotating mass (which is way more beneficial than somethere else)
TheSmartOne
But maybe significant for PROs ?
Well Im not pro and I can feel a huge difference in acceleration and change of direction while riding. I didn't believe the hype for a while.. until I tried it..
Neil Booysens calculation assumes equal distribution of weight and doesn't calculate the angular acceleration from the moment of inertia
@@mysty0 that plus he assumes that all the weight is in the rim and tire area ( between radius .6m & .68m). A large portion of the weight is in the spokes and hub. That means less mass is in that aforementioned area, of which the 140g savings will me much more significant.
Long story short, the further you go away from a spinning axis, the more important that mass is. Therefore the 140g is shaved of the most critical area.
Glad you did this. Lots of people/brands pushing tubeless for the sake of weight reduction, which you just proved isn't that substantial... useless you race then every gram counts. No doubt tubeless is the winner if you plan to run low psi.
for me tubeless is probably one of the best things i have done to my bike i did notice the a lighter feel as its a rotating mass. but just having the extra grip is the main reason for me its just so much more confidence inspiring when i went tubeless and now its been 7 months and not one flat since!
+Tony Rides MTB yeah I'd need to agree. I never get my rides cut short anymore over a nasty bump. Tubeless is definitely harder to get set up, but once it's done-it's done.
Great idea for a video Seth. Now I can show my riding buddies who didn't believe it maked that much of a difference to go tubeless.
Yeah I had to use air compressor to fill n seat tires to rims. Skinny rims n wide Bontrager xr4 2.6 tires. I used Stan's sealant... Oh and added 150 mm dropper seat post. Had to hack in a internal routed cable, nice. Love the channel
I like the tubeless because of the pinch flats. I had so many before I went tubeless now I'm a happy camper! BTW I'm digging the consistency combined with the increase in the number of videos your throwing out!
Since I went tubeless, I'll never go back. Especially because punctures!!!
The once I rode a 40km ride with my club, when I got home, I found a total of 7 thorns in both my tires, I pulled them out, my tires almost instantly went flat, I pumped them up and the slime filled the holes, it was like magic. I've only had to use my spare tube once since going tubeless (Yes, I still religiously keep a spare), I was going down a steep rocky hill, and I must have grazed a sharp rock and it slit my tire wall, so I put a tube in to finish the ride, I landed up having to replace that tire unfotunately.
I also prefer a softer ride, and tubeless has allowed me to use less pressure too, the bike just feels better and I generally have more confidence running tubeless.
I've given tubeless some thought. Your results are far less weight loss than I would expect. Your video is excellent. I'm riding a new bike and switching tires often. It would seem that tubes are less of a hassle when swapping tires.
Going tubeless has so many advantages. I can always feel the difference after I change from tubes to tubeless. .5 lb doesn't seem like much but it will over the course of a long day especially if that involves climbing. I had tubes in my new bike and got 2 flats because of thorns. Went tubeless, rode the same trail, got home and had thorns in my tire. zero flats. I pulled out the thorn and the sealant covered the hole.
I'm a little surprised. when I went tubeless it felt like a whole lot more weight was lost! the overall ride and so forth is better so I'm still a fan. thanks for the vid
Very interesting, I honestly wasn't sure what to think. I myself run tubeless, but to anyone else considering it just go for it, especially because it'll weigh less. In the end it's totally worth it.
Always loved the idea of tubeless, but never really had a chance to ride tubeless. I've tried my old bike, but failed. So finally after riding my 2014 Giant Trance 3 for 2 years and constantly getting pinch flats I converted the front wheel to tubeless with vinyl 3M tape and sealant + Kenda Nevegal X Pro tubeless ready tire. I could not believe I was able to inflate that tire with a mini pump on a stock wheel even without the sealant. Time will tell if this works or not, but I have high hopes. The reason for the conversion was lower pressure (grip) and no flats (harder riding). Thanks for the video, this Orange P7 RS looks really cool.
Love that you're using the metric system!
Absolutely worth it. I’ll do whatever it takes to drop a few lbs.
