Tubeless candidate???

[cyclotourist]

Today I pulled my Rivy down from the hook and find the rear tire flat.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclotourist/6733538469/in/photostream/">Yep,
another goathead. </a> I don't know how often this happens, but lets
just say I've gone through a 100 pack of Rema tubes in the last few
years! So I'm kinda' considering going tubeless with this bike. Sun
CR-18 rims and 35mm Paselas. I have my 29er set up that way and love
it, but have Stans rims etc.

Any experiences positive or negative with a set up like this?

--
Cheers,
David
Redlands, CA

**

[Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery]

Pretty sure the CR-18 and the Pasela were never intended for tubeless use. But what's the worst that can happen?

[Steven Frederick]

Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery <thil...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Pretty sure the CR-18 and the Pasela were never intended for tubeless use. But what's >the worst that can happen?

POW!! CRASH!!!

Tubeless is more of a low-pressure application, right? How low can
you realistically run road(ish) tires/rims?

Skeptical, but go for it and let us know how it works out,

Steve

[Steven Frederick]

More helpfully, might I suggest that you pick up some tubes with
removable valve cores and inject some Stan's sealant into them? I've
done this with my Mukluk because the tubes are $17 apiece(!) and fat
bikes are tricky to set up tubeless (I hear--haven 't tried it) I
don't know if it's helping or not--but I haven't had a flat since.

"Talk about fat tires, my bike's got 'em!"

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40738390@N08/6159805159/in/photostream

Steve

[Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery]

There are a number of road rims and high-pressure skinny tires that are made to run tubeless. These have been around since 2006 or so.

The CR-18 and the Pasela are not exactly the latest tubeless technology.

[rperks]

Everything I have read on the subject seems to suggest the system
works best for pressures under 45psi. That was the reccomended high
on Stan's Raven cross tire, 700x35. The biggest problem will be the
threat of the tire rolling off the rim. Second to that is the sealant
of choice eating at the tire insides and breaking down the rubber of a
non UST tire. This is becoming less of an issue I think as even
stan's is reducing the amount of amonia they use in their formula.

The 23 mm road tires they are selling are another animal all together,
and I thik are intended to be used with the wheel sets they are
selling.

What we need is somebody to work on a tubeless ready tire design for
700x38 and 42 so that we can have a the all arounder tire of our
dreams with the ability to stay below the 45psi range on the tires for
most of our weight ranges. If I were to experiment with this I think
I would start with a set of wire bead schwalbe tires 42 or bigger,
maybe play with a set of 45mm panaracer firecross on your 29er to see
how it goes with the lower volume. Just take it slow for a bit,
keeping the damage to a mess of latex and not loosing your teeth.

Putting latex into your tubes, as will slime, can help with the flats,
bue is a another can of worms and challenges.

Rob
-
http://oceanaircycles.com/

[Bill M.]

My only road tubeless experience is vicarious. One of our bike club
members has a tubeless setup with Dura Ace wheels and tubeless-
specific 23 mm tires. I've seen him DNF two club rides because of
flats due to sealing problems. I'd pass on trying it with Paselas.

There are tires that are more flat resistant than a Pasela TG and
still ride well (e.g. Vittoria Randonneur Pro or Hyper), but they
aren't goathead-proof. Even the standard Schwalbe Marathon was
vulnerable IME. I suspect the only solutions are really heavy tires
like the Marathon Plus (890 gm in 35 mm) or tubes with Slime/Stan's.

I'll also put out something that's probably heretical around here - I
get more punctures on wide tires than I ever do on skinny ones. I
think those nice, fat, soft 650 tires sweep up every goathead in
their path, while hard, skinny racing tires skip in between them. I
gave up on the lovely Pacenti Paris-Moto tires because I was averaging
a flat every 30 miles or so. I wore through a set of even-lovelier
Vittoria Open CX's (25 mm, 90 psi) with one, maybe two punctures over
the life of the tires.

