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 setups. 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
01:19to use.
01:20In this instance though, I'm going to be using this, the stand sealant. I've also got some pretty
01:25standard valves and I'll be using these Paneracer Agilis TLR tyres. And then for the wheels, we have
01:33got the Hologram R45 wheels from Cannondale. Luckily, these wheels are actually tubeless ready because
01:39they have the tape pre-installed. Now, one of the key things that you don't want to get wrong at
01:45the
01:45very start is actually your tyre selection. Even though you can set up tubeless with narrower tyres,
01:51I would always opt for something that's kind of 28c as a minimum. As we know from the gravel and
01:57mountain biking world, tubeless works best at lower pressures. And I'm sure there's a whole bunch of you
02:02that have been running tubeless setups on 25c tyres and you maybe haven't had any issues, but I would
02:09potentially put this down more to luck than anything else. If you want to make sure that you're giving your
02:14sealant the best chance possible at doing its job, then go wide on your tyres so that you can run
02:21a
02:21lower pressure. It's pretty well known that tubeless tyres can be a complete nightmare to get onto your
02:31rims. It can almost leave you feeling like you'll never be able to stretch them on. You can end up
02:37with blood blisters, sore hands and not to mention just feeling incredibly demoralised. But there are a
02:43few things that you can do to make life a little easier when it comes to getting them onto that
02:48rim
02:48for the very first time. Before you try and actually get them onto the rim, what I would say is
02:53place your new tyres somewhere warm overnight. Ideally, maybe next to a radiator as that is going to help
03:02the rubber become more malleable. Then if you have an older set of wheels, try fitting the tyres to
03:07these first with an inner tube and stretch them out a bit. Now, of course, sometimes older wheels,
03:13which aren't made for tubeless setups, can be a little easier to mount tyres to, but this can be a
03:18little bit hit and miss. So don't worry if it doesn't work out. If, however, you can get the tyres
03:24on,
03:24again, I would say leave them inflated with that inner tube, again in a warm place, and it's just
03:30going to make those tyres a little bit easier to manage. Getting your tubeless wheels ready and
03:38prepared is absolutely crucial before you can even think about trying to get them set up. First,
03:44make sure that they're incredibly clean. You don't really want any gunk left from any previous tubeless
03:49setups. Also, check the rims for any dents or dings, which could hinder the ability for the tyre to seat
03:56properly. Make sure that the rim tape is tight and evenly covering the inside of the rim, and make
04:02sure that your valve is inserted correctly and it's right in the bed of the rim, and potentially in the
04:09correct direction if it needs to be. Also, just make sure you utilise the little O-ring on the valve
04:15as
04:15well. You'd be amazed at how often these little O-rings can actually make a huge difference to getting
04:21your tyre seated first time. If you're reusing valves, then pull the cores out and ensure that
04:26they're clean and they aren't gunked up on the inside. Once you've got your wheels prepped, then,
04:36without getting any sealant involved, try and mount the tyres. As always, be sure to utilise the deepest
04:42parts of the wheels to ensure that you get the maximum amount of leverage, and just slowly work
04:48it all the way round. If you are able to get the tyres on from this point, then great, get
04:53them
04:53inflated and see if you can get those tyres to pop into the bead.
05:01If you can't get the tyres onto the rim, then actually, there are tools that can help you. Like
05:06one of these tyre 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 tyre. And then, as you squeeze,
05:17these, it will then manoeuvre it into place. Now, as you keep working it around, you should be able
05:23to get it on. But don't be shy about putting a fair bit of force through one of these. They
05:27can
05:27absolutely save your hands 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 and then simply
05:48re-inflate. However, if your sealant is a bit too thick and would just coagulate inside the valve,
05:54then pop off a small section of the tyre, pour in the correct amount of sealant,
05:58and then spin the wheels by 180 degrees and then work the tyre 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 tyre to seat.
06:17Just remember that the pop
06:21is your friend. And what I like to do to save myself from the dreaded tubeless explosion
06:27is to get the tyre 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 tyre.
06:42This leads me really nicely onto my next point and that's to make sure that you monitor the pressure
06:47that is going into your tyres. You may be very used to the amount of air you've been filling your
06:52inner
06:53tubes with. However, tubeless tyres and hookless rims do have some pretty different requirements.
06:59A lot of tubeless tyres and hookless rims have a maximum pressure of around 70 psi. Of course,
07:06be sure not to exceed any maximum recommended pressure, but more importantly, make sure the
07:12pressure is right for your combined bike and rider weight. This is how you can start to reap the benefits
07:17of running a more comfortable, fast rolling tyre setup. Now, I like to use the SRAM calculator to help
07:24me work out what pressure I should be putting into my tyres. One of the things that I really started
07:33to hate about tubeless setups, especially during my time as a mechanic, was the issues caused when the
07:39system went wrong. And I must say that the time that my tubeless setup went wrong, well, it was a
07:45complete and utter nightmare. I had to fight with a tight fitting sealant cover tyre to drain out the
07:51remaining sealant to then try and fit an inner tube, which in reality was like trying to wrestle a wet
07:57fish into a small hole. However, the mistake that I made was that I wasn't carrying any bacon strips or
08:03plugs to fill the hole that the sealant couldn't deal with. I think that if I had some of those,
08:08then I probably could have sorted out the tyre fairly easily. So don't be like me,
08:13make sure you're carrying the necessary tools to fix the basic problems.
08:20I won't lie to you, I'm still pretty sceptical about running tubeless on the road. For me,
08:25simply replacing or repairing an inner tube compared to wrestling with a tight fitting
08:30sealant covered tyre when a puncture just won't seal is still my preferred option. However, I think if
08:37you ensure you carry the right tools with you, you fit tyres with a nice large volume and utilise quality
08:42sealant and also run the right pressure for your bike and rider weight, well, you might just be okay.
08:49Is there anything though that you wish you knew before you went tubeless? Let me know down in the
08:54comments below. If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel
08:59for more content and I'll see you again very soon.
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