I just did my first ride with Hutchinson Fusion 2 tubeless tires with Stan's sealant/rim tape kit on my stock Aero R500 wheels. Easy to install and the ride was great. Best of all, no flats. I ride rural roads and was getting flats literally every other time out over the past couple of weeks so I decided to try tubeless and was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the ride. Stan himself demonstrating an install. http://www.youtube.com/user/StansNoTubes#p/a/u/0/af6nWFj6S8Y The kit, which gives a pretty good deal on the tires. http://www.notubes.com/product_info.php/cPath/21_58/products_id/416 According to Stan you can use the Fusion 2 on just about any road rim but if the spoke holes are exposed, you need the special rim tape to seal.

I have the same set-up on my DT Swiss R1.1 wheels, and I love them. As the Fusions wear out (after approx 2000 miles) I'm replacing them with Hutchinson Intense (25mm width) which are a bit heavier (310 grams) but longer lasting, so I'm told. The ride is fantastic, I can go to 80 psi if I wanted. Great for roads with broken pavement, and dirt/gravel roads. Some guys pump up their tires to 120-130 psi, which I think is nuts. Like riding on steel bands, and such pressures don't hold up on bad roads.

BTW, Stan himself makes his rims with the spoke holes exposed, and uses the yellow tape. lighter that way.

At first I didn't believe all the hype when they came out a few years ago.  Yet, last year when I bought my new bike which was spec'd with Fulcrum Zero's, I had them upgrade to the 2-way fit to ride tubeless.  Cost another 200$ for the upgrade.  I have been on the Hutchinson Fusion Tubeless all season with over 4000km...  I run them at 90psi and think they are the best clincher set up I have used.

Yeah, I don't understand either why anyone would ever pump up to 120-130 psi. I'm 6-2, weigh 180lbs, and have never pumped up past 100. Now that have this set up I'm going to try 90 psi on my next ride. Even at 100 these tires felt smoother so 90 should feel great on the rough spots, but still have enough rigidity to feel snappy when I want to hammer.

Some interesting points here:

1) Puncture resistance - this is because of the solution (sold by many manufacturers now) which can also be injected into bicycle tubes to have the same effect.

2) Tubeless MTB - Has benefits for MTB as you can reduce pressure without the risk of pinched flats.  That stated, if you ride so little pressure then you risk damaging the rim on MTB.  Used them many years ago but went back to tubed setup because they don't stop sidewall cut flats.  Also you can get an MTB tubed setup that is lighter than tubeless, if you use a tubeless tyre (heavy).  Low pressure for MTB gives good grip and goes faster on dirt.

3) Tubeless Road - Different story when it comes to the road.  Lower pressure reduces speed on most road surfaces (depending on how low you go).  The only reason to go to tubeless is because you want to go to crazy low pressures but what is the point?  From say 80psi it is very soft already (I weigh 65kg) and good for cobbled/rough surfaces but you can accommodate that with tube setup anyway.  I don't see any benefit for the roadie.  The limitations are reduced number of tyres to choose from and if tubeless specific rim then you get hassles with rounded nipples (not applicable with tape/airtight rim strip setup). 

leegil:

The only reason to go to tubeless is because you want to go to crazy low pressures but what is the point?  From say 80psi it is very soft already (I weigh 65kg) and good for cobbled/rough surfaces but you can accommodate that with tube setup anyway.  I don't see any benefit for the roadie.  The limitations are reduced number of tyres to choose from and if tubeless specific rim then you get hassles with rounded nipples (not applicable with tape/airtight rim strip setup). 

The biggest reason people go tubeless is flat resistance. I've ridden a season and a half on tubeless and don't even bother bringing a spare anymore.

The 2nd reason is ride quality - you can ride softer pressure on bad roads and not worry about pinch flats. If you rode higher than 100 psi on bad roads you'd be killing yourself. This point may be lost on riders who only ride on smooth roads. There are plenty of riders in my area who never stray from the main roads because they have smooth blacktop - all they care about is a nice shoulder. To me that's no fun at all. I hate cars; I seek out the small back roads - but that's where you hit the bad pavement and dirt.

The 3rd reason is lower rolling resistance, which is substantial depending who you talk to. Campagnolo thinks it's the future of clinchers and plans to make all their wheels tubeless ready. But you can use any wheel with Stan's yellow rim tape - it doesn't weigh any more than Velox.

Also, I tried tubes with sealant in them. I didn't like it. My wheel became very out of balance since the solution didn't evenly coat. Once mounted properly, tubeless are just much easier to deal with. I'm less concerned about psi and more concerned about not getting flats. The capper is the Hutchinson Fusion 2. It's just a really nice tire regardless of the tubeless aspect. It's nice to have alternative approaches. I'm pretty happy with mine.

Can you put them on a 50mm carbon wheel? From what I see, they only come with small valves.

Having used tubeless before I have not been a fan of them myself. However I do like the puncture sealants out there.

