I know these tires are not tubeless and Challenge doesn't recommend running them as such, but what are the actual experiences with these tires runnin tubeless.
Nbudor wrote:I know these tires are not tubeless and Challenge doesn't recommend running them as such, but what are the actual experiences with these tires runnin tubeless.
I'll first apologize for not really answering your question. I've never tried mounting these tires tubeless. If you check through the reviews and articles on the Gravel Cyclist website though, you'll find some evidence and actual experience of JOM mounting several brands of non-tubeless tires sans tubes. I will say however, that I've been using Challenge latex tubes with my Compass Bon Jon tubeless compatible tires. After well over 1,000 miles at 35/30 psi, they've proven to be great performers; and very durable. My only complaint would be the cost of the Challenge latex tubes -$18-20. However, this is reasonable compared to the cost of sealing tape valves and sealant, if you mount them tubeless. My advice: if you really like the Challenge gravel tire, mount them with Challenge latex tubes.
I have a pair of Challenge GG's sitting around and also a WTB tubeless wheel sitting around. so I gave this a try. The WTB rim is a 700c ChrisCross and has worked great tubeless with true tubeless tires. My tubeless experience is a lot of mtb tires on Stans and WTB rims and a handful of gravel tires. Most of the combinations I've tried air up with a floor pump.
So here goes... The first bad sign came when I mounted the tire easily by hand. Too loose to seat the beads. So I put in a tube and pumped it up. No reassuring pop, pop, pop from the bead seating. Pull out the tube and try airing it up. No luck. I'm not going to try a compressor as IMO this is the wrong rim for the tire to try TL.
The GG is a very good tire. I'll stick with tubes for it though.
nalax wrote:I have a pair of Challenge GG's sitting around and also a WTB tubeless wheel sitting around. so I gave this a try. The WTB rim is a 700c ChrisCross and has worked great tubeless with true tubeless tires. My tubeless experience is a lot of mtb tires on Stans and WTB rims and a handful of gravel tires. Most of the combinations I've tried air up with a floor pump.
So here goes... The first bad sign came when I mounted the tire easily by hand. Too loose to seat the beads. So I put in a tube and pumped it up. No reassuring pop, pop, pop from the bead seating. Pull out the tube and try airing it up. No luck. I'm not going to try a compressor as IMO this is the wrong rim for the tire to try TL.
The GG is a very good tire. I'll stick with tubes for it though.
Thanks for the info. While I'm not an expert on tubeless, I wouldn't try mounting a non tubeless ready tire tubeless. I even shied away from mounting my tubeless "compatible" Compass Bon Jon's tubeless because of problems mentioned by another poster on this forum. As I've mentioned, several times, Challenge latex tubes work great, and have proved to be very durable for me. Also, should these tubes puncture in the field, it will be much easier to do an emergency repair without dealing with messy sealant all over the place. BTW - when I first purchased the Bon Jon's in March, the Challenge Latex tubes weren't available. I used Schwalbe ultra-light butyl tubes at 35/30 PSI instead. Frankly, despite some claims of lower rolling resistance with latex tubes, I didn't notice any difference in tire performance when I installed latex. My bottom line: unless you race, probably latex tubes aren't worth the extra expense compared to good quality butyl like Schwalbe.
I would give them a try if I were you - unless you are going to be hitting big rocks at high speed. I mounted a pair on PowerTap aluminum rims last year using a Stan's NoTube kit for cyclocross wheels. I rode them in the Ragnorok, Chino Grinder, Royal 162 and tons of training rides. I finally cut the sidewall on the front tire bombing down into a drainage in the Dirty Kanza - but honestly am not sure any tire would have survived what I hit on that ride. After the DK, I bought a friend's Crux that came with HED Ardennes mounted with WTB Nanos. I'm going to keep those as I like the 40 width, but if I were to go back to riding my TriCross, I'd think hard about using the Challenge tires again (unless I can fit the 40's on the bike). I did have to use a compressor when I first mounted the Challenge tires to get enough air into them quickly (but had to do the same with my WTB's when I pulled them off to check them and re-charge them with sealant). I'd give them a go! Good Luck!
Your post came too late, as I mounted a pair of Schwalbe Furious Freds that I had bought to explore wider tyre options. I will probably get back to Gravel grinders because I don't see Freds lasting very long given the fact that they're paper thin and I bought them used. I also used Kenda's sealant that doesn't inspire too much confidence either.
Nbudor wrote:Your post came too late, as I mounted a pair of Schwalbe Furious Freds that I had bought to explore wider tyre options. I will probably get back to Gravel grinders because I don't see Freds lasting very long given the fact that they're paper thin and I bought them used. I also used Kenda's sealant that doesn't inspire too much confidence either.
The handmade gravel grinder pro (tan colored poly casing) will not work tubeless. I had a stubborn friend insist on trying it and we couldn't get it to hold. The vulcanized (all black nylon casing) versions will work tubeless, but get burpy fast at lower pressures.
The WTB Riddler 37 is a similar tire that works perfectly tubeless and has a great bead that I'm smashing the rim before I can get it to burp.
In my opinion, these are great tires. Very supple... but as a result, not the best for tubeless application. Tubeless is a hot market right now. If Challenge thought they could get more of that business, they would, but I assume their testing has shown issues with running them tubeless.
I ran them tubeless for about 1K without any issue. My shop mounted them and used Gorilla tape I believe on the rim? Anyways, they were an awesome tire but I like the Vittoria Terreno better.
