# tubes or tubless for ebikes?



## Telewacker (Oct 5, 2005)

I've been running tubeless for years but I'm buying ebikes and they are being run with tubes. My inclination is to switch to tubeless but thought I'd ask here what you guys are using. The bikes are Specialized Turbo Levo Comps. I've found one for my wife and am still looking for one for myself. I'm assuming the rims and Butcher tires are tubeless ready? Any opinions?


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## CRM6 (Apr 7, 2021)

I run my ebike Intense Tazer tubless…. I have recently added Cush Core. I have CC in both my bikes,but my peddle bike has lower air pressure.


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## RBoardman (Dec 27, 2014)

Tubeless, but make sure to fill up with that ebike specific air. It’s a little more expensive, but well worth the money.


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## Shark (Feb 4, 2006)

RBoardman said:


> Tubeless, but make sure to fill up with that ebike specific air. It's a little more expensive, but well worth the money.


Exactly. The analog air won't work.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

Tubeless for winter e-fatties.


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## Telewacker (Oct 5, 2005)

mtnbkrmike said:


> Tubeless for winter e-fatties.
> 
> View attachment 1942476


No winter riding here in Cali.


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## Darth Lefty (Sep 29, 2014)

Would you believe you can have this exact same conversation on the ADVRider forum?


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## Forest Rider (Oct 29, 2018)

Darth Lefty said:


> Would you believe you can have this exact same conversation on the ADVRider forum?


Well that is just stupid -for a bicycle rider to hop into a motorcycle thread. How bizarre.

Couldn't even get to 10 posts before the ass's had to show up could we. It seems like a tire/pressure thread would be harmless.


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## Ripbird (Jun 25, 2020)

Forest Rider said:


> Well that is just stupid -for a bicycle rider to hop into a motorcycle thread. How bizarre.
> 
> Couldn't even get to 10 posts before the ass's had to show up could we. It seems like a tire/pressure thread would be harmless.


The spawn like ants around here and they are quick to team up like a bunch of geeks!


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## blueglide (Apr 23, 2020)

Tubeless on SC Heckler


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## Flyer (Jan 25, 2004)

Tubeless for sure, and just like my regular MTB and fattie. I also do tubeless gravel. Road bike still has tubes but I have experimented with tubeless with good luck, and make do that soon, since I use wider rims and lower pressures now. 

Your rims should be tubeless ready and tires too. If you already have tubeless tape on those rims, the tubes will have squished them down really well and you should be ready to convert easily. For lower-pressure applications like mountain bikes and e-bikes, tubeless is a no brainer. My e-bike has fat-ish tire (3.0) so I use 14/15 PSI. I would not dare run tubes. I'd probably pinch flat somewhere at some point and thorn flats are easy on a few trails.


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## Whiterabbitt (May 16, 2020)

My 58 lb 2020 Kenevo with big battery and coil suspension everywhere runs on tubeless, and the tire sidewalls are so supportive I can run the tires at 12 psi without danger to burp air (but I weigh 150). Though riding 12 psi is ridiculous so I ride 18 sometimes 20 and sometimes 16. (which is still ridiculous, but grippy!)


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## DtEW (Jun 14, 2004)

Two MY21 Specialized Turbo Levo Comps running tubeless for my household. Seems like the OP is talking about the same. The stock setup is fully tubeless ready, and works flawlessly with the simplest of conversions. Just make sure you receive the tubeless stems (the ones that work with your stock rims have a round base, and form a seal with your rim with a thick O-ring) that are supposed to come in your Owner's Box.

I use the Specialized tubeless goop ("2Bliss", even though I have Stan's on hand) not because I particularly like it, but so that I can yell at my Specialized dealer if it comes down to that (it has not come down to that; it has all been pretty seamless).

The good/bad thing about the Specialized tubeless goop is that it comes in a clear bottle, so you can see the hard-packed sedimentation (from sitting on a shelf in the store) at the bottom. It took me almost 15 minutes of shaking to fully resuspend it. Bad: 15 minutes of shaking. Good: I'm pretty confident that the sealant that went into my tires has the full range of particulates that are supposed be in there.


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## Telewacker (Oct 5, 2005)

Whiterabbitt said:


> My 58 lb 2020 Kenevo with big battery and coil suspension everywhere runs on tubeless, and the tire sidewalls are so supportive I can run the tires at 12 psi without danger to burp air (but I weigh 150). Though riding 12 psi is ridiculous so I ride 18 sometimes 20 and sometimes 16. (which is still ridiculous, but grippy!)


I run my 29 x 3.0 DHF @ 10lbs on the front wheel of my Enduro bike.


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## Whiterabbitt (May 16, 2020)

I can see why. seems on my bike though I get no grip advantage below 16, so I stop there, and typically run 17.5


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## kntr (Jan 25, 2004)

mtnbkrmike said:


> Tubeless for winter e-fatties.
> 
> View attachment 1942476


I thought you sold these. Do you still have em?


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## mtnbkrmike (Mar 26, 2015)

kntr said:


> I thought you sold these. Do you still have em?


Indeed I do. My daughter and I got over 50 legit mountain rides in on them this past winter.

I will say this though - tubeless in winter, tubed for the other 3 seasons. Why? Because I didn't expect to ride them much and I haven't - not even once since the snow last flew. The last thing I need is to have these continually flat in my garage.


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## _CJ (May 1, 2014)

I'm a tube guy, with sealant in them, and a spare tube and patch kit in my pack. I'll probably switch to Tannus Armor at some point though, which is still a tube system.


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## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

Well I had problems, lots and lots of problems with flat tires.
Thorn proof tubes helps out a bit.
Thicker tread tires like Swalbe Marathon helps out too.
Schwalbe has a good website stating the durability of their tires, like I said the Marathon Plus is a good thick tread tire.
Moving from rear hub to front hub works best for really heavy setups on bicycle gear if your having lots of flats.
But....
Once I swapped the bicycle rim and bicycle tires and bicycle tubes to a 19" x 1.40 moped/motorcycle rim, laced to a rear hub motor with J.Holmes spokes (larger j-head and nipples for larger holes on hub motor and larger holes of rim) and UHD 5mm motorcycle tubes and a very stout moped/motorcycle 19x3.00 tire I had zero issues with having flat tires.
But it added even more weight, a lot of weight but it was worth not having flat tires all the time.

Lighter setups don't have the same problem, but the key is to use quality parts and do a good hub motor lacing. The first one takes a long time, but after you do a few it gets faster and easier.

Sealants are to messy and gooey and seem to mess up the valve.
and tubeless is all the rave these days.

I wouldnt consider going inserts like the foam until a very last resort. I considered it but went to motorcycle setup.
First motorcycle setup on an electric bicycle was a used rim $40, with normal bicycle spokes custom cut/reamed sapim spokes $60, using standard washers for the large holes on rim/hub. Never had a flat tire where I was literally getting a flat tire once a week. Its all the weight pegged on the motor and when given throttle get flat. Thats why the front hub with less weight pegged on it doesnt get flat tires, but the handling is way different but its good for casual riding.


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