Swim Bike Run
Slowtwitch.com
  • Login >
Slowtwitch.com
Search menu
Hot Forum Topics

Poll

Best Recent Tech for Tri
What is the most beneficial recent bike tech used in tri bikes
View Results


Home > Forum > Triathlon Forum > Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest

Triathlon Forum

Back To ForumPrint Thread

Login required to started new threads

Login required to post replies

Tri
Classifieds
Lavender
Jobs
Notices
Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest
Quote | Reply
rich_m
Nov 21, 22 8:03
Post #1 of 14 (1894 views)
will order a second set of wheels for my gravel bike in the next few days to set up with road tires - most likely Zipp 303 Firecrest - as they seem to be on sale for about $1500 in a few places, are nice and wide, light, and aero, and have a lifetime warranty. i will need to order some road tires (and a cassette and rotors) as i don't have any tubeless ready road tires....so i may as well order them at the same time.

if i was ordering just normal clincher tires I'd get the GP5000 - but is there a consensus on a similar default option for tubeless tires? GP5000 (TL or TR), Schwalbe Pro One? something else?

looking for something reasonably fast, with reasonable puncture protection, but easy to mount, and don't blead air. when i use the GP5000 "non TR" tires with tubes on my road bike i have hardly any punctures - so that level of puncture resistance (plus the sealant) will be more than adequate.

i have HED Emporia alu rims with panaracer GK SS tires on my gravel bike now and they hold air perfectly. Set up by the guys at Obed. This will be the first time i set up tubeless tires.
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [rich_m] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
jimatbeyond
Nov 21, 22 8:12
Post #2 of 14 (1891 views)
Continental GP5000 S TR.
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [rich_m] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Waingro
Nov 21, 22 10:07
Post #3 of 14 (1865 views)
I have the 5000 TL in 28 mm. They’ve been great. Got them before the new option came out
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [Waingro] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
trail
Nov 21, 22 10:22
Post #4 of 14 (1862 views)
Waingro wrote:
I have the 5000 TL in 28 mm. They’ve been great. Got them before the new option came out


Just pointing out those aren't approved by Zipp for the latest version of the 303 Firecrest. You're probably fine, just worth noting.
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [trail] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
SummitAK
Nov 21, 22 14:15
Post #5 of 14 (1839 views)
trail wrote:
Waingro wrote:
I have the 5000 TL in 28 mm. They’ve been great. Got them before the new option came out


Just pointing out those aren't approved by Zipp for the latest version of the 303 Firecrest. You're probably fine, just worth noting.

I think the S TR are the only tubeless GP 5000 Contis being made now too.

For OP, they’ve been solid for my wife on FC 303’s but she’s very good at riding to avoid flats. Our experience is they may not be the grippiest in the rain.

I’ve run the last two versions of the Pro One’s on hookless Enve AR4.5’s for the past year. They don’t roll as fast as the Contis and I’ve seen lots of small punctures that are filled up by sealant.

The Vittoria Corsa NEXT seem to get solid anecdotal reviews. Testing shows them much slower than the new Contis.
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [SummitAK] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
rich_m
Dec 1, 22 10:22
Post #6 of 14 (1688 views)
i put the 5000S TR on the 303 firecrest wheels yesterday. 30mm look fine - no lightbulb. 28mm may be a bit better shape, but the interface with the 30 looks very straight. i still need to put the sealant in but almost done.

These were the first tubeless tires i have set up. Based on watching a few youtube vids i was expecting them to go on the rims relatively easily but be a challenge to seat without a compressor. My experience was the opposite - as they took a lot of effort to get on the rims, but inflated and seated really easily with just my normal ageing track pump. Didn't have to remove the valve cores. i can see how this may be a case of they are either going to be hard to get on the rims or hard to seat depending on how tight the tire is; but i also know i am not the best at getting tires onto rims.

Didn't realize "tubeless ready" tires lose air without sealant; at least not until yesterday. Not that it matters as i was not planning on skipping the sealant.
And the question remains. where were you.
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [rich_m] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Slowman
Dec 1, 22 10:32
Post #7 of 14 (1682 views)
rich_m wrote:
Didn't realize "tubeless ready" tires lose air without sealant; at least not until yesterday. Not that it matters as i was not planning on skipping the sealant.

according to conti, their description of tubeless ready means air permeable sidewalls. this is a feature not a bug. you'd want to use latex sealant which creates a kind of latex tube, or proxy for a tube.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
rich_m
Dec 1, 22 12:51
Post #8 of 14 (1658 views)
i have some Stans; but there were mentions on the internet of still having a lot of pressure loss with Stans and these tires....or having components of the sealant come through the sidewall. No idea if that is normal or just a few exceptions.

