Editorial : Tubeless or Not to Tubeless! that is the question

The tubeless debate continues, but really it’s not an all or nothing subject.

Theres been a lot of hype on the socials recently, with a controversial GCN video where they awkwardly sat on the fence of an opinion- unfortunately a lot of this media is clickbait or heavily sponsored content. Thus I thought I would write and try and take a beginners or semi seasoned view point on this subject. This applies to Road setups, because there is no question regarding mountain bikes or large tire gravel – tubeless is the way to go. On the road, of course a great debate, with very strong opinions as to why you would do tubeless and if it’s even worth it.

Tubeless Road vs Tubed – Pro’s and Cons.
I think it’s important to note that nothing is perfect, there are drawback with everything and it’s about making the right trade off’s for you and your lifestyle and ride style. The first column is really the crux, how you prfioritize what aspects are important. The table below shows my prioritizations.

Category	Tubeless	Tube
Minor punctures	Seals most minor punctures	no – will puncture
Gash / slash	won’t seal a gash, and will be hard to fix roadside	will need a fix, but easier deal with roadside than tubeless
Maintenance	every 4-6 months	no maintenance needed
Efficiency	Lower Rolling resistance	Marginally higher rolling resistance
Weight	heavier (by ~45g)	Marginally lighter
Size restrictions	25c or smaller, no way	tubes fit 19c all the way to …. mtb large
Setup	first and second time a lot of hassle and terrible. After a few times its a learned skill and become easy.	easier
Swapping tires frequently	impractical, can be messy, normally needs tools, frustrating	practical, easy to do, fast, clean
Air Travel	Variable – can be a hassle to no hassle. depending on the airline you can get away with dropping your tyre pressure to 30psi and not have any issues. If you travel a lot, you may with to use a tube inside your tubeless setup.	easier to deal with, can be set to zero psi if needed with no mess and easy reinflation
other	may have issues with sticky valves, but the valves core can easily be replaced without having to re setup the tire.	may have issues with poor quality tubes

Points of consideration

In general, as the tyre gets wider, the easier tubeless becomes . With the trend going towards wider tyres on road, this only helps the situation.

Good pluggers are your friend!

There are a lot of good tubless tyre pluggers on the market, should you get a hole. They work fast (faster than fixing a tube) and can be a permanent solution, meaning you don’t have to throw the tyre away after your ride. My favourite is the Dynaplug Racer here, it’s a little more expensive but the simplicity and reliablity you will really like. If you catch a hole early enough wile riding, you can plug and don’t even need to add air. Keep it close in your jersey pocket for effective use.

The right pressure counts

Tubeless setups are normally limited to a certain max pressure. The lowest pressure stated is your max limit. ie if the rim says 73psi and your tire say 92psi…. below 73 is the answer. For a pressure guide use an online calculator like Silca’s … example… 165lb ride on 30 regular roads… ~65psi gives you a fast setup with low rolling resistance.

Silca’s Pressure Calculator here

It’s not over!

These are really cool!. Lezyne Pro Plugs. If you happen to have really bad luck and to get a big hole on that expensive tire, help is on the way. The Pro Plugs are for repair at home from the inside of the tire, making a robust and still ridable tire from what you otherwise thought was a write off. here

The juice matters!

I have had good luck with Stans and Orange Seal sealants. I marginally prefer Orange Seal because I think it works better at sealing holes. Stan’s continues to be default in bike shops, so bear that in mind if you use bike shops a lot and ask them to top up, as some bike shops won’t mix brands.
One brand of recent months has had good reviews , slightly more expensive but the performance is supposed to be superior in terms of liquid lasting longer and not drying out and more effective sealing. Silca Ultimate Sealant here

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