Rob,

#CoffeeOutside looks great!

In my experience, liquid sealants neither like high pressure nor thin tubes (in the case of a tubeless system, thin tires can also be troublesome). I was using undersized 2.3-3.0″ tubes in a fatbike in NM with loads of sealant. Some of the smaller goathead punctures would seal, but eventually one wouldn’t and I risked a slow leak inside the tire, making an awful mess. To patch the tube, I would rinse the tube of all sealant, dry it out, and patch it. After several dozen patches per tube, I finally discovered a method to make a successful tubeless conversion. I never had a single puncture on that bike that didn’t seal in the next 6 months.

I would be wary of using smaller/lighter tubes with sealant, as some have suggested.

The benefits of tubeless systems are not only weight, but also ride quality, puncture sealing, and a lessened risk of pinch flats. For many reasons, as you mention, larger volume tires ridden off pavement benefit more from tubelessness. Even if a rider does not gain all of these things with a tubeless set-up, the others typically outweigh the single exception. For instance, even if a heavier tubeless tire is used in conjunction with liquid sealant for a system that weighed exactly the same as the tube/tire combo, the other benefits may still be a worthwhile gain.

Also, a supple tire and a tube may not function much differently than a medium-weight tubeless ready tire, especially considering the frictional interaction between the tube and tire. Perhaps Mr. Heine can ride some more rumblestrips for us. As you mention, the kind of tires your customers seem to prefer may not be the best candidates for tubeless installation.

Currently, there are emerging tubeless systems for road bikes, and there are probably rims and tires in your target range that could function safely without tubes, but I can’t say for sure. For instance, there is a Stan’s 700c rim for rim brakes that would give a huge head start to any tubeless endeavor, I think (also a very light rim). I am a strong proponent of Stan’s rims, and some other tubeless designs. Not sure is Velocity is one of the best in this respect, but nice rims otherwise.

nicholas