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If I mount a standard (tube needed) tire on a tubeless compatible rim will it be easier to remove when I get a flat?

Bicycles Asked by stormyparker on June 23, 2021

I’m running a tube in my tubeless compatible WTB rim and WTB Byway tire and am finding it nearly impossible to break the seal when I’ve gotten flats. If I get standard (non- tubeless compatible?) tires, will make it easier to change flats? Any advice appreciated.

3 Answers

No.

I recently bought an e-road-bike. It had two 28-spoke wheels with straight gauge 2mm spokes, rims without eyelets and no-name hubs that don't have cup and cone bearings. The rims are tubeless compatible. The stock setup had inner tubes, though.

Then I wanted to put some GP5000 28mm non-tubeless tires on the rims. Removing the old tires and putting in new tires was a major chore. I estimate I had to fight about 30-40 minutes per wheel and in the process I punctured one inner tube with tire levers and had to replace that tube.

A bit later, the front wheel lost all spoke tension. I presume it was due to having only 28 spokes, not strong enough, and was probably made worse by the spokes being straight gauge.

The bike shop that sold the bike had a clever "solution": put thread glue into the nipples and tension each spoke to a varying not-so-high tension.

Needless to say, my final solution was that I hand built a new wheelset. I specifically chose non tubeless compatible rims having double eyelets and 36 spoke holes, cup and cone bearing hubs and 2.34mm/1.8mm/2.0mm triple butted spokes.

I can repeatedly install the very same tire on the new wheelset, without using any tire levers, in far less than 5 minutes, without ever puncturing the inner tube in the process.

So, most likely you'll need to get rid of the awful tubeless compatible rims and put some non tubeless compatible rims there. The easiest and best way to get a non tubeless compatible rim is to select one having double eyelets -- those are not compatible with tubeless setups. The double eyelet rims are stronger and far less likely to crack around the spoke holes as a bonus.

Answered by juhist on June 23, 2021

The difficulty rating varies by tire and rim and which combinations are used. Some tires may come off easier on some wheels and be more difficult on others. In general tubeless rims make it more difficult to break the bead loose. The reason is that tubeless rims have an extra bump next to the spoke holes. The purpose of which is to keep the tire from unseating in the event of a flat. You may want to try putting the tires on and off a few times to find a technique that works best. I recently bought a Crank Brothers Speedier Tire Lever which is different from the standard levers. The rims I have used it on weren't tubeless but it did seem easier to get the tire off.

Answered by mikes on June 23, 2021

On average yes it probably will be easier with non-tubeless tires, because the bead of a tubeless tire is trying to form the tightest lock into the rim it can achieve and they're mostly pretty good at that these days. What's harder to say is what tire to get and how much easier it will be. The rims provide a lot of locking force themselves. The other side to this is many of the more desirable tires these days are tubeless tires.

It may seem reckless, but one approach is lay the wheel on the ground, pad the rim on the other side, and use your heels. If you do it thoughtfully you won't hurt anything. There are tires I wouldn't do this to, but Byways aren't all that fragile/light in the sidewall so I think it should be fine.

Answered by Nathan Knutson on June 23, 2021

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