Orange looks fabulous!! It's nice weight-saving for me
Here in Arizona, I got a new mountain bike and literally within 3 minutes of riding it for the first time, I got a flat thanks to a thorn. I have switched to tubeless and haven't had a problem since. And I'll agree that the bike does "feel" different, and I do like to be able to run lower pressures.
I live in Arizona and everytime I ride, not on a road, I get a flat, just one but tired of buying tubes. Gotta shell out the money and for TR tread and sealants. Yes, I think tubeless is gonna be worth it.
I mainly ride DH and am tubeless on both trail an DH bikes. Most downhill riders swear by tubes but I've put tubeless through its paces and it's always passed the test where tubes have failed.
Don't care about weight, it's just more reliable.
I always use tyre levers too, there ok if your careful, never lifted the tape but I've had factory wheels sent with creased tape.
I have not made the switch yet, but I am thinking of it when I either get a new bike or do my upgrade to my 2009 Pitch Comp. Thanks for the video, keep it coming.
Tubeless tires where I live are even lighter since the tubes have to have slime in them. This is because in the Southwest, there are a lot of thorns on the ground, which makes slime a must. Since it's easier to get a lighter wheel rolling, tubeless tires have a decided advantage on uphill terrain that undulates.
i think go tubeless- but carry an inner tube, you can always use it in an emergency, eliminating the walking home factor of tubeless punctures :)
toasty bear, right. No amount of sealer will fix a sidewall tear. Could save some walking for sure.
Goes to show even in an emergency the tube is still needed!
thanks seth you taught me how to ride my mtb on jumps and you taught me how to hop and wheelie
Thanks for sharing this - you are the first non-fad driven person I've heard give the straight up pros and cons
"without that extra rubber there it just feels better" - I get you mate 🤣
🤣💦😮💨🤤
I‘m not a tubeless rider (yet) but I want to add something to your saying:
It’s not only lighter, the bigger benefit comes from the fact that it has less rotational mass. That is not to underestimate. Same goes for lighter rims, it’s not just the bare weight that counts, it’s the mass at the bigger radius that makes it feel lighter to pedal.
I've been tubeless on every bike I own since 2008. Definitely worth it for the flat protection and lower rotating mass for faster acceleration. Even on a road bike it's a must have for me.
been an additional 5 years ... any flats yet ?
That's roughly the weight reduction I would expect. And it might not sound like much, but it's rotational weight at the outside of the wheel, so it makes a difference to how 'snappy' the wheels feel when you accelerate. I was a tubeless nay-sayer for years till I bought my last bike which was ready-set for tubeless. I haven't had a puncture since January 2015 and the lower pressures I can run really give my bike so much grip, it's confidence inspiring. I wouldn't go back to tubes now.
I agree, I turned my nose up at tubeless for years. When I got my 2016 6Fattie the bike shop set it up tubeless and with the larger plus size tires it was a complete night and day difference!! I will never go back to tubes for my main bike. I do run tubes in my spare bike because just like Seth said, it can sit for months and all I have to do is pump up the tires and it is ready to go.
this. the complexity of the physics are what make this so hard to understand.
he just wanted to say love your channel me and my wife got mountain bike and been going to markham cause of you thanks man
Def worth it don't have to worry about pinch flats or and kind of flats save about 200 grams witch is not really a big deal. It still weight saving and don't have to constantly pull out tube to patch or replace
If the tubeless setup weighed more I'd still run it. I like how it feels better, and the ability to lower tire pressure.
I love that Orange, man! I can't wait to see some riding vids on her!
+Thomas Merrick Me too man, it really is noticeable. I'm finally getting the hell out of my house and back on the trails this weekend to break 'er in! I'm stoked!
Yeah!
just out of curiosity whats the weight on the orange? i went to a few different sites and couldn't find an official weight on it.
I agree. Plus, never getting flats is nice.
Biggest issue I have with tubeless, being 240lb, is that most casings are not robust enough. True UST tires from 5-10 years back dealt with this via a thicker casing which mostly negated weight savings. For pure XC a converted or tubeless ready tire is fine and actually more comfortable with less susceptibility to thorn/pinch flats. Rim dings are going to happen, but flats are all but eliminated. Take that same tire and hit a 3-4ft drop with an off camber landing and the tire is going to burp, maybe even unseat entirely. That is where thick UST casings or converting DH clincher tires becomes necessary.
