You may be thinking, “why would I run tubeless on my fat bike? What happens if I get a flat?” Read on and we’ll go into some of the main reasons why.
There are a number of reasons why you should be riding tubeless, ranging from weight savings to better performance...
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Running tubeless will shave some unnecessary weight from your bike, a staggering amount for that matter. Going tubeless on your fat bike can save you between 300-500 grams PER WHEEL (depending on your tire and tube combination, of course). Bicycle Rolling Resistance
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With tubeless systems you’re able to run lower tire pressures which results in a win-win scenario - better traction AND better ride quality. How? When you air down your tires it increases the contact patch (the amount of tire touching the ground). This lower tire pressure also translates to a plusher ride because the tire can contour to the ground better, which means less bouncing around.
- Tubeless systems are designed to have a self-healing element to them. For instance, with a traditional tubed setup if you were to run over a sharp rock or nail you’d likely be in a situation where you’d have to throw a new tube on. With a tubeless system, the sealant inside of the tire will fill that hole in the tire within seconds, allowing you to continue your ride! You also won’t have to carry around the extra bulk of a spare tube.
There are instances where tire sealant just can’t cut it (did you see what I did there?). If you endure a nasty sidewall tear or a large puncture hole, tire sealant most likely can’t help you out. They do sell plug kits which are relatively easy to use such as: Dynaplug or the Genuine Innovations Tackle Kit. Both work quite well. In a pinch (did it again), you can also remove the tubeless valve and install a spare tube to get you home.
As you can tell, we’re big fans of running tubeless at Growler. In fact, all of our bikes ship already set up as tubeless. If you have any additional questions feel free to leave it down in the comments. We’ll get to them as soon as we can. Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Team Growler