I use inner tubes on all my road bikes: Here's why I still haven't embraced tubeless (www.cyclingnews.com)

submitted 1 week ago by _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works to c/micromobility@lemmy.world

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[-] sxan@midwest.social 10 points 1 week ago

I know there's an actual product category called "tubeless," but do airless tires fall into this category? Because after a run of bad luck where I was getting flats nearly every other time I rode, I put a set of Tannus on my bike and it was the best bike-related thing I think I've ever done.

[-] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I run TA inserts on my electric fatbike: Slows things down a decent amount, but I have not gotten any sort of flat since installing them.

Not sure that would really be classified as "tubeless" though they technically are without tubes, those are usually classified s solid tires if you're talking about the actual tires they make and not the inserts (though the inserts do give me run-flat, which isn't too terrible).

[-] Telorand@reddthat.com 7 points 1 week ago

If I rode regularly or long distances, I would go with tubes. Nothing would suck more than having a flat far from home, and that tire goop doesn't always work.

[-] pc486@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago

I've thought about tube vs tubeless with regular riding, like commuting, and have a slightly different conclusion. For the record, I'm 100% tubed and still haven't managed to give away sealant that I got for free.

Tubeless has two nice commuting/regular-riding benefits. First is when there are frequent encounters small punctures, like thorns or steel wire. The maintenance time benefit of tubes disappears quickly in this case. Minor punctures with tubes can be mitigated with puncture resistant tires or liners, but that compromises ride quality and speed.

Second, every moment of your time isn't created equal. Time when traveling is not as fungible as maintenance time. I can schedule tubeless maintenance. I cannot schedule when I get a puncture. Tubeless is zero delay or just a quick pump-up compared to patching a tube. Even catastrophic punctures are a wash; both setups need a new tube.

What setup to use really does come down to "it depends." Are you always cutting it close to get to where you need to go, but are good with routines? Consider fast tires in a tubeless setup. Do you struggle to maintain your bike or are always early to your destination? Marathon Plus tires with butyl tubes would be a solid choice.

As for me? I only carry patches for most of my rides. It works on every one of my bikes and I'm not usually riding somewhere with less than 15 minutes of buffer time. Although it does suck to patch a tube when riding at night. That's a suck I'm willing to take.

[-] HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com 2 points 1 week ago

I did not like liners but I found puncture resistant worked well enough that I have not gone tubeless.

[-] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

You can still put a tube in a tubeless bike FYI, many people who ride tubeless still keep a tube or two as an emergency backup.

[-] Telorand@reddthat.com 1 points 1 week ago

See, this is why I join these communities. I learn a thing or two!

[-] Glifted@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

He kinda touches on this in the article but I always felt tubeless was more for off-road applications anyway. Personnally I have a few bikes and my enduro bike is the only one with a tubeless setup

[-] LowtierComputer@lemmy.world -4 points 1 week ago

Sorry, but tubes are significantly better for off-road performance. What do you off-road?

[-] Glifted@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

My enduro mountain bike. We are talking about bicycles in this discussion, are we not? I suppose I can't speak to anyones experience but my own but I used to get a lot more flats on tubed setups. Now the only time I get a flat is when I've broken a wheel

[-] krelvar@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

I run tubeless on my eMTB and road bike, because they have proper tubeless rims. Tubes on my fat tire and cargo bikes with a rim liner and slime, because they don't have tubeless rims.

I live in an area with goatheads and I've picked up 30-40 per tire before in a bad area. Sealant works well for me.

[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 week ago

The only time I had a tubeless setup with liquid sealant was on an e-scooter.

Got a puncture, the sealant did not close the puncture but made a huge mess.

On my bikes, in well over 12,000 km, I've had only a single flat. And that flat was caused by rookie error when installing a new tube after replacing my tires.

I see no compelling reason to spend money on sealant, worry about topping it up, still needing to carry a tube, and also needing to carry a tubeless puncture kit.

[-] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

I've run Flatout in mine and it works great, but from what I've heard, Slime sucks.

this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2025

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