To tube or not tube - this is the question!

What's the most common mechanical defect cyclists have to deal with? Flat tires, of course! No one likes to have ride ruined by that. The bicycle industry tried to solve that issue and borrowed the concept of tubeless tires from the motoring industry. As a result, we can now enjoy riding relatively flat-free. Relatively - because tubeless tires don't solve all problems and actually introduce some new ones. As such, some people would say tubes are still the way to go. I wanted to compare both scenarios - when tubes and tubeless wheels are used and rate both setups in a few situations I encountered in the last years.

Situation 1 - puncture from a nail on paved bike path. I remember this one since this was the first ever flat I got after buying a new bike. It was a classic flat you would get after riding over a pointy object. My bike was set up with tubes at that time. Going tubeless would've definitely saved the day. Verdict - tubes: 0, tubeless: 1.

Situation 2 - punctured sidewall by a large nail. This one was memorable since it happened on the first ride after I put new tires on my bike (Bad luck, I guess). Nail tore the sidewall and I had to replace the tire. Had my wheel been set up tubeless back then, it wouldn't be entirely painless, since hole was quite large and likely wouldn't easily seal itself just with the sealant. But fortunately, larger holes in tubeless tires can be patched with rubber inserts ("bacon bits") without removing tire off the rim. Verdict - tubes: 0, tubeless: 0.5.

Situation 3 - sidewall torn by sharp rocks. I hated when that happened! Especially that I had to do an emergency patch of the giant gap in my tire. I patched it with a small piece of cardboard I fortunately had with me, installed new tube and slowly limped back home. Tubeless wouldn't save me there. In fact, fixing this in tubeless setup would be messy, with all that sealant spraying around. I'll give tubes half a point here for a less messy fix. Verdict - tubes: 0.5, tubeless: 0.

Situation 4 - pinch flat on sharp rocks. My bike still wasn't set up tubeless at that time. I rode on a very rocky trail with air pressure set too low. It's the recipe for a disaster, unless  I rode tubeless, since in such case I would've been fine. Verdict - tubes: 0, tubeless: 1.

Situation 5 - flat from a nail that never happened. I rode tubeless for quite a while and only after I had to swap tires due to wear, I discovered a small rusty nail embedded in casing. That's a very clear example for advantage of tubeless tires. Verdict - tubes: 0, tubeless: 1.

There you have it - 5 different situations, different conditions, different configurations. Tubeless wins 3:0.

Does it mean that you should switch to tubeless right away? Not so fast. First of all - everyone's mileage may vary. Plus, tubeless has its own problems and there are several factors you should consider first:

• Cost. If wheels in your bike are not tubeless-compatible, it may not be worth upgrading them. You would likely need new tires and new rims, which means rebuilding wheels.
• Riding style. If you ride your bike on clean, well-maintained pavement, chances to get a flat are significantly reduced and as such, switching to tubeless may simply make little sense.
• Ride frequency. If you rarely ride your bike, you may not like the fact that tubeless tires may leak more and require more frequent inflation than when you use tubes. So if you use your bike very infrequently, using tubes is more convenient.
• Swapping tires. If you have one wheelset but need to periodically swap tires, going tubeless will be just too much hassle. This is why my commuting bike runs on tubes at this point. I have to swap to studded tires in winter and then back to normal ones in the spring. Using tubes makes it much easier and faster.

Other than that, there aren't probably good reasons not to switch to tubeless setup. While tubeless systems are not perfect and still being developed, they definitely work well in variety of situations.