July 17, 2022, 9:45 p.m. -  Andrew Major

I had a bit of a chuckle about the sealant drying overtime. If you sat at the trailhead and checked tires on bikes of all price points, riders of all levels, I’d guess you’d find a huge % of them have no liquid sealant left. Many a time I’ve had a friend looking confused at a little tire puncture as air came gushing out. “Where’s my sealant?” ——— I agree tubes are generally cleaner and easier. Best practice is still to check tire pressure every ride. A couple psi in tubeless is probably not going to burn you but in a tube it could be a guaranteed pinch flat. The one actual rebuttal I’d have is in regards to ride quality. Cheaper OE rubber (like these hard rubber / wire bead Vee’s) rides so much better without a tube in them. It’s one of those things where the return on investment going tubeless with low end rubber is actually bigger. Actually, one cool tubeless experiment/experience is to AB test a Maxxis MaxxGrip EXO tire with a tube vs. a MaxxTerra EXO tire tubeless (or equivalent from another brand).