Roadies! has anyone gone tubless yet?

Question

if so, what is your rim/tire set up?

what else did you consider?

how long have you been tubeless?

and what is your overall opinion?

Answer 1

My understanding is the only tubeless rim/tire set for roadies is the Shimano Dura Ace and Hutchinson tire.  According to Shimano and Hutchinson, the rim and tire are built to work together.

Some other folks have tested the tires with other rims and reported OK results, but your mileage may vary.

http://www.notubes.com/product_info.php/...

According to Velonews, Roval and Specialized is coming out with a product in the 2009.  Here is the link:

http://www.velonews.com/article/78936

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Never.

Answer 3

The short answer is no, I have not gone tubeless on a road bike nor has anyone I know (our team/club has approximately 200 members with 25 licensed racers).  

I believe that tubeless systems offer advantages for mountain biking (lower pressure without pinch flats = better grip, perhaps less rolling resistance without an inner tube).  However, let's be honest, setting up tubeless tires can be a headache, and if you do flat (like when a thorn the size of a pencil goes through the tire) you have a mess on your hands and it is much harder to deal with a flat on the trail compared to a regular set up.  

On the road bike, I do not think the greater weight and hassle factor of tubeless tires is offset by any advantage sufficient enough to justify their use.  Greater weight always sucks, period.  Want better grip and more secure cornering?  Go with tubulars, which are way lighter.  And if you put some Tufo or Slime into your tubulars you have fast, light, great cornering and flat resistant tires that in my opinion will always be superior to any tubeless set up.  

That is just my opinion.  Perhaps I will be proven wrong.  

Answer 4

I haven't.....yet.   Check out this article about the new Fulcrum (part of Campagnolo now) tube or tubeless wheels:  http://www.roadbikeaction.com/fly.aspx?l...

Sounds very cool....now I might switch.  I do not like Shimano wheels, so until now I wasn't interested.  My friends who own Roval wheels don't rave about them either.

The reviews for the ride quality of tubeless tires has been very positive.  I believe the rolling resistance is advertised as being lower as well.

This Fulcrum set-up may be the way to go.  Now if only Michelin or Vittoria made tubeless tires....