Bill

On Jan 20, 11:47 pm, cyclotourist <cyclotour...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Steve Palincsar]

On Sat, 2012-01-21 at 07:32 -0800, Bill M. wrote:
> My only road tubeless experience is vicarious. One of our bike club
> members has a tubeless setup with Dura Ace wheels and tubeless-
> specific 23 mm tires. I've seen him DNF two club rides because of
> flats due to sealing problems. I'd pass on trying it with Paselas.
>
> There are tires that are more flat resistant than a Pasela TG and
> still ride well (e.g. Vittoria Randonneur Pro or Hyper), but they
> aren't goathead-proof. Even the standard Schwalbe Marathon was
> vulnerable IME. I suspect the only solutions are really heavy tires
> like the Marathon Plus (890 gm in 35 mm) or tubes with Slime/Stan's.
>
> I'll also put out something that's probably heretical around here - I
> get more punctures on wide tires than I ever do on skinny ones. I
> think those nice, fat, soft 650 tires sweep up every goathead in
> their path, while hard, skinny racing tires skip in between them. I
> gave up on the lovely Pacenti Paris-Moto tires because I was averaging
> a flat every 30 miles or so. I wore through a set of even-lovelier
> Vittoria Open CX's (25 mm, 90 psi) with one, maybe two punctures over
> the life of the tires.

Is there anything short of tank treads that is resistant to goat heads?

[cyclotourist]

Jim, it's a combination definitely not found in nature!

Steve, I've built up some ghetto tubeless for some friends and really
like the results. Those were all 2.0+ tires though. I know they do
tubeless road set ups, but I don't know if anyone has done an off the
label sort of thing. Paselas are extra bizarre as they are way to fat
for "road" tires but too skinny for MTB.

Rob, I thought about filling the tubes. I Slime my kid's tires by
slicing the tube, filling them and patching, but that stuff is messy
inside and out. Stans is so much cleaner IMHO, especially w/ removable
core. Might be an intermediate option. I've read about the tire
degradation problem, and that might be the biggest concern. Paselas
are a bit fragile already, and the ammonia would probably really eat
them up. Thanks for reminding me about that!

Bill, I REALLY love my Paselas. I looked at the Hypers, but was
reluctant to go that route. Looked as Marathon Supremes as well, but
really, ain't nothin' stopping goatheads that I want to ride. I want
puncture resistance you get from tubeless w/out the heavy clunky tire
& tube combo you really need. So far I've been dealing with it, but
man, I patch a lot of tubes...

THANKS for the thoughts!

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[Peter Morgano]

I have a set of tubeless wheels, shamano 600 hubs,dura ace small block cluster. Will sell for what I paid, 25 bucks plus actual shipping. They definetly need new tires but are in great shape otherwise.

On Jan 21, 2012 9:08 AM, "Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery" <thil...@gmail.com> wrote:

There are a number of road rims and high-pressure skinny tires that are made to run tubeless. These have been around since 2006 or so.

The CR-18 and the Pasela are not exactly the latest tubeless technology.

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[jimD]

Yo David,

Have you considered Foss tubes?

I'm running them on my riv on streets, my rear JB is getting real thin, has lots of miles on it.
I'm starting to think that the Foss things help.

I know goat heads are an entirely different spawn
of the devil, lived around them for a number of years in Albuquerque. Suffered many defaltions.
The Foss tubes may or may not help but seem worth a try.

If Foss tubes mitigate the agony of goat heads they will own the tube world.
-JimD

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[PATRICK MOORE]

Jim -- if it took you several years to get through your box of Remas, you are doing well.

My strategy is just to grit my teeth and get good at flat fixing. I tried various slimes and none worked well enough for my tastes to keep them. 

FWIW, in my experience, Paselas are more flat prone than Kojaks and Kojaks seem to roll better. (559 variety.) I think the K's have a resistant belt of some sort.

Written heah in goathead country, this 22th day of Jan '012.

Patrick Moore

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[PATRICK MOORE]

Big Apples are more resistant to goatheads than any other tire I've used; they are not proof against them but they are something like, roughly, 1:4 for Paselas. On dirt I've ridden through goathead patches without being scathed, tho' on pavement thorns will eventually be driven in past the belt.

I did have a goathead proof tireset once on a CyclePro early '80s MTB I bought at GW. It had some kind of slick 1.95s with a belt and "thornproof" tubes that weighed as much as the tires. I rode it through about a mile of goathead vine on the upper I-40 trail -- paved, which will push the thorns in more effectively than dirt will -- just south of Eubank and came back with, literally, hundreds of thorns embedded in the tires, which I flicked off in showers. No air loss after a week. But the combination of wooden tires and half-inch-thick tubes was so deadly that it would, seriously, make me give up cycling were they all that was available.

