Tube or tubeless

The pro's are that you get the benefit of tubeless tires... pinch flats are eliminated, you can use fix a flat to get you back in, no gluing, etc.
The con's are (very) limited wheel and tire selection, and they'll be slower than a good tubular or clincher when it comes to race tires.

I don't think the (road) cycling world has come to the point where tubeless makes sense *yet... but that's just my opinion.

We usually agree, but this time... not so much...

Tubeless is definitely faster than a clincher (even with a latex tube), and in terms of road feel and handling, they are quite superior as well. Another major benefit is if you use a small amount of sealant when installing them, you will rarely get a flat.

There's actually quite a few manufacturers making both wheel and tires, so there are lots of options. The big drawback is that the LBS will more than likely not have any in stock, but need to order them. Always get an extra to keep when you order...

Some good information for you here:

http://roadtubeless.blogspot.com/2010/11/advantages-of-road-tubeles...
http://roadtubeless.blogspot.com/2010/11/drawbacks-of-road-tubeless...

IMO, tubeless is the way to go.

Split the difference. Ride clinchers in training, and tubeless in competition. Ride the tubeless a couple of times in training to get used to them. Carry a spare inner tube at all times. The tubeless should give you near tubular quality (the best) without a great loss of repair time or weight penalty carrying a spare tubular tire.

Thanks for the comments.

Lot's of good info on those blog posts.

Sounds like the tubeless have some performance positives, but suck to mount the first time.

Not sure which way I'll go yet, but this helped.

jpf

Hmm... I don't know about "suck to mount the first time"... Gently soap the tire and it'll slide onto the rim in seconds, then you need enough air pressure to pop the bead into the place, a pump won't work, but a compressor or a Co2 takes care of it. And that's about it. I'll mount the tubeless much faster than it takes to mount some clinchers... (Conti HomeTrainer comes to mind...)

I admit I haven't kept up very close with tubeless road tires... do they make a "real" race tire (or wheel) now?

Maybe I'm just old fogey on this

I've only used the Hutchinson Fusion 2s and now the Fusion 3s, and it's not at all a problem to mount them, provided you don't mind the minor inconvenience of going to a gas station or using a CO2 cartridge to seat the tire the first time. Super easy if you do that. Now if you try to seat a tire the first time using a hand pump or wimpy little home compressor? Yeah, pain in the butt.

Also keep in mind that you put these tires on and they don't need to come off again again you've worn them out and they need to be replaced. (I've never had to replace one from damage, only from using up their mileage.) So the minor inconvenience of seating the tire the first time is something that you do very infrequently, and it isn't nearly as inconvenient as having to change out tubes, especially out on the road in the middle of a ride.

They certainly do make real race wheels and tires. Hutchinson Fusion 3 (or even more so Hutchinson Atom) are great tires for racing. At there's a handful of manufacturers making tubeless race wheels, although I'll give you that... the offer is not nearly as wide as for a standard clincher and they will be special order from almost anywhere.... You're not going to walk into a shop and impulse buy a set of race wheels (maybe that's a positive though..)

... and old fogey... I do believe I'm racing at least one AG above you, so maybe this old fogey just stumbled upon it..