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« on: May 25, 2016, 10:24:44 PM »
Thought I'd chime in with my Tubeless experiece.
My first set up was probably 8 years ago using some Maxxis Crossmarks and some Stans 355 rims. I'm not sure if Tubeless Ready (TR) tires were available then, but these tires weren't. UST was out then, but these tires tended to be at least 200g heavier than standard tires.
Stans seemed initially to be designed to work with standard tires, and so saved a heap of weight over UST. I had the usual issues getting the Crossmarks to seal - weeping sidewall which took a few days of flipping to seal.
I didn't think I lived in a particularly rocky area, but within a few rides I'd managed to put a big slash in my rear tire (and also found a huge booger of dried sealant in my tire). This was the first of many slashes that I repaired in these tires (and the first of many boogers.)
After they wore out, I tried some Schwalbe Racing Ralph snakeskins - knowing that I needed a tougher sidewall. I used this type of tire for many years. When they made them Tubleless ready, they sealed up very well - barely needed any sealant, and didn't leak from the sidewall (though after a bit of use i'd start to see small wet patches in the tread, where the sealant had done its job)
In a weight weenie moment, I tried a non Snakeskin TR Rocket ron on the front (since I'd never damaged a front tire). This saved about 100g, however the tire took a lot more sealant to seal (back to sidewall weeping), so the weight saving was much less than 100g, and it tore within 4 rides ( in the middle of a race!).
So for me, its just not worth using non Snakeskin tires, and the setup is much more problematic. I haven't tried them, but I presume Maxxis Exo tires and Continentals Protection tires are similar in sealing and toughness to the Snakeskins. I'm not sure about other brands, though I've often wondered why manufactureres bother making TR tires that don't have a toughened sidewall.
Currently I'm running some heavy Michelin tires, which so far have been fine, and no sealing or tearing sidewall issues, even though the versions I have weren't advertised as having a tough sidewall. I've also in the past run Geax Sagguaros, which weren't TR (TNT as Geax called it). These were fairly heavy (720g ish) and lasted until the tread wore out.