Tubeless Convert! | Why Alex Will Never Use Inner Tubes On His Road Bike Again

Tubeless tyre technology has developed significantly in recent years and is now Alex's preferred choice for his road bike. Tubeless tyres are more puncture resistant, can be run at lower pressures for increased comfort and have reduced rolling resistance compared to typical clincher and tubed setups. How much faster are they though? Alex set about finding out with some GCN science!

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Do you ride tubeless tyres? Let us know in the comments!

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[gcntech]

Do you ride tubeless tyres? Let us know in the comments!

[NigelPCrane]

Maybe it's an age thing. As the 'older' cyclist, I really couldn't be bothered with all the sealant, tape and crap and having to clean it out every 6 months etc. etc. etc. Run inner tubes for as long as I can remember and haven't had a puncture for over a year. It takes all of 5 minutes to replace an inner tube!!

[davidparks]

A blind test would be cool to see, don't let the tester know which is set up on the bike.

[deraldu]

Title is misleading. Should be “A cycling video on confirmation bias”

[aarong]

I tried tubeless and loved it UNTIL I had a catastrophic failure which really should have been fixable with a plug but no, it just simply would not seal (it wasn't even a big puncture). I ended up having to call for a ride home with sealant absolutely all over me and all over my bike. Ride ruined, brand new Rapha kit destroyed (sealant won't wash out), sealant all over my bike - in every nook and cranny. - inside the rear derailleur, brakes, absolutely everywhere. I had to totally dismantle the entire bike to clean it all out properly. What a HUGE pain in the arse. I'm sticking with tubes thanks. At least if I have a major puncture I can just swap a tube without any fuss but in my experience you simply cannot do that with tubeless without getting absolutely covered in crap. So no, I do not ride tubeless, in fact I HATE tubeless tires - mine went straight in the bin.

[hondasaurusrex]

And now a video on how fast it takes to fix a tubeless flat vs a tire with a tube flat. Love to see that one.

[rikkiola]

Not a completely balanced video, IMO. Didn't really address some of the counter-arguments. I've gone tubeless on winter bike and probably will continue. On the summer bike I have Vittoria Corsas with latex and can't see a change occurring soon. Here's the shoot-out:

Weight - the Corsas with latex are lighter than a GP5000 TL with sealant
✅ Latex 1 - 0 Tubeless ❌

Feel - honestly, the Corsas with latex, even at 90psi, are so plush I can't tell the difference over tubeless. Also, read discussion online that tubeless tyres are less supple than their clincher counterparts
= Latex 1 - 1 Tubeless (call it a draw, though could be a narrow win with latex)

Speed - the rolling resistance of the Corsas with latex is as good as nearly any tubeless set-up
= Latex 1-1 Tubeless (call it a draw)

Puncture resistance - I've had one puncture on the Corsas+Latex in two years. I've had more than that on my tubeless including a complete tyre slash. For me, in summer at least, it's just not an issue.
= Latex 1-1 Tubeless

Faff - once you're experienced with tubeless I'm sure it becomes easier. Though trying to get a GP5000 tubeless tyre on was ridiculously hard. Add in the mess, upkeep, checking of sealant, it's surely more faff? And it's not 'set and forget'. The only real faff with the latex is that they deflate quickly, though I pump tyres before every ride (even tubeless), so not an issue
✅ Latex 1 - 0 Tubeless ❌

Ride Gear - most people probably still take a tube out with you on tubeless set up and possible extra gear (sealant, bacon strips) to try to possibly repair tyre damage. So potentially there is added faff and weight with gear and repair of a tubeless set up
✅ Latex 1 - 0 Tubeless ❌

Results, just in...
🏆 Latex 6 - 3 Tubeless 🤷🏽‍♂️
Victory for Clincher with latex 🎉🎊🚴🏾‍♂️💨

[DK]

