Has anyone seen anything about a new Schwalbe Pro One TT tire? They have black sidewalls, blue graphics where there was red in the past and a blue stripe near the bead. I noticed them in some photos before I knew the manufacturer. I think Paula Findley had them for the Canadian TT championships and there are a couple of closeups on Laura Phillips bike on the ST front page.

I want to say those could be the new Schwalbe Aerothan Tires. Don't their prototype tires have the blue sidewall markings? Schwalbe says they are still in testing phase and are approximately a year out from release.

That's a great call! I saw the Aerothan in various Eurobike photos and missed this completely. The badging is different. But it is blue and also has the blue stripe. I found some past MTB prototypes and you're right about the blue graphics.

I'm having trouble reinstalling my tubeless tire. It is super tight on the rim. I get the tire 90% installed and when I try to get the last part onto the rim I will get that part on the rim however part of the tire on the left or the right pops off. I proceed to do the part that popped off and then another part to the left or right pops off. It is like I have some Microsoft Excel circular reference going on. Any hints or tips?

This is oft-repeated, so forgive me if it's obvious, but make sure the first bead is smack dab in the middle of the rim, in the center channel (which hopefully there is one on your wheel), then work your way around with your thumbs as in you push the second bead over, massaging all the slack to that last tricky bit. At the last bit, unleash whatever maximum profanity level you're comfortable with at the tires, while you continue with the thumbs. I like to talk about the tire's mom, etc.

Failing that, levers and stuff. But most tire/wheel combos these days should be thumb-able.

What am I doing wrong: Tried to 'top off' my sealant the other day. Removed valve core, made sure that valve was open (i.e. not blocked by old sealant) and tried to put refresher in but it wouldn't go in accept drip by drip. Do I need to break the bead seal somewhere on the tire so I don't have a closed system before adding? Thanks for your help with a tubeless newbie.

Yes, sealant goes in far easier if you're not "pressurizing" the tire as you try to add it. Break that bead.

Some wheel/tire combos are difficult. Conti GP5000 S TR's and DT Swiss wheels were maddening, even getting the first bead over the rim, but they held air without sealant for days. Vittoria Corsa Pro's and HED Vanquish GP6's were so easy a toddler could install them, but required an extra wrap of rim tape and a compressor to seat the beads.

For the difficult tires you just have to make sure the bead is centered and you start working the tire onto the rim opposite of the valve stem. I jam the tire into my gut and work my hands around the tire towards the valve stem. One hand works the bead onto the rim while the other hand holds the bead in place. Tire levers and wearing gloves will make it easier. I've also left tires in the sun to loosen them up a bit, but I'm not sure how much that actually helps.

To add to the good advice from trail & Th4ddy - Always start & stop at the valve stem, i.e., start removing the tire at the valve stem, do whatever's needed (replace tire, add sealant, etc.), re-install the tire finishing at the valve stem. This ensures your tire bead(s) can drop fully into the drop-center of the rim and not get hung up by the stem seal/bushing thingy. Believe it or not, in some applications, the bead being blocked by the stem seal can make all the difference in getting a tire on a rim easily vs sweating & cussing up a storm and sending the neighbor kids running. ;)

FWIW

what you said. good advice here. i'd only add that sometimes you have trouble because your tire or (more likely) your wheel is a bit older and not built prior to the advent of ETRTO manufacturing standards. there are now precise specs and there have been since about 2019. i find that tires and wheels debuting on or after 2019 are much easier to work on.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

What did you use to inject the sealant? Syringes are nice but those cheap refillable ketchup bottles work just fine.

https://www.amazon.com/...689013110&sr=8-2

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I was using the 4 oz bottle that the Silca 'refresher' comes in.

General question about tubeless: I've had a few people tell me that CO2 decreases the lifetime and effectiveness of sealant, and that if you need to use CO2 to finish a ride then you should put in fresh sealant when you're back home.

Is this generally true? Is it sealant-specific?

I'm new to tubeless and just ordered some Silca sealant and refresher. On the road I'd certainly rather carry CO2 than a mini-pump.

