Tubeless Tires? HElP!?!?!?

I live near Ford Ord, where the Sea Otter is held, and I was wondering if I should be using tubless. How easy is it to puncture a tubless tire and if I do get a flat, is it possible to repair a tire, or do you have to buy a brand new one? And what is a good tubless tire for a 23 pound XC bike???
THANK YOU!!!

I just got new rims, so this might be a stupid qustion, but if I don't have tubless rims, will I need stans no tube sealent or anything?? Is the tire the only tubless specific thing?

Tubeless is a great idea for some places. There are advantages and disadvantages to both styles. The best advantage to running tubeless is prevention of snakebite flats....actual tubeless tires (as opposed to standard tires) have thicker sidewalls to withstand abuse. In a tubeless tire, you still have to run sealant for normal punctures, but pinch flats will be a thing of the past. The hassle of tubeless is when you have to fix one in the field......the sealant is a goopy mess and sometimes it's hard to reinflate the tire. You have to carry a spare tube with you anyway, just in case, so some people don't bother with tubeless for that reason alone. Since they require a special valve for the rim, it's a good idea to have and carry one of those with you, too.

With tubes, it's just the standard routine with sealant, patches, and fresh tubes. Sealant won't fix a snakebite, of course, so just like with tubeless, you need to carry a spare tube with you. One advantage to tubes is that if you really ding up a rim, chances are that a new tube will be just fine and you can roll out of the woods without trouble. Tubeless tires have strong flexible beads, but if the rim is bad enough sometimes they still won't seal and you've got a long walk ahead of you.

The weights are comparable between the two systems....tubeless tires are heaver than standard ones, so that offsets the weight savings of the missing innertube.

You could also try out "ghetto tubeless" where you use a 20" bmx tube split down the middle as a rim strip and then mount a standard tire (instead of a tubeless-rated tire) to the wheel with the same sealant inside. Use a razor knife to carefully trim away the excess of the 20" tube. It works well and you can use a normal tire (cheaper, and lighter weight).....but you lose that sidewall durability. Lots of people do it and like it. Doing it this way, it's very important that you get a TIGHT fit combination between rim and tire.....sometimes you have to experiment with a different tire or two to find a good combo.

As for tires, the selection for tubeless is smaller, but the ones that are on the market are good ones. I like the Maxxis High Rollers, too, and most from WTB are excellent. Just pick a tread that'll fit in well with the trails you ride.


EDIT: Yeah, if you have non-UST rims, then you'll need to just run tubes with sealant, or try the ghetto tubeless I mentioned above (or buy the Stan's conversion kit....same difference). If you look at a tubeless tire, the bead is a different shape and is designed to snap-fit into the tubeless rim channels.

It depends on the type of puncture and where it is.

If it's a nail in the treads, then yes it's fixable (about $30)

If the sidewall gets damaged, there's no way to repair it and you must buy a new tire

yes! i think every mountain biker should be using tubeless (er...maybe not in the southwest). weights are comparable, lower pressures are less risky, and if you do get a flat you can always throw a tube in there and not get stuck out in the woods...i've only flatted twice in three years (both in the same race)! i would suggest that your riding style has more to do with how many punctures you get than anything else, but if you're relatively smooth--UST's are generally quite strong.

tires are repairable (sidewalls are tricky) but like patched inner tubes i've never had much confidence in them.

my personal favorite tire is the Maxxis High Roller, but tire choice is much like saddle choice--mostly personal preference.