Tag: Flat Tires

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Spring Cleaning – Tubeless Tires

Cartoon of bicyclist waling bike with a flat fire.

As spring approaches in the Mid-Atlantic United States, it means it’s time for me to start getting my bikes ready for the new riding season outdoors. I have a policy of fixing bike problems immediately. If I don’t, I find it is just too easy for me set my bike aside and ride another bike until all my bikes have problems and I have nothing to ride. However, even with my fix problems immediately policy, there is always maintenance that needs to be done at the start of every riding season.

Servicing my tubeless tires is one of those maintenance jobs. At first glance, it may not be obvious that tubeless tire maintenance is required. Although tubeless tires are holding air, unlike tires with tubes, that doesn’t mean they are ready for the new season. Since the tubeless tires on my bike will hold air without any sealant in them, it is easy to be fooled into thinking there is also sufficient sealant in them to seal a puncture.

Consequently, I make it part of my spring maintenance routine to dismount my tubeless tires, clean out the old and dried sealant, remount the tires and refill them with fresh sealant. That way I know that my tires will function as expected if I get a puncture.

Ken Whittaker

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Ten Reasons To Go Tubeless

#10. New Technology. I’m not saying new technology is always better. But tube tires are ancient technology developed in the 1800s. The auto industry successfully re-engineered the tube tire in the 1950’s and found an alternative method to eliminate the tube without sacrificing functionality. So why has it taking the cycling industry so long to adapt the tubeless tire?

#9. No Tubes. Of course the most obvious reason for tubeless tires is that tubes are no longer needed and have been replaced with sealant that is more effective, lighter, environmentally friendly, and reliable.

#8. Less waste. Tubes can’t be patched forever and sooner or later will outlive their useful life and end up in the landfill. Going tubeless means fewer tubes will make it to the landfill.

#7. Can Still Use Existing Tubes. Going tubeless doesn’t mean you have to trash your tubes. While tubeless tires are very reliable, most cyclists still carry a tube as a last resort if sealant and plugs can’t repair a puncture.

#6 No More Pinch Flats. Without tubes, pinch flats are eliminated. Pinch flats happen when a tube is pinched between the tire and rim causing a puncture that looks like a snake bite with two holes side by side on the tube. Without a tube, pinch flats can’t happen.

#5. More Comfort. Without the chance of a pinch flats, tires can be run at much lower tire pressures giving a more comfortable ride.

#4. More Traction. When needed, tire pressure can be reduced to give the sides of the tires more bite to improve traction.

#3. Less Weight. In the world of cycling lighter is always perceived as better. Removing the tube and replacing it with sealant makes wheels lighter and reduces rotational weight.

#2. Better Performance. In general, tube tires have a higher rolling resistance than tubeless. After replacing my tube tires with tubeless tires, I’ve gained a noticeable improvement in performance. In my case it was about a 10% improvement.

#1. Fewer flats. The biggest reason for going tubeless is that they are self repairing. While fixing a flat quickly and effectively is a highly coveted skill, it can’t compete with tires that can repair punctures themselves on the fly before a flat happens. You won’t get less punctures with tubeless tires, but you will get less flats. In most cases, I don’t even know I’ve had a puncture until the end of the ride when I find dried sealant that has been sprayed on the back of my seat post from the sealant repairing a puncture.

Ken Whittaker

 

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Good Riddance to Bicycle Inner Tubes

In the past, when I’ve heard the psst . . . psst. . .psst of a puncture, it meant that I should immediately find a safe and hopefully shady spot to stop and patch my tire. But not anymore. Thankfully, the road bicycle community has finally caught up with the mountain bike world by ditching the ancient inner tube technology developed in the 1800’s and adopting tubeless tires.

Now, when I hear that psst . . . psst. . .psst sound, I simply slow down to see if the sealant will plug the puncture. If it does repair the puncture, I’ll stop to give my tire the pinch test to see if I have enough air in the tire to continue. If not, I’ll pump a little air into the tire.

In most cases, I don’t even know I’ve had a puncture until the end of the ride and I find dried sealant sprayed on the back of my seat post from the puncture. On those rare occasions when the sealant can’t stop the leak, I’ve had to stop and plug the tire. While you won’t get less punctures with tubeless tires, you will get less flats. And to that I say, GOOD RIDDANE TO BICYCLE INNER TUBES!

Ken Whittaker

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Ignorance is Bliss

A lot has changed since I posted “How I Eliminated Bicycle Flat Tires Forever!” While the methods I outlined in that post still work well today, there have been a lot of improvements in technology since then. Mavic’s introduction of the road Universal System Tubeless (UST) is perhaps the most important.

I remember eagerly buying a set of Shimano Ultegra wheels that used the UST standard when they were first released. Sadly, the wheelset sat unused in my basement for years because I couldn’t find suitable UST road tires to use with them. Luckily, a lot has changed since then. Now there are dozens of high quality, fast rolling tubeless ready tires for road riders.

Today, ignorance is bliss when it comes to punctures. I never even know I got a puncture until I get home and see signs of sealant on the outside of my tire. In addition, tubeless tires have eliminated the low pressure snake bite type flat. This is great news for touring bike riders. Now when I encounter bad roads or rough chip seal surfaces I can drop the tire pressure and ride in comfort. While upgrading to tubeless wheels and tires may be a bit costly, it is a good investment in reliability, comfort and performance.

Ken Whittaker