A customer in Marin changed my mind about tubeless setup

I used to thick tubeless was overhyped, always stuck with tubes in my road bike... Then a guy named Dave pulled over on his ride in Mill Valley and showed me a 3mm gash in his tire that sealed itself in seconds. He talked to me for 20 minutes about how lower pressure saved his wrists on long climbs. Has anyone else had a random encounter like that that totally flipped your approach?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowan_thomas8422d ago

Yeah but now you're stuck carrying sealant and plugs everywhere. One more thing to go wrong.

danielnelson22d ago

Buddy of mine swore by tubes for years until he flatted on a remote gravel road and some old timer pulled up with a plug kit and had him fixed in under a minute. Said it felt like magic watching the tire puff back up without even taking the wheel off. Now he runs tubeless on everything including his commuter bike.

daniel14022d ago

Man, that's wild! Honestly, I had a similar thing happen but with tire inserts instead of tubeless. I was riding my gravel bike and this guy pulled up next to me at a coffee shop and showed me his setup with these foam inserts. He said he ran like 25psi and never got pinch flats. I was skeptical until I hit a gnarly rock garden and my wheels were fine while my buddy's tube blew out. Now I'm all about that cushioned ride for long hauls, even if it adds a bit of weight. It's crazy how one random dude can change everything you thought you knew.