I wrote previously about the 2018 purchase of my Trek Checkpoint ALR5 Gravel bike; the first new bike I’ve bought in 35 years.

As I’ve ridden the bike over the past 5 years, I’ve slowly made modifications to it the better fit both me, the style of riding I do, and the things I like to do as I ride and after. Here is a photo of the bike as I currently ride it.

Tires

After my initial ride on the Checkpoint, on which the stock Bontrager tubed tires got enough holes in them to require a SAG pickup, I installed tube flat protector/liners inside the tires to make punctures less likely. While running the tire liners, I didn’t get any more flats, but the weight of the tires went up, and with it the rolling resistance.

I’ve replaced the (paper thin) Bontrager 35mm stock tires that came on the bike with Specialized Pathfinder Pro 38mm tires.

These tires are tubeless-ready and feature a smooth strip in the center of the tread allowing for smoother cycling on asphalt as well as slightly less rolling resistance. This fits the type of riding I do; a mix of asphalt and light to medium gravel.

Going Tubeless

On the advice of some other gravel-bike riders, I converted the tires to be tubeless, which is a slightly-involved process for which there are many helpful YouTube DIY videos. Your local bike shop will also be happy to do the conversion for you!

Tubeless tires need more maintenance than tubes, requiring periodic refreshment of the liquid latex sealant inside the tire, but the reward is, in theory, fewer flats and better rolling tires.

With the conversion to tubeless tires come some additional considerations, one of which is how to get the tires to “seat”. Because there is no tube to inflate and hold the tire against the inside of the wheel rim, air pressure alone needs to hold the bead of the tire against the wheel rim. And that is the issue…

To initially get a tubeless tire to seat requires a quick burst of air to push the bead of the tire outward to meet the inside of the wheel rim and seal it. Many pumps aren’t up to the task and most tubeless valves don’t have a large-enough air pathway to allow a regular floor pump to push that burst of air quickly enough.

Enter the Filmore Tubeless Valve from Reserve Wheels. These valves have been re-engineered to allow greater airflow through the valve to help solve the “seating the bead” issue. As part of my conversion to tubeless tires, I purchased a set of Filmore valves. I also opted for the color-coordinated valve cap kit to match the color of the bike.

These valves permit sufficient airflow to allow my standard floor pump to be able to seat the tubeless tires.

Hold a Tube in Reserve

I have to note that riders who use tubeless tires typically also carry an extra inner tube in case they get an unsealable flat and need to put a tube in the tire temporarily to get to where they need to be.