Road Cycling

Soldato
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19 Jun 2004
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On the Amiga500
I ran GP5000 non tubeless all winter last year and never flatted. The rear tyre squared off and had started to cut up. But it was affecting the handling by then so I changed it out.

For me, it’s completely not worth moving away from tubes. I rarely flat, maybe once in the last 4 years on tubes, most of my flats when I am running tubulars. (Glass, wore down really thin from use and then flatted and a stone caught in between frame/tyre).

It takes 2 minutes to change a tube, they are just as light, more convenient, don’t have to worry about sealant drying, tricky setups, and cheaper to buy too. Plus you’d have to carry a tube anyway incase you split your sidewall
It does look like a lot of mess and fuss for not much benefit if any at all.
 
Soldato
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Barnet, London
Maybe there's more benefit to me at 95-98kg who has had probably 20+ flats this year from pinched tyres? Maybe I've not had enough pressure in, but I've generally tried lots of different things from 80psi to 110psi.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Feb 2004
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18,139
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Hampshire
At that weight you'd probably be looking closer to 100PSI with tubes and 25mm width tyres.

I tried tubeless on my winter bike got a cut first ride that wouldn't seal on it's own, put a tube in and haven't bothered swapping it out. the rear is still going fine though. Won't be bothering again in the future but thought I'd give it a go.
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Jun 2004
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On the Amiga500
I'm about 95kg and I ride 25mm with tubes at 100psi. I haven't had a flat yet. I've had several on my 35mm but it would be unfair to compare really since I take that off road more often of course.

Since becoming more and more in to my road cycling, it's the first time I've found myself wishing I was shorter and more slender :D need that aero!
 
Soldato
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19 Jun 2004
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On the Amiga500
Out of interest, what tyres do you have?

I imagine I can ride these Gatorskin Hardshells for months without puncture, but I can literally feel the extra rolling resistence!
At the moment I'm using these boggo "jack brown" tyres that came with the bike. They're actually 25.5 but they're pretty light and they roll just great.

I also have these non hardshell Gatorskin but I haven't used them a great deal yet. Apparently they don't differ much to yours. Their walls are thinner.
https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-reviews/continental-gator-hardshell#:~:text=Here we can see an,thickness of just 0.7 mm.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Oct 2006
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5,386
I'll add to the tubeless tales.

My Giant came setup with tubeless tyres. Within the first month some glass slashed a bit of the tyre on the rear. Not a huge hole but enough it didn't seal. Nice sunny day so I thought cool... I'll just fix it here by the lake (Dorney Rowing lake used in the Olympics). I got my worms out, struggled to push one into the tyre and keep it there. It didn't seem to hold very well. Pumped it up and rode back gingerly, unsure if it would just pop out before I finish.

Got home. Checked pressure... 40-50psi or so. Not great but it got me home. Pumped it up to 80 or so. Put bike in bedroom (limited space). 3am, PSSSSSSSSSSSTTTT! Woken up by the worm failing and the air gushing out.

Then I spent about a week faffing about with various sizes of plugs and trying to get it to hold pressure. No luck so I gave up and installed a new tyre and tube.

Considering the extra cost of tyres, install and maintenance hassle (remember to add sealant as it dries up etc), the faff when things go wrong and the lack of any noticeable gain I can't be bothered with it. It's kinda nice knowing with a tube puncture the worst case is probably 20mins of playing around but often less than 10. If punctures were really frequent then perhaps tubeless would be worth the hassle.
 
Soldato
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22 May 2003
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Wigan
Good weekend for riding, some nobbers out in cars/motorbikes today after lunch.

Got one of those annoying creak noises incoming! Seemed to crop up when it was bumpy and go away when smoother. First thing I did was wash the bike when I got home. Could literally be anything, bars, stem, shoes, seatpost, bottom bracket... might just give everything a loosen and retighten next time before I go out.
 
