00:00 I'll be honest, ever since tubeless tech made its way onto road bikes, I was never a fan. It felt
00:05 like the same products that were being used in the mountain bike world were just being repackaged and
00:10 marketed to road bike users. The issue being that the requirements of the two different disciplines
00:16 are actually pretty different. During my time working as a mechanic, I also saw all the problems
00:21 that the technology was causing people, from simply trying to get it set up in the first place,
00:26 to blowouts, to then punctures that just wouldn't seal. In fairness, being a mechanic does mean
00:32 you're always left to pick up the pieces and maybe not seeing all the times that the technology is
00:37 actually working. So this may have pushed my bias further into the extreme. As reluctant as I was,
00:44 I have now ridden a fair few bikes with tubeless setups. So I'm going to pair that experience with
00:49 all the time that I spent setting up other people's tubeless systems to let you know everything that I
00:55 wish I knew at the very start. I'm going to start at the very top because before anyone gets anywhere
01:05 close to leaving their inner tubes at home, we need to make sure that we've sourced all of the
01:10 correct components. We have actually made an entire video comparing some of the most popular sealants
01:15 on the market, so you can go and give that a watch to work out which sealant you would want to use.
01:20 In this instance though, I'm going to be using this, the Stans sealant. I've also got some pretty
01:25 standard valves and I'll be using these Paneracer Agilis TLR tyres. And then for the wheels,
01:32 we have got the Hologram R45 wheels from Cannondale. Luckily, these wheels are actually
01:38 tubeless ready because they have the tape pre-installed. Now one of the key things that
01:44 you don't want to get wrong at the very start is actually your tyre selection. Even though you can
01:48 set up tubeless with narrower tyres, I would always opt for something that's kind of 28c as a minimum.
01:56 As we know from the gravel and mountain biking world, tubeless works best at lower pressures.
02:01 And I'm sure there's a whole bunch of you that have been running tubeless setups on 25c tyres
02:06 and you maybe haven't had any issues, but I would potentially put this down more to luck
02:11 than anything else. If you want to make sure that you're giving your sealant the best chance
02:16 possible at doing its job, then go wide on your tyres so that you can run a lower pressure.
02:21 It's pretty well known that tubeless tyres can be a complete nightmare to get onto your rims.
02:32 It can almost leave you feeling like you'll never be able to stretch them on. You can end up with
02:37 blood blisters, sore hands and not to mention just feeling incredibly demoralised. But there are a
02:43 few things that you can do to make life a little easier when it comes to getting them onto that rim
02:49 for the very first time. Before you try and actually get them onto the rim, what I would say is
02:54 place your new tyres somewhere warm overnight. Ideally, maybe next to a radiator as that is
03:01 going to help the rubber become more malleable. Then if you have an older set of wheels,
03:06 try fitting the tyres to these first with an inner tube and stretch them out a bit. Now of course,
03:11 sometimes older wheels which aren't made for tubeless setups can be a little easier to mount
03:16 tyres to, but this can be a little bit hit and miss. So don't worry if it doesn't work out.
03:22 If however, you can get the tyres on, again I would say leave them inflated with that inner tube,
03:27 again in a warm place and it's just going to make those tyres a little bit easier to manage.
03:36 Getting your tubeless wheels ready and prepared is absolutely crucial before you can even think
03:41 about trying to get them set up. First, make sure that they're incredibly clean. You don't
03:46 really want any gunk left from any previous tubeless setups. Also, check the rims for any
03:52 dents or dings which could hinder the ability for the tyre to seat properly. Make sure that the rim
03:58 tape is tight and evenly covering the inside of the rim. And make sure that your valve is inserted
04:04 correctly and it's right in the bed of the rim and potentially in the correct direction if it
04:10 needs to be. Also, just make sure you utilise the little o-ring on the valve as well. You'd be
04:16 amazed at how often these little o-rings can actually make a huge difference to getting your
04:21 tyre seated first time. If you're reusing valves, then pull the cores out and ensure that they're
04:26 clean and they aren't gunked up on the inside. Once you've got your wheels prepped, then,
04:35 without getting any sealant involved, try and mount the tyres. As always, be sure to utilise
04:41 the deepest part of the wheels to ensure that you get the maximum amount of leverage. And just
04:47 slowly work it all the way round. If you are able to get the tyres on from this point, then great.