On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 8:39 AM, Steve Palincsar <pali...@his.com> wrote:

Is there anything short of tank treads that is resistant to goat heads?

[PATRICK MOORE]

FWIW, you can get sealant past the core on Presta valves not designed for this by twisting the locknut off with pliers, letting the core drop into the tube, putting in the sealant, then fish around for the core and work it back up to the valve stem and force the locknut back on with  the pliers. This works better IME than trying to patch a slit contaminated by sealant (at least, it is very hard to clean off all traces of the sealants I've used). 

Don't Schraeders all have removable cores? I've not used one in a long time.

[cyclotourist]

I had pretty good luck with a slit (more like a tear) and re-sealing.
Did that w/ the kids' bikes & Slime. The prob. w/ Stans or other
latex-based is that it evaporates pretty quickly and you need to
replace in 3-6 months. Removable cores are definitely the way to go
with that stuff.

[Steve Palincsar]

On Sat, 2012-01-21 at 10:13 -0700, PATRICK MOORE wrote:
> FWIW, you can get sealant past the core on Presta valves not designed
> for this by twisting the locknut off with pliers, letting the core
> drop into the tube, putting in the sealant, then fish around for the
> core and work it back up to the valve stem and force the locknut back
> on with the pliers. This works better IME than trying to patch a slit
> contaminated by sealant (at least, it is very hard to clean off all
> traces of the sealants I've used).

Some Prestas have removable cores, I believe. I think most do not.

>
>
> Don't Schraeders all have removable cores? I've not used one in a long
> time.

I haven't either, but I vividly recall Schraeder valve caps with a
little wrench built into the tip for unscrewing the core.

[cyclotourist]

On 1/21/12, Steve Palincsar <pali...@his.com> wrote:
>
> Is there anything short of tank treads that is resistant to goat heads?
>
>
>

Not a thing. My buddy here in town rides those terrible Armadillo
tires, but he still gets occasional flats. I'm not willing to do that,
so seeking alternatives!

[PATRICK MOORE]

Y'all take heed and learn from my misfortune: don't use Kenda tubes. I installed fatties in the 60 mm Big Apples this afternoon, preparing to use the Big Apple wheelset again on the Fargo, and ended up tossing three newish Kendas due to splitting -- and one split not even at a seam! I installed one Conti fatty in the rear with a skinny (28-40) Conti in front and will dig up my other fat Contis later.

Patrick "useless !!!!@~!#@^S$#)(*D*&#^$U&#!!!!!" Moore

[Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery]

I've been using and selling Kenda tubes for years with no problems whatsoever!

[PATRICK MOORE]

Well, I withdraw my blanket condemnation, but dammit, they've given me trouble!

On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 7:51 PM, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery <thil...@gmail.com> wrote:

I've been using and selling Kenda tubes for years with no problems whatsoever!

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[EricP]

With Jim on this. Probably have Kenda on all my bikes. And the
wife's bike. They seem to be very reliable. And in colder weather,
they don't lose air as quickly as some others.

Big ol' bias alert - I buy almost all my tubes from Jim at Hiawatha.

BTW, have tried the Foss tubes. Meh. Was not able to swap them over
to my winter studded tires. So, further evaluation is needed. They
didn't flat, but did feel "lifeless". If a latex tube has bounce,
these have none, IMO.

Eric Platt
St. Paul, MN

On Jan 21, 8:51 pm, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery <thill....@gmail.com>
wrote:

[Montclair BobbyB]

As one who vacillates between tubeless and tubed tires on my mountain
bike, I've come to several conclusions (my own, not necessarily
everyone's):

