The only advantage in tubeless tires is that they can be run at low pressure (75-80#) with virtually no concern for pinch flats. Given that modern 25 tires (eg, Conti 4000) with tubes are just as fast, if not faster than their 23mm counterparts, suddenly tubeless doesn't offer much advantage since these 25mm tires can also be run at 80# without much concern for pinch flats. Add to this that changing a flat on the road is much easier on a standard clincher rim. Therefore, my recommendation is to consider running 25 tires on your clincher rims. They ride really nice too.

I'll respectfully disagree. Running tubeless with sealant offers the following advantages over even a latex tube clincher:

• Likely lighter, as the weight of tubeless tires has come way down and the sealant you add to the tubeless tire likely weighs less then the tube you need with the clincher.
• No pinch flats, lower pressure possible. With any tube, you retain the possibility of pinch flats.
• Superior flat resistance. Running tubeless on all my bikes for over a year on bad LA roads, I have had exactly one cut to my tire that the sealant could not fix. I have noticed ~10 times where I've arrived home, seen sealant spray on the rear of my seat tube, and realized then that during my ride, I punctured my tire and the sealant did its job and I continued on my ride, none the wiser. Yes you can add sealant to a tube but sealant+tube does not work as well as sealant+tubeless tire and now we are again adding more weight to the clincher.
• Some will tell you that the "feel" of tubeless is like that of a tubular because of the absence of a tube inside but that's not something measurable so take that one for what it is.

The one disadvantage I can see is that mounting and removing a tubeless tire is without a doubt typically more difficult than a clincher tire. So yes, changing a flat on the side of the road may indeed suck.

But if you "never" get a flat in the first place, this disadvantage fades away and may be something you are willing to trade for the ~10 other times where you would have flatted a clincher tire/tube and had to stop on the side of the road to fix it.

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time for some stupid questions since I'm interested in tubeless:

If you get a flat, can you just toss a tube in and not worry about the tire bead locking in place - will the tubeless tire function like a normal clincher once you've broken the bead and tossed a tube in, making a flat change about as easy as with a normal clincher... just with some sealant-mess?

Is there advantage to running tubeless when using a carbon clincher? I believe the issue with clincher tires and carbon clincher rims is that the heat can a) cause the tube to overheat and flat and/or b) the clincher bead can come loose due to the heat at the rim. Tubulars don't have either of these issues with regard to the rim heating up. Does a tubeless function more like a tubular or normal clincher in that regard?

How effective is is the sealant for things like running of wire, small nails, sand spurs.... things that can cause a puncture flat with a normal clincher?

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

You want to make sure with a tubeless tire that no matter if you're setting it up tubeless or with a tube, or fixing a tubeless flat with a tube out on the road that the bead is correctly seated around the rim.


Depends on the size of the hole. I've had better luck with sealant sealing holes in the tread vs the sidewall. I ran tubeless for a road race with gravel sections and got a puncture the second day of racing. I was lucky enough that the sealant sealed the hole, and I was able to finish the race. I've also seen someone get a puncture on the same tire (Schwalbe Pro Ones) before the race, but his puncture didn't seal, nor could we get it the tire off the Hed rim to throw a tube in.

So, not as quick as a normal clincher...?

thoughts on the heat build up for tubeless vs normal clincher vs tubular?

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While I was waiting for a lift back off the course in Texas, I figured I ought to make myself useful if I could. A guy got a flat and I offered to help. I did have an Andean trunk full of tools and spares! Anyway, he was running that super fast Vittoria tubeless on ENVE wheels. This is my first time ever changing a tubeless road tire.

What I can say is that I am NOT interested in doing that again.

Yes, you can use a "normal" tube. However, popping that bead off and then reseating the bead is really, really hard. Especially if you are trying to make sure you don't pinch the tube.

Based on that experience, I'm sticking with "regular" clinchers with latex tubes with sealant inside the tubes. That, to me, seems way better than tubeless.

If you go tubeless, you absolutely need two tire levers. You probably need two people. Wow. I cannot imagine trying to just change that myself out on the road...

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Sorry, I don't have any carbon clinchers in my stable to be able to give a good answer to that question.

I just fit the Vittoria Corsa Speed Tubeless tires to my HED H3+ and Jet+ Disc. The bead didn't properly set on the rim all the way around until about 90 psi, and that was with bouncing the wheel on the ground at lower psi. Hopefully these tires are worth the trouble (I'll know tomorrow) as my Turbo Cottons are much easier to mount on these wheels.

The Corsa Speeds are particularly bad in this regard, and that's true whether you're running them tubeless or with a tube (actually running them with a latex tube makes matters even worse). But not all tubeless tires are like that. I found the Schwalbe Pro One's to be quite easy to get on and off, just as easy are regular clinchers in fact.

My real problem with road tubeless was that I got more flats than running latex tubes. I think the 'fast' tubeless tires are just too thin and in my experience the sealant just didn't work that well. Yeah, I usually got a seal, but I might only have 40-50 PSI tire pressure which is not exactly confidence-inspiring. And trying to add more air would often cause the seal to fail. I found that once a tubeless tire had punctured, I just didn't really trust it anymore without a tube.

this is all really good info. thanks!

Ha!

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wovebike.com | Wove on instagram

you must decide on the pros and cons for every situation; no simple answer¬!!

I am digging this post up since I have essentially the same question.

I just picked up a set of the HED Jet 6+ on sale with the code from Mr. Gerlach, thanks

I am trying to decide which tire to run Conti or Vittoria open with latex tube OR go tubeless? Looking for advice on a fast durable set up. From what I have read above the new Vittoria's are a pain to change roadside and they do not hold up well? For tubeless I am considering the Vittoria Speed or the Schwalbe Pro-One.

I have been running tubeless Schwalbe Ironman on my road bike for over 2 years now and my experience has been entirely positive. They do not seem any more difficult to mount or dismount than a regular clincher and they been extremely durable riding around Ohio with close to 4000 miles on the pair. I had one incident with a large puncture that the sealant still worked and I was able to get home and even rode the tire a few more times before replacing it. I typically ride them at 90-100 psi and they seem to ride as nice the tubulars on my Shiv which as Vittoria Corsa CX's.

I am looking to use the Jets to train and race on my tri-bike and probably more for training since I will mostly likely race with the tubulars which are HED S7/disc.

I may use them at my up coming IMLP70.3 although I feel many would argue to keep the S7 and disc?