00:00I'll be honest, ever since tubeless tech made its way onto road bikes, I was never a fan. It felt
00:05like the same products that were being used in the mountain bike world were just being repackaged
00:10and marketed to road bike users. The issue being that the requirements of the two different
00:15disciplines are actually pretty different. During my time working as a mechanic, I also saw all the
00:21problems that the technology was causing people, from simply trying to get it set up in the first
00:26place, to blowouts, to then punctures that just wouldn't seal. In fairness, being a mechanic does
00:32mean you're always left to pick up the pieces and maybe not seeing all the times that the technology
00:37is actually working. So this may have pushed my bias further into the extreme. As reluctant as I was,
00:44I have now ridden a fair few bikes with tubeless setup. So I'm going to pair that experience with
00:49all the time that I spent setting up other people's tubeless systems to let you know everything that I
00:55wish I knew at the very start. I'm going to start at the very top because before anyone gets anywhere
01:05close to leaving their inner tubes at home, we need to make sure that we've sourced all of the
01:10correct components. We have actually made an entire video comparing some of the most popular sealants
01:15on the market, so you can go and give that a watch to work out which sealant you would want to use.
01:20In this instance though, I'm going to be using this, the Stan's sealant. I've also got
01:25some pretty standard valves and I'll be using these Paneracer Agilist TLR tires. And then for the
01:32wheels, we have got the Hologram R45 wheels from Cannondale. Luckily, these wheels are actually
01:38tubeless ready because they have the tape pre-installed. Now, one of the key things that
01:44you don't want to get wrong at the very start is actually your tire selection. Even though you can set
01:49up tubeless with narrower tires, I would always opt for something that's kind of 28C as a minimum.
01:56As we know from the gravel and mountain biking world, tubeless works best at lower pressures.
02:01And I'm sure there's a whole bunch of you that have been running tubeless setups on 25C tires,
02:06and you maybe haven't had any issues. But I would potentially put this down more to luck
02:11than anything else. If you want to make sure that you're giving your sealant the best chance possible
02:16at doing its job, then go wide on your tires so that you can run a lower pressure.
02:26It's pretty well known that tubeless tires can be a complete nightmare to get onto your rims. It can
02:32almost leave you feeling like you'll never be able to stretch them on. You can end up with blood
02:37blisters, sore hands, and not to mention just feeling incredibly demoralized. But there are a few
02:44things that you can do to make life a little easier when it comes to getting them onto that rim for the
02:49very first time. Before you try and actually get them onto the rim, what I would say is place your new
02:55tires somewhere warm overnight. Ideally, maybe next to a radiator, as that is going to help the rubber
03:02become more malleable. Then if you have an older set of wheels, try fitting the tires to these first
03:08with an inner tube and stretch them out a bit. Now, of course, sometimes older wheels which aren't made
03:13for tubeless setups can be a little easier to mount tires to, but this can be a little bit hit and miss.
03:19So don't worry if it doesn't work out. If, however, you can get the tires on, again, I would say leave
03:25them inflated with that inner tube again in a warm place and it's just going to make those tires a little
03:31bit easier to manage. Getting your tubeless wheels ready and prepared is absolutely crucial before
03:41you can even think about trying to get them set up. First, make sure that they're incredibly clean.
03:46You don't really want any gunk left from any previous tubeless setups. Also, check the rims for
03:52any dents or dings which could hinder the ability for the tire to seat properly. Make sure that the rim
03:58tape is tight and evenly covering the inside of the rim and make sure that your valve is inserted
04:04correctly and it's right in the bed of the rim and, potentially, in the correct direction if it
04:10needs to be. Also, just make sure you utilise the little o-ring on the valve as well. You'd be amazed
04:16at how often these little o-rings can actually make a huge difference to getting your tire seated first
04:22time. If you're reusing valves, then pull the cores out and ensure that they're clean and they aren't
04:27gunked up on the inside. Once you've got your wheels prepped, then, without getting any sealant involved,
04:38try and mount the tires. As always, be sure to utilise the deepest parts of the wheels to ensure
04:43that you get the maximum amount of leverage and just slowly work it all the way round. If you are able
04:50to get the tires on from this point, then great. Get them inflated and see if you can get those tires to
04:55pop into the bead.
05:01If you can't get the tires onto the rim, then, actually, there are tools that can help you,
05:05like one of these tire grabbers. Now, you can get these from places like Brand X, Lifeline or Challenge.
05:11They simultaneously hook onto the rim and grab the edge of the tire and then, as you squeeze,
05:17it will then manoeuvre it into place. Now, as you keep working it around, you should be able to get it on,
05:23but don't be shy about putting a fair bit of force through one of these. They can absolutely save your
05:28hands so much pain and, actually, they are built to take a fair bit of strain.
05:38If you've successfully completed a dry fit on your wheels and if your sealant is fairly runny,
05:43then you can remove the valve core and inject the sealant directly into the wheel
05:47and then simply reinflate. However, if your sealant is a bit too thick and would just coagulate inside
05:53the valve, then pop off a small section of the tire, pour in the correct amount of sealant,
05:58and then spin the wheels by 180 degrees and then work the tire back into place.
06:07There's always one part of the tubeless setup process which always has my nerves on edge,
06:11and that is when you start to introduce air for the first time to get the tire to seat. Just remember
06:17that the pop is your friend and what I like to do to save myself from the dreaded tubeless explosion
06:27is to get the tire to pop into place using a compressor or track pump with a recharge facility
06:33and then finish it off with a hand pump to fine tune that pressure inside the tire.
06:43This leads me really nicely onto my next point, and that's to make sure that you monitor the
06:47pressure that is going into your tires. You may be very used to the amount of air you've been filling
06:52your inner tubes with, however, tubeless tires and hookless rims do have some pretty different
06:58requirements. A lot of tubeless tires and hookless rims have a maximum pressure of around 70 psi.
07:06Of course, be sure not to exceed any maximum recommended pressure, but more importantly,
07:11make sure the pressure is right for your combined bike and rider weight. This is how you can start
07:16to reap the benefits of running a more comfortable, fast rolling tire setup. Now, I like to use the
07:22SRAM calculator to help me work out what pressure I should be putting into my tires.
07:28One of the things that I really started to hate about tubeless setups, especially during my time
07:36as a mechanic, was the issues caused when the system went wrong. And I must say that the time
07:42that my tubeless setup went wrong, well, it was a complete and utter nightmare. I had to fight with
07:48a tight fitting sealant covered tire to drain out the remaining sealant to then try and fit an inner
07:54tube, which in reality was like trying to wrestle a wet fish into a small hole. However, the mistake
08:00that I made was that I wasn't carrying any bacon strips or plugs to fill the hole that the sealant
08:05couldn't deal with. I think that if I had some of those, then I probably could have sorted out the
08:10tire fairly easily. So don't be like me. Make sure you're carrying the necessary tools to fix the basic
08:17problems. I won't lie to you. I'm still pretty skeptical about running tubeless on the road.
08:24For me, simply replacing or repairing an inner tube compared to wrestling with a tight fitting
08:30sealant covered tire when a puncture just won't seal is still my preferred option. However,
08:36I think if you ensure you carry the right tools with you, you fit tires with a nice large volume and
08:41utilize quality sealant and also run the right pressure for your bike and ride on weight,
08:47well, you might just be okay. Is there anything though that you wish you knew before you went
08:52tubeless? Let me know down in the comments below. If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it
08:57a like, subscribe to the channel for more content and I'll see you again very soon.
Comments