Soldato
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Barnet, London
Another big (for me anyway) group ride this morning, 77 miles, with stops at 30 and around 52 miles. Quite odd how I felt pretty bad on the first stint, but then felt great in the second stint. Possibly a bad idea at about 45 miles for me and 'the fast guy' of the group to try and chase down some whipper snapper kid that had passed us. I think it perhaps took too much out of me and the last 7 or 8 miles were pretty tough, feeling like both my right hammy and right quad could cramp at any time! :(. Stopped near the end of the ride for everyone to say goodbyes and couldn't actually believe how hot it was when not moving!

On the plus side, no punctures and the tyres didn't feel too bad today. Maybe they're scrubbing in a little, or maybe it's all in my head?
 
Soldato
Joined
23 Nov 2004
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10,646
Jealous of all you guys getting rides in.

My legs were wrecked for days from 86 miles on/off road on the mtb with panniers on. Too low saddle with thick soled walking boots made my thighs effectively cramp up for 4 hours straight. So much mental strength needed got that.

Hopefully I'm still somewhat fit for zwift races.

Also in the process of buying a house which is a bit more of a priority than cycling, I hope to **** there isn't a second lockdown.
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Nov 2002
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Snorbans, UK
Gents,

I'm in the market for a smart trainer to use with Zwift - as the weather (and potential lockdown...) is coming in I'd like to keep my mileage up over the winter.

Any recommendations? Budget is around £250. Can obviously spend a little more if needs be.

Thanks!
 
Soldato
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24 Apr 2013
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3,067
@Jonny ///M - You'll be the 4th bike mechanic I know who doesn't touch tubeless :) says it all.

As always, I shall remain baffled that people don't think it's nonsense and believe they need 28mm+ tyres at low PSI for god knows what ever reasons. Each to their own I suppose.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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8,420
Location
Hereford
For me, it’s completely not worth moving away from tubes. I rarely flat, maybe once in the last 4 years on tubes
I wouldn't say I flatted many times before, so that wasn't a huge decision for me, but 1 flat in 4 years really does sound improbable on UK roads?! Then again you where mainly running tubulars over that time so your mileage would be low on tubes until more recently? Did you mostly run tubs over in Oz? Know you did when racing and I guess probably better/cleaner roads than over here?

I really enjoyed the other benefits of tubeless (wide, low pressure, great grip in mud/winter) which I could have got with tubes I know, but would've been more tricky finding the right tyre for it. Which I never really did. So I would say most of the happiness I got from Tubeless, on the cheap tyre option I found, although I had been fairly happy on tubes before on similar and more expensive tyres, was just me getting more comfort and piece of mind... I wasn't puncture prone before, but I certainly didn't miss them. Probably 50% of the group rides I have been on have someone puncturing, it feels fantastic to not be that person (not that I was very often as I've always chosen tougher tyres), while having far little concerns over some of the rough stuff and shortcuts I'd otherwise have questioned. Solo I've ridden plenty of rougher tracks that I wouldn't even have considered on tubes, as well as across a few fields. but I guess part of it for me was just wanting to try it out as I could on my rims (and lets be honest we all like to try something new). I'm a convert, especially after how prone I was for punctures when I came back to tubes during lockdown, but I do realise how it's not that suited for some of us with limited/low amounts of punctures. It could've been me running lower pressures than I should've been, rubbish luck, or just a case of the P fairy catching up with me... ;)

Maybe there's more benefit to me at 95-98kg who has had probably 20+ flats this year from pinched tyres? Maybe I've not had enough pressure in, but I've generally tried lots of different things from 80psi to 110psi.
You won't know until you try it!

I'd always recommend people try it if they're curious, but I do know those who are 'happy' on tubes will really need some convincing (and most won't be!). I'm not saying tubeless isn't without it's own caveats and hassle of setup...

Considering the extra cost of tyres, install and maintenance hassle (remember to add sealant as it dries up etc), the faff when things go wrong and the lack of any noticeable gain I can't be bothered with it. It's kinda nice knowing with a tube puncture the worst case is probably 20mins of playing around but often less than 10. If punctures were really frequent then perhaps tubeless would be worth the hassle.
For me the tyres where not more expensive, if anything they where cheaper and turned out tougher than most of the previous more expensive tubed ones I'd used, but I was disappointed with most of those in the larger sizes before going Tubeless anyway.

I ran tubeless without issues for ages, decided I would rather have the security of tubes for long rides and switched back. Got my first puncture for two years within 3 weeks. *shakes fist*
I thought that when I switched back. First couple I blamed on myself (pinch flats) for running too low pressure and not being overly concerned on rough stuff, but when I punctured for the 4th time and actually had to start making decisions about how many replacement tubes to buy (at nearly £5 each!) I realised I was insane to continue running the tubed tyres I had (GP 4000 sii) just 'because I had them' and hadn't got the right size tape to re-tape my rim to go back tubeless.

On the plus side, no punctures and the tyres didn't feel too bad today. Maybe they're scrubbing in a little, or maybe it's all in my head?
It's partly in your head - new tyres always 'feel' different and it's highly likely the gators are 'harder' so have a harsher ride than your previous and need some bedding in.

Also in the process of buying a house which is a bit more of a priority than cycling, I hope to **** there isn't a second lockdown.
Goodluck! My sister has had 2 weekends of viewings and she's in Birmingham so you should be ok!

Make sure you get a garage, bigger the better! ;) :D

Had a quick jolly yesterday but really wasn't feeling it. Found headwinds the one way (from the north) I had thought to do an out-and-back kinda loop so turned south, was going to ride some lanes and some climbs I've been meaning to check out, but legs where really not feeling it, so turned for what should've been a more sheltered ride east and found headwinds from there too. Sometimes living in a 'bowl' really does my head in! :rolleyes:
 
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Soldato
Joined
28 Apr 2011
Posts
14,761
Location
Barnet, London
As always, I shall remain baffled that people don't think it's nonsense and believe they need 28mm+ tyres at low PSI for god knows what ever reasons. Each to their own I suppose.

So... having had around 20 punctures over the summer and lots of people saying you have less punctures with tubeless... you're baffled why some people/I would considerer tubeless?

Don't get me wrong, I've not decided yet myself, but I'm not sure anyone has said why I wouldn't go tubeless and carry and tube on me for emergencies to cover all situations?
 
Soldato
Joined
22 May 2003
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10,855
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Wigan
More glass in Australia close to town Roady which would cut tyres up. Ran tubes all week and tubulars on the weekend.

This year since I’ve been riding solo maybe just choose my line a bit more and ride in the wheel paths so less muck.

Tubs only for TT here or TT training on the road, so only ridden them once or twice this year.

Maybe I’m just light as a (80kg+) fairy on the bike and dance over the rough stuff ;) hahaha! I do try and pick a clean line and certainly avoid smashing the potholes.

No idea what it is really. I’m usually out of town in 10-15 mins and don’t live in the sort of area which has a lot of building going on or glass etc.
 
Soldato
Joined
23 Nov 2004
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10,646
@Jonny ///M - You'll be the 4th bike mechanic I know who doesn't touch tubeless :) says it all.

As always, I shall remain baffled that people don't think it's nonsense and believe they need 28mm+ tyres at low PSI for god knows what ever reasons. Each to their own I suppose.

I'm pretty good at setting up tubeless, got a **** hot Blackburn pump for doing tubeless. Looks like a big breitling watch face too. Just feel the faff of it and the mess if you have to replace a tube when it doesn't seal is worth it. Steps to stop punctures are generally keep pressures set properly and avoid potholes and gravel. Too many guys chasing koms riding through crap and wonder why they puncture or break spokes.



I'm still on 23mm tyres so a bit behind the times.

Got a system six coming soon, they ship with 23 rubino Pro or speed I'm sure. Quite fancy 25s to see how that goes - can't remember if vittoria man is sending me some corsas to try.

@Roady no garage unfortunately, loads of terraced houses in my budget. Lucky to get a drive in East Kilbride/this budget. It's also a weird AF layout but I'll be making the front bedroom a zwift room.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-96755774.html
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Apr 2011
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14,761
Location
Barnet, London
I think all mine have been pinches. Tbf, I think at least 3 times I managed to pinch the tube putting it back in :( I also think I've probably not had the pressure as high as I should for my weight at times.
 
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