I've always ran Bib Mouse inserts in my tires for racing harescrambles. I'm going on an extended ride soon on my KLX and would like to run Bibs. Anyone done this and had issues with short stints on the highway?

 

Been running Nuetech Tubliss since '09 with Stan's sealant. I ride in nasty, rocky areas like UT, NM, CO, and here in mesquite and cactus infested west Texas...mostly off road with as little pavement as necessary. I have never had a flat with this system. I've had nails sticking in the tire and didn't have a flat. When I replace a worn tire, it looks like a porcupine inside with the bigger thorns. BM works, but it's harder to install than I want to mess with.

 

Another vote for TuBliss.

I've run pressures as low as zero (the valve stem was loose), with no dammage to the wheel or tires. I regularly run single digit pressures in the rock strewn Northeast without problems.

I've run on the highway without trouble. You can repair the tires with a tubless tire repair kit without removing it from the rim. I carry a small bike pump to change pressures.

 

Yesterday my brand new stock rear tire, with less than 2000 km on it, went flat, probably after some hard acceleration overtaking a slow lorry.

By the time I noticed it was flat the tire was ruined, with big splits all over the sidewalls.

So I'm somewhat interested in the Tubliss thing...

You say you can use them on the road? I notice on their site, aside from saying 'off road only' that the pressure should be from 0 to 10lb?

Can you really ride on pavement with such low pressure? Or does it act as though at a higher pressure or...?

What would happen if you put a bit more, such as 15 or 20 psi? Would that blow the tire off the rim?

I ride off road but cover a lot of pavement getting there, plus I intend carrying luggage, so would Tubeliss be a complete non-starter for me or perfectly OK, somewhere in between?

I know this much - I'm sick to death of punctures.

 

I'm creeping this thread 😎

 

The Tubliss setup will allow you to run factory recommended air pressure if you so desire. The tire is actually "pinched" to the rim better than the tube does. The only reason the inventor of this setup doesn't recommend highway use is liability. He'd have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get some kind of certification, and he's not willing to spend that kind of money for this market or expose himself to liability. As far as safety, the Tubliss setup has a rim lock and is as safe as a tube setup if a flat occurs while riding. The limiting factor in the whole setup is the tire, and that's the same as it is for a tube setup. As to pressure, I run 16-18 psi in mine because on my rides I'm almost always confronted with making connections on pavement between sections of off road. I don't want to constantly putz with pressures in these situations. The system will allow one to run extremely low pressure for the right conditions. You still need to be aware of rim damage if you go too low in rocky conditions, but that always applies for any setup.

Still, here's the deal on a tube vs. Tubliss on heat danger. Low air pressure in a tube while run at highway speed creates more heat than running at recommended pressure because the tube squirms within the tire carcass. Without a tube the tire will run cooler even at low pressure. My only concern with low pressure on pavement is wear and handling. There is over 100 psi within the inner liner of the Tubliss system. It's going to keep the tire clamped to the rim.

 

Air up the tire before extended highway runs. I now carry a compact bicycle pump in my hydration pack. I air up to 32 or 36 for highway and bleed air off before hitting the trails.

 

Not to knock anyone's Tubliss experience, but I'm just not gonna go that route. I've rode and raced with countless guys that run tubliss and the fact is that you can still have a flat. bib mousse is 100% flat proof. tubliss can be a little on the expensive side of things.

My personal experience is that I can install a bib quicker than I can install a UHD tube.

guess I'll just try it on my dual sport and see what happens.

 

The mousse thing seems for competition-only, without the option of pressuring up for the road and I read they don't last for very long at all. Definitely not what I'm after.

So sounds like Tubliss, with Slime inside the tire, should be near enough puncture-proof?

I strongly suspect most of my punctures are the rear wheel spinning inside the tire. Adding a rim lock helped on my little KLX150 but it still had at least one more rear puncture after that. I noticed my 250 already seems to have a rim lock? Or at least a little rubbery grommet thing, which I'm pretty sure is a rim lock. Yet after some hard acceleration, boom, another flat.

So, so sick of flats...

I'm off on an expensive holiday next month, so saving all my pennies, but after that I will certainly look into trying to import this Tubliss thing.

As an aside and in the shorter term, does anyone know if those "heavy duty" inner tubes offer anything at all, or are they just a gimmick?

 

BIbs are rated for 80mph. I've ran an entire race season on on bib.
UHD tubes are excellent in avoiding pinch flats but not flatproof. They are a pain in the butt to install.
Rim lock is a must on a 250 for sure.
guess it depends on how much hwy you are running, I for one don't want to stop and pump my tire up to 35 for a 5mile trek down the hwy, if I'm running enough hwy to necessitate that I need a different bike.