I Switched to Cast Rims & Tubeless Tires .....WHY?

 

Earlier this spring I swapped out the rear spoked rim on my 2007 Boulevard
C50 with a cast aluminum one from a C50 "C" model so I can run a tubeless
tire. I picked up a nail Saturday, found it and plugged it
Sunday (great weather in NE Ohio this weekend - gotta ride when you can) but
it still slowly leaked, so I made some phone calls today (20 or more to most
of the dealer and independent shops in the tri-county area) and all of the
conversations
went like this: "Do you patch tubeless tires?" "No, don't touch 'em"
"What if I have a tubed tire?" "Sure, we'll just install a new tube and send
you on your way" WTF??? (liability rears its ugly head) Does NO ONE repair
tubeless tires? I'm not talking about external plugs, I'm talking about un-
mounting the tire, sticking a proper patch on the INSIDE of the tire (the
way it's done at the KIA dealer I work at) then re-mounting &
re-balancing it. I mean, NO ONE?? GEEZ! I guess it boils down to this: it
really is a "Double-Edged-Sword" 1. If you have tubed tires and get a flat,
it's a tow to the nearest shop for a new tube. (it would really suck on a
Saturday night in the middle of BFE, even if you have roadside assistance -
where would they tow you to? The nearest shop? Don't open until Monday at
10:00am? Do you camp next to your ride at the shops parking lot?)
2. If you have tubeless tires, you can make a roadside repair (with a proper
portable air supply i.e. Co2 cartridges or 12V compressor) using a plug kit
good enough to make it home (or to the nearest shop) for a new tire. A very
HARD lesson learned today, but I'll keep the cast rim (easier to clean,
never have to "true" them out, they just look terrific with the Metzeler
WWWs) However, in the time-being, I found a cheap new tire on eBay
(item #120462189952 if interested) and will mount it back on my original
spoked rim (thank God I kept it!) for the rest of the riding
season (ends around Halloween anyway)

 


Most long distance riders use tubeless tires to avoid getting stuck far from
help.  As you found, tubeless can be plugged and carefully ridden a short
ways to a place that can replace the tire.  Bike tires flex more than cage
tires so permanent plugs do not work as well.

OTOH, BMW tool kits used to come with tire levers and patch kits for the
tubes. More work than pluging a tubless but a bit more secure, altho I have
had patches come loose too, thanks to tire flex.

You pay yer money and ....

 



I rode for thousands of miles at speeds up to 150mph on a tyre I plugged
myself at the side of a road in France. My son also rode thousands of miles
on a tyre that was professionally plugged by a tyre dealer. They'll only
plug if the puncture is in the middle area of the tread.

Big disadvantage of tube tyres is explosive decompression. A tubeless will
generally go down slowly but a tubed can go instantly.

--
Andrew998

 

wrote:

heh, I run Green Slime in all my tires. Tubed and tubeless.


Really? I've only had slow deflations on tubeless (allowing for cage
tires)  With tubed  I've had plenty of instances of explosive
decompression. Front and rear tyres.

 


I had a flat on my old RD350 with tube tires and it went from fullly
aired to actually coming off the rim in about 10 seconds or so.
Fortunately, it was rear tire, not the front.  Unfortunately, it
happened in some really tight twisties.  Fortunately, they were
twisties I was very familiar with.  Unfortunately, because of that
familiarity, I was traveling at a fairly elevated speed.  Fortunately,
I was able to use the front brake effectively to slow down and stop
safely.  Unfortunately, I was some 10 miles from home.  Fortunately, a
nearby homeowner allowed me to use his phone to call for help.
Unfortunately, both the tube and the tire were ruined. Fortunately,
the rim was not.

I've been pretty allergic to tube-type wheels and tires ever since.