Functional bikes. Not Porn not Anti

I guess it goes against received wisdom of keeping things as simple as possible and relying on tried and tested technology à la frame pumps, bar end shifters etc. If you rip a sidewall on a tubeless, it's a messy afair to sort out by all accounts. That said, I'd still want a tubeless compatible rim for off-road funtimes.

You're stuck either way with normal tyres if the sidewall got ripped.

It's still an advantage if you carry spare inner tube as well, the difference is simply that tubeless will be messier.

tubed mean inner tube can be repaired, I was thinking about carrying sealant with you, but would be redundant if the cut is a little too big for the sealant to be effective, a cut that can be remedy by putting something between the tyres and inner tube (like duct tape) to stop the inner tube from poking out.

My commuter runs Schwalbe One tubeless tyres on Ultegra 6800 wheels, each filled with 30ml of Stan's juice.

I recently sustained a 2-3mm sidewall tear, with immediate deflation. Not having a spare with me it was shanks' pony all the way home. The inside of the tyre needed cleaning off with a paper towel, I then applied a regular patch to the inside and filled the small hole on the outer casing with super glue - I've not had any problems since.

I imagine repairing the inside of the tyre with a just regular patch, at the side of the road, would at least get you home.

That's good to know, maybe a patch kit and a tube of superglue would be good enough on tour, a tube too for emergencies maybe.

Wouldn't use superglue. Maybe something more flexible.

Looking to fit a bar end shifter 1x setup... What's the best value shifter & RD combo. Preferably indexed, and clutch to stop slap?

Mostly for commuting, 40t ring up front, probably 11-28 out back.

As far as I know, microshift are the only ones to do dyna-sys compatible bar end shifters
http://www.microshift.com.tw/BS-M10_Shifters.html

edit - the clutch is in the mech, not the shifters, if you didn't know that already.
edit edit, run a short cage mech on that cassette and I wouldn't have thought chain-slap will be a problem.

Ah thanks, hadn't seen those yet... Was working on some kind of SRAM s500 setup. Where can I actually buy them though?

http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/microshift--10-speed-bar-end-gear-shifters-bs-m10-10576-p.asp

out of stock, but probably worth emailing him

I suppose the possible problems with tubeless touring would be tyre mounting and spoke replacement. The tyres and rims can be hard to mount, compared to normal clinchers, at least some of them, so might not be that nice to get the tube in while in a cold rain. And replacing a spoke would mean the rim tape would have to be removed and you'd need to have a spare with you.

I suppose the possible problems with tubeless touring would be tyre mounting and spoke replacement.

Good point, mounting tyres can be a problem when you have a limited number of C02 cannister with the risk of it not properly inflating and wasted it already, again this is moot when you can just fit an inner tube and ride to the nearest bike shop to get it properly refitted.

Spokes however I don't really see it as a problem, the majority of time when I replace spokes, I reused the nipple unless it's badly corroded/damaged, again carrying a spare inner tube will help in this abet messy situation.

Bear in mind that there are rims that allow you to replace spokes without needing to take the tyres out, such as the Mavic tubeless system for instance, the downside is the prioperty spokes/nipple;

Good point those rims and nipples that you can change the spoke with the tyre in place.

About the tyre mounting, I meant also in addition to normal tubeless installing problems that some tubeless tyres and rims can be really difficult combination to stretch the tire onto the rim.

The spokes I've broken have often broken at the base of the threads so that a small pice of the spoke is left in the nipple, the threaded part. That makes the nipple unusable as it's pretty much impossible to get the piece out by the side of a road. And to take the nipple out, you'll have to take the rim tape off and might not be able to use the same tape again. I usually use a Herrmanns rim band that doesn't have glue on it, it's reusable.

Good points all round, the whole idea is putting me off. Fine from a commuting standpoint, but fuck that when bonking on a wet day because you've already ridden 80 miles and have another ten to get to the hostel / campsite you're booked into. The trade-offs in a regular system aren't that bad, especially when I'm not convinced that there is any need for an armored 'Marathon' type tyre when touring, more than at any other time, though to be fair that's not based on a wealth of experience.

Here is my Nature Boy Disc, been running this as my daily commuter to and from work and loving everyone moment on it, especially after I've changed from the knobbly tyres to slicks:

2 Attachments

Back from a weekend away - I figured you wanted absolute bombproof thus my Rhyno suggestion. You can get them with the brake track painted too. :)

any suggestions for a 26" forks with lowrider bosses apart from the surly options? there are a couple if dutch type options on ebay but not much else....

Thorn http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/thorn-replacement-forks-current-dept665/

Suspension corrected or normal?

If latter, thorn excellent for this.

thanks @Heldring @edscoble. Normal non sus...thorn are very nice but $$$. picked up a pretty high spec 90s peugeot mtb over the weekend for £50, was going to try and keep it budget but that is looking unlikely as all forks with mounts seem to be expensive...

for 100 or less i could maybe even get some mounts brazed on?

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/700c-1-inch-steel-touring-unicrown-fork-240-mm-threaded-steerer-black-prod13036/

these look a bit horrible...am going to email to ask how much they weigh

or may just go the pclip route and spend the money on an actual nice front rack

They're 700c, not 26"

26":
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-26-BIKE-CUT-TO-LENGTH-Rigid-Steel-BLACK-FORKS-1-THREADED-x-260mm-V-brake-/371504982206?hash=item567f6c28be:g:SckAAOSwHQ9WaKcN
No lowrider bosses though.

Revolution bike...

^ Would be ace for commuting