UKH

Considering going tubeless after reading and hearing about the better puncture protection. I have done some research online and it seems to definitely be a marmite subject. People either swear by them or hate them.

My reasons for considering it are that I am now commuting regularly by bike (80km round trip) and a puncture on route would be a monumental PITA with potential for being late for work, middle of nowhere, some fast a roads with no pavements and just hedge rows for borders etc etc.

I spoke to Evans staff who recommended the Mavic entry level UST wheelset. I watched the GCN video on Mavic UST and Simon was waxing lyrical about them for ease of getting tyres on and off ...see here...

youtube.com/watch?v=ALVtgcY1YeM&

Has anyone gone down this route and wished they hadn't? Or has it been a revelation of (almost) puncture free commuting heaven?

I built some tubeless last year, novatec hubs, sapim 1.8/1.5 spokes and H Plus Son archetype rims. Hutchinson fusion 5 tyres and stans tape and fluid.

They are brilliant! Road buzz has all but gone due to being able to ride with lower pressures, I do 80 front and 90 rear. Not a huge difference in pressure but enough to give a smooth ride and not have to worry about pinch flats. I’ve only put about 700 miles on them but not had a puncture that i know of. Still need to take a spare tube and pump/CO2 in case of a tear etc

They need topping up with air every couple of weeks and an ounce of fluid every now and then but overall i’m delighted and very happy I did it. I use my cheaper wheel set for canal towpaths, gravel tracks and indoor rollers, I want to preserve the expensive tyres for the road only. 

Cant say anything about the Mavics but i imagine anything will give you what you are aiming for once you’ve got them set up.

Road bikes and tubeless tyres = massive PITA.  If you get anything other than a teeny hole, the sealant will spray everywhere, your tyre will pop off the rim and you will be back to wrestling with a tube covered in slime.  If you run them at the much vaunted lower pressures, you'll hit a pothole, cut the side wall and then see above.  Even if it does seal, you'll still be there with a pump trying to get some halfway decent pressure back into it.

I've just thrown £120 worth of Schwalbe Pro 1 in the bin because they are a waste of time effort and money and gone back to Michelin Pro4 service course which are usually on sale for £24 somewhere.  The added plus is the Michelin stick to a damp road whereas Schwalbe will stick you into a ditch given a chance.  Only 10 minutes to change a flat with Michelin, and  you can put the tyre back on without a lever.  You'll not be doing that any time soon with a tubeless tyre.  Plus CO2 is no use with tubeless - it just blasts out through the hole, so you need to carry a pump (and a spare tube wrapped in clingfilm and gaffer tape) shoved under the saddle.

I went off on a two week trip and spent every day refitting tubeless tyres.  I got through a whole big bottle of sealant.  I ended up with patches on the inside of the tyres to seal them.  That only lasts a while because the liquid rubber dissolves the vulcanised patch seal.  The following year, with Michelin Pro4 - nothing, just kept on rolling.  After 3 years, enough is enough.

Mountain bikes - different story.

As you say - marmite!

Before choosing mine I did a lot of forum research and it appeared that the schwalbe types are troublesome. It’s fairly early yet for road bikes, tubeless really at home in the MTB world. I think the secret is to get a good tyre/rim combo to start with.

Thx for input. You are definitely not alone in your opinion. But the GCN feature I linked to seems to suggest Mavic have sorted the issue by combining their own tyres with their own wheels matched perfectly for size. As explained in video this means the perfect fit makes them far easier to get on and off (Simon does it 9 times without a tyre lever). Mavic say that using different brands of tyres with different brand wheels causes the problem (they would say that right ) because tolerances in sizing are too extreme.

Having said that, some reviews I have read on the mavics clearly disagree in that regard. Hard to know....

"I think the secret is to get a good tyre/rim combo to start with."

I am wondering if the mavic UST system is the answer? I don't think there is a definitive answer...might just have to bite the bullet on this and see how I go.

Is that 80km every day?  Personally, I wouldn't go near tubeless.  I commute between 42 and 60 km every day (depending on weather and how crap I'm feeling).  I use some fairly robust tyres (Conti Gatorskins) with thick inner tubes.  I have about 2 punctures a year.  I can live with that.  It usually takes 10-15 minutes to be back up and running again, which is less delay than a cancelled train.

Yes, and I run conti gatorskins as well

Edit - but not 5 days a week

No comment on going tubeless, I’ve never tried. However, I really dislike Mavic tires, the grip seems really poor to me. I’ve been running Ultremos for years and for me they inspire much more confidence.

Ive never punctured my Ultremos, but they aren’t supposed to be a really robust tire, so I suspect that I have been lucky.

Everyone I know who has had a tubeless road setup had thought it great until they had a problem, usually after about six months, and then they swear never again. The problem is they've already told all their mates how great it is, so they can't then backtrack and tell them it's terrible. On group rides I've never seen a clincher put an end to someone's ride, but I've seen two people with tubeless call for taxi's having been covered with gunk or unable to repair.

Also, as above, Mavic tyres are awful. I didn't find them too bad in the wet but when grit was on the roads the tyres pick it up and it feels like you're riding on ball bearings. I stopped a few times on commutes because I thought I was riding on ice or that my headset was loose. In summer they were ok, but in the winter they were dangerous.

Good colour on the tyres..thx. Only comeback I have to that is that I only commute on nice days, otherwise I jump on motorbike. I'm sure I could get caught out but weather reports these days are pretty good going out 24 hours..so if no rain and not too windy i'm cycling.

I suppose the other way to look at it is that if tubeless were the answer, all the pros would be riding tubular tyres with gunk in them.  They're not.  They're not even riding clinchers with gunk in them.

The other option is tyres with tubes with sealant in the tubes,  Quite popular in Italy.

PS - Mavic made their name making wheels, not tyres.  Just a thought.

Tubeless repair should be as simple as putting a tube in it, provided you can get the valve stem off of course.

Having said that my new Giant TCR came setup on tubeless, there will be a set of Conti GP4000s 25mm and tubes going on it as soon as there is a problem or they our worn out, more to do with the Giant tyres that are on it than tubeless itself.

I've been using some Mavic UST wheels on my road bike for about a year, carbon ones.

The tyres themselves are fine (I believe they're the same as Hutchinson tyres)- no issues with grip but I don't think they're as tough as my old Continental 4000s. The rear tyre did seal itself once that I noticed but then it wouldn't have needed to if it hadn't holed in the first place!

Very easy to put on initially. I've been running them at about 85-90 psi (I am 12-13 stone depending). They have been fine on the back lanes around Derbyshire where the roads can be pretty poor.

Can I, really, tell the difference between them and my previous standard setup- not really.

Granted I haven't had a big puncture, which would be messy, but I have had no issues. I carry a spare tube for such eventualities.