No hate on tubeless, been running some variant of it since around 2005 on my trail bikes.
Old school Seth, come a long way dude!
This hardtail is eyewateringly beautiful 😍
Rotating mass makes the difference. My experiences are that tubeless are also perfect for 6fattie bikes. They are built with bigger tubes to fit into 3.0 wheels. Those tubes are about 350-400 gramms each. Using tubeless on a fattie bike is awesome and rotating mass reduced by over half of a kilo is mindblowing.
Its worth for the weight savings and the no hassle fuss compared to tubes. I always use a tire lever to put tire on...not sure what seal you were talking about hurting. Tire does not seal up until the bead is set...unless you mean the rim tape. Keep Shredn !!
Cool video but one thing overlooked was usually the rim taped used for tubed installation is lighter than the gorilla tape that was used here. Also there's lighter weight tubes and often more sealant needs to be used as well. With that said I run all tubeless, lots of thorns here and it's nice to be free of that hassle.
That orange looks amazing !
+Noah Mumtaz right!? I'm taking it out for a proper beat down this weekend.
Seth's Bike Hacks sounds great man look forward to the videos from that. Love what your doing keep it up !
beast mode with the floor pump!
In the AZ desert I don't go tubeless for weight savings. In fact, by the time you get a couple layers of sealant on the inside of the tire, the weight savings are likely negated. For AZ mountain bikers it's lower pressures over desert rocks and, of course, puncture protection from cacti. Almost every time I ride I come back with thorns protruding from my tire. If you run tubed here, you're doomed.If you're tubeless, it's an afterthought. Your experiment proved more than I thought tho.
flat protection is by far the only reason i run tubeless. i hate carrying extra tubes on me because then u have to carry an mini pump and a gage just more things i dont need. on very long technical rides as a precautionary measure i will carry a tube and mini pump just in case the tire or rim break and for whatever reason i cant get it to reseal. had this happen on my 2016 cannondale trigger carbon 1 on my carbon rims, i went to hop up onto a curb and cracked my brand new rim and it wouldnt seal so i had to throw a tube in there. for the past 4 months I've been riding tubeless in the front and tube in the rear. until lay week i decided i was determined to get my rim to seal tubeless again. i removed, cleaned and installed new tape actually meant for a road bike and i had to use 2 layers because the glue on the tubeless tapes won't sick to my carbon rims. and i put the valve in and i poured literally 8oz of sealant in just that rear. half the tire was already stated and i have a charge pump first attempt it didnt seat but blew sealant through the crack in the rim. the second attempt seated half the bread and i just kept pumping air into it for around 10 mins straight i was sore. then i charged the pump up again and hit it with the charge again seated the whole tire it was still leaking sealant out the side of the rim so i removed the tire and put tape over the crack and secured it to the tape in the center. and i charged and shot into again it seated the whole bad and held pressure for longer and i just started pumping until the pressure went up to about 35psi and i left the crack down where the sealant was for a bit then took it outside and bounced it around a bit. then bam is sealed. had sealant leaking out for about an hour or 2 after that then it was completely sealed. for those who comment i shouldn't be riding on a cracked rim well im just gonna say that I've been riding in it for over 100 miles doing double black diamond trails and jumps and so far no spreading or any creaking or signs of it getting worse. i do have a warranty rim that was sent to me by the factory but it's expensive to swap a rim (relace and truing) like 60 bux. but tubeless is the only way i never get flats anymore. the manufacturer told me that i shouldn't run under 25psi on my rims though.
Yep, about what I thought (weight difference). As for the benefits, I find the acceleration and ride quality of tubeless marginally better, more grip (lower psi), and less flats. I do find tubeless a bit of a pain - refilling sealant and occassionally removing excess (dried up) sealant. So, I still use tubes on my bikes that see less frequent use. However, when it comes to regular trail riding, tubeless is the way to go!
I've always read you can't seat tubeless without an air compressor. I need to replace the sealant in mine, glad to see you can do it with a floor pump.