Noticed GP Llama was using muc-off with his GP5000s TRs - so i may give that a go. Also did very well in the cycling weekly sealant comparison test.

Am i over thinking this and should just go with the the Stans?
And the question remains. where were you.
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [rich_m] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Slowman
Dec 1, 22 12:59
Post #9 of 14 (1655 views)
rich_m wrote:
i have some Stans; but there were mentions on the internet of still having a lot of pressure loss with Stans and these tires....or having components of the sealant come through the sidewall. No idea if that is normal or just a few exceptions.

Noticed GP Llama was using muc-off with his GP5000s TRs - so i may give that a go. Also did very well in the cycling weekly sealant comparison test.

Am i over thinking this and should just go with the the Stans?

stans is fine. maybe muc off is better, i don't know. i just think it's important that on those tires you don't look at the sealant as simply sealant. there's a performance factor. changing sealant may be the functional equivalent of going from latex to butyl tubes.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [rich_m] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
SummitAK
Dec 1, 22 13:04
Post #10 of 14 (1652 views)
rich_m wrote:
i have some Stans; but there were mentions on the internet of still having a lot of pressure loss with Stans and these tires....or having components of the sealant come through the sidewall. No idea if that is normal or just a few exceptions.

Noticed GP Llama was using muc-off with his GP5000s TRs - so i may give that a go. Also did very well in the cycling weekly sealant comparison test.

Am i over thinking this and should just go with the the Stans?

I think it depends somewhat on where you ride. I don’t like fucking around with plugs if I don’t have to use them. So I’ve opted for using Orange Seal original formula in all our road and gravel tires. The downside is that it dries faster than many other sealants. This is accelerated in hotter climates. Their endurance formula lasts a lot longer, but it doesn’t seal punctures as easily as the original.

I still use Stan’s for the fatbike as it is only needed to keep the beads and sidewalls sealed.

Haven’t tried the mucoff but also noted it did well in testing.
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [SummitAK] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
anthonypat
Dec 1, 22 14:49
Post #11 of 14 (1637 views)
Having gone through 2 years using tubeless on my road bike, tri bike (both race and training) all on GP 5000 TLs and S TR I can give you some insight on long term use of two sealants.

I use Stan’s Race sealant in my road tires as it was rated very well for sealing large punctures due to the sealant chunks in the liquid. The roadie wheels are Light Bicycle and come off easy enough I can pop an opening to easily pour in additional sealant. It does dry quickly and the Race version is a pain in the a$$ to clean off the inside of the tire.

I use Orange Seal original for the tri bike as the GP 5000 S are a major pain to get off the Roval 321 disc and the Aerocoach front wheel. Just use a sealant syringe in the removed valve core to replenish before a race. The great thing about OS is once dry, it’s peals pretty well off the inside of the tire for annual or biannual maintenance.
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [rich_m] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
rich_m
Dec 5, 22 13:09
Post #12 of 14 (1562 views)
well that was easier than i expected. Based on stuff on the internet and even on the big tubeless tire thread i was (pessimistically) expecting either sealant to seep through the sidewall or to have difficulty in making the tires hold air. Put the wheels so the tires were horizontal after putting in the sealant (flipping after over an hour) ...as recommended in the "tubeless" thread.....and they hold air at least as good as latex tubes. No issues with sealant going through the sidewall.
And the question remains. where were you.
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [rich_m] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Josh1988
Dec 6, 22 9:15
Post #13 of 14 (1530 views)
I just did the same for my Open Wi.de. I got the 303’s on sale and put in some GP5000S TR’s. No issues at Al so far. I’ve been running tubeless for years so I had no issues putting them on.
Quote Reply
Re: Tubeless tires for Zipp 303 Firecrest [Josh1988] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
rich_m
Dec 8, 22 9:49
Post #14 of 14 (1455 views)
did my first ride yesterday. Wow. Really fast, but i have probably got acclimatized to riding the 38mm GK SS on that bike; but more surprising was the comfort. i know i am on the road with 30mm tires (which i had 60 psi in ....maybe even a bit higher than i should) on 25mm internal rims, but it was a magic carpet despite the roads not being that good. A really fast magic carpet.
And the question remains. where were you.
Quote Reply
Back To ForumPrint Thread

Our Partners

transition-DOT-area-AT-slowtwitch-DOT-com

Advertise with us

©1999-2024 Slowtwitch, Inc., and Slowtwitch.com
Reproduction of material from any Slowtwitch.com page
without written permission is strictly prohibited.