Quote Originally Posted by WrensMom
So, Madisongrrl, just curious (and hijacking my own thread), but do you use the tubeless setup all the time, or only on your racing bike? I am just wondering if you see it as an advantage overall, or just for racing or what. Are tubeless tires the wave of the future, or are there practical limitations to them that will result in most folks still having tubes for the forseeable future? Obviously, tubeless tires are what cars and motorcycles use now, and that's great, so maybe it is the same deal with bikes?
I have a tubeless set up on my full suspension mountain bike. My other bikes are older so they have a tubed set up (I think they also have conversion kits that you can turn your tubed wheelset into a tubeless one with stans rim strips). I think there is a huge advantage for not only racing, but mountain biking in general. You can run you tire pressure way lower with tubeless than tubed. And all you need to carry with you is C02. It is possible to tear a sidewall of your tubeless tire (I haven't done it)...which is why some people still carry tubes. But you could also tear the sidewall of a tubed tire so you might be "screwed" either way.

Many people say that tubeless set up performs better than tubed (they roll faster, accelerate quicker are more comfortable etc). But it is hard for me to compare because the bike I have them on is so much nicer than my old hardtail that it is not an "apples to apples" comparison.


Here is an article that explains the pros and cons of each.
http://mountainbike.about.com/od/buy...less_ornot.htm