I got 2 maxxis ikon, floor pump is enuff. I´ve heard some other brands are harder
I think the weight savings are worth it in this case. Wheels are rotational weight and the weight loss is at the most outward portion of your wheel. Lastly, we notice the effects of less weight when accelerating or decelerating most. In mountain biking these events happen all the time which is different from when you ride on the road. Go ride a trail with a lot of short punchy climbs with and without tubes to see what I mean.
Tubeless rocks. My rim crossride NTR Tire Skinwall TR. in passed days my rear had stapler on it. And i pull it out. And it still holds like champ.
I love the daily videos this week Seth
I'm surprised you got the bead to set with a regular pump...I've never been able to. Nice!
Try that with a double down or dh casing, I broke 4 tyre levers 😂, no Chance with your hands only.
What I felt when running tubless the first time, the tyre rolls a lot faster on the trails 👍
A few weeks ago I ran my bike through some sort of thorn paradise and covered my tire with them, because I was running tubeless it was no problem, all I did was pull them out. A tube would have been gameover. Went tubeless a little over a year ago and its been maintenance free with no flats at all, compared to having to patch a tube at least a couple times a month and getting one pinch flat that made me walk home. I think I went through 6 tubes in a year, Stan's is expensive but not as expensive as replacing tubes all the time.
I like this video. I think a few other things you might want to look at:
Weigh the wheel before and after inflation. When you increase pressure, you're increasing the density of the air inside. A wheel at
The benefit of running tubeless in the desert is better results with thorns, weight savings is a bonus.
Awesome looking bike can't wait to see it
weight savings nice, but my world changed after a ride in Albuquerque going thorough four tubes, limping in on leakers, then trying to patch literally 15 gaitter head punctures, b4 I gave up and ordered a set of stan's arches. I've patched torn sidewalls with a piece of gorilla tape and some fresh sealant. what used to be common to have to fix a flat just almost never happens now.
The weight saving is on the rolling weight, which makes it far easier to accelerate and maintain speed. However I have to use heavier tyres with tougher sidewalls due to the terrain I live in so this negates any weight saving over the original tyres that came with the bike. But I run tubeless because It offers far better grip (which inspires confidence), is more efficient, feels better to ride and I have only had one (noticeable) puncture in a year which I had to put a tube in to fix. It may cost more but the benefits far outweigh the cost if you ride regularly. Besides, I don't know how many tubes I would have gone through in the meantime!
I took a group of school kids out a few weeks ago and 3 out of 7 bikes running tubes had punctures in the front wheel on the first half of the first trail. The 5 bikes that were running tubeless had no issues and clearly had more grip and inspired more confidence - especially when we swapped bikes so they could see the difference. It is also probably worth pointing out that the 4 crashes/falls that we had were due to front tyres (running tubes) slipping.
The fact that you are getting rid of weight that is on the outside of the wheel is really huge. rotational mass is a devil.
TheSmartOne those equations are correct but I don't think it is what he was referring to. Mass Moment of inertia.
Sorry, I wasn't finished when I replied previously. I calculated the MOI differently. I think it is because we must have assumed different tire width. But still, using your numbers, the difference seems insignificant but that is almost 6% change. That means 6% change in steering forces. Those kind of numbers can be pretty substantial when we talk about steering feel and agility.
How to ruin mountain biking: Math
How to ruin (and maybe, just maybe fixing) everything: Math. Sorry, but I just suck(ed) at math.
Considering that the 150gramms of savings is basically in the tire the difference become a lot compared to saving weight on your hub for example.
The whole point for tubeless tires is less rolling resistance and the ability to run lower pressure. If you're over weight and looking to shave grams shred some pounds instead.... Tubeless is a very nice feature and it is totally worth it if riding in the woods is your ride style and you're sick of thorns puncturing your tubes. My tubeless tires are at 18 psi currently so I get a better bite when riding the trails. If I had tubes I couldn't go below 28 psi because the risk of a pinch flat is higher. That extra psi makes a difference because that tire can't sink it's self into the terrain that you're riding on.
I grew up in the period of constant snake bites, psi higher than 50 was rare and handlebars shift all the time.
I always bought thick heavy tubes and still do. Though when I rip around on my buddies bike that has thin tubes pumped up to 110 psi. Front/rear brakes with gyro, pegs and it's a grip lighter than my brakeless pegless stripped down bike.
