IMO, there have just been too many negative comments about the tire that I don’t feel the extra watts saved are worth it. Yeah its fast… really fast. But mounting issues, blowouts, prone to cuts and flats… yeah no thanks. I don’t need more stress on race day. I’m big on race confidence and believing in your setup. If you are always worried about something or not 150% confident in your setup… there is something wrong.
I’ve been running 23mm ss front and a 23 mm tt rear. I have a few 20mm ss on order that should be here in a few days and plan to run those on the front the rest of the year. I’ve even thought about running a 23mm ss in the rear.
I don’t get the appeal of tubeless. I really don’t. What am I missing? It’s no faster than the same tire with a latex tube under it. Obviously pinch flats won’t be a concern. But then you have to deal with the mess that is sealant. Even with sealant I feel you are more prone to flats compared to a latex tube with sealant. What about fixing flats? Is everyone just planning to put in a tube for a quick fix during a race or just solely depend on the sealant?
I have been running the same set of scwalbe pro one tubeless on my cx bike when using it for road training. Typically in poor weather where i am too lazy to take the tri out and clean it afterwards. I have flatted an indefinite number of times on these tyres, which i have only noted subsequently due to sealant spray on frame (and clothes, sometimes). So I am pretty confident that sealant does its job well in tubeless setup.
I have been using sealant + latex tubes in the tri races i have done recently, and whereas i haven’t actually flatted yet, i just prefer the setup which i have more confidence in to fix a flat, while i keep moving.
Also i find the ride quality to be better. Faster would be nice too, but not slower is good enough for now.
I don’t have any A races coming up, so will probably just try out tubeless for racing as well and see how it goes. Knowing that if i flat the CS on enve rims, it’s a 99.9% certain DNF.