Author Topic: Touring Europe tubeless?  (Read 6043 times)

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Offline hankj

Touring Europe tubeless?
« on: February 25, 2023, 12:31:16 pm »
Hi fellow cyclists!  I've seen a number of threads about touring tubeless, but mostly either not up to date (tubeless has improved a bit since 2017) or drifting into other subjects.

I tour a bit in Europe every summer with my family, and tack on a solo tour before or after they arrive.  It's standard tarmac and gravel track stuff.  Last year did 1300 miles in 2.5 weeks, about half in the Alps.

I ran Schwalbe Aerothan tubes.  Expensive! But roll as fast as latex, are tougher to puncture than butyl, hold air over time better than both aforementioned, spares weigh very little and take up very little space, and are easy, quick secure to patch (alcohol wipe and a sticker).

Downside, IMHO, is blasted plastic valve stems.  10 go rounds with the torquey imprecision of a mini-pump and they can start to fail and metal cores blow out at high pressure or when tweaked a little on pump head removal.  Boo hiss (literally)!

I'm sizing up tires this year and would need to buy four new Aerothans - almost the same as two new tires.

Tubeless of course is awesome - rolls so fast and comfy, punctures seal.  I'd prefer it if I wasn't chicken about solo riding long distances far from home on tubeless.  It's easy to forget the tubeless headaches when you can deal with them in your garage shop.  Like for instance out of nowhere your tubeless tape fails.  Etc, etc.  And don't forget etc.

So how about it?  Anyone feel great about tubeless on long tours?  Tips for minimizing the potential problems?  Stern warnings?  I feel like I'm standing on the edge and need either a push or a soothing voice luring me away from the precipice.

Thank you!



Offline RonK

Re: Touring Europe tubeless?
« Reply #1 on: February 25, 2023, 04:22:50 pm »
I have been bikepacking solo into remote areas running tubeless Vittoria Mezcal TNT 2.1 at 50psi for around 7 years without a failure of any kind.

You don't say what size tyres/pressures you use but narrower sizes/higher pressures may be more problematic
Cycle touring blog and tour journals: whispering wheels...

Offline hankj

Re: Touring Europe tubeless?
« Reply #2 on: February 25, 2023, 05:14:25 pm »
Ron thanks for the feedback.  40mm, 40-45lbs pressure.

I'm on 19mm rims right now but would go up to about 23mm to run tubeless.  I'm travelling light with about 8-10lbs of stuff including bags, credit card touring.  60-100 miles a day.

« Last Edit: February 25, 2023, 08:12:15 pm by hankj »