Wheel and tire question that maybe yall can help with.

I popped a butyl tube the other day and decided I'd rather go tubeless than be stuck again with this.

So I took my HED Ardennes RA Performance wheels in to the shop (Shama) and they put me on 28mm Pirelli P Zero RS race tires.

While I waited, I'm fairly sure one of the tires popped while I was there, and presumably they resealed it.

I took it out on the road and started to hear a clicking sound from my bike, which I couldn't pinpoint. about 40 minutes in, on relatively smooth concrete, the front tire popped (sounded like an explosion) and I had to ride the rim to a stop (scariest moment on my bike to date).

I went by the shop today and Shama is going to take a look at it tomorrow, but now I'm really wondering what is going on. Everything I've read says that's not normal, but now I'm a bit concerned.

What should I push for in terms of repair? Replace the tire all together? Question whether 28mm is enough? Is the wheel ok for that tire? Anything else?

When you seat tubeless tires, it makes a big pop sound. That's probably what you heard.

SteveA said:

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When you seat tubeless tires, it makes a big pop sound. That's probably what you heard.

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To clarify. When I heard the pop at the shop, I went and looked what happened and there was sealant everywhere in the work space. It looked like the worker had filled it with air and it exploded sealant everywhere.

Currently in Colorado for Copper Triangle. 10k elevation hits differently.

Training for Latoja is coming along as well as it could be I suppose. 3 centuries in on hot ass days, with one being followed by an 80 miler the next day. I'm feeling confident about finishing at this point, so I've got that going for me.

Got invited to a no cost (to me) coastal fly fishing trip next weekend. For a while I considered saying no so I could get my long weekend rides in, but then realized I'm just doing this for fun with no expectations of being anywhere near winning the race and it's not my job so it made no sense to turn something like that down because it would "interfere" with my training.

Got my answer today.

They put the wrong tire on.

He assumed that when he grabbed the 28mm Pzero RS tire, he was pulling a tubeless-ready tire. But you can now get that tire with a tube, and that's what he grabbed.

So catastrophic failure was basically the only outcome and God was watching over me because there were so many opportunities to get really really hurt based on where I was riding vs where it blew.

Tubeless is all in the bead. That's how it seals. Non-tubeless set up tubeless has a risk of "burping" off a rim. The bead just isn't strong enough to hold itself on the wheel. Often you can't even seat a bead tubeless with a tube tire (and it sounds like they had an issue). Red flags everywhere if they blew the bead / sealant all over the place in the shop.

Bruh, that's very not cool for a bike shop to do this. That is a dumb, dumb, dumb wiff.

I have a tire obsession and happen to have a P Zero TLR in the home shop.





A manufacturer plasters TLR / Tubeless Ready all over their packaging. You can't miss it.

Follow on, tubeless is pretty simple to DIY. You should do it at home considering the upkeep. You'll need to add sealant every ~3 mo. (or after a plug) and clean/replace once a year. Syringe through the valve core.

I'm always swapping tires for different events/conditions. Bead wax and tire levers to get the tire on. Air Shot to set the bead (2 pops). Inject sealant. 10 minute job (7 minutes if you have to tape); 0-5 curse words depending on how difficult the tire is.

Mounting a tire on a rim is probably the second worst thing I've ever done with my hands.

Make love, not war.

Buy some rim wax and a lever.

RangerRick9211 said:

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Follow on, tubeless is pretty simple to DIY. You should do it at home considering the upkeep. You'll need to add sealant every ~3 mo. (or after a plug) and clean/replace once a year. Syringe through the valve core.

I'm always swapping tires for different events/conditions. Bead wax and tire levers to get the tire on. Air Shot to set the bead (2 pops). Inject sealant. 10 minute job (7 minutes if you have to tape); 0-5 curse words depending on how difficult the tire is.

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Funny enough (not really), got a tack in my tire on the first ride. Some sealant came out, but it does seem to have sealed without any plug or repair needed. I put air in and it held for the rest of the day.

Should I look to try and add sealant? anything else to consider?

You should add a bit of sealant for anything lost.

But ride it.

Just had a mech in Bend today on some Pathfinders. As always, rotate to the bottom so sealant is in the area, then pump (I run an electric over CO2 for training rides). It didn't seal so I stabbed a Dynaplug. Held. Now just an annoying noise until I'm back home in a few days to either swap tires or patch.

I'll probably swap. I keep flatting rear Pathfinders with Vittoria Inserts. Today was abnormal. Tons of downhill, blue, tech single track. Way underbiked, but good lines and a hoot. Dead center puncture. So I ate a pointy rocky at some point. Inserts saved my rim @ 34psi and 178#.

Yoo, cut that steer! Where are you and why are your tires so skinny!!!

Edit: So much respect on the third cage. I'd never drink anything from there, lol.

Yeah, I've never gotten around to cutting it down. Might as well have an orange flag flying out back.

I'm in College Station, so the gravel isn't too serious. I rarely need a 3rd bottle, but that was an exploration ride and I knew there were no water stops until a few hours in.

In my younger days I'd ride most of the gravel roads on my road bike with 23s. The best was way back in the day hosting Tunis-Roubaix with the A&M team. That was gravel racing before gravel racing was a thing.

Sick bike, despite the steer!

My mom still lives in CS. So I'm back once a year. My gravel life started around Lake Bryan during TAMU undergrad.

USWE hydro pack for the watter win. It is more aero. Science has said so!