Dropping unsprung weight pays dividends. I'm just waiting on my heavy tires and tubes to wear out...
so excited for the se big ripper
I run all my bikes tubeless. On my 29er, 27.5+ and my wife's 26er its more for all the other benefits that tubeless offer rather than weight saving. But on my Fat-bike the weight saving is a major factor. Depending on what tubes you have you can save from 1-3 lbs just by going tubeless. But like you mentioned no more pinch flats or punctures, less rolling resistance and eliminating friction between tube and tire (which is exaggerated in fat bikes) is more than enough reason to never buy a tube again. Well except for the emergency back up tube in you pack.
"Without that extra rubber in there it just feels better". Amen. I mean, we're talking about tires. ;-)
Thanks for the great UA-cam vids, Seth.
I've got a Specialized Fuze 27.5 plus. Going tubeless means I can go down to 12 psi front, 16 psi rear. Tyres perform waaaaay better and on ditching the tubes saves a heap (they're much heavier than regular 27.5/29 tubes). I calculated a saving of 350 grams.
Its actually more than I thought it would be. I run tubeless for the overall feel and traction. Its so much better
Keep posting daily pls
You make the best videos
+Max Nefedev thanks!
I have a giant trance advanced carbon which is nice and light going tubeless makes it even more light and super fast on the trails
Nice t-shirt!! Twin Six rocks!
SO MANY VIDS IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD
Although my bikes are with tubes(because I’m lazy turning it into tubeless and it’s not tubeless ready) I use the hand trick when changing the tires and inner tubes(I also don’t have tire levers) both on my Trinx Xtreme-X1 and a bike shop BMX, I have no trouble putting the tire back in(except for the inner tubes)the rims.
So, yeah
Seth, do a practical test on rotational weight and rolling resistance of a wheel with or without tubes.
Find a ramp on a level street and see the average distance I bike would go. I know there's wind resistance but a large sample size (number of tries) with alternating tubes and tubeless setups would give us a good idea. Try swapping only the front wheel.
+markcocjin Good idea but I think there are too many variables to get an accurate read. Over the course of those tests a change in the wind could totally skew the results, and being off by a few PSI may also. Additionally the efficiency of tubeless, in theory, is from the ease by which the tire conforms to the terrain, so in the street I can't see a benefit. It may be best to leave that stuff to the guys in the lab coats.
If all the weight reduction was on the outer part of the circle (which it was), then the rotational inertia should have been reduced about as much as possible.
TheSmartOne
Very nice! I expected it to be insignificant, since the weight reduction is insignificant. Doesn't it double the effectiveness of weight-saving on you wheels vs on your frame in terms of work needed to accelerate? In other words, a gram saved on the wheel is worth 2 grams on the frame?
I can't wait to see you riding this bike.I m in love with it ^_^
Weight savings are less important for me, but puncture protection is the top priority and convenience out riding. Even if I did buy proprietary tubeless system like UST, I'll still run sealant and care a spare tube just in case.
Having to choose between the first or spare tube which leaked less air after pinching both on the trail is quite the buzz kill.
This has convinced me to go tubeless thanks
You won't regret it!
First time setting up tubeless can be frustrating, please to increase your chance of success, watch a few of the many video's on tubeless set up, they are wonderful!!
After having my bike sitting, waiting for parts, I found my perfectly good tube went from holding air to having a hole in it. Since I vowed to go tubeless if it did this, I did just that. It definitely makes a difference, and holds air like a champ. I went with gorilla tape, though I know that some weight weenies will use Kapton 20mm tape or Stan's (AKA Tesa 4289) over Gorilla tape.
after having two flats on one ride, I decided to go tubeless. month later, I got pinch flat running tubeless lol. but I can't go back to tubes. the benefits of tubeless goes beyond weight savings and minimizing pinch flats. my wife explained it best. "going tubeless, is like sex without a condom". going tubeless, I now feel that am using all that a tire has to offer in terms of feel and performance.
Make sure your tyres are tubeless ready. I´m running schlwabe nobby front and racing ralph at the back with latex tubes. The tyres are very light but don´t have the sidewall protection, hence the tubes. When I wear down the tyres I will probably go tubeless.
