Either way, about an hour into my ride last night, towards the end of my first interval, my bike felt a bit wobbly and I noticed the front tire was looking a little low. I stopped, checked the tire, and sure enough... it was flat. Bummer.
As I started to change it, though, I noticed the tire was connected to the rim and then... I saw the writing on the wall, so to speak. Literally, it was on the rim: tubeless. DUMPSTER.
Needless to say, I didnt have another tubeless tire or, unfortunately, anything to fix this one. Additionally, I was over on the Arsenal (where I do all my weekday riding) so calling the roommate wasnt an option since he does not have access. So since it was a slow leak, I shot it with some CO2 and took off riding. Eventually the additional air escaped and I was left to ride the rest of the way home on the rim.
About 35 minutes later, I arrived safe and sound. Thankfully the roads on the Arsenal and short trip back to my house are relatively smooth, so I was actually able to hold a respectable speed. And I have to say Shimano's Ultegra WH-6700 wheelset is pretty bad ass for holding up that long without any air in the tire.
All in all, it couldve been worse. I missed part of my workout but at least I made it home in one piece with a bike (and wheel) that is still functioning. And really, with The Tour having gone of over the cobbles the other day, the timing was kind of fitting.
3 comments:
I have no experience with tubeless road wheels. However, I do with tubeless mountain wheels. With the mountain tubeless system, if you do flat, you can still put a tube in and keep training/racing unless the tire is torn too much. So, I am thinking you could have put the tube in and been ok for the remainder of your ride?
That's funny. Thanks for the heads up, I didn't know that technology had infected road wheels as well. Wonder if like with MTB it is much heavier than a good clincher? I think Chris in the previous comment is correct, at least on a MTB wheel you can put in a norma tube. Maybe Pitstop, particularly for a slow leak.
Thanks guys; that's good to know. I didnt have any experience with tubeless so I was worried that if I tried to take the tire off, I wouldnt be able to get it back on the rim at which point I wouldve been SOL. Next time I guess I'll just pop a tube in the tire.
Bob: Regarding performance, as far as I know a lite clincher with latex tube is still the fastest tire choice (and what I use for racing).
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