# Commuting Tubeless?



## UrbanPrimitive (Jun 14, 2009)

I've been trying to figure out a way that I can consistently commute to work through the winter and I keep hitting my head against a wall when it comes to tires. I'm intrigued by the notion of running tubeless studded tires in the winter. Living in Michigan we get a fair amount of snow. More than that living in a town with not one, not two, but _four_ colleges (and all the broken glass that implies) I'm wondering about what commuting on tubeless tires looks like in terms of puncture resistance and on-the-road repairs. Can anyone give me "Tubeless 101" or any advice on commuting in winter conditions that involve a fair amount of snow and a lot of ice?


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Nokian Studded tires.

'Nuff said.


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## Scott B (Dec 1, 2004)

MB1 said:


> Nokian Studded tires.
> 
> 'Nuff said.


He speaks truth. Mine, with tubes, have been very tough so far even dodging around some poor quality urban streets.


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

I work in da 'hood, and all the broken glass that implies.

This is my fifth Upstate NY winter of daily commutes on a set of 700x35 Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106s. I've run them as low as 20 PSI without incident, and with tubes. On dry days I run them around 40 or 45 PSI. I have never had a puncture with them.

I've never heard of tubeless winter tires. What's your attraction to tubeless winter tires, anyway?


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## m_s (Nov 20, 2007)

I wonder if stans or similar would work at those temperatures. I've thought about this as well sometimes, as flatting when it's very cold really, really, really sucks. Fortunately I've also found that when there's snow on the road I seem to get fewer flats. When it melts is another story entirely and all that crap is left on the shoulder.

I probably just jinxed myself.


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## UrbanPrimitive (Jun 14, 2009)

brucew said:


> What's your attraction to tubeless winter tires, anyway?


A large part of my interest is curiosity. I don't know much about tubeless tires and am curious about what activities they lend themselves to. Being able to run tires at lower pressure for better traction is quite appealing as around here we tend to have almost equal parts ice and snow. In looking for relatively narrow studded tires I kept coming across tubeless tires and started to wonder if that's where I should be looking. Keeping the tires fairly narrow is necessary for clearance issues as my frame is a bit tight in that regard. Unfortunately all I could find out looking for previous posts about tubeless set-ups was that some people would sing their praise unto death and others thought it was overblown. I haven't been able to find any real numbers to crunch for or against them. So I thought I'd ask the commuters here what they think. Riding through six to eight inches of snow over ice on 25mm slicks requires, shall we say, a bolder rider than me.


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

UrbanPrimitive said:


> Riding through six to eight inches of snow over ice on 25mm slicks requires, shall we say, a bolder rider than me.


Bolder than the rest of us too. You'll notice we all recommended studded snow tires. Narrowest ones made on the planet are 32mm.

I've been fooled by the forecasters a couple of times and had to ride home in a half-inch to an inch on 25mm Gatorskins. A non-issue in the typical Great Lakes wet, gloppy "slush from the skies" snow. I just slow way down, shift my weight back and take it easy. As soon as the snow firms up and won't goosh out from under the tires, it's another story.


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

UrbanPrimitive said:


> I'm intrigued by the notion of running tubeless studded tires in the winter.


just look into a conversion kit from Stans or CaffeLatex and convert your existing rims with their tape, add a valve core and some goo and *viola*, you're tubeless. Still carry a tube in case you slice a tire bigger than the goo can seal. You'll be able to run nice low PSI on the studded without pinch flatting.

I'm been running this on my MTB for a few years and I'm in the process of converting the CX wheels. The road bike 23's are next.


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

Hollywood said:


> just look into a conversion kit from Stans or CaffeLatex and convert your existing rims with their tape, add a valve core and some goo and *viola*, you're tubeless. Still carry a tube in case you slice a tire bigger than the goo can seal. You'll be able to run nice low PSI on the studded without pinch flatting.
> 
> I'm been running this on my MTB for a few years and I'm in the process of converting the CX wheels. The road bike 23's are next.


Ah!

You answered my question :thumbsup: !


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

MB1 said:


> Nokian Studded tires.
> 
> 'Nuff said.




ooh, that looks fun!


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

**really* cold?*

Can't remember where, but I read an article about a race in Alaska in the winter, where temperatures were like -50 F or colder. The butyl tubes were so cold they kept falling apart if they were stretched inside the larger mtb tires at all, and they noted that this was critical, as at those temps you never want to stop. Tubeless probably makes sense there. Doubt if any sealant remains fluid at those temps, though.


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## jmkimmel (Jul 13, 2007)

Just so's you guys know, stan's will freeze at a low enough temp. I took the MTB out for a spin during a storm here in Boston - air temp was low teens, road(snow) surface temp was most likely lower since it was early morning...but I had a puncture, and when I pulled the tire off to fix it, the stans was frozen inside the tire. It was nicely distributed around the tire, as it had frozen while riding, but wasn't exactly effective.


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

jmkimmel said:


> Just so's you guys know, stan's will freeze at a low enough temp.


interesting. Not really an issue here in SoCal  

we have to worry about it drying up in the summer though. I wonder of you could modify the Stans stuff to keep it from freezing?


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## saf-t (Sep 24, 2008)

If you're going to be running studded tires (absoutely necessary with ice), I'm not sure what advantage you'd gain being tubeless. My Nokians have been absolutely flatproof (over a range of inflation pressures) for the past three years, and any weight difference would be meaninglesss.


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## strathconaman (Jul 3, 2003)

*I don't mean to be picky but*

If you are truly looking to find:

"...a way that I can consistently commute to work through the winter and I keep hitting my head against a wall when it comes to tires."

Then tubeless is your answer. If you ride to work over glass and freezing temperatures, tubeless will allow you to constantly commute and keep hitting your head against a wall.

If you are looking to commute without the head banging read:

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

Then choose a tire from that page and run with thick tubes.

That is all. And I apologize for the English lesson.


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