CO2 will accelerate the hardening of natural latex based sealants like SILCA, Stan's, Orange Seal, etc. Synthetic latex sealants like MucOff, Effetto Marisposa, and MilkIt don't have this problem with CO2, but most synthetic latex sealants are water soluble which makes them almost impossible to seal when riding in the rain or in wet conditions, and those sealants generally don't seal holes quite as large as what is possible with natural latex.
Ultimately, it's a tradeoff. In general, a single CO2 use won't immediately ruin your sealant, but you will want to replace the sealant within a few days of using the CO2.

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Its amazing what a little dish soap and water will do! Soap up the bead and hit it with a CO2 cartridge. Works 90% of the time first try.

OK, here is prob an odd question.....

If one were using an older road frame, like a Colnago C50, which isn't designed for wide wheels/tires, is there any wheel and tire option that can be used tubeless in that frame?

I believe that Stan's makes a conversion kit. https://www.amazon.com/...&sr=8-1&th=1

Training or race? For training wheels look for an Ultegra 6700 wheelset. Designed tubeless ready for years before road tubeless was a thing. And were brilliant at it - has a sealed rim with no spoke holes so you don't even need rim tape if you don't want. Fantastic hubs too. These are the training wheels on my TT bike.

Outer width of 21mm should be fine on your bike.

For race, similarly look for the first generation of aero TLR wheels from the likes of Flo, Reynolds.

Tires...Vittoria might be your best bet. For the fast one, the 23mm Corsa Speeds. The 24mm NEXT might fit. Or I find that 25mm Conti 5000TR run just under 25mm for me, even on wide rims. So if you can fit 25mm as-measured, those might work.

A lot of older road frames only have a restriction on the size/shape of the tire.

A rim that is 28mm at its widest point typically won't come close to touching the frame.

I use Reynolds AR80X wheels (tubeless and clincher compatible) on my older time trial bikes and they are 29.5mm wide.

There is another limit to the rim width, and that is what a brake caliper can handle. A rim with an internal width of 25mm is about all that most calipers can handle.

Depends on a few thing. Is you frame width limited or height limited? If you're more height limited, a 25mm tire on a 21mm internal rim might give you the ability to run an effectively wider tire. If you're with limited, you'll need to stick to narrower rims. Also depends a bit on your weight. I've found road tubeless doesn't work as well once you start pushing 80s to 90 psi, which becomes an issue with narrower tires. It'll mount up and everything, just not super likely to seal anything beyond the tiniest of puncture.

I must humbly retract anything I might have said against tubeless in the past...

Actually, I don't think I dissed it much, other than I did not want to mess with the mess.

I put about 120 miles last week on a loaner Ventum NS1 with 30mm tubeless tires at about 65 PSI. It was freakin' amazing. The bike was so comfortable, far beyond anything I have ever ridden before. My road bike is about 7 years old with 25mm clinchers on wide HED Ardennes Black rims. I thought that was smooth until now. There is no comparison. And the wide tubeless at much lower PSI is supposedly as fast as my 25mm Contis.

I am about to buy a new bike and embrace tubeless solely because of the amazing ride I experienced.

100%. Running lower pressures is eye-opening. Granted I live in the Sierra Nevadas where thermal expansion cracks and snowplow pitting in asphalt are a fact of life, but I'll never, ever have a road bike with less than 28mm while training here. And my training tires are 30mm at the moment. The difference in going over an exansion joint with a 23mm vs. 30mm is unreal.

And the optimal pressures for 28-30mm tires just make little sense with tubes unless you love pinch flats.

Which tires are you going to use?
Seems like information overload and too many models to keep straight.....so I may just go with Conti5000 S TR in 28mm on Bontrager RSL wheels that have 23mm internal width...

Honestly, it is likely to be what ever comes on the bike. I think the bike I used had Schwabble tires. I don't ride my road bike for max speed, so the overall comfort is my guide. The main criteria will be 30mm tubeless tires.