Tubelss is great when it works. However, it doesn’t take much of a hole, for the sealant to give up. Meaning you will have to plug the whole, by the time you realise that a plug is needed, and get it sorted, the tire may already have unseated due to loss of air, and you have no chance of seating it again, by the road side. Then, you find yourself covered in sealant, trying to empty out as much as possible, from the tire, before putting in the tube you bring anyway, just in case. Besides this it’s recommended that you replace your tire ASAP, once it has been plugged, as the plug compromises the integrity of your tires. Now you can find yourself replacing a month old tire, because of one single puncture (or switching back to inner tubes) ... Then you can spend the next 3-4 washes cleaning out sealant, from all nooks and crannies, of your frame and your drivetrain. So again, as long as the sealant does its job, then Bob is your uncle, happy days, and if not, you have yourself a potential road side sh:t-show.

[julianman]

“Why I’ll never ride with inner tubes again” : it keeps the sponsors happy???? 😃

[matthewbaynham]

What I want is the absolutely minimum maintenance and when they do require any work then I don't want anything complicated at all.

So when you're squirting that sealant liquid stuff and messing around with that, that is one complication I don't have, I have the most simple inner tube and clincher. Simple is better.

[fazlee]

yeah ever since I went tubeless on my gravel bike a couple of years ago, I converted all my wheelsets to tubeless. The peace of mind and comfort is priceless for long distance riding on and off road

[Jeff-bdgg]

“Inner tubes are rubbish. I hate them and I am going to tell you why.”

“Because I get paid for convincing you you need tubeless tires which leads you to want new wheels that are tubeless compatible, which I just so happen to also market for major cycling brands.”

[ThePTChem]

"Setting up your tubeless tires is actually a fairly simple proces" :D :D :D :D

[cookeecutkk]

Not trying to be pedantic, but to quote Alex’s own words: “installation is — fairly — simple”. And that is still a very significant factor for many people who don’t live close to a bike shop or are not technically inclined.

There’s no argument as to the advantages of tubeless but for non-pros or many weekend riders, ease of installation is paramount.

On a personal note, I’m a regular rider using tubes, in a rural area with mid to low quality and roads, and my Conti gatorskins have yet to experience a puncture in over a decade. So, I’d be hard pushed to be sold on additional puncture resistance.

[PoulHansenDK]

You need to test how to seat a tubeless with a handpump and how get all that hardened rubber spray off your bike and clothing, when you had a big puncture.

[magalsis]

Riding tubeless for 4 years now, and will never come back

[alhook]

My new bike came with Tubeless tires and on the 3rd or 4th ride, guess what, I got a flat. I spent 30 minutes trying to get the tubeless tire off and I could not. I had to call my son to come pick me up. We drove to the bike shop. It took them 20 minutes to get the tubeless tire off. They had to get the tire completely wet, then cover it with dishwasher soap to get it off. When you get a flat with clincher tires. It is still much easier to fix by yourself.

[russellbaker]

Fantastic scientific method by GCN! One run each, knows which ride is on his favourite tubeless (placebo effect). Ooh, 7 secs difference; is that a significant difference, or just down to random variation? Who knows? Different PSI's, traffic, weather, power output? Come on GCN, think it thru first, you can do better. If tubeless had turned out to be worst, would you have even posted the video?? Eg. Tubeless Convert! | Why Alex Will Never Use Inner Tubes On His Road Bike Again Even Though They Are (Objectively) Slower Than Latex Inner Tubes

[RoryMacdonald-pfff]

Blah blah, ,,, when it comes to that inevitable time when you have to replace a tyre or sealant, it is *drastically* more PITA running tubeless. You did your best to make a conversion look like a walk in the park, but that is massively disingenuous and simply doesn’t reflect the realities of pain points which can go with getting the tubeless tyre on/off that rim - nor did you cover the price differences in short medium or long term.

[williamholmes]

As if anyone has ever setup a tubeless wheel as stress free as that....