Interesting stuff. My Heds actually recommend setting up a Tubeless Ready tire rather than regular Tubeless for better fit. Might need to dig into the RapidAir if I go this route…
I just installed Schwalbe Pro One tyres on Dura Ace C40. It was the easiest fit I’ve ever had to do on any tyres and any wheels.
Didn’t even have to stretch the tyres or warm them up first. No soapy water either.
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Just put my first Pro One Addix on after attempting to patch my old Pro One on the rear only to blow out another patch re-seating it on the rim, then discovering it was showing canvas in a couple small places.
So far so good
Also used the last of my big bottle of Bontrager sealant, so grabbed a bottle of the new blue Bontrager sealant, see if its any different next time I need to put sealant in
Been on road tubless for 2 yrs. No problem mounting on Fulcrum DB4s or Giant wheel set. No problem putting in a tube on a very worn out tire. Pro One and GP 5000 have been great. The Scwhalbe did measure wider than the GP 5000s when mounted. The ProOnes were more comfortable but the GP5000s conformed to the rim profile better and eliminated the crosswind effect that the ProOnes struggled with. To get the comfort I run low pressures. 55f and 60r. Im 175. The ride quality is so awesome and they roll really well. BUT I have dinged my rear rim twice because of the low pressure. Hit a hole both times and the rim smacked the ground. No flat either time.
The new 2019 pro ones are a tad narrower than the older 2016 pro ones. They did this so the tire would more correctly match the specified width on wider rims, which have become the norm.
Question for the group. I have a new road bike running tubeless. Though I’ve had it for 7wks, due to weather and preference to “hide” on trails during stay-at-home, it has 3 outdoor rides (60, 90, 120min, coincidentally) and about 7 indoor rides on the rollers. One wheel, perhaps the rear, lost air quickly within a few weeks of brining it home. I took it back to the shop and their suggestion was more “milk” (Stan’s NoTubes). This morning, I grabbed the bike to get out for a quickie 90min outdoor and the front wheel is flat. I spent 90min yesterday on the rollers and it was fine. Pump it this morning and I hear air leaking inside the wheel (ie not at the stem and not apparently at tire/rim). This seems neither right nor normal. There is no visible sign of sealant leaking from the wheel.
The wheel set is a “tubeless only design” so conceivably it’s tubeless ready. Or is there still a taping problem? But first the rear wheel and then the front? My confidence that these wheels will carry me through a 4, 6, or 10hr ride is pretty low at this point. And, there’s only so much sealant that can be reasonably be put in.
Or must I expect there must be a minimum quantity of sealant in the wheel lest I flat? That doesn’t seem right. I certainly do not have that problem with a different wheel set on my gravel bike.
What are the thoughts here? Defective wheels? Defective installation? Defective user?
Sounds like a tape problem. The tapes I have used have said to use two layers for road tires to be able to withstand the higher pressures as opposed to the lower pressures of MTB tires. If your wheel set has standard spoke nipples that allow for air to escape when there is no tape, the “tubeless only design” refers to how the tire fits on the rim.
Meanwhile, for sealant, I think Stan’s gives a minimum amount for road tires but says you may need to use more. It also says to use more for higher volume tires, like for mountain bikes.
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Some wheel / tyre combo’s can just be a pain and I’ve even had the same wheel & tyre combo perform differently when it comes to holding air, so annoying!
I would remove the tyres and tape and start from scratch, give everything a really good clean and perhaps apply more tape on the wheel and make sure it’s the right width.
My response to most leak problems is use a spray bottle of soapy water to find out where the leak is. It can find even the tiniest of leaks. Around the valve stem or spoke holes is a good sign that the tape isn’t right and around the rim is a sealant or beading issue.
Case in point, yesterday I mounted Panaracer Gravel Kings onto Fulcrum Jetfly wheels. Rear was breeze, even beaded with just a track pump, front was more effort, needed to bead with the compressor and it was leaking right at the rim joint - determined using soapy water - and wouldn’t seal from inside. I popped the tire of the bead at the joint and applied sealant directly to the spot and sealed up perfectly.
Thanks all for all of the replies and advice. My fundamental concern here is the wheels are brand new (I’ve had the bike 7 weeks, it’s been ridden a handful of times, mostly on rollers) and hearing, from the LBS I bought the bike from, the prescription of more “milk” (the term used by said LBS, not my go-to shop but large and apparently successful, here in eastern Switzerland) is troubling to me. But my only experience with tubeless is with 650b’s and 47mm tires, not 28mm 700c road wheels.
I was going to try that and I should before the bike shop opens tomorrow (closed on Mondays). By sound and feel, the sound was enough to suggest I’d feel it, it did seem the leak was inside the rim, which suggests a tape failure. But there was no “milk” coming out. Perhaps I should rotate the wheel to test that… Or not.
Highly likely this is the cause. You can redo the rim tape, and if done correctly, this will solve the problem.
An alternative to try yourself is to bounce the wheel in the ground repeatedly rotating the wheel about 15 or 20 degrees each time. Do this for 3-4 rotations. This causes the sealant to splash up onto the rim tape and it may seal the leak.
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As I’m planning to switch to tubeless once I finally kill my Conti 4000s, two questions I haven’t seen addressed anywhere:
- Any recommendations on tubeless valve stems? I run HED Jet 6+ wheels, and they recommend valves with metal grommet and rubber seal (rather than just conical rubber seals). I looked at the muc-off ones and Stan’s, but figure I could ask the community. I don’t believe HED sells a specific stem for their TLR wheels.
- I have some CaffeLatex left over from late 2018 that I ran in my tubular race tires for my last 70.3. Does that stuff expire? Should I just play it safe and buy new sealant? (Probably go with Orange Endurance for day-to-day and Stan’s race for “A” events)
Short Question… What tubeless stems fit the giant wheel system (2016 tubeless ready road). Ive had some Giant Brand stems on backorder for a month. Are there any other brands that are compatible?
Most like Muc-Off come with a couple of rubber bases to fit different rim profiles but conical fits virtually all
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I have jet6 and have been running silca stems.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HN1GR8C/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apap_cIthdD5agQZ2q
Make sure to either get a tube with a long valve, or get valve extenders in case you need to throw a tube in. I carry extenders.
I recently purchased hed eroica wheelset and they came with hed stems which were super nice. They are regular length though.
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I have the valve extensions that came with them, so as long as I get stems with removable cores it should be fine. Thanks for the rec.
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Some tubeless wheels, such as Shimano come with stems pre-installed. Worth considering those…
I use the orange seal tubeless stems on my road bike and 2 sets of mountain bike wheels and have never had a problem with them over the past 2 years. They come with 2(?) different shaped rubber seals for the inside of the wheel. They also come with like 6 different colors of anodized lockrings for the outside. I’m pretty sure they sell ones that are longer for deep carbon wheels but I can’t be sure without looking it up again.
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What are peoples experiences with non-tubeless conversions? I have 2016 mavic ksyrium elites that are not marked as UST, but from what I’ve read, Mavic basically made the standard many years ago, and their rims by nature are UST (even if not marked). In their tech docs the profiles are pretty close to the same (as pictured). I picked up some GP5000 TL’s and mounted them and have had no issues running TL, but didn’t know if others had been running tubeless on standard (non-ust marked) rims?
2016 Mavic Ksyrium Elite Profile:
Mavic Ksyrium Elite UST Profile:
From my experiences with genuine tubeless wheels and some others which were described as tubeless ready, the ones you have don’t have any slope or lip on the shoulder so if your tyre deflates in will probably drop into the well. I would consider that dangerous! You can see the difference in the pictures you uploaded.
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