Tire itself to be tubeless ready has to be noticeably heavier than non-tubless variant of the same tire. Also some tires are tube only that are unrealistically light, for example Continental Speed King II RC is 475 grams for 29x2.2, and that with lightest inner tube is actually *lighter* than any current tubeless setup that I know of. Also, this is more than I thought, I expected max 70-80 grams per wheel savings, after all 125 ml of sealant, a bit heavier valve, and extra tape inside. The thing is, you don't need such tape inside for tube setup, and there are some really lightweight tubes (a bit more expensive tho, Continental has 160 grams ones for 14$). Anyways, pinch proof, lower pressure ability, small punctures proof, feeling, etc. I'm switching to tubeless in two weeks :)
It rides better.....and tubeless tyres SOUND better. Im 93kgs so need thick sidewalls to stop the tyres rolling when cornering at lower pressures. Tubeless is a must for Enduro racing. :)
My 29er came to me (pre-loved) tubeless... I rode it for a while this way & noticed no difference in riding (when compared to my 650b mule which is tubed).
I soon returned to tubes w/o issue i.e. I like(d) swapping around tires.
After watching this video I may try tubeless again.
I hear lots os people talk about well without sealant it's even less weight .. but I can't see a reason to seal up a tire without sealant. For me, I have done both tubed and tubeless. Tubes won out for me. For a few reasons, tubes, as Seth said, are far less of a hassle no remembering to add sealant or being mad when I do end up with a flat due to not adding sealant every so often. True friction is a bad thing but there are options to reduce friction between tube and tire so that was not a make or break for me. Last but far from least, I change tire pressure greatly depending on the trail. Sometimes as high at 60psi and as low as 18. SO for me, I guess I am just not doing anything crazy enough to pinch flat and the local trails here have not really been an issue when it comes to punctures so tubes have won out in my book, for now anyway one day that may change. ( I still keep a small bottle of stans with me just in case, removable core tubes are nice)
Great Video as always +seth
Rotational weight will be a bit different because the sealant doesn't rotate instantly therefore pedaling would feel lighter upon acceleration. The sealant would however rotate with the tire at higher speeds.
is not about total weight reduction. Is about rotational kinetic energy.
By the other hand, the sealant does not rotate inmediatly while tire does, that's why you feel it's easier and lighter while pedaling.
In conclusion, that is why it feels much better in many senses.
It depends on what your goal is. Want to ride and have fun? An extra half-pound probably won’t stop you from doing so. Are you trying to race? Then any gram you can shed may result in advantages in terms of time and endurance.
For me... tubeless is the way to go. There’s nothing more frustrating than having to deal with a flat from cactus thorns, on a dusty/muddy tire, in the middle of the Texas summer - I’ve been there - and trust me... don’t want that ever again.
Man that bike is nice.
switched to tubeless recently and instantly felt different. not sure if thats my mind but the bike does feel like it rolls smoother.
It's not just your mind. It's a noticeable difference.
I am just going to throw this out their but I get the rotational mass savings and agree and I do run tubeless on 1 of the 2 wheel sets for my mt bike. But to me 1/2 a pound isn't as important to me it is. What I find is a pound of body weight and or pack weight is better than off the bike . The higher center of gravity of the riders body and just your body having to move that body weight is a bigger benefit IMO. Some of the biggest weight weenies I know worry more about their bike weight than just dropping 5 lbs of them selfs . After breaking my back and weighing close 450lbs I have lost over 170 lbs since 2013 so I am not living in a glass house here . This is just what I have found in my case study of 1.
congrats on the weight loss! Shred your body and the trails!
I love tubeless, but always travel with a spare tube. In the three years I've been running tubeless I've never had a flat (other than when I went a silly riding 18psi (as an experiment) on rock garden and drop repeats. Burped completely out and then rolled down(grassy)hill on the flat rear which resulted in sidewall snakebite. However, even this was solved with a Seth hack (see his vid. on adding glitter to fix big holes on tubeless tyres)).
Your videos are so cool!
Thanks sharing!
I ran tubeless for a year and returned to tubes due to the tubeless setup being a PITA to initially get on the bead and having to add more sealant every 6 months, I can see the appeal though.
OMG that bike is sooooo orange!