# Tubeless, tubes or tubes with slime?



## sisu (Sep 16, 2006)

Just wondering what y'all are running. So far I've only run tubes, but I'm considering tubeless. I'm sure this has been covered, but I tried searching and didn't get any hits.


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## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

Tubeless. For us, there is not even a question. When we were running tubes, it was not unusual to have multiple flats in a single ride. We went from that experience to not one single bloom'n flat in over a year! I found it difficult to find suitable tubeless wheels and ended up building my own. I used 36 hole Mavic EX823 rims with Continental 2.4 Trail King tires. Not only do we have no flats, we are able to run mid 20s psi, which works great in our terrain with lots of loose gravely climbs. Even at that low pressure, between the stout rim and heavy tire, we have seen no rim damage despite riding in large, sharp gnarly rocks every ride.


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## Okayfine (Sep 7, 2010)

Tubes. Our terrain makes me happier to run 40psi to avoid squirrely handling, and we'll go years between flats.


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

Tubeless. There's no reason to run tubes when you have tires and tubes are designed for tubeless.

Same with cars and motorcycles.

Don't use slime, just run a typical product like Stans.

If you're rims are not to TL, consider making them TL using a split tube, it's very easy, inexpensive, and super reliable.


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## ds2199 (Sep 16, 2008)

We have been running tubeless since 2011 on few different tandems.

Two are set up nearly identically. Velocity Blunt 35 rims with Stan's tape. Front tire is Maxxis Ardent 2.4 (EXO) and rear tire is Panaracer Rampage 2.35. 

This set up works great. I add some additional sealant from time to time and probably replace tires at least once a year (due to wear or occasionally due to a large cut in the tire). We have never had any issues with the tires burping.

The rear rim has a few dings in it, but still seals well. Based on the dings in the tire, I would assume that we would have had numerous "snake bite" flats if we were running tubes.

Tubeless with Stan's is also great for small punctures from thorns, cacti or other misc items. 

I found that it helps if you air up a new tire on a rim for a day or so (or even a few hours) before trying to set up tubeless, it makes it much easier and quicker!

For reference, we usually ride with about 35 to 40 psi.


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## PMK (Oct 12, 2004)

We have never tested or run tubless on our Ventana ECDM. Our setup is Slime tubes with Panaracer Rampage tires. For years we went with no flats. However in the past year we have had two different failures where we ran over a buried root one time and a buried section of pipe another. Both instances sliced through the tire casing and hit the rim strip over the spoke holes. So we not only trashed the tubes, but also the tires.

We do get an occasional flat, noticed normally well after the ride has ended. Not often but it does happen.

I never enjoyed the feeling of the bike with lower pressures. Our typical setup is currently running 50 psi rear and 45 psi front. 

In most cases the worn out tandem tires get moved to my full suspension single, a bit heavy but fine for the purpose.


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## deuxdiesel (Jan 14, 2007)

Surly Toobs on our Pugsley tandem. I think they are made of 1/4" thick rubber, so no flats :thumbsup:


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