I have been running tubeless road tires for three years now. The tubeless system first peaked my interest when I spoke with a Campagnolo rep at the Philadelphia International Championships race in 2011. Soon after, I purchased a set of Campagnolo Shamal Ultra 2-Way-Fit wheels and the rest is history.
I have been extremely happy with the tubeless set-up. In three seasons of riding these wheels, I have had only one flat. Granted that I am not (knock on wood) especially prone to flats on any set-up, the tubeless system with Effetto Mariposa Caffe Latex Sealant has saved my ass more than a few times. On a ride where three riders in a paceline simultaneously flatted, I road on for another sixty miles before realizing that I had a piece of glass lodged in the rear tire which the sealant had closed up. I rode the last fifteen miles home with that chunk of glass in the tire and then swapped out the tire in the comfort of my own basement.
It wasn't until a cut tire in the middle of July of this year, that I began thinking about the pros and cons of running tubeless on my solo trip to Italy. It was with that cut tire, which was too far gone for the sealant to work its magic, that I was stranded about twenty miles from home. Removing a tubeless tire, fitting it with a tube and running it as a standard clincher should be do-able. but there was no getting this thing to work on a hot, humid New Jersey day. Three destroyed tubes later, I was calling for a ride. And with that, my faith in tubeless started to fade, at least while traveling alone in a foreign country.
Thus began the search for and great deliberation over tires, latex tubes, tubeless or not, etc. Up until this point, I was running Hutchinson Fusion 3 Tubeless tires. As you might well imagine, by the advice of my local bike shop, I ended up going with the new Schwable Ultremo ZX Tubeless, and hence my review.
The primary reason I went with the Ultremo ZX was that I was told by the shop owner (who recently converted to these tires), the shop mechanic and some articles online, that these tires would mount much more easily than the Hutchinsons, which sometimes take two people to wrestle on (this by the way is my only contention with tubeless, they are a bit of pain to work with). In fact on some rims they might even mount by hand. I wasn't getting my hopes up. Campagnolo wheels push the limit as far as radius for tubeless so mounting any tire by hand would probably be a task too great for my wimpy climber's arms. I am happy to report that while they didn't mount up by hand, they were a fair bit easier to persuade onto the rims with the help of a nice tire lever. I figured if I did get a flat somewhere in Italy, at least I'd have a chance.
The good thing about tubeless is once you mount them and add the sealant (I went with the familiar aformentioned Caffe Latex in place of the Schwalbe Stan's sealant) you don't have anything to worry about. Cutting right to the chase, I rode these tires for a month up and down mountain passes in the low Alps of Lombardia, over the winding sali scendi of Toscana, bounced around over the ancient cobble streets of Roma (the possiblitiy of lower pressure with tubeless made this somewhat more bearable) and put them through the paces of two Italian Gran Fondos. I can say they performed superbly in all capacities. From the heat of the Tuscan sun to the mythic mist and rain of Lombardia, from the steep slopes of the Muro di Sormano to the pancake flat roads to Pisa, these tires excelled.
I am a convert for sure. The Fusion 3s served me well, but the Ultremos are in a class of their own. They are race worthy, but seem durable enough for heavy training. Their puncture resistance is second to none, and unlike Hutchinsons "race" tire the Atom, they are actually true to size. I am impressed through and through. Though I only have about 1000 miles on the tires, the riding I did in Italy was quite the thorough test. They handled superbly in the rain and ate up the switchbacks, going through the corners like being on rails. I swear I could hear them squeal like fancy tires on a Ferrari as I cut through the apex of the turns. They inspired confidence.
So, if you already run road tubeless, give the Ultremo ZX a try the next time you replace your tires. You won't be disappointed. If you don't run tubeless, consider it. There is a bit of a learning curve to setting them up and they do take a bit more work to maintain (replacing sealant every six months), but the work is worth the reward. Less rolling resistance, no possibility of pinch flats (nothing to pinch), better ride quality due to lower pressure, greater puncture resistance overall, and so on. Sure, I've done a hell of a lot of cursing when setting them up at times, but the pros certainly outweigh the cons, especially when on the Schwalbe Ultremo ZX Tubeless.
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