Tubeless update- things can go boom

OK three more races plus a lot of grave road riding up North and things still seem petty much to be working as advertised- for me. Not necessarily working as well for others.

So here is the update:

Guelph was dry and there was no reason I could see to run less than 40 PSI – so that is what I did. I Used the Dura-Ace wheels and pretty much did not have a thought about wheels or tires all race. So that was all good. From there the wife and I took a quick trip to the North end of the Bruce Peninsula for a few days. While up there I did a lot of Gravel road riding- all on the Mavics. Even found a bit of rocky double track. 3 days of riding and never added any air and had no problems with the tires.

On our return I did another ride on the Mavics- playing in the local park with about 25PSI – no problems. My faith in the converted rims grows.

Hillbilly Hustle. The first really sloppy course- with some roots and rocks as well. Almost raced the Mavics – but they are a terrible match with my brakes. I hope to play with that tomorrow- though work might get in the way? Anyway rode the Dura-Ace set-up at around 35 PSI. No problems though the tires did not shed mud as well as I would like.

On a side note the Mavic front wheel ended up on Rod’s bike for some of the race after  he rolled a tubular. I think they had between 30 and 35 PSI in them? Anyway trouble free – so that is good data for me and again adds to my faith in the converted rims –and the very tight fit using the Stan’s rim strip.

Ziggy’s Oktoberfest. Again a mainly dry course so no real need for very low pressure. I rode the Dura-ace set-up again and did not add any air from the day before. Once more things seemed pretty much on track. I thought I heard a minor burp on one of the corners but at the end tire pressure seemed the same.

Still not all is well in the tubeless world. I am not the only one doing this experiment locally. Jason was running the exact same set-up as me: Dura-ace tubeless ready wheels, Hutchinson tires, and Stan’s sealant – at around 40PSI. And he blew his rear tire off the rim on one of the off camber turns. He was able to get it to re-inflate in the pits no problem – but obviously this is not what you want to have happen during a race. He is thinking it might be the Stan’s – since it is not the same viscosity as the Hutchinson sealant?

On the flip side unlike a rolled tubular or a flat clincher – you could pretty easily carry a CO2 canister and re-inflate at the point of the “explosion” and continue on – which is likely to be better than running to the pits. Of course one is not likely to ride with much vigor if they are wondering if their tires will make it to the finish line.

So the experiment continues. I need to get my brakes sorted so I can race on the Mavics. My thinking at this point is that if you are going to go this route that buying the Dura-Ace wheels is not the best path since the converted rims actually seem to work more like a tubular due to the really tight fit which allows you to safely run lower pressures. We shall see.

So those of you who insist on passing me (a few more than usual today) are forewarned- there is now empirical data showing that these tires can blow off a rim. So be forewarned that passing me is truly a risky endeavor – and not just because of my bike handling abilities.