- Do your homework and first make sure others have been successful
running your specific non-UST tire before attempting it. I've had a
tire blow off the rim in my garage, coating me and my dog with Stans
fluid and startling the hell out of us... learned my lesson.
- When tubeless works well, it's wonderful. I run tubeless Kenda
Nevegals (non-USTs) on Stan's Arch 29er rims (on my Niner MCR, fully
rigid steel MTB). Being able to run at low pressure makes a big
difference, especially for low-speed technical riding. I have had
plenty of ghetto setups fail; I now stick strictly to using Stan's
yellow tape and fluid. I also do NOT go through the valve stem...
I've had more hassle with stems than it's worth. I pull a section of
the tire bead off the rim, add a scoop or 2 of Stans, and then pop the
bead back on (with my compressor).
- I can't speak for anyone running tubeless skinny road tires, but
having witnessed a blowoff at 30 PSI, I'd hate to see one at 120
PSI... Make sure you're using a tire/rim combo that has been tested
and proven.
- When you get a non-repairable flat (with Stan's or Slime in your
tire), it's nasty business changing the flat. I've done it several
times, but personally hate it.
- I really don't mind changing tubes... as long as it's not once every
other ride, so except for my mountain setup, I personally don't think
it's worth the hassle for my road bikes, fat or skinny-tired.

Patrick, as for your Kenda tube misfortunes, perhaps an overzealous
clerk with a box-cutter may have accidentally "pre-conditioned" these
tubes?

Bobby "conspiracy theory" Birmingham

[cyclotourist]

Excellent perspective added to the discussion, thanks Bobby! I guess
I'm kinda' moving away from the idea, and just dealing w/ patching
flats. Paselas sidewalls are kind of delicate as it is, I probably
shouldn't do anything that would decrease their strength! I run those
tires at 35F/60R FWIW.

[MoVelo]

Has anyone had success with Foss tubes against goatherds?

[jimD]

On Jan 21, 2012, at 10:25 AM, MoVelo inquired:

> Has anyone had success with Foss tubes against goatherds?

Moi!
Ran over a goatherd just the other day.
No troubles.

JimD

[PATRICK MOORE]

The crucial test will be to run over a plot of goatheads, coming out on the other side with scores sticking into your tires: if after two days you find no air loss, Foss tubes are proof against the thorns.

Note that very often when you run over a goathead it will go in only part way and, if you don't smack it again against the pavement multiple times won't penetrate the tube.

OTOH, I've been on many rides where I pick up a thorn slightly to the outside of the middle of the tread and ride the rest of the way anxiously seeing the thorn revolving with the tires; then pull it out at the end of the ride and hear that dreaded "Hssss..." 

At other times yet a goathead will penetrate but cause only a very slow leak so that it is only after a number of hours that you find your tire flat. In fact, most of my flats are slow-leak goathead-caused.

Patrick Moore, who had a traumatic time on Sat eve. fixing and refixing and dammit re-refixing tubes with multiple goathead holes.

[PATRICK MOORE]

Forgot to add: I am skeptical about Foss's being proof against goatheads, but if they are, I will ante up if Riv carries them for 60 mm tires. 

I find that fat tires attract more thorns than skinnies, tho' whether this is due to the width or because fat tires get ridden in thornier places, I dunno.

[cyclotourist]

I usually find the goathead(s) in a flat tire the next day.

FWIW tubeless works great riding through a patch. Pick 'em out and
keep riding. That's the #1 reason I went that way on my 29er.

[PATRICK MOORE]

Quote of the day: " I've gone through a 100 pack of Rema tubes in the last few years! "

ROTFL! "Last few years"! I just bought two more boxes of 100 16 mm patches. I've gone through almost 100 patches since Jan 1 of this year, though this included some exceptional flat situations like buried and hidden penetrants and bad rim strips: occasions that can eat patches by the score.

But I really like this idea that you can "tube-less-ify" standard tires on standard rims - in principle. And Stan's seems to be the quantum leap in sealant -- I spend a good part of my one day a week at the bike shop inserting True Goo into thorn proof tubes and I hate the mess. I'm just waiting for the next flat in the Parigi Roubaix to put Stan's in the tubes - will try tubes first before trying tubeless.

We'll see how well the newly installed Tire Savers work on the P-Roubaix.

On Mon, May 13, 2013 at 12:43 AM, Aaron Garcia <foobo...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi David,

Goatheads are common to our area... I'm a Loma Linda native so I know your pain!

I recently attempted to set up 32mm Panaracer Pasela TGs (kevlar bead) tubeless on standard rims and lo and behold – they sealed up perfectly. I was running 2011 Fulcrum Racing 5s with 2 layers of 21mm Stan's tape (no rim strips... too heavy!), and these seal up great. I also set the tires up with a wheelset built with H Plus Son Archetype rims... those took 2 extra layers of Stan's tape to seal. A bummer due to the extra weight but totally worth the wider 23mm rim profile, which makes cornering a breeze and supports the tires better.