04:52 Get them inflated and see if you can get those tyres to pop into the bead.
04:56 If you can't get the tyres onto the rim, then actually there are tools that can help you,
05:05 like one of these tyre grabbers. Now, you can get these from places like Brand X,
05:10 Lifeline or Challenge. They simultaneously hook onto the rim and grab the edge of the tyre. And
05:16 then as you squeeze, it will then manoeuvre it into place. Now, as you keep working it around,
05:22 you should be able to get it on. But don't be shy about putting a fair bit of force through
05:26 one of these. They can absolutely save your hands so much pain. And actually,
05:31 they are built to take a fair bit of strain.
05:33 If you've successfully completed a dry fit on your wheels, and if your sealant is fairly runny,
05:43 then you can remove the valve core and inject the sealant directly into the wheel
05:47 and then simply re-inflate. However, if your sealant is a bit too thick and would just coagulate
05:53 inside the valve, then pop off a small section of the tyre, pour in the correct amount of sealant,
05:58 and then spin the wheels by 180 degrees and then work the tyre back into place.
06:02 There's always one part of the tubeless setup process which always has my nerves on edge,
06:11 and that is when you start to introduce air for the first time to get the tyre to seat.
06:16 Just remember that the pop
06:18 is your friend. And what I like to do to save myself from the dreaded tubeless explosion
06:27 is to get the tyre to pop into place using a compressor or track pump with a recharge facility
06:33 and then finish it off with a hand pump to fine tune that pressure inside the tyre.
06:43 This leads me really nicely onto my next point, and that's to make sure that you monitor the
06:47 pressure that is going into your tyres. You may be very used to the amount of air you've been
06:52 filling your inner tubes with, however, tubeless tyres and hookless rims do have some pretty
06:58 different requirements. A lot of tubeless tyres and hookless rims have a maximum pressure of around
07:04 70 psi. Of course, be sure not to exceed any maximum recommended pressure, but more importantly,
07:11 make sure the pressure is right for your combined bike and rider weight. This is how you can start
07:16 to reap the benefits of running a more comfortable, fast-rolling tyre setup. I like to use the SRAM
07:22 calculator to help me work out what pressure I should be putting into my tyres.
07:27 One of the things that I really started to hate about tubeless setups, especially during my time
07:36 as a mechanic, was the issues caused when the system went wrong. And I must say that the time
07:42 that my tubeless setup went wrong, well, it was a complete and utter nightmare. I had to fight with
07:48 a tight-fitting sealant-covered tyre to drain out the remaining sealant to then try and fit an inner
07:54 tube, which in reality was like trying to wrestle a wet fish into a small hole. However, the mistake
08:00 that I made was that I wasn't carrying any bacon strips or plugs to fill the hole that the sealant
08:05 couldn't deal with. I think that if I had some of those, then I probably could have sorted out the
08:10 tyre fairly easily. So, don't be like me. Make sure you're carrying the necessary tools to fix
08:17 the basic problems. I won't lie to you, I'm still pretty sceptical about running tubeless on the
08:24 road. For me, simply replacing or repairing an inner tube, compared to wrestling with a tight-fitting
08:30 sealant-covered tyre when a puncture just won't seal, is still my preferred option. However,
08:36 I think if you ensure you carry the right tools with you, you fit tyres with a nice large volume,
08:41 and utilise quality sealant, and also run the right pressure for your bike and rider weight,
08:46 well, you might just be okay. Is there anything though that you wish you knew before you went
08:52 tubeless? Let me know down in the comments below. If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it
08:57 a like, subscribe to the channel for more content, and I'll see you again very soon.
09:02 (whooshing)
09:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments