Tubeless tires provide clear advantages in speed, comfort, grip and puncture protection. They avoid unnecessary friction between tire and tube, which significantly reduces the rolling resistance, far below that of folding tires or tubulars. Tubeless tires can be used with a lower inflation pressure without compromising performance. That brings clear advantages in comfort as well as more control n critical situations and poor road/trail conditions. At the same time, tubeless systems provide a high puncture protection. The danger of blowouts is clearly reduced. A sudden loss of air pressure by burst tubes or valve tear off is no longer a worry. What is more, tubeless systems function perfectly together with puncture protection liquids. Punctures are re-sealed within milliseconds.
The advantages are particularly interesting for sporty drivers who are looking for maximum performance. The system is technically demanding and the optimal standard for the wheels is just finding. If you are simply looking for a tire that works smoothly in everyday life, then a normal Marathon Plus is the better choice for you. If you want the fastest tire with the best driving performance, then there is no way around tubeless.
- Schwalbe tubeless tires
- Airtight tubeless wheel
- (or tubeless-ready wheel and tubeless rim tape)
- Tubeless valve
- Sealing liquid (e.g. Schwalbe Doc Blue)
- Mounting fluid (e.g. Schwalbe Easy Fit)
- Track pump with air gauge
- A rag
! Note: A compressor or the Schwalbe Tire Booster can be very helpful for inflation.
! Note: You should be familiar with the specific fitting procedure. Otherwise you should leave the fitting to an expert.
No, you can fill the sealant directly into the tire before mounting the second tire bead. Filling through the valve has the advantage of a „cleaner“ working process. The milk is only applied when the tire is already locked on the rim. This is particularly convenient when you do not know if your tire/rim-combination will work perfectly.
With common combinations, it is faster to pour in the sealant directly. If you use valves without removable cores, filling directly through the valve is impossible anyway.
Tubeless Easy tires are not completely airtight tubeless tires. You need the sealant to guarantee they are airtight. A sealant can do this more effectively than an impermeable butyl liner.
Real tubeless tires, like you may have had in the past, did, in theory, work without sealant. But they were much heavier and in practice most riders still utilized a sealant. In the end, it was only the sealant that made the system reliable enough for regular riding.
In addition, the combination of Tubeless Easy tires and Doc Blue ensures superior protection against punctures and the sealant has no negative effects on rolling resistance.
Doc Blue remains active as a puncture preventative for approx. 2000 km or 2-7 months. The period depends a lot of the temperature. After this time the sealant dries into a rubber film or separates into individual components („latex coral“ and liquid)..
Once the system is airtight, you do not have to refill sealant at all. Of course, the additional puncture protection works only if there is still active sealant inside the tire. We recommend to check and renew the sealant before a competition or a longer journey. If you do not mind the additional weight you can also just add sealant.
A simple test to see if the sealant is still working is using a needle. Just puncture the tire and let it rotate. If the hole is not sealed, it is time to refill. The “test hole” will be repaired by the new sealant.
Inflating is frequently the biggest problem when mounting tubeless tires. Especially with rather classic rim shapes, that are not well designed for tubeless use. The air tends to blow uncontrolled between rim and bead. The following tricks help:
- Check, that the valve is positioned between the tire beads, blowing air into the tire.
- Use Mounting Fluid. Lubricating helps the tire beads to slide into the correct position more easily. In an emergency soapy water might also do the trick.
- Remove the valve core for increased air flow.
- When the tire seat is too loose, an additional layer of rim tape is frequently helpful to slightly increase the rim diameter.
- If the tubeless rim tape is old, defect or has extreme dimples at the spoke holes, replace with new tubeless rim tape.
- First, mount the tire with a tube and let sit for 24 hours to help stretch out the bead to the proper shape.
- In very stubborn cases, use a compressor or the Schwalbe Tire Booster.
Leaks can of course also happen at the valve or the rim. In order to find them, you have to put the complete wheel under water or if you do not have a tank large enough to submerge the complete wheel, spray the wheel with soapy water. If there are leaks, air will emit at the valve and/or spoke nipples. This may take a while, because the pressure has to build up in the rim cavity first. Frequently, the valve area is the problem. Possible remedy: Tighten the valve nut, clean and trim the contact area, replace valve or replace the tubeless rim tape. If all this does not help, there might be a defect at the rim joint or a crack in the rim base.
A frequent cause of a leaking tubeless system is the sealant has not been shaken enough before filling the tire (or before filling a small bottle from a large bottle). Therefore, many problems can be solved with a change to new, well shaken Doc Blue.
For inflation of a tubeless tire you need a blast of air. Unfortunately, a floor pump is not sufficient for all wheels and only few people have a compressor at home. The Tire Booster solves this problem. It is basically a pressure tank, that you can fill with your floor pump up to 11 bar. The compressed air you can then empty with a single shot into the tire. This will settle even very stubborn tire and rim combinations.
! Note: For safety reason you should only use wheels, that are approved by the manufacturer for tubeless use.
This is particularly important for the high-pressure road bike system. The best option is a wheel that meets the latest ETRTO Road Tubeless Standard. This standard was only established in 2018 and Schwalbe was significantly involved. Concrete specifications for rim shoulder and drop center guarantee trouble free mounting and easy inflation with a floor pump.
Note: The wheel’s shoulder diameter is the diameter measured from shoulder to shoulder. This corresponds to the ETRTO number after the hyphen. In the case of SCHWALBE road bike tires, e.g. 28-622.
ETRTO Road Tubeless Standard. Wider rims for touring or off-road use have the same design with slightly different dimensions.