The mountain bicycle in my stand is in for a bit of love, about one year from the purchase date. The fork and shock are being pulled off for a trip to SuspensionWerx, brake pads and brake fluids are being changed, a fresh chain is going on, and the stock grips are being tossed for an upgrade. Finally, I’m swapping the front tire to the rear and installing a fresh front. Tubeless, of course.
It’s all going swimmingly until I pull off the rear tire and discover that there’s a tube inside. Not so uncommon that folks trash a tire, dent a rim, or can’t get the system to reseal on the trail and toss a tube in. But, the rims and tires are fine, the front also has a tube in it; neither the front nor rear tire has ever had sealant in it. Ugh.
A quick check on the manufacturer’s website shows that the bike definitely comes with tubeless valves and here’s where I get grumpy. Many bikes ship with tubes installed but valves in the box and it’s the standard expectation that shops will convert those bikes to tubeless on the floor. Even the odd shop that takes a wait-and-see approach (“Maybe someone buying this five-figure off-road machine will prefer tubes, so we’ll leave them in until we sell it.“) should include said valves with the bikes.
For the last two examples of this betubed phenomenon that I’ve come across, the owners were positive that they had purchased bikes that were set up tubeless. I also ran into a rider this summer who had tried to plug their tubeless tire only to discover the basic butyl insert. Again, very surprised that their bike was not set up tubeless.
This is problematic for a couple of reasons, foremost the ride quality of their bike. Tubeless-ready tires, even the really lightweight ones, are designed and reinforced to ride well without a tube providing pressure from the inside. They are notably less supple with tubes installed and, yet, still have to be run at higher pressures to prevent pinch flatting a tube. Some riders prefer this setup, sure, but for most folks, it’s a notable decrease in potential performance.
[Mini Aside] This is quite different than running an insert, which does not negatively affect how initially supple a tire is, and indeed can allow a more supple setup thanks for lower pressures and more air pressure ramp in the system. [/Mini Aside]
There is also the matter of simple cost. Labour, sealant, and valves can easily be a $100 upgrade that really should have been sorted at the time of purchase. At the very least it only seems fair that a rider receives the tubeless valves they’re paying for in the initial purchase price.
[Aside] With more and more bikes, eebs and otherwise, coming with factory-installed inserts I would like to speak to that in a similar vein. I’ve now come across a handful of bikes that come stock with CushCore inserts where the shop selling a bike did not add any sealant to the tires but rather sold bikes dry.
In two of these cases bikes, which were bought elsewhere, were brought in because of the rate they were losing air pressure, and it was in removing the tires to inspect rim tape that it was discovered that no sealant had been added from new.
This is an easy enough thing to check when buying a bike. When there’s enough sealant in a fresh setup you can usually check for it audibly (hear liquid inside the tire) even with an insert installed. On that note, manufacturers do not ship bikes with sealant in the tires because it will often dry out before the bike is sold. More on that in a minute. [/Aside]
I want to mention one more concern about tube-in New Bike Day (NBD), that’s the question of whether the rear wheel, which usually ships installed, has been removed from the bike as part of the build process. This is necessary for a couple of reasons. First off, cassettes often are under-tightened and no one wants this coming loose on the trail. Also, rear axles are often installed dry – just add grease – and no one wants these becoming seized on the trail.
Build quality for most of the factory wheels is almost universally fantastic these days, but there are certainly cases where it’s still best practice to double-check spoke tension. Many Shimano Center Lock lockrings also require the rear wheel to be removed to confirm they’re tight, and it’s imperative that anything Center Lock is well-tight because the alternative is wearing the hub-rotor interface.
Alright, that’s all well and good, but when your friend calls on you to step up and Be Their Bicycle Expert, how can you best ensure that they’re getting the tubeless experience that they should be? These days it’s exceedingly simple.
Most bikes on the shop floor were built more than six months ago, and even if they were assembled more recently, who can be sure? So when your friend is throwing down for that fresh pedalable projectile, heavily discounted or otherwise, just ask the shop to top up the tubeless sealant before it rolls out the door.
Best case scenario, there’s a little extra juice helping to keep the air in. Worst case scenario, they discover it still has tubes and the new owner needs to go grab a coffee while the shop sorts things out.
Good job, your friend should take you for lunch. Or ice cream.
I recently had a conversation about this piece, from 2020, Used Mountain Bike Buying Advice For The Bicycle Expert, and I have a few pieces in various stages of construction that fit the general theme. Going forward, as opposed to creating a new category, you’ll be able to find them under Tunnel Talk.
Welcome to MEATengines, I hope you enjoyed this piece. If you did, please consider buying me a coffee. Any questions, concerns, or comments – or to order a MEATengines water bottle – feel encouraged to drop me an e-mail, or join us at r/MEATengines.