I used a compressor to initially seat the bead (took a little time due to the wrinkles in the tire bead... don't lose hope! Keep trying!), then put a good amount of Stan's in there and it sealed up to my delight. I am able to run a max pressure of about 60 psi... which is more than you'd really want to run anyways. I weigh about 170lb and I run my front tire at 45/48 psi and my rear at 50/52 psi..

What about the ride? Tire rolls very smooth, fast and plush over the beat up roads. Great low rolling resistance feel and very little rolling noise. 32mm is great for light off-road riding, gravel racing, you name it. People say Paselas aren't good tires... man they are wrong!

Reliability? Initially the tire lost air very quickly, about 20 psi/hour. After a few rides and some monitoring and re-inflation, the Stan's appeared to coat the inside of the tire better and now they lose air only slightly faster than a standard butyl tube setup. I inflate my tires before every ride so it's a non-issue. As far as puncture protection goes, I have yet to get a flat on these tires. knock on wood.

Bead seat reliability? I have yet to burp these tires, blow them off or flat them due to burping. They are bulletproof. I've taken small dirt jumps, curb hops and rock rolls on them... they don't budge. It makes riding the bike enormously reliable, which is great because it's a commuter. Can't handle getting flats on commutes!

It's sort of a dream setup and I'm enormously happy. No need to wait for tubeless-specific touring tires... just convert what you got! Next on the docket to attempt converting after these wear out are the Rivendell Jack Brown Greens, also made by Panaracer.

Note: The only reason this conversion worked was because I was running 32mm tires at low pressures. Don't attempt to convert anything narrower than this for tubeless use. You'll blow the tire off the rim at the pressures needed for that tire to perform well.

Aaron

On Friday, January 20, 2012 11:47:18 PM UTC-8, cyclot...@gmail.com wrote:

Today I pulled my Rivy down from the hook and find the rear tire flat.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclotourist/6733538469/in/photostream/">Yep,
another goathead. </a> I don't know how often this happens, but lets
just say I've gone through a 100 pack of Rema tubes in the last few
years! So I'm kinda' considering going tubeless with this bike. Sun
CR-18 rims and 35mm Paselas. I have my 29er set up that way and love
it, but have Stans rims etc.

Any experiences positive or negative with a set up like this?

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Cheers,
David
Redlands, CA

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Albuquerque, NM

[Steve Palincsar]

On Mon, 2013-05-13 at 10:15 -0600, PATRICK MOORE wrote:
>
> But I really like this idea that you can "tube-less-ify" standard
> tires on standard rims - in principle. And Stan's seems to be the
> quantum leap in sealant -- I spend a good part of my one day a week at
> the bike shop inserting True Goo into thorn proof tubes and I hate the
> mess. I'm just waiting for the next flat in the Parigi Roubaix to put
> Stan's in the tubes - will try tubes first before trying tubeless.

You'll probably also want to buy some Barge Cement or Shoe Goo to repair
the holes in the tires.

I just bought some Shoe Goo (local hardware store never heard of Barge
Cement) to patch my back Parigi Roubaix. A pinch says the tread
thickness is still comparable to the sides of the tread, but the holes
little pieces of glass and sharp stones make were distressing, so I
decided to see if forum-recommended repairs would work. I tried Super
Glue in the past, and found it entirely unsatisfactory for this kind of
tread patching.

But given the relative fragility of the Parigi Roubaix I find it hard to
imagine using them in an area afflicted by goathead thorns.

[PATRICK MOORE]

On Mon, May 13, 2013 at 10:22 AM, Steve Palincsar <pali...@his.com> wrote:

You'll probably also want to buy some Barge Cement or Shoe Goo to repair the holes in the tires.

Yes, the tread seems very liable to cuts. 

 

But given the relative fragility of the Parigi Roubaix I find it hard to imagine using them in an area afflicted by goathead thorns.

"Live dangerously" is our motto here in the harsh, unforgiving, high, southwestern desert, where only the bold and hard survive.

