- If you watch a lot of GMBN videos,
how many times have we probably told you
that tubeless is better?
It's lighter and you're not going to get so many punctures.
Well in this video, we're going go out
and we're going to prove that.
We're going to see, is it lighter and are
you going to get less puncture, with some tests.
So let's get straight into it.
So, if you don't know what tubeless is,
it's basically that you ditch the inner tube.
You need some tape, you're going to need your valve,
some sealant, bundle that together with your wheel
and your tyre, and hey presto!
You're tubeless and ready to ride.
If you want to know how to do it, then we've got a full,
in-depth video showing you how to do that.
But let's get to the first example.
First up, tubeless is lighter.
Let's just prove that.
So I'm going to add on to the scales that
I've got set up right here
my super-light carbon FSA rim.
Then we're going to add on the tyre.
Okay, so that is weighing in at 1.615.
And then lastly, we're going to add that inner tube on.
So for this setup, it's coming in at 1.855.
Let's now take this tube back off.
We're going to put the valve into the rim itself.
If I can find the valve hole.
I'll just pop it into the tyre.
So now, let us add 100 mil of tubeless sealant.
So that's going to take me down to that line right here.
Okay, so that was the final bit of my sealant added in.
Got 100 mil in there, which is the correct amount
as per the bottle.
And the weight, we're at 1.74 kilogrammes.
So that's a whole 100 grammes lighter.
Mythbust One done, because tubeless is lighter.
Okay, so we've proved that tubeless setup
is 100 grammes of saving per wheel.
But what does that actually mean on the bike?
Because you're going to save some rotational mass.
Now rotational mass is that mass
that is actually always moving
so the things like your wheels
is where it's going to have the biggest effect.
Stationary mess, well that is saying like
the frame itself or even the shock on the bike.
But how does that effect you when you're riding?
Well, it can be said that rotational mass
can have up to three times the effect
of that stationary mass.
So we've just saved 100 grammes.
So times that by three.
We've saved 300 grammes and then we've got two wheels,
so you've saved 600 grammes for quite an easy
and simplistic upgrade that's not going
to cost you too much.
Now this is all done with the moment of inertia formula.
If we've got any scientists out there,
then we'd love for you to prove that we are right,
or even if we are wrong.
You can let us know in the comments section down below
and I will be marking your work.
So we've learned tubeless is lighter,
you've got less rotation and weight,
but what we really want to know is,
are you going to get less punctures?
So let's test it out.
Because I've got the wheel in the jig.
I'm going to take my tool right here,
this is representing a thorn.
We're going to stab into the tyre
put a hole in it
and find out if it will seal.
So, are you ready for this?
Three, two, one, and I'm taking my tool to the tyre.
(hissing sound)
Okay, you can hear that air coming out.
Let's give it a spin and get it to seal, hopefully.
Okay, we've got the sealant coming out.
No air is escaping.
So that goes to prove that the sealant,
the tubeless setup has done its job.
Now if you had a tube inside that wheel,
if you went and stabbed that in
it would be game over
because you would not be able to seal the tube.
The air would be escaping
and your ride would be over.
So, that's another tick for tubeless.
Okay so moving on, we get an object into the tyre.
Let's talk about more of an impact one
and such called a snakebite.
Now watch what happens when you get a snakebite,
is that you've got your impact,
I'm going to use my hand as an example,
and it's going straight in.
It's going through the tyre,
hitting the tube onto the rim.
Now that impact, because it's combining against two things,
and the tube is in the middle of it,
the tube is actually going to get pinched,
and that's what causes the snakebite.
Those two tiny little holes, almost like snake fangs,
have gone into that tube itself
and that's what creates a puncture.
Now with tubeless, because you haven't got a tube in there,
you're not going to get those snakebites.
So that is another reason why you want to ride tubeless,
and of course, less punctures means more riding time.
So because you've got better puncture protection
with the tubeless system, it means in turn
you can actually get more grip.
And what I mean by this is that you can actually run
less pressure because, if you think about it,
you're going to have more pressure running a tube system.
Because you don't want to bottom out really hard
going through and getting a snakebite
or you don't want to get something going into the tyre.
So you've got to run a little bit higher pressure
but because you eliminate those two problems
with the tubeless system,
you can take a little bit of pressure out.
Now I'm not talking about a huge amount here.
I'm talking about two, three, four PSI.
It all comes down to a little bit of experimentation
because you don't want that tyre to roll
or even burp beneath you.
So take this one with a pinch of salt.
Do a little bit of experimentation.
Take a few PSI out.
You're going to have more grip,
which means you're going to be able
to rail those turns harder
and you're going to be able to do some later breaking.
Which all in turn means
that you're going to go faster and have more fun.
Okay, so for our fifth and final test,
I have got two wheels right here.
The rims are identical, the tyres are identical,
and the pressures inside are identical.
The only thing that is different is this one right here
has got a tube and this one, well, it is tubeless.
Now what we're going to do is a little squeeze test
to show you some of the difference of when
they actually deform under pressure.
So if I squeeze this one right here
which has got the tube in it, you can actually feel
that it's quite hard to deform the tyre.
But, if I take my tubeless one,
it's actually a little bit easier to deform that tyre.
Just because you don't have a tube inside of it.
It means that it's going to take less resistance
to actually deform that tyre.
Meaning that you've got a little bit more
compliancy with the bumps.
It's going to absorb some of those lower impacts.
Perhaps if you're going over roots and rocks
at a lower pace,
it's just going to give you a smoother ride.
This is not that noticeable to the vast majority of riders.
But if you're racing at the very top level,
well every little advantage really helps.
Okay there you go, some facts about
why you might want to run tubeless.
Hopefully, I've mythbusted a whole pile of stuff
and told you why you might want to run tubeless.
It's so easy and it's such a good upgrade
that you'll probably never, ever
want to run that tube again.
If you want to watch more videos from GMBN
then make sure that you subscribe
so you'll never miss another.
Then click just there for how to go tubeless
and click down there for how to set up your tyre pressure.
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Cheers!