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Should I go back to tubeless? A week ago I bought the new all-season tires from Continental: Continental Grandprix 5000 AS TR. They were only available in the “tubeless ready” version.
New winter tires
I needed new tires for the start of the winter season. Why not try out the new Continental Grandprix 5000 AS TR tire? It cost a little more than the well known Continental Grand Prix 4-Season tire. And trying out something new is always interesting. I also wanted to finally test how 28 mm wide tires fit. How much space will be between the tires and my rim brakes. I hadn’t even noticed that “TR” in the tire designation means “tubeless ready”.
Pulling in the hose was a little more difficult than usual. Logical. Tubeless tires are more robust. The tire rode well. There was also no space problem with the rim brake.
I actually still had everything I needed from my tubeless attempts. By now, more than four years had passed. Wow. Should I perhaps try tubeless again after all?
New attempt
Of course I couldn’t resist. After all, it had been quite a while since my tubeless attempts and my “definitive” abandonment.
I removed the inner tube. Valve in. Tire back on. Still without milk for now. Inflated the tire. – It was just like it’s always been. Just the same thing. No chance.
I also still had the Schwalbe Tire Booster. Maybe it will work with that. It went a little better. But also no chance with that either. Deja vu. It couldn’t be. Everything the same as four years ago?
Youtube always knows what to do. But the videos on fitting tubeless tyres curiously ended where my problems began. Right before pumping. Often an indication that it was me.
The solution?
Then I found it! The video with the knowledge of domination. Schwalbe revealed its knowledge. “Lining the rim could help”, I read in the hits. I watched the video. It looked good. It should be that easy?
But of course. Why not? It sounded logical. At least it looked simple. The problem was actually “only” that I couldn’t move the tire sidewalls into the rim hooks. The tire could be moved with endless compressed air. As also said in the video. But it should also work if the tires sit tighter on the rim, even before mounting. And this can be achieved by applying adhesive tape to the rim recess. It’s that simple. I had to try it out.
So I took the tire off again. I stuck on three layers of insulating tape. Tire back on. Not always so easy with the tight tubeless tires.
It worked!
Unbelievable! I was thrilled! It worked. There was only one place where I heard escaping air. It was enough to push the tire a little with one hand. I was able to inflate the tire completely with just the normal pump and without any problems!
But the milk was still missing. Also the second time the pumping session went just as smoothly as the first time.
The solution to my biggest problem with tubeless tires was that simple. I still can’t believe it. But it was also a really good feeling to have finally done it.
So tubeless again after all?
The plan is to cycle with the tubeless tires in winter until spring training in Mallorca. I won’t be buying new tubeless tires for the season for the time being, as I’ll be using up my existing tires first. But of course, because of the puncture resistance, tubeless tires have unexpectedly become an issue for me again. I’m curious to see how it develops.
