I just installed new tires (Schwalbe RS One) onto new rims (RaceFace ARC Offset) and it was so much easier than even 3 years ago, the last time I had new rims. I was able to get the tires to seat with just a hand pump!
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I’ve gone the opposite way. After having two flats on the road with tubeless that didn’t self-seal and took forever for me to clean the tire and rim, get the valve out, and put in a tube, I decided to just go with tubes all the time. But damn… trying to put TR tires on TR rims is hard as hell! I gave up twice before I finally got them on, but had to buy a tool to get the tire bead over the rim. IMO, it was so much easier before “we” (meaning the bike industry) decided to “fix” the tires by going tubeless. YMMV
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I think this is also just a product of rim width. I’ve swapped between Pathfinder 50mm and GP5ks on Roval Terra CLX wheels in 10 minutes. I’ve spent far longer fighting those GPs onto some HED Ardennes with 21mm internal width.
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Oh, yes, rim width probably does help a lot for the getting tires on, but I think for the sealing, the tolerances have gotten a lot better.
Dish soap! After wrestling with a conti TR and rim for an hour I turned to google, it suggested few things including putting dish soap on the rim and the tyre. Hey presto, tyre seated straight away. Problem solved.
Interesting. My mileage has definitely varied. I’m on tubeless and have never had a puncture that hasn’t sealed alone (Silca Ultimate, topped up with 60ml every 3 months) or with a Dynaplug. Zero pinch flat obviously and thorns or glass that would puncture a tube seal without me even noticing until I get home and see some spots of sealant on the rim or frame.
But now you’re back on tubes I do have some good news. Clincher tyres (ie not TR variants) come on and off modern TR rims by hand pressure alone. They rely on the tube pressure to hold them against the hook or sidewall if hookless.
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Thanks, Chris. Yeah… my experience has definitely been different. As far as I know, I’ve only had one puncture that sealed (I had to top up the inflation, which is how I knew). I probably had more that sealed that I didn’t know about. The two that didn’t seal were near the rim/tire junction and yeah… i tried everything (even a boot!) to get the sealant to hold. They were both major PITAs as I described above. BTW, I used Silca sealant, too.
Totally agree that I should use non-TR clinchers, but in my zeal to embrace tubeless, I have a bunch of TR tires on my shelf that I bought during sales. So to some degree, I will admit I am the architech of my own problem. I may go back to tubeless on one set of Zipp wheels that are hookless. Not sure I really trust the tube/hookless combo. But my own experience has been that since I rarely got flats with tubes (I’m sort of anal about tire inflation), for me, tubeless is a solution in search of a problem. However, I will concede that tubeless probably sealed 100% of the punctures I didn’t know I incurred. I just find the hassle around tubeless to not be worth it for me. But I appreciate your taking the time to reply. Cheers!
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I hear you. Some of my bikes have one wheel tubless and one tubed, because I get tired of topping up one with air before every ride. They both get the same amount of punctures. I have to be super careful when bikepacking as certain tire/rim combos are so ridiculously tight that its feasible you might not be able to even unseat your tyre to throw a tube in after a sidewall gash in the boonies, so I try to stay clear of them. The amount of acessories you need to take for tubeless is such that i just take tubes. No gizz, c02s or plugs.