Sealant

Alex G - The solution exiting the tyre carries the particles that plug the holes. It is the medium that carries the particles. When the tyre is spinning so fast it should naturally coat quite evenly before it pools. It is not suppose to completely coat. It will only stop punctures from the outer tread surface, not sidewalls (too much flex) or pierce through the internal diameter of the tube (if running a tube or tubular) – centripetal force pushes liquid to outside surface.

I am currently using it on the tubes and luckily have not had a puncture to test its effectiveness. A couple of the other local riders have used it in their tubes and they have been very happy with the sealant in the tubes. It works just fine for them. Alex G - Surprised to hear you had balancing issues. Bad luck on that.

Tubeless

When it comes to pinched flats I’d be much more worried about the damage it would cause to the rim than the puncture itself. 80psi is still a lot of pressure (for me) and to get a pinched flat would demand a big whack (depending on your weight). Yes it will stop pinched flats but worry more about your rim. Eg. When in an MTB race I suffered a big whack running tubeless (running too low pressure) but I was able to keep riding. The rim however was a throw away. I personally try not to run too low that it would risk damaging the rim (especially a carbon rim).

The other way to get flats is through external object penetrating the tyre carcass (you just cannot beat those “angry” nails). You can purchase comparatively tubed tyres with better protection that would stop punctures (or heavier puncture strip option). A tubeless tyre is just a tyre with 3/4 a tube built into it but with a stronger non-stretch bead.

Rolling resistance – I never noticed any difference but it would be interesting to see some unbiased tests on this (not marketing). Given the fact that lower pressure on the road will increase rolling resistance the trade-off is from friction between the tyre and tube will give you a greater gain. My gut tells me this is more marketing, but hey, I can be proven wrong.

If tubeless works for you then great. If the puncture solution works for you then that is great as well (it works for me). It is just good to note the limitations of the goods out there and not exceed expectations. I still carry a lightweight spare tyre because if you are 30+km away in the middle of nowhere you really don’t want to wait for the next rider that may come along.

Tubeless rim tapes out there are probably the best way to convert and try tubeless for yourself without needing new wheels (just tubeless specific tyres, otherwise it will blow off the rim).

Jasann – You can install it on any wheel – just need an airtight seal (rim tape, valve and tyre).  Try Mavic valves as well if it does not fit.

Jasann:

Can you put them on a 50mm carbon wheel? From what I see, they only come with small valves.

You would have to use valve extensions. the most common applications are MTB and cyclocross use. The cyclocross valves are deeper cause more riders are using deep section rims for cross, but not 50mm.

The sealant technology is pretty simple. Not sure why the tube had a balancing issue, but it did and it was pretty bad. Also, Stan's sealant will seal the sidewalls. Watch this video. The proof is at the very end. http://www.youtube.com/user/StansNoTubes#p/a/u/0/af6nWFj6S8Y pretty impressive. I really don't feel victim to marketing on this. I really think this is a good set up.

For the record I'm 150 pounds and I keep my tires at 120 psi.  I haven't had a flat in 4000 miles - the nozzles have worn out on my tubes and the tires wore out before I ever punctured.  I don't use anything but regular tubes and my bike rides great.  Call me crazy if you like though.

 Seems like a neat product though - maybe I'll look it up.

I use to run tubulars with Stans latex solution.  The angry nail went through the tread and sidewall.  It sealed the hole in the tread area but not on the sidewall for long before leaking again.  Then I had to call a taxi home as I was not carrying a spare.  I also got rid of the tubulars after that.

This also happend on MTB on three instances (direct sidewall cuts, not tread).  After that, I decided to go for a lighter setup with lightweight tube and tyre combination.  If you go low pressure (say <80psi) the more movement on the sidewall. 

The vid shows him shaking the wheel when he mounts the tyre so that the latex sloshes up the side of the sidewall to cover sidewall holes.  If you are riding along you wont be shaking it like that and by the time you stop it may be flat.  It really depends how much solution you put in there.  The more sealant you have in the tyre the more area it will cover (imagine a pool of water in the tyre/tube and how much area it covers) and weight increase.  You need enough latex to pool to cover the back of the potential hole as you ride.

Most punctures happen on the tread area only so you wil most likely be safe.  Getting punctures is not that common anyway (depending on where you ride and how lucky you are).

By all means give it a go and try for yourself.  I did, and still use latex but I dont expect it to protect everything.

 

I worked in a bike shop last summer that sold a lot of tubeless tires. When you mount the tires you have to shake the wheels to get the solution on the tire bead after mounting. After that it's not necessary. The owner would repeatedly puncture tires through the sidewall to impress customers. And he was doing it to the other mechanic's commuter (he kept riding without problems). But the sealant is no defense against slashes or cuts - just punctures. Pinch flats are impossible - the tire itself is airtight and not reliant on a thin coating. Tubes will be a thing of the past in a few years.

Time will tell. I just know I had bad luck with tubes on my roads for some reason and only tried this option as a remedy, not a luxury purchase. Another cool thing, as long as the sealant level is good (I think you have to add some about once a month), you only need to carry a C02 cartridge instead of a pump in the event air is lost from a sidewall puncture (i.e. find the puncture, shake the tire, inflate). One less thing to mount on my frame and I don't have to worry about carrying or installing a new tube on the ride.