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Bike maintenance for dummies.

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jacdaw Oct 2024 7:13pm, 26 Oct 2024 4,634 posts	Quote Pin jacdaw I spent all afternoon fitting gp5000AS tyres. Finally got them both on... realised one was "backwards", took it off, took forever to get back on, trashed my last inner tube in the process. Is this because they are "tubeless ready"? So pissed off, I've ordered a Panaracer to take on longer rides, cos if I get a puncture I'm not spending 2 hours changing the Contis in the cold. I might consider tubeless, but they look like more hassle than they're worth, and (I think) I'd need new wheels. Also I may be regretting my choice of cream walls, despite how lovely they look.
Dingbat Oct 2024 7:23pm, 26 Oct 2024 696 posts	Quote Pin Dingbat I don't think there is a "general consensus" for tubeless and your club's opinions reflect that. Personally I went tubeless on road bikes about 7 years / 50000 miles ago. Sometimes it can be hassle getting a tyre to seat but normally they go on without problem. The same can be said when using tubes but the difference is you'll change a tubeless tyre in the comfort of your own home / garage whereas you change a tube in the rain at the side of the road. My experience is I just don't get punctures any more. Actually I have had a few punctures but they've sealed and I've carried on riding, often oblivious to the puncture.
Northern Exile Oct 2024 7:51pm, 26 Oct 2024 10,562 posts	Quote Pin Northern Exile This is the sort of thing I need to hear, I got stranded in the middle of the Bowland Fells recently because of a pinch flat and then the valve failed in the replacement [TPU] tube. I've heard they can be difficult to seat, do you use tape or a rim-specific seal? My new wheels will come with a seal I think. Jacdaw - I share your angst. Contis have always been swines to get on and off haven't they? And 5000AS was one of my considered options on project new bike, I think the tan side walls will go really well with the colour.
MudMeanderer Oct 2024 8:28pm, 26 Oct 2024 2,668 posts	Quote Pin MudMeanderer My feeling is tubeless is fine until it isn't. You may get fewer punctures, but if it doesn't work it's an absolute pain. It can be very tyre and wheel combination dependent. Some work well, others will cause problems. I've spent several weeks trying various methods to get a tubeless cx tyre trying to fit, seat and seal, and in the first race it burped and I was lucky to hold it up. I eventually gave up and went back to tubes Indeed, because almost all my tubeless issues have been due to burping, I'm not sure I'd trust road tubeless. I don't recall ever going down from a puncture in a tube, but if it did so on a corner (the situation most likely to induce a burp), I'm not sure I'd be able to hold it up.
Yorkshire Pie Oct 2024 8:49pm, 26 Oct 2024 15,728 posts	Quote Pin Yorkshire Pie Whereas I have rarely had a problem with it and run tubeless on three road bikes and a cross bike. I've had one major issue when we were on holiday once (if we'd been at home I might have had a proper investigate rather than keeping going and hoping it would be ok...), one time where it didn't seal at first but was ok after I got home and put new sealant in, and no real issues apart from that. I had one tyre that wouldn't seat and I ended up running it with a tube, but all the rest were fine including some contis.
larkim Oct 2024 3:08pm, 27 Oct 2024 25,924 posts	Quote Pin larkim I've only ever done "ghetto" tubeless on rims that werent tubeless ready (per the manufacturer) and sometimes with tyres that weren't tubeless ready. Gorilla tape for rim tape, a coke bottle inflator, stans fluid and some washing up liquid. The simple saving in terms of inner tubes is worth the 20 minutes in the garage to get them inflated. I've now made an inflator out of an empty co2 fire extinguisher which I pressurise with the tyre inflator from the car and it's even less hassle than it was!
Stepford Wife Oct 2024 4:18pm, 28 Oct 2024 19,322 posts	Quote Pin Stepford Wife Can’t remember last time I wasn’t tubeless on any bike. The technology has just got better and better, especially for narrower, higher pressure tyres. Lubricating the tyre wall and rim as you are seating the tyre the first time you mount the tyre is key in my experience. I use Schwalbe’s easy fit but you can make your own with dilute washing up liquid. As I no longer have a compressor this allows me to mount most tyres with just the track pump. If that fails, I do have an air shot too. In general narrow tyres are trickier to get to seat than MTB. The trick is to get air flowing in quickly around the valve area. I find sometimes manipulating the tyre with one hand to make sure the air is going into the tyre rather than escaping can work wonders. Then just keep on top of the sealant - if you use a very liquid sealant then shaking the wheel and hearing a slosh inside means you have enough in there. Take a plugging system on rides, and if you’re unfortunate to slash a tyre then it’s limp home time on a gel wrapper and a tube whatever system you prefer. Fab system. Absolutely love it.
jacdaw 15 Feb 2:01pm, 15 Feb 2025 4,727 posts	Quote Pin jacdaw Can anybody recommend a decent wheel truing stand? Not expensive is good, as is not rubbish. Also, how useful is a spoke tension meter / gauge / tool? Especially the 20 quid Chinese Park Tools clones?
Stepford Wife 15 Feb 2:22pm, 15 Feb 2025 19,329 posts	Quote Pin Stepford Wife If you are trying rather than building wheels then a tension meter isn’t all that useful. If you get into building then they can be very useful things. I’m presuming the cheap ones will be fine for a ballpark figure, and remember no wheel failed from being over tensioned. Jigs are just dear though. I have a very old Park Tools one which likes to knock itself out of alignment on a regular basis. One day I’ll treat it to a rebuild. Jigs do tend to last a while though. The only issue is keeping an eye on alignment which is where a dishing tool comes in handy to check.
jacdaw 15 Feb 2:36pm, 15 Feb 2025 4,728 posts	Quote Pin jacdaw At the moment I need to true a couple of wheels (including one with hidden / internal nipples, which is probably going to somebody who knows what they are doing). But the idea of wheel building does fascinate me. I'd forgotten about a dishing tool, so that's another £50 (for a Park one).