--

[Steve Palincsar]

On Mon, 2013-05-13 at 10:27 -0600, PATRICK MOORE wrote:

On Mon, May 13, 2013 at 10:22 AM, Steve Palincsar <pali...@his.com> wrote:

You'll probably also want to buy some Barge Cement or Shoe Goo to repair the holes in the tires.

Yes, the tread seems very liable to cuts. 

 

But given the relative fragility of the Parigi Roubaix I find it hard to imagine using them in an area afflicted by goathead thorns.

"Live dangerously" is our motto here in the harsh, unforgiving, high, southwestern desert, where only the bold and hard survive.

[cyclotourist]

Aaron, thanks for the update! Goatheads are my bane, but I foolishly ride on the lightest supplest tires I can get. Something just doesn't seem right there, does it...
I love Paselas and think they are the best bang for buck tire on the market. Especially the 35s (never had 37s). I'm very tempted to run some tubeless, but still sort of gunshy (liz phair shout out) as I've had tubeless 29ers blow out/off the rim on me. That has left me bruised and battered on the dirt. I'm freaked out by the thought of that happening at road-bike speed!!! I'm 175lbs so would run about the same pressure. I do absolutely love the ability to ride over stuff with tubeless though! Man, this is a tough call...

I have some Challenge P-Rs in the cabinet that I'm going to put on some time, just have to wear down the Jack Browns! JBs sure are great, but I can feel they're a bit big for what my bike was designed for (wheel flop increased perceptively over 28-30mm tires). P-Rs should bring that back under control, but I'm concerned about their durability. BTW, they're currently on blow-out sale at Velo-mine right now.

Cheers,
David

[Deacon Patrick]

Please pardon my ignorance, but what is the alure of tubless over tubed?

With abandon,
Patrick

[Peter Morgano]

Check out the stans no tubes site, it looks like an interesting idea, if you are in an area where you get lots of flats.

[cyclotourist]

Say goodbye to almost all punctures, and the ability to ride at lower pressure due to not having to worry about pinch flats.  Tires are therefore more fexible so lower rolling resistance (at least in theory).

Flipside is an increase in regular maintenance and potential startup cost, possibility of a tire blowing off and dumping your on the ground.

It's pretty fully accepted with the MTB crowd at this point, similar to 29ers. Road bikes have the set up, but mostly in 23-25mm size racing tires. The all-road market is left out of the above consideration, although there has been interest for 650B bikes thanks to PJWeigle setting up Hetres and Lieres.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/49353569@N00/
The middle volume 700C application hasn't really been done, or at least not discussed much.

Cheers,
David

[Deacon Patrick]

Thanks, David. The downsides of increased maintaince and possible tire blowing off the rim are show stoppers for me. I can't complain about flats. None in over a year, including camping with goatheads. The Schwalbe Duremes are amazing.

With abandon,
Patrick

[cyclotourist]

Yes, stout tires are the other way around that issue :-)

Cheers,
David

With abandon,
Patrick

[samh]

<<I also do NOT go through the valve stem... 
I've had more hassle with stems than it's worth.  I pull a section of 
the tire bead off the rim, add a scoop or 2 of Stans, and then pop the 
bead back on (with my compressor).>>

I install with a floor pump, which is a lot of exercise.  So once I get my tires sealed, I never want to break the seal!  To replenish the sealant, I remove the valve core, and I use a Stan's Injector to put more sealant in, which is easy once you've done it a few times.

<<- When you get a non-repairable flat (with Stan's or Slime in your 
tire), it's nasty business changing the flat.  I've done it several 
times, but personally hate it.>>

Me too.  So I carry a rag and latex gloves stored in a gallon sized plastic baggie in my backpack. It's still very time consuming and messy because usually I try to rotate the tire and get sealant to blow out of the cut, temporarily sealing the cut--which inevitably fails when I start riding again.  At the same time, I don't think a road tire would be as susceptible to the sidewall cuts you get mountain biking.

I was on a mountain biking trip a few years ago, and an experienced mountain biker was riding down an incline on an easy trail and his tubeless 29'er tire rolled off the rim and jammed in his fork, which catapulted him over the bars and headfirst into a rock.  Sometime later, some racers on a training ride happened upon the victim and attempted cpr, but they were unsuccessful.  So the tubeless technology is not perfect and adds some risk. 

Anyone contemplating a ghetto tubeless system should definitely do a lot of reading--and there is tons of info available.