Tubeless - the Pros and Cons

March 2011 I converted my wheels to a tubeless. Convert mean It can be not using a tubeless rims with non tubeless tires. Please refer to my March 2011 post here. Im using Notubes ZTR Alpine (tubeless) and Kenda Klimax tires (non-tubeless).

July 24 2011 is PCC Prez ride. A week before the ride I top up another 30ml each of the wheel and yesterday 17th August after removing the tires - it dried out.

So here are my POV of Pros and Cons about tubeless conversion

The Pros
- reduce weight - at least 200g for 2 wheels
- need not to remove and replace a puncture tube during a hash
- cut cost for each tube is RM15
- not messy

The Cons
- you wont know when is the sealant dried out inside your tires.
- costly setup (RM25 for 1pc tubeless valve, RM50 for a small bottle 473ml for sealant, RM10 for 1pc rim tape) and this is a self workmanship. LBS can do it for RM100 per piece.
- 1st time setup is difficult. My suggestion is to use a new tires and pick the right tires and stick with it.

This is what I found from ZTR website

Stan’s ZTR Rims with BST offer significant performance gains
- Short sidewalls trap air better when running tubeless
- By making the inner rim sidewall the same shape as the tire bead we can trap air pressure much better when
running tubeless.
- When tubes are used the lower sidewall of a BST rim will eliminate many of the pinch flats that occur when the
tire is driven into the top of the rim.
- The combination of short sidewalls and wider internal rim widths makes a 24mm wide rim perform like much
wider 30mm wide rims but in a much lighter package. This is why the ZTR rims have won so many races it's not
just the light weight but the tire performance every rider gets from this rim.
- The rim and tire are the largest rotating mass we have on a bicycle. When we can reduce the rim weight by 100
to 160g we gain speed.
- Tire performance is greatly improved thus allowing riders to run pressures lower than ever before.
- Lower pressures will make the bike smoother over rough terrain.
- Lower pressures will have less rebound when hitting rocks roots etc.
- This lower pressure will allow the tire to conform and absorb much of the impact putting suspension into the
bicycle.
- The combination of the lower air pressure better tire stability makes riders faster and with better control.