We've all seen a lot of discussions about the benefits, and sometimes weaknesses, of UST/tubeless setups for mtb, but I'm curious about approaching the question from the other side. So for those who are committed to the traditional setup: Why use tubes? Do you feel there's a performance benefit? Is it about cost? Tire choice? Familiarity?
I run tubes because I change/swap my tires waaayyyy too often....I would be going through waaaayyy to much Stans sealant. In addition, I tend to run my tires pretty high pressure.....not a fan of the feels like my tires are flat....low pressure that most are running with tubeless.
We run tubes on the tandem because I don't quite trust tubeless at 300 lbs of bike/riders/gear. Not necessarily burping, but rolling the tire off the bead is what scares me. Definitely been thinking about trying it out for a while, though. We run Sun MTX rims which are supposedly great candidates for Stan's freeride strip. On single (half) bikes we are both tubeless (mix of UST and ghetto). No issues.
The only way I would run tubeless on a tandem is UST rims/UST tires. Conversions on a tandem or even an DH bike are an accident waiting to happen IMO
B/c I've had a Stan's blow out > Crash > Taco'd front wheel. I'm going to try tubeless again soon though. Guess the 5mile walk has become a faint enough memory. I've also had tires that were tubeless puncture right in the tread and Stan's couldn't seal. So I just ended up running tubes anyways. Like others have said, I've been messing with the Stan's thing before, and the hard to seal tires and having no compressor at home just got to be a drag. I guess true UST rim and UST tire is the cat's meow.
In addition to the hassles described above, on bikes that I don't change the tires/tubes very often, I don't want to have to add Stans goo every few months. This is an old site that's only found in archives. http://web.archive.org/web/20070519094554/http://www.yestubes.com/
-I don't have a compressor and a standard floor pump just won't cut it to seat the tire bead. It's not impossible but I'm tired of cussing. -The mess -I actually fill light weight tubes with a few ounces of stans, re-patch them (using the glue on kind). I haven't had a flat in nearly 9 months.
i don't trust tubeless, to get them where they don't burp with my riding style requires that they are inflated as high or close to my normal psi with tubes so whats the point. I like the idea of the tube actually pushing against the bead of my tire i could eat one less bite of toast and save that much weight anyways.
I've always run tubes, and don't often get flats. I could see tubeless saving me the odd pinch flat or thorn, but I usually put in slime tubes for the winter when I ride in the desert more. I think what has kept me from going tubeless, aside from more limited tire selection and cost, is seeing friends struggle to get tubeless tires to seat when they burp or just when installing to begin with. It always seems to be a pain in the ass. And you still need to carry a tube and pump or CO2 anyways in case you tear a sidewall. Maybe you can save some weight by going tubeless, but the hassle and mess seems like it would be more trouble than putting in a new tube every now and then.
10 of us went to Palm Canyon a few weeks ago......8 of us were on tubes, 2 were tubeless. Only flat we had was from one of the guys on the tubeless bike.
That goes both ways....I've been on rides where the tubes out numbered the tubeless and the tubes flatted a ton and tubeless sat and waited for multiple fixes.... BOTH systems are tried and proven and both systems have flaws/downsides...it's just a matter of preference.....
I run my tubeless dry because I don't like the mess. If I pick up a thorn I'll throw in some Stans. If I know the Stans won't fix it I'll throw in a tube. I do this also because I change tires often as well.
I use tubes because I am old school. I run relatively high pressures in my tires so tubeless doesn't offer me much aside from weight savings. It also gives me peace of mind troubleshooting a tube setup on the trail due to my familiarity with it.
Standard tubes and slime..... this is coming from a bike shop employee..... TR tubes actually have a higher chance of failure, not from puntcure, but from over stretching on the rim side... When one side is three times as thick, the other side stretched even more than a regular tube does to make up for the lack of stretching on the thick side. Tuffies.... Alone they help, if your using a sealant inside the tube thats worth a shit... There is absolutly zero reason for tuffies. Stans in a tube..... Terrible... Dries up too easily for tube use, although it works really well, slime does infact last longer without drying up nor building up in one spot when you park your bike. I know tuffies, TR tubes, and sealant sounds all good and well........... sounds like your never going to get a flat, and truth is..... you wont, you still need to check your air regularly, and the base sealant will do the trick of everything to begin with..... Phew now that I am of that tangent.... Tubes........... Simple reason.... Easier to fix on the trail. Ran tubeless for a long time and loved it, loved how it felt, was easy to setup, loved how it worked.... But damnit if I didnt ifnd myself STILL CARRYING A TUBE.... for flat repairs on the trail.... Not only that I found myself carrying a tube... AND EXTRA RAGS to clear out the sealant so I could get the tube in easily.... then I found myself needing somewere to keep my valve/rimstrip in a way I didnt ruin it/lose it....... Overall with tubes, I carry a small patch kit, and one tube<mountain that is> road bike I will carry two or three tubes and a patch kit for super long rides.... I find I actually end up carrying less, and having much less hassle with tubes over tubeless. Now here is a question.... schraeder or presta????? Schraeder for me.... big reason.... I can use both tubes on my wheels..... if all that is available is a presta... Im still good,
Sorry, but I've had absolutely no luck with the slime tubes. Not with sealing mind you but with other quality issues. Stans does work fine in my tubes though. Still slimy after 6 months. Tuffies still are da bomb but not as good as my Marathon Pluses... Just goes to show ya, bike shop guys don't know it all
Tubeless to me is just a little too much hassle to deal with right now seeing as i do not have the right setup for it at this time, i am running tubes on my bike because it is what works best for me at this time, its not pricey to replace a tube or having to patch up or replace a tube during a ride is very simple and quick, also running a lower tire pressure with tubes isn't an issue at all, another reason why a lot of people i hear run tubeless, i have been running 35 PSI in the back and 25 PSI in the front for a long time now.
xc weenie here - I've asked a few guys at the local races why they're still using tubes. Most common answer is that they just haven't gotten around to going tubeless yet or haven't got a setup that will easily work with tubeless. Otherwise, in the XC crowd, it almost seems that the tubed folks are in the minority.
