Just realized I was wrong about tubeless tires for commuting

For like 3 years I swore by tubes on my commuter bike because I thought tubeless was just for mountain bikers and gravel racers. Kept reading about sealant drying out and tires burping air and figured it was too much hassle. Then I got 3 flats in one month riding through some construction debris on Main Street and a buddy at the shop talked me into letting him set up my rear wheel tubeless. Been 4 months now and not a single flat. The sealant just plugs little holes and I keep riding. Still run a tube up front cause I'm stubborn but I'm thinking about switching that too. Anyone else change their mind on tubeless after swearing it off forever?

2 comments

2 Comments

casey3931mo ago

You said you're still running a tube up front cause you're stubborn... but at what point do you just give in and do both? I was the same way with my gravel bike, ran a tube up front for like six months after converting the rear, then finally caved when I got a snakebite on a curb cut. What's holding you back exactly, is it the cost of the valve stems or just not wanting to deal with sealant?

juliahall1mo ago

Hold your horses there on the snakebite comment though. A snakebite flat comes from pinching the tube against the rim, not from the tire itself. Tubeless won't really help with that because it's about how you hit the curb, not the tire's ability to seal. I actually got a snakebite on my tubeless rear wheel a few months back and it burped all the air out just the same, though it sealed back up after I added more sealant. So don't expect tubeless to cure every flat, just